So Black Sabbath reigns, unarguably, as the originator of the Heavy Metal sound, and they are my favorite band. But that doesn't mean I liked every Sabbath song. And it doesn't mean they could do anything with my stamp of approval. (Besides the point that they don't need it, they can't.)
So I will talk briefly about each and every song they wrote and recorded, one album at a time, in chronological order, excluding the live and greatest hits albums. So here we go:
BLACK SABBATH - Let's start with their debut album cover. I've heard it said in rock magazines and other related articles that this album cover is one of the best, if not THE best, album cover of all time. I agree. The lone figure of a woman in the woods with a mysterious house in the background is genius. And I must say it fits the name of the band perfectly. It's never been bettered.
Black Sabbath
Aside from the name of the first album being the name of the band, (a lot of bands did that,) Black Sabbath went one step further. They named the first song on their first album Black Sabbath, as well. And it's a great song. It starts with a rainfall, some thunder and a church bell. Then the first-ever heavy metal power chords explode and history is made. (As in heavy metal has arrived!) Then a softening of the chords allow Ozzy to sing the perfect lyrics to this perfect debut song. Then it has a great ending which features guitarist Tony Iommi showing the world he has arrived as one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. (And the greatest heavy metal guitarist of all time.) The song rates 10 out of 10.
The Wizard
Song 2 on this album is another winner. It begins with Ozzy playing the harmonica. And then joined by the heavy metal power chords which together sounds magnificent. You might not have thought it would, but it does. The lyrics, again are perfect for this song, and it's another 10 out of 10.
Behind the Wall of Sleep
I love this song. And I loved it the first moment I heard it. It's simply another 10 out of 10 song. Side note: this debut album wasn't the first Black Sabbath album I had heard. I was a late-comer to the Black Sabbath experience. But once I had heard them, I was so into the music I went back and bought all the back albums. And this album exceeded all of my expectations.
NIB
Another 10 out of 10. This song probably got the most radio time, and it's understandable. It's another great song. It allows Iommi to really show his guitar greatness. And he does. Side note: I know I left out Basically. It's a short intro to NIB, featuring a bass guitar solo by Geezer Butler. But I don't really think it's a complete song unto itself. It is, like I said, a short intro to NIB.
Evil Woman
This song was not on the original release of this album. It's on later releases of the CD version of this album. I read somewhere it was on the original UK release. I hadn't heard it until I had switched my collection from vinyl records to CDs. And when you hear it, you can understand why it wasn't on the original release, (at least in America.) It's not a song that sounds like a Black Sabbath song. Yeah, that's Ozzy singing, and yeah that is Iommi on the guitar. But it sounds like a song written by a top 40 band that Sabbath just happens to be playing. I might have agreed at the time not to include it for that very reason. But listening to the song now? It's like: Why not? It's still Ozzy, Iommi, Butler and Ward. But I'm not giving it a ten out of ten just because it's Ozzy, Iommi, Geezer, and Ward. I said this was going to be an honest review. So, as for this song? I think a 6 out of 10 is about right.
A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning
This is two, perhaps three, songs mixed into one long song, kind of like a jam, and I love it. Tony Iommi really shines here, and the band is on a roll. This absolutely rates a 10 out of 10. And that rating goes for the two (or three) songs that make up this "jam." I love listening to this. It starts out with Sleeping Village, a softer sound, considering the heavy metal sound they had established on side 1. Then it goes into a great jam with Iommi not holding back. And it evolves into Warning. which again features Iommi greatness. I presume A Bit of Finger references the guitar solos that are featured throughout this jam rather than an individual song unto itself. In fact, the CD version of this album doesn't even list it. On the CD, Sleeping Village and Warning are listed separately.
Wicked World
This was the song that was originally the lead off song for side 2 of this album. (With Warning being the concluding song.) Other releases of this album have Evil Woman inserted as the lead song of side 2. But since these are CDs now, there really isn't a lead song for a side 2 since there is no longer sides 1 and 2. So on the CDs, Wicked World is now the concluding song of the album. Sabbath typically concludes their albums with a great song. And this qualifies. Warning qualified, too, but whatever. It's a great song and I rate it a 10 out of 10.
So there you go. I would say this is one of the greatest debut albums of all time. Which is saying a lot. Until they put Evil Woman in there, every song was a great song. So maybe it's too bad they put it in there. Doesn't matter. It was a great debut album by a new band that invented a new sound. A subgenre of rock: Heavy Metal had arrived.
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