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==Recording== | ==Recording== | ||
According to |
According to guitarist ], the album was recorded in a single day on 16 October 1969,<ref name="bio" /> while other sources say that 17 November 1969 was the date of recording.<ref name="Wells" >{{cite AV media notes |title=Black Sabbath |titlelink= |others=] |year=2009 |chapter= Black Sabbath (1970) |first=David |last=Wells |type=CD Booklet |publisher=] |location=London, UK |ref= }}</ref> Iommi said: "We just went in the studio and did it in a day, we played our live set and that was it. We actually thought a whole day was quite a long time, then off we went the next day to play for £20 in Switzerland."<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=2&storycode=1037239 | title = Black celebration: the holy grail of Black Sabbath | accessdate = 7 September 2013 | last = Black | first = Johnny | date = 14 March 2009 | publisher = '']'' | archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20120305025601/http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=2&storycode=1037239 | archivedate = 5 March 2012}}</ref> Aside from the bells, thunder, and rain sound effects added to the beginning of the opening track, there were virtually no overdubs added to the album.<ref name="bio" /> Iommi recalls recording live: "We thought 'We have two days to do it and one of the days is mixing.' So we played live. ] was singing at the same time, we just put him in a separate booth and off we went. We never had a second run of most of the stuff."<ref>{{Harvnb|Rosen|1996|p=38}}</ref> | ||
Iommi began recording the album with a white ], his guitar of choice at the time. A malfunctioning ] forced him to finish recording with a ], a new guitar he had recently purchased as a backup but had not played much yet. The SG was a right-handed model which he played upside down.<ref name="bio" /> Soon after recording the album, he met another guitarist who was playing a left-handed SG upside down, and the two agreed to swap guitars.<ref name="bio" /> Decades later, Iommi donated that original left-handed SG guitar to the ].<ref name="bio" /> | Iommi began recording the album with a white ], his guitar of choice at the time. A malfunctioning ] forced him to finish recording with a ], a new guitar he had recently purchased as a backup but had not played much yet. The SG was a right-handed model which he played upside down.<ref name="bio" /> Soon after recording the album, he met another guitarist who was playing a left-handed SG upside down, and the two agreed to swap guitars.<ref name="bio" /> Decades later, Iommi donated that original left-handed SG guitar to the ].<ref name="bio" /> | ||
==Music and lyrics== | ==Music and lyrics== | ||
According to ]'s Steve Huey, ''Black Sabbath'' marks the beginning of ] as it is known to most listeners and that it "transcends its clear roots in blues-rock and ] to become something more". The songs on the album's first half feature simple blues ] by Iommi and deal with themes characteristic of heavy metal, including evil, ], and ]. Most of the second half has blues-rock ].<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-sabbath-mw0000652046|title=Black Sabbath review|publisher=]|accessdate=7 September 2013}}</ref> |
According to ]'s Steve Huey, ''Black Sabbath'' marks the beginning of ] as it is known to most listeners and that it "transcends its clear roots in blues-rock and ] to become something more". The songs on the album's first half feature simple blues ] by Iommi and deal with themes characteristic of heavy metal, including evil, ], and ]. Most of the second half has blues-rock ].<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Huey|first=Steve|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/black-sabbath-mw0000652046|title=Black Sabbath review|publisher=]|accessdate=7 September 2013}}</ref> Former '']'' magazine editor Jeff Wagner credited the album for making a distinction between ] and heavy metal. He said that the album transfigured ] into "something uglier, found deeper gravity via mournful singing and a sinister rhythmic pulse".<ref>{{cite book|last=Wagner|first=Jeff|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8ZwZcZ2X5ToC&pg=PA10|accessdate=25 June 2013|title=Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal|publisher=]|page=10|year=2010|isbn=0979616336}}</ref> ]'s Mike Stagno observed that Black Sabbath combined elements of ], ] and ], with heavy ] to create one of the most influential albums in metal history.<ref name="sputnikmusic">{{cite web|last=Stagno|first=Mike|url=http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8742/Black-Sabbath-Black-Sabbath/|title=Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath|accessdate=7 September 2013|date=15 August 2006|publisher=]}}</ref> | ||
{{listen|filename=Black Sabbath Black Sabbath (song).ogg|title="Black Sabbath"|description=This song features an early example of the use of the ''diabolus in musica'' harmonic progression in heavy metal and remains a staple in Black Sabbath's live shