Feb 13, 1970 - Black Sabbath

[Shawn]

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY!

here's a review I did of this album earlier this year....

BLACK SABBATH (released Feb 13, 1970 - UK, June 1, 1970 - US)

On November 11, 1969 four working class musicians from Birmingham entered Regent Sounds Studios to record their debut album. Their budget (600 pounds) only allowed them 8 hours of studio time. Produced by Rodger Bain (and co-engineered by a young Tom Allom), the album Black Sabbath was recorded in one day on a 4-track recorder in the tiny basement studio. The limited budget required them to record the entire album live with only enough time for some vocal and guitar overdubs. I wonder if anyone involved really knew what those humble beginnings would mean to the future of music?

Opening with the sound of a rainstorm and a distant tolling church bell, the world was about to experience something completely different. Tony Iommi's genre-creating Tritone (diablos in musica) riff enters like some shambling Lovecraft monstrosity, in one moment erasing all the flower-power music that had come before. The song's heavy/light/heavy mood is perfectly complimented by Geezer Butler's occult inspired lyrics and Ozzy Osbourne's tortured soul vocals. Every doom band that has ever existed should pay royalties to this album. Iommi unleashes another signature riff in the songs uptempo section.

Equally as powerful, The Wizard begins with a plaintive harmonica riff before the band kicks in with full fury on their own variation of the heavy blues sound then making the rounds through England. Even though other groups had played "heavy" songs before, this song reaches a level heretofore unattained. The pure groove and power of the rhythm section really sparks here, pushing Iommi's shuffle riff along and inspiring Ozzy to one of his strongest performances on the album.

Behind The Wall Of Sleep (we're back in Lovecraft territory again) is a very mature song-suite, showing Sabbath's knack for shifting time signatures and complex changes. Iommi and Bill Ward were both jazz fans, you can hear the freedom of that influence all over the arrangments of this album. Especially in Ward's drumming, which is far from mere time-keeping, but is alive with improvisational fills and accents.

A memorable bass solo from Geezer leads us into another signature Sabbath song, N.I.B. This composition truly cements the roots of heavy metal chord progressions that are still being used to this day (War Pigs is a slight variation on the same progression), I can't even begin to count the number of songs that have used some variation of this riff. Geezer's little love song (even though it happens to be sung from the devil's point of view) is powered by a near perfect performance from everyone involved. Iommi's inate knack for mixing in memorable melodic lines with his riffs is fully formed here, a landmark performance.

Opening side two (at least in the US) is Wicked World. The song starts with a swing high hat groove before Iommi comes in with yet another signature riff. Rhythmic changes abound as Ozzy sings Geezer's honest lyrics about the state of the world (not the world as people wanted it to be, but as it was). The middle section is especially tasty, slowing down for an unaccompanied solo by Iommi before the song kicks back in.

Sleeping Village is another song suite that shows the maturity that endless residencies at clubs bring to the band. These guys are so tight on this album, working completely together as a unified whole. This song also goes through numerous changes, mixing the light/heavy quality to great effect...in essence, this song is an extended intro to the album's tour de force...

Warning. Using the Ansley Dunbar song as a building block for an extended Iommi solo, this epic song truly shows what a unique talent Tony has. This track was developed slowly over time at many live gigs, with Tony adding pieces as he went. The amount of styles he touches on in this one song is impressive. It's also a good example of what an amazing blues band Sabbath could have been if they had wanted to continue down that route. Just listen to the commentary Geezer adds underneath Iommi's riff around the 5 minute mark. I think I've played this song more than any other Sabbath tune in my lifetime, there's just something magical here that's always connected with me.

Complimenting this incredible slab of vinyl is a classy iconic album cover that used to give me the creeps when I was a kid.

It's true that Sabbath would continue to evolve quickly after this album...but this has stood the test of time as one of the greatest debut albums EVER. It's still my favorite Sabbath album all these years later.

*notes*

The first single released was Evil Woman (written by US group Crow) with Wicked World as the b-side. The UK version of the album replaces Wicked World with Evil Woman. Here's the cover of the single:

On the original album cover, Ozzy is listed as "Ossie Osbourne".

The album didn't debut on the US charts until after Paranoid was released...but once it did it stayed in the top 200 for 18 months.

The original Vertigo version of the album was a gatefold with an upside cross inside it, this was done against the band's wishes.

Tony Iommi used a Fender Strat on the song "Wicked World".

Edited February 14, 2010 by Shawn

[martini]

I feel fortunate to have seen Black Sabbath at a couple of the Ozzfests in recent years. There are not many bands from that era that can still boast original lineups, and when I saw them for the first time in '04, I recall thinking that some of those guys, especially Ozzy and Bill, probably should have been dead long ago. They were still fantastic.

I'll be the first to admit that I bought Ozzy's new book (i.e., the book someone transcribed for him--that in itself must be work!), but I haven't gotten into it deeply. It will be one of those "read in one day and give to a friend" books, but I hope that he can recall a few good Black Sabbath stories.

[7/4]

Cool! I've been listening to Vol.4 & Master of Reality quite a bit lately.