vinyl LP front cover
model: Louisa Livingstone
album cover photo by Keith McMillan
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Today, June 1, is the 50th anniversary of the first album released by Black Sabbath in 1970. WOW! It seems so hard to believe it was THAT long ago.
Black Sabbath was an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), and Master of Reality (1971).
vinyl LP back cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Black Sabbath is considered the first heavy metal album. Additionally, the opening track of the album, Black Sabbath, has been referred to as the first doom metal song. Both music and lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom; the album cover does a very good job of that as well.
vinyl LP front cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The Music
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
(links to all music mentioned at end of article)
The first song, Black Sabbath,
opens with a crash of thunder followed by the slow peel of a church
bell, the lugubrious dirge intro that quiets down with a tortured vocal
by Ozzy Osbourne.
At four & a half minutes it breaks into a fast gallop which was
a surprise on first hearing. Once the intro is finished Black Sabbath rams forward with no holds barred speed with blazing guitar work by Tony Iommi which breaks to a sudden end. It is considered to be the first heavy metal song.
Wasp / Behind The Wall Of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B are a sort of medley. A driving beat that moves the feet but not for dancin'! Behind the wall has an Iron Butterfly, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida feeling to it but, they were all influencing each other at that time. It does have some GREAT guitar riffs.
Wasp / Behind The Wall Of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B are a sort of medley. A driving beat that moves the feet but not for dancin'! Behind the wall has an Iron Butterfly, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida feeling to it but, they were all influencing each other at that time. It does have some GREAT guitar riffs.
Black Sabbath ~ Black Sabbath
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The Wizard
opens with a really cool harmonica played by Osbourne that sounds like
the whistle of a train. The story goes it is a paean to the band's drug
dealer. But Iommi cleared things up in his book Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath,
where he explained that Osbourne and Butler were wandering
around stoned and saw some guy leaping around being silly outside of a
club. He looked like some kind of elf to them. Thus, The
Wizard was born.
Wicked World starts off with hi-hats
then goes into a fast number with lots of drum work by Ward for about
45 seconds then goes into a slower syncopated, deliberate beat. Gets
slow & almost trippy before going back to the faster beat with a
guitar note end that seems to go on forever.
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The last cut, which comes in at 14 and a
half minutes, is, once again, a sort of medley, A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning. The intro, is a beaut! Finger
(appropriately named) features a quiet Jew's harp in a trio with guitar and a
beautiful vocal by Osborn. It is slow and trippy; even though
it is just 54 seconds in duration, it totally sold me on Heavy Metal.
Now THAT'S what I call a song!
"Sleeping Village/A Bit Of Finger"
Red sun rising in the sky
Sleeping village, cockerels cry
Soft breeze blowing in the trees
Peace of mind, feel at ease
Sleeping village, cockerels cry
Soft breeze blowing in the trees
Peace of mind, feel at ease
Sleeping Village is moderately slow and deliberate up to just short of four minutes when it goes right into Warning.
What a piece of work this cut is! Some incredible gutar work by Iommi who wails away during the instrumental breaks and good vocals by Osborne. At seven minutes it goes into a sensational
intrumental brake! Great back and forth with guitar drums. At eight
minutes, it rocks on again until another break that is a sonic dream!
Picks up again at ten minutes to the a jivey, bouncy beat that is really
nice. But that's not the end of it. ANOTHER break with MORE sonic
wonders from Iommi; then on to the origianl beat, which even after FIFTY
YEARS, I still can't remember how it started!
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
The record sleeve that came with the album is pretty cool as well. As with most record sleeves it lists the artists that record for the label. In this case, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. record sleeve front
On March 7, 2017, Black Sabbath announced their disbandment through posts made on their official social media accounts.
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Black Sabbath - 6:20
A2 - The Wizard - 4:22
A3 - Wasp / Behind The Wall Of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B. - 9:44
Side 2:
B1 - Wicked World - 4:30
B2 - A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning - 14:32
Companies, etc.
Produced For – Tony Hall Enterprises
Credits:
Featuring [Female Model] – Louisa Livingstone
Producer – Rodger Bain
Written-By – William Ward*, Terence Butler*, John Osbourne*, Tony Iommi
Notes:
Label variation, green Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Records labels with square orange/blue 'W7' logos. Track listing and durations taken from rear cover. Tracks are listed individually on labels, but without durations.
First catalog number on cover, second catalog number on labels.
From sleeve: Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Subsidiary & Licensee of Warner Bros. Inc., 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, Calif. - 488 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Made in U.S.A. (c) 1970 -- Warner Bros. Records Inc.
From label rim text: Made In U.S.A. · Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records, Inc., A Subsidiary And Licensee of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Label side 1): S39728
Matrix / Runout (Label side 2): S39729
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Label: Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records – 1871, Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records – WS 1871
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1970
Genre: Rock
Style: Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Side 1:
A1 - Black Sabbath - 6:20
A2 - The Wizard - 4:22
A3 - Wasp / Behind The Wall Of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B. - 9:44
Side 2:
B1 - Wicked World - 4:30
B2 - A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning - 14:32
Companies, etc.
Produced For – Tony Hall Enterprises
Credits:
Featuring [Female Model] – Louisa Livingstone
Producer – Rodger Bain
Written-By – William Ward*, Terence Butler*, John Osbourne*, Tony Iommi
Notes:
Label variation, green Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Records labels with square orange/blue 'W7' logos. Track listing and durations taken from rear cover. Tracks are listed individually on labels, but without durations.
First catalog number on cover, second catalog number on labels.
From sleeve: Warner Bros. Records Inc., a Subsidiary & Licensee of Warner Bros. Inc., 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, Calif. - 488 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Made in U.S.A. (c) 1970 -- Warner Bros. Records Inc.
From label rim text: Made In U.S.A. · Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records, Inc., A Subsidiary And Licensee of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Inc.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Label side 1): S39728
Matrix / Runout (Label side 2): S39729
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Label: Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records – 1871, Warner Bros. - Seven Arts Records – WS 1871
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1970
Genre: Rock
Style: Hard Rock, Blues Rock
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
YouTube links:
No comments:
Post a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: comments are moderated BEFORE they are posted so DO NOT appear immediately.
Thank you.