@geoffkait - I didn’t know the Castle release since I haven’t really focused on CDs seriously. (I’m now just starting to do that, though I have probably a thousand that I moved to Texas with me). Part of the answer as to why that CD copy may sound so good is that it was a UK//Euro sourced copy, which likely came from the Vertigo tapes. Aside from the fact that tapes were apparently allowed out of the house for third party re-issues in the old days, something not done anymore, the Vertigos sound far different than the US records made by Warner. (The band was signed to Warner in the States).
@slaw -Paranoid is good, as is Master of Reality- probably their best, song wise among the early albums. They have great bass and thwack, the drums sound really good, but they are rolled off at the top, something someone else pointed out to me after he bought a couple of the Vertigos at my suggestion.
The first album may be the best sounding. The thing with Vertigo is that most people know it because of Black Sabbath, who, along with Gentle Giant to a far lesser extent, were probably the best known bands signed to the label. But, the really deep prog- some pretty obscure, is wonderful in the original catalog, 69 to roughly 73. Cressida, both albums, Patto, both albums, Still Life, and a host of others, many obscure and known only to early prog heads or Vertigo collectors. The prices are now astronomical for mint- graded copies of many of these.
One relative bargain is the first Patto on US Swirl. (They didn’t issue many Swirls in the US, some were on Mercury and sound awful). But the first Patto record on US Swirl is killer. I also have the UK Swirl which sounds more polite, a little warmer, but given the type of music involved, the US Swirl for that one is the way to go (and you’ll save at least 300-400 dollars since the US Swirls aren’t very collectible).
The best buy among the Swirls is the 1970 Annual, a double album with tracks from some of the great bands-- it typically goes for around $100, and contains tracks from albums that are close to 10x the price individually). Granted, because it is a compilation, it is a generation down on the tapes, but it still has the early Vertigo magic.
Though the label continued to be used, and Uni releases stuff on it occasionally, the real deal Vertigos were the original Swirls, some of the "spaceship label" reissues from the early days, and those early WWA copies of Sabbath using the Vertigo metal parts (though the WWAs still don’t kick ass in the same way as the original Vertigos). I did an interview several years ago of Olav Wyper, who set up the label for Philips- fascinating guy who signed Sabbath, among other acts. The Vertigos are sort of blue chip collectibles today because of the obscure music, the quality of the recording and mastering (virtually all done in house by Philips) and the cool album art with elaborate die cut covers, and that wonderful label.
