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.