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View Full Version : Album Club - Week 57: 05.09.2012 - Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)



MartinT
05-09-2012, 07:25
http://therisingstorm.net/audio/blacksabbath.jpg

This is the first album from the original heavy metal group, the album which effectively started an entire genre. The satanic connotations were just a means of getting noticed, but the sound of the album was created by an accident of fate: Tony Iommi had a machining accident at work and took the tips of two fingers off. That made playing guitar painful so he loosened the strings to detune the guitar and the rest is history.

The album was recorded live in just two days, which contributes to its dynamic, vivid and meaty sound. It was panned by critics but I think that was mostly because of the very fresh, new sound, demonic doomed overtones and Ozzie's charismatic voice. There is a mixture of rock, blues, shredding and power vocals to enjoy in a unique blend, something which I as a sixth former couldn't get enough of. From the opening track, it defies its age and still sounds great. Just listen to the energy in The Wizard, for instance. The original vinyl pressing sounds best but the remastered CD is not bad.

Even if you detest heavy metal, you owe it to yourself to give this a listen and understand how it all started.

Spotify
spotify:album:57CAarkoPZ13Ifbq0o2LCA

Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Sabbath/dp/B00359XZIW/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1346592472&sr=1-4

YouTube
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AlfaGTV
05-09-2012, 08:53
A brilliant album by any means! I think there were even more to come from these lads though, but nevertheless top notch!
Hey, i was still in diapers when Ozzy was howling these tunes on my brothers "grammophone"! But "once spoilt, always rotten" or summat... :lol:

Regards
/Mike

John
05-09-2012, 10:49
I love the album but must admit I find a bit patchy at its best its just blows me away but I do find myself skipping certain tracks

sparrow
05-09-2012, 11:10
Excellent choice and I personally prefer this over Paranoid by a long way. My fave Sabbath album is Sabotage but this one was very special. I remember when I was 15 and got this LP..and after a few listens couldn't get enough. One of the best dbuts ever put out. 9/10 from me..

RichB
05-09-2012, 21:01
A firm 9 from me. Only reason I didn't give a ten is I don't own it yet and had to listen via spotify.

The Ward and Butler rhythm section has to be one of the best out there, knowing how the album was recorded makes their performance even more enjoyable. They are as tight as a gnats chuff and as a bass player I love that.:guitar::guitar::guitar::fingers:

rusty bearing
05-09-2012, 22:02
I always fondly remember seeing them at a very early gig in the Winter Gardens at Weston Super Mare, boy did we get some great bands there.
An album that I still enjoy playing even though the hair has long since gone!

aquapiranha
05-09-2012, 22:13
This is a truly superb album, and one I have enjoyed since my early teens. Great choice 9/10 from me.

MartinT
05-09-2012, 22:23
My fave Sabbath album is Sabotage but this one was very special.

Yes Sabotage is a good one, as is Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - the title track is just manic!

Alex_UK
05-09-2012, 22:30
hmmm... well, I have Paranoid and Heaven and Hell - both vinyl and digital, but that's all - so looking forward to this one. :)

The Grand Wazoo
06-09-2012, 00:05
As with others, this album has been a big part of my life since my early teens, too.
When it was released, there had simply been nothing like it before and it came to be hugely influential.

As Rich said, Geezer & Bill made a fantastic rhythm section and Bill, obviously strongly influenced by jazz drummers, had the ability to carry the rhythm through, allowing Geezer to peel off & double with the up guitar on the main riffs, giving them that really meaty quality that helped to make the band sound so powerful.

I played the album twice tonight and although I still play it regularly, I haven't enjoyed it quite so much for a long time - probably partly because my system is sounding so good to me at the moment.

I have a very early pressing which sounds absolutely brilliant (swapped with a friend back in my schooldays for a newer, but ropey sounding NEMS reissue) and was able to listen deep into the mix and it's obvious that apart from some extra guitar solos, the main tracks were chiefly recorded live and as a band playing in real time, which despite the low budget, gives it a fantastically immediate sound. Watch some of the YT videos of this band up to about 1975 and see what a great live act they could be.

Having heard the album many hundreds of times, my favourite track would probably be 'Warning'. I love all of the different segments and the bass is fab! In case you didn't know, it's a cover - The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation did it first:

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The other cover on the album is 'Evil Woman', which was the band's first UK single. Here's the original by Crow, horns and all!

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I scored this one 10 / 10. If it had been released with 'Wicked World' on it (the B-side of 'Evil Woman'), then it would have got a perfect 11 from me!

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It got onto the US release instead of 'Evil Woman' because of copyright stuff.

Bazil
07-09-2012, 18:25
Looking forward to hearing this, I was a Deep Purple fan and never owned or heard any Sabbath other than Paranoid of course.

Wakefield Turntables
08-09-2012, 07:14
10 from me, gave it a spin last night, great stuff. :)

Macca
08-09-2012, 08:51
A 10 from me also. A fantastic record and a unique and original sound that has not dated one day in 40 plus years.

Alex_UK
08-09-2012, 09:32
Yep, really good, and another on of those ":scratch: why haven't I got this?" MartinT induced moments! :lol:

Martin (Macca) is correct that this hasn't dated one bit. Not sure I can give it 10 because I don't think I've even scored my own choices that high, but a well deserved 9 and I will be getting a copy. :)

MartinT
08-09-2012, 10:50
<goggle> I never expected such voting scores!

Glad to have been of service :)

Tim
08-09-2012, 11:38
Well this is easy, an essential for any collection and it was a bit of a life changer for me when it came out. My brother bought it and it changed the face of my listening at that time - I had been listening to Tyrannosaurus Rex, Lindisfarne and Bowie a lot until this arrived, then metal and prog kind of defined my listening after I got into early Sabbath, ELP and Floyd - my parents hated it, so I loved it all the more.

Brilliant choice again Martin and its great to see people arriving new to it, which is a little surprising as I always assume folk will have it, but its as good now as it was 40 years ago, so great to see some new fans :)

Vol 4. remains my all time favourite Sabbath album (by some margin) and I played it to death when it came out, I just couldn't get enough of it, an absolute classic IMO as are all of the first 4 Sabbath albums.

I stopped buying Sabbath after Sabotage.

10/10

bobbasrah
08-09-2012, 18:42
One of those albums from musically formative years I had quite forgotten about, so thanks.
Got the 2004 remaster and listened to it again, and was amazed at both remembering it and how well it was recorded (and circumstances) 40+ odd years ago.

Wonderful stuff, wearing better than the lead vocalist has....

Bazil
11-09-2012, 08:05
Great music, but I just have one reservation, I don't like Ozzie's voice. Never really thought about it before, but as I was reviewing the album it just hit me, so thats why I don't have anything by BS. 8/10, now if Ian Gillian had been singing 10/10. :D

The Grand Wazoo
11-09-2012, 08:07
Ian Gillan with Black Sabbath? No, they tried that for a bit. It wasn't exactly a resounding success.

Bazil
11-09-2012, 08:12
Ian Gillan with Black Sabbath? No, they tried that for a bit. It wasn't exactly a resounding success.

Your right it wasn't but then the energy of youth had gone, now if he had been their original vocalist who knows.
But of course the great Purple lineup wouldn't have happened and Made in Japan wouldn't be the same without Gillian.
So who could have been there instead of Ozzie?

MartinT
11-09-2012, 08:30
I didn't much like Ronnie James Dio singing for Black Sabbath after Ozzie. It made them sound too different, not the demonic wailing that Ozzie did so well.

John
11-09-2012, 12:37
Agree Dio did not work for me in Sabbath but in Rainbow that was a perfect match

keiths
11-09-2012, 12:56
I'm really not a fan of Heavy Metal etc, so this will be a low score, surely?

No! I love it! 8/10 from me.

MartinT
11-09-2012, 13:31
Fantastic, Keith. It's really heart warming to see that people new to the album can still take to it.

WAD62
16-09-2012, 09:47
Recently got the remastered first 4 albums, saw them in the 70s with Ozzy...so an easy 8/10 for me :)

DSJR
16-09-2012, 10:47
9/10 from me, because it really was ground-breaking back then. I liked the trebly clarity of the vinyl production too - the better producers of decent rock were trying hard to get a great sound from more limited recording technology back then IMO.

Like John (Sparrow), I love Sabotage too, but this one shows the roots of so many albums and bands which followed.

P.S. Wifey insists that the Dio-era Sabbath is better and in terms of singing range, I agree. BUT, to me, Sabbath is Ozzie and all that goes with it, Tony and Geezer, AND WITH BILL WARD ON DRUMS FFS! Surely for the new record coming out, Bill should have had a quarter share as a quarter of the classic line-up?

John
16-09-2012, 10:55
Dio brillant in Rainbow but just did not fit with Sabbath imho

WAD62
16-09-2012, 12:56
Dio brillant in Rainbow but just did not fit with Sabbath imho

...his vocal 'pyrotechnics' were more suited to Elf & Rainbow, Sabbath needs more, err...menace I think :eyebrows:

twickers
17-09-2012, 17:59
...his vocal 'pyrotechnics' were more suited to Elf & Rainbow, Sabbath needs more, err...menace I think :eyebrows:

Neon Knights always gets the head bangin' tho will:hairmetal:

Audioman
18-09-2012, 15:49
For some reason never investigated Sabbath closely. Not a fan of Ozzies vocal style. However this is a realy good listen especialy the long instrumental parts. Don't know why I ignored this back in the day but wasn't into realy heavy stuff then. 7/10 from me.

Rare Bird
28-09-2012, 18:10
Great album.As are their first six albums. voted accordingly

Canetoad
02-10-2012, 06:33
I did find this very enjoyable! Recording quality is very good. 8/10 for me. :)

Will be looking at getting a few more Black Sabbath albums.

Barry
26-10-2012, 01:19
Actually I do detest heavy metal, but in a strange way I enjoyed listening to this again after, possibly 40 years. Ah, nostalgia - 7/10.

Bazil
06-11-2012, 19:08
Actually I do detest heavy metal, but in a strange way I enjoyed listening to this again after, possibly 40 years. Ah, nostalgia - 7/10.

I don't think that term had been invented in 1970, which leads me to what genre was this? Heavy Rock ?

MartinT
06-11-2012, 21:55
Yes, we knew it as heavy or satanic rock in the early days.

Pete The Cat
31-12-2012, 20:14
To me the Ozzy and Dio Sabbaths are quite different groups and the way I look at it now is that the fans ended up with two great deals.

I grew up via the “Purple People” (© Pete Frame) route so I favour the latter, with Sabotage my favourite of the former era. However the raw yet tight delivery of the first album’s heavy blues-rock-jazz brew still feels fresh, and puts all the stoner metal efforts that it has influenced to shame (eg Sleep – yes please, do me a favour).

Master Of Reality does the same job even better IMHO. Nonetheless a solid "7" as Len might say.

Pete