Black Sabbath - Sabotage

 

The sixth release of the Black Sabbath catalog was this one. Sabotage. I was looking forward to a new Black Sabbath album, and when I found this album in the record store, I purchased it immediately. Even better, my friend and I were quick to buy tickets to the tour that followed. We couldn't get all the way to the front like we did for the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath tour. But we were close enough. And an interesting side note to that concert was that we stuck around after the performance. The audience had thinned but there were some diehards remaining as the clean up crews were clearing off the stage and one of them threw Bill Ward's drum sticks onto the floor. I fought off two other guys to secure one and came home with a prize. I have it to this day.

SABOTAGE

As for the album design? I like it. I always thought pictures of the band members were good on an album. And aside from that overexposed yellow image of Ozzy on Vol 4, (which didn't even look like Ozzy to me) no album of theirs had featured photos of the band on the cover. So this was the first time a Black Sabbath album had photos of the band members on the front cover. (Paranoid had a photo of the band inside the cover, and Master of Reality had that poster. And Vol 4 had photos of the band inside the cover as well. But none had photos on the cover until this one. The mirror adds a good effect. I read somewhere that they didn't plan on the wardrobe element of this photoshoot. It was a last minute idea when one of them realized they should be wearing something other than everyday street clothes. Thus, the tights we see on Bill Ward, and the gown we see on Ozzy. Whatever. I like this cover design.

Hole in the Sky

The lead song on every album is a great song, and so is this one. Hole in the Sky has a great riff, great singing, and great lyrics. It's a great song and a ten out of ten.

Don't Start (Too Late)

This is another acoustic guitar intro to another fantastic song.  Much like they did on Master of Reality. An acoustic guitar intro to a super heavy metal song. It works perfectly and it's a ten out of ten.

Symptom of the Universe

This song, as I alluded above, is nothing short of fantastic. Just as the acoustic guitar intro ends, the heavy metal riff of this song blasts in and hits you like a ton of bricks. (That description came from Tony Iommi himself, when referring to another song he had recorded on an album in the future.) But clearly, it was this song where that happened first. Even more so than on Master of Reality. Ozzy sings great, the lyrics are great. and the song ends with another acoustic performance by Iommi as Ozzy wraps up the singing. When they played this song live they ended it before the acoustic part. and as another side note, my friend predicted they would play this song first at the concert in San Francisco. He was right. That made him two for two, and needless to say, it's a ten out of ten.

Megolomania

This is one of the longest songs on a Sabbath record to date. Over nine minutes long. Almost ten. I don't think it needed to be that long. But whatever. It begins with a slow riff and speeds up later with a cow bell. It's a good song, and many Sab fans love this song. Do I? No. That doesn't mean I don't like it. I do. But I don't like it as much as other Sab fans seem to. It is a good song, make no mistake, I am not dissing it. But I don't rate it as high as other songs. So I will give it an eight out of ten.

The Thrill of It All

The lead off song to side 2 of the vinyl, and it's another great song. Is it a masterpiece? I had said that my friend and I gave that description to a song very rarely. So I wouldn't go there with this song. But it is a great song. Great singing by Ozzy, great lyrics, and a great song. So a ten out of ten.

Supertzar

This is an unusual song. No singing by Ozzy, but there are vocals by some all male choir. I suppose it fits into the Black Sabbath catalog of songs because the riffs by Iommi combined with the male choir voices give it a Medieval and/or Gothic sound. But to me, it's not something I would have expected. That doesn't mean I don't like it. I do. It's a good song to be played before Sabbath comes onto the stage for a live performance. And that's just what they did many times at the concerts I went to. But this is an honest review, so I will give this song a six out of ten.

Am I Going Insane (Radio)

This song is a song I never liked. I don't like the composition and I don't like the lyrics. Perhaps if the composition was better I would like the lyrics. As it is, it's an atypical Black Sabbath song, which unto itself is not a reason to dislike it. Other atypical songs were just fine by me. Not this one. And what does "radio" in parentheses mean in the title of the song?  My friend guessed it meant that they thought this song might get some radio time. I don't know and I never did know. What I do know is I don't like the song, so it gets the lowest rating of any Black Sabbath song yet. A four out of ten.

The Writ

The laughing dubbed at the end of the prior song turns into crying, or wailing for the start of this song. And then a distant bass riff begins. It's a good riff and then a loud heavy metal chord hits, and Ozzy starts the singing. It's a good song, and another long one. Over eight minutes. It changes from loud to soft and loud to soft with Geezer's bass filling in, then the loud heavy metal chords take over. I don' t think it needed to be over eight minutes long, but it still works. Sabbath likes to have a great song conclude their albums, and I think that they believed this one qualified for this album. To me it does, but it's just not as good as the other songs, like Fairies Wear Boots, Into the Void, and Spiral Architect. It's still a worthy song, but I'll give it an eight out of ten.

So, in conclusion, this is a great album, and Black Sabbath has six straight albums that feature great heavy metal songs. I like the fact that they got heavier in this album than they were in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. When the song Symptom of the Universe hit, there was no doubting that. It was my only critique of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath at the time, that they had lightened their sound. And I was thinking they were giving in to their critics that criticized the heaviness of their music. I loved the heaviness of their music, so any lightening of it was not okay with me. So this album, for me, was Sabbath returning to their roots, meaning their heavy metal roots. They invented the sound, and they were owning it! That is what I wanted to hear, and that is what I wanted them to do.

Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

 

Black Sabbath's fifth album was this one. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, named after the lead song of the album. This album is the one that had been released at the time I had just become aware of the band. As a side note, it was the tour of this album which was my first Black Sabbath concert. I had just bought all of their albums and then found out they were performing in San Francisco. I went with the only friend of mine that also liked Black Sabbath, along with my girlfriend at the time, and my sister, who liked to go to rock concerts. My friend and I forced our way through the crowd to the front row, which at the time did not have that buffer zone in front of the stage. It was one of the best days of my life.

SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH

As for the cover design... Well, it's pretty cool artwork, no doubt about that. However, the scene in which we see some bedridden individual surrounded by what seems to be hallucinatory images of demons, suggesting he is being possessed or tormented by demonic forces lends itself to the false perception that the Sabbath members were some kind of devil worshippers or something. Even then I knew that was not the case. The band members were certainly NOT anything of the sort. I had noted on the song After Forever the lyrics made that clear. But a cover design like this certainly did not help to dismiss that narrative. In fact, Ozzy's father had forged four metal crosses to reinforce the opposite.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

So the lead off song is the same name as the album. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath has a cool heavy metal opening riff, and  is a solid song throughout. But for the first time, the band incorporated an acoustic segment not once but twice during this song. I thought at the time that the acoustic segment did not fit the song. It was a heavy metal song, and a good one, but with an acoustic segment in there? It didn't ruin the song, or make it any less good, but I just wasn't too sure about it. As time passed, I think it works fine. I was thinking at the time that they might have given in to critics who were saying their music was too heavy. But no. I think that they were just being creative. It's a great song and has a great ending riff that gets even heavier. So yes, it's a ten out of ten.

A National Acrobat

This second song is a winner. I had mentioned that the second song on their albums was always a real good one. And this one sure is. It starts with a great riff, and then Ozzy sings. Ozzy dubs another vocal track over his first one for a harmonic effect. Since they had no backup singers, Ozzy's voice is the only one and he has a double vocal track sounding throughout much of this song. The song breaks into a secondary riff at which point, the lead cuts in and then it concludes with a melancholy riff that breaks again into a heavy riff, and concludes with dazzling guitar work. A ten out of ten.

Fluff

Well, what can you say about a song called Fluff? Is it merely fluff? By that I mean is it a song put in there just to take up space? The title certainly suggests that. It's a nice acoustic guitar song. With several guitar overdubs to fill it out and even some piano. There are no vocals or drums. I'm not even sure there's a bass. It could be only Tony and no one else. If that's the case, it's a well done composition by Iommi, and a sure break from the heavy metal sound. Do I like it? Not necessarily. That doesn't mean it's not a good song. You have to be in the mood for a song like this. If you're in the mood for a heavy song, this ain't it. So my OPINION, is a five out of ten.

Sabbra Cadabra

This starts out with a great riff. It's distant at first, and then kicks in full throttle. It has a great beat, and Ozzy's singing sounds great. The lyrics are about having a great woman in your life, and that's okay with me. But I do have a problem with this song, because at 2:03 into the song, the great riffs stop and Ozzy sings the same thing over and over. To me, it was a super start, but the ending adds a synthesizer and some piano by Rick Wakeman. I don't know why they recruited him for this song. It was on track to be a ten out of ten, but to me it ends up being an eight out of ten.

Killing Yourself to Live

This is the lead off song for side two, and a side note is that it's the first-ever song I heard them play live. I had pointed out that this album's tour was my first Sabbath concert. My friend predicted that they would lead off their performance with this song and he was right. What makes it an interesting composition to me is that it has three movements like an abbreviated opera. It's a ten out of ten.

Who Are You?

I read somewhere this is a song written by Ozzy, and it's Ozzy playing a synthesizer, with a few dubbed-over tracks, with Bill on the drums, and I think Geezer is playing the bass. To my knowledge it's the first time Tony doesn't have an input on a song. I don't have a problem with that, but even so, I never really liked this song too much. That doesn't mean it's not a good song. I just don't hold it in such a high regard as I do most of their other songs. So for me, it's a five out of ten.

Looking for Today

This is a good rock song, but to me, it is not as good as their other songs. It's still a good song with good lyrics and a good beat. It's not a bad song by any means, it's just not one of my favorites. And once again, the band breaks into an acoustic segment, twice, like they did in the song Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. I never really liked that they did that. It doesn't ruin the songs. But I don't think it made them better, either. Still, it's an eight out of ten.

Spiral Architect

This is the concluding song of the album. and as such, it was important to the band to end the album with another great song. And they sure succeeded. This starts with an acoustic intro, but turns into yet another great Sabbath song. Yes, again, it has acoustic segments, like the other two songs, but this time with violins. Another important element of this song is the lyrics. Geezer Butler, who is the lyricist of the band, came up with some great lines. It's a great song. I don't think they needed the canned applause at the end, but whatever. It's a ten out of ten.

So in conclusion, another winner by Black Sabbath. I know my ratings make it seem like it's rated lower, if one were to average the ratings of all the songs. And one might conclude that it's not as good an album as their first three or four albums. It's all about opinion really. I have a sentimental attachment to this album, as I said, it's the album the band was touring when I saw them live for the fist time. So, I do like the album, and there is no doubting the quality of this album. It may not be as heavy as their prior albums. But it's still a Black Sabbath album, and heavy enough for Sab fans.

Black Sabbath - Vol 4

The next Black Sabbath album was called Vol 4. But I read somewhere that the name of the album was supposed to be Snowblind, which is the lead-off song on side 2. According to what I read, studio executives nixed that album title, believing it was too much in reference to the drug, cocaine. And since the title and lyrics do reference cocaine, and Ozzy does spew the word cocaine in the song, it was just too obvious the song was about cocaine. Another band had made a song about cocaine which had become a hit on the radio, and it got a lot of air time. So I guess Sabbath figured they could do a song about it too. But naming the album after the drug was going too far. (Or so believed the executives.)

VOL 4

I always give an opinion of the cover design, so my opinion of this cover design is that it's just okay. Since this was the second time a Sabbath album got renamed, I'm not sure if this cover design is the same as it was going to be with the original name. It seems to me to be a basically simple design. An all-black cover, with a yellow image of Ozzy performing at a concert. But nothing else is evident. Not the other band members, not a stage, and no audience. Just an overexposed all-yellow image of Ozzy raising his hands giving the peace sign. (Maybe it's just me, but to me that doesn't even look like Ozzy.) I have no doubt that it is, however, and I suppose it's a good enough design. Too bad they couldn't just call the album Snowblind as they originally intended. But so what.

Wheels of Confusion

When I first heard this song, (as a back album, as I've already explained) I loved it. It begins with a great guitar intro, and then settles into a single cord verse and Ozzy starts singing. It sounds great. The heavy metal sound is still going strong in this album. It breaks into a middle segment of great musical compositions by Iommi and then goes back to the single cord verse, and then ends with another great, and long guitar segment featuring Iommi greatness. This is yet another ten out of ten song, and yet another great lead off song to another great album.

Tomorrow's Dream

This is a very nice follow up to the lead off song. Not as great of a follow up as they had on their first three albums, but hey, that's a high bar right there. As it is, it's good enough, but the high bar the band had set for song number two in the first three albums does come into play here. And for that reason, and only for that reason, I will give this one an eight out of ten. (You'll recall this is an honest review.)

 Changes

I never really liked this song. But that doesn't mean it's not a good song. It's a love song, or really it's a love-sick song. And that doesn't sit well with me. I read somewhere that one of the band members was going through a divorce at this point in time, so the lyrics and the song were inspired by that circumstance. But I really do not like love-sick songs. That's more what you're going to hear from country western music. Not my cup of tea. An interesting thing about this song is there's no guitar on it. It's all piano. I don't even know who's playing the piano as I don't recall anyone being credited for it. But besides the fact that Ozzy sounds love sick, he really does sing the song well. I guess he's supposed to sound love sick on a love sick song. I remember reading that Bill Ward said Ozzy had the perfect voice for a song like this. I think Bill Ward was right. But that doesn't mean I'm going to like it. So the bottom line is this is the first Black Sabbath song I didn't like. Other people probably love this song as another one of Sabbath's great slow songs. I don't. So I'll give it a five out of ten.

FX

I do not consider this a song. It's nothing more than what the title says it is. Just some "effects" which do not translate into a song. I suppose they intended it to be an intro to Supernaut, like they did on some of their earlier albums. But it doesn't work for me, and I won't rate it, as it's not a song.

Supernaut

This is a really good song. I've read it's a favorite song for many Sabbath fans. I think it even got radio time in the UK, but I never heard it once on the radio here in America. But I had already pointed out how Sabbath was far from popular on American radio. But it's a good song. It begins with a great into guitar riff by Iommi. And it has a great beat and Ozzy sounds great. However, the drum solo on this song is not really a drum solo. Bill Ward had already recorded a great drum solo on Rat Salad on the Paranoid album. This one is nothing more than a sustained beat which sounds great unto itself, but then someone starts playing a fish or whatever that thing is called, and for me, that is not Sabbath. But when Iommi kicks back in, the song is saved. So, yeah, it's a ten out of ten.

Snowblind

This is the song I was talking about. It was supposed to be the name of the album. But whatever. When I heard this song, I loved it. And I still do. Not because I like cocaine, I don't. I don't like smoking dope either, but that didn't prevent me from loving the Sweet Leaf song. And I love this song too. It's a great work of heavy metal music from the inventors of the heavy metal sound. A ten out of ten.

Cornucopia

This is another great heavy metal song. It begins with slow plodding heavy metal riff, and then speeds up with singing from Ozzy. I must say that Ozzy does some of his best singing on this album and it's evident on this song. It's a little shorter than some of the other songs, but it holds it's own. And I will rate it a ten out of ten.

Laguna Sunrise

Okay, this song is another break from the heavy metal blasting. It's a soft acoustic guitar instrumental from Iommi. He displays the talent on the guitar that goes far beyond blasting heavy metal cords and mind-blowing hard rock electric guitar solos. Aside from no singing, there are no drums and there's no bass, either, but is it does have some background violins or synthesized violins. Do I like it? Yes. It's a musician's song. And I happen to be a musician, as you may know. It's a ten out of ten. But don't listen to it if you're expecting a typical Black Sabbath heavy metal song. 

St. Vitus Dance

This is a short heavy song, with a fast beat. It's a good song, but not one of my favorites. It seems that the lyrics are about another romantic relationship gone bad. Another song influenced by that divorce, perhaps? I'm not sure, but whatever. It's short and sweet, with some solid riffs. After all this time, I still don't know why they named the song St. Vitus Dance. But whatever. It's not a ten out of ten. I'll give it an eight out of ten, like Tomorrow's Dream.

Under the Sun

I had said before that Sabbath makes it a habit to conclude their albums with a great song. And so they did with this album. Under the Sun begins with a slow plodding heavy metal riff, and then speeds up, and has segmented riffs that blow you away. It has great lyrics, too. I'm sure glad they didn't end this album with a song about another love story gone awry. Nope. This song has some more of that great Iommi guitar compositions, and great Geezer lyrics. Yes, it's a ten out of ten.

So in conclusion, Vol 4 holds up the Sabbath mystique. It is a solid contribution to the Sabbath catalog of albums. But I will admit it does fall, ever so slightly, in its overall rating. And because of that, it is not as good as their first three albums. Does that matter? No, it does not. It's a great album unto itself, and absolutely worthy to stand alongside the first three albums.

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

Okay. This is the album. Meaning, this is the first Black Sabbath album I heard. And it was this album that blew me away. I rate this album as one of, if not THE greatest album of all time. No, that doesn't mean I rate it above their debut album which I already said will have no album ever rated higher. But THIS album....  How about if I say that this album is my personal favorite album of all time, and being that, it's my personal favorite Black Sabbath album. I mean, sheesh, an album can't get any better. It has a shorter running time than normal. One more song would have fixed that. But, hey. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. It's the best.

MASTER OF REALITY

I start by discussing the cover design. But for this album, it's more like what cover design? If there were to be any criticism of this album, it might be the cover design. When I heard my first Black Sabbath song, and rushed to the store to buy the album, I found this album and all it said was Black Sabbath as it's pictured above in purple letters. The album title, Master of Reality was NOT colored in gray as it appears here. It was pressed with raised letters, and was all black like the background. You could make it out, though, and it was pretty cool. I suppose pictures of this album or images like this one must use a color to enable the title of the album to be viewed. On a side note, this album came with a poster of the band included. Fortunately, I was not so removed from the release date of this album and a poster was still in there when I bought it as a back album. I had that poster on my wall for years. But that was years ago, and I have no clue what ever happened to it at this point in time.

Sweet Leaf

This is it. This great song was the first ever Black Sabbath song I had ever heard. The story goes like this: I was 17 years old. A friend of mine and I were parked in his car at some fast food place to get something to eat and he put on a cassette tape that he had made. It was a mix of several different songs by several different bands. So I was listening to the songs, as I liked the rock songs he had put on there; the usual rock songs of the time, as in Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, Deep Purple, Allman Bros, Santana, Jethro Tull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc. But then - when one of those songs had finished, the sound of someone coughing followed, and it increased in volume until it became distorted. Then a heavy metal riff exploded and it was fantastic! It's important to note this was the first time I had ever heard the heavy metal sound, and I was blown away. It was like: Wow, what an incredibly great sound, and what an incredibly great song! Ozzy started singing, and I was sold. I told my friend, that this was fantastic..I asked who were these guys? He told me they were Black Sabbath and that he didn't even like them. I was like, you gotta be kidding! This is the greatest music I had ever heard. If I could give this song a higher rating, I would. So, yes, it's a ten out of ten and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

After Forever

When the Sweet Leaf song was over, I was still recovering from being blown away, when THIS song began. It started with a sound that was like a cross between an organ and a synthesizer, and it sounded GREAT. And  once again, the heavy metal power chords blasted away, and I was blown away all over again. Another ten out of ten. I told my friend that he must be crazy not to like these guys. I asked why did he put these two songs on his mix if he didn't like them? He said just to "mix it up" as it was a mix after all. These two songs were the only Black Sabbath songs he had on the tape, but they were hands down my favorite songs on the tape and Black Sabbath instantly became my favorite band.

Embryo

This is a short guitar intro to Children of the Grave. It really shouldn't be rated as it is not on the same level as the other full length songs. But the consensus is that the great song that follows would not be the same without this intro. Tony Iommi once said  that this song was influenced by some kind of English folk tune he had heard and played. So, okay, it's from his personal past, and he incorporated it as an intro. Kind of like when Geezer did that all-bass intro to NIB. I didn't rate that one. But I will rate this one. As an intro. And as an intro, it gets a ten out of ten. If any Geezer supporters have an issue, then, okay, Geezer's bass intro to NIB is also a ten out of ten. But this is not the only time Tony Iommi plays an all-guitar intro to a song. He does it again on side two of his album, and he does it again on a later album which I will discuss when we get to it.

Children of the Grave

Once the all-guitar intro fades out, the heavy metal sound begins. But it sounds like it being played from a distance. Then it gets louder and louder and faster and faster. Then it arrives and pounds away. A great iconic Black Sabbath song. A sure-fire ten out of ten. I think Sabbath has performed this song at every Black Sabbath concert I've been to. And I'm glad for that.

Orchid

This song has been described as a break from the heavy metal blasting. It's an all acoustic guitar song showing the world that Tony Iommi is not just a heavy metal guitarist. It's a great song unto itself, but it can also be described as another intro song. Even more interesting is that it's the lead off song for Side Two of the vinyl album. But, again, since these are CDs, there's no side 1 or side 2. It's now a soft break from the hard rock Heavy Metal. So as a break type of song, it's a ten out of ten.

Lord of This World

Once the acoustic sound of Orchid fades out, the blasting chords of Lord of This World begin, easy at first, and then they explode! And for a long time this song was my favorite Black Sabbath song. That's how great this song is. But now I don't know which one is my favorite, I love so many. Oh yeah, it's a ten out of ten. No doubt about that.

Solitude

This is a complete song unto itself, and it is indeed a soft song, a melancholy type of song, with Tony Iommi playing an acoustic guitar and a flute as well. I don't think there's even a drum track on this song. But it doesn't need one. It's a great song, like Planet Caravan was on the Paranoid alum and I might even say it's my favorite of the "soft" songs on the Sabbath albums. So, yeah, it's a ten out of ten.

Into the Void

Another fantastic song. When Solitude fades out, in comes the blasting sound of Into the Void. It has a great intro riff, and evolves into the main riff, and then the drums sound and then Ozzy starts singing. It's a great example of how these four guys came together in a perfect way to make musical history, and wraps up an incredibly great, and all time great heavy metal album. Ten out of ten.

So yes. That was a wrap. The song line up is tops. Too bad the debut album got "sullied" with that "top forty" type song, which wasn't even included at first. But whatever. This album, Master of Reality really does rank as one of the all time great albums in history. What an achievement. Black Sabbath explodes into the world with three all time great albums. That hasn't happened too often.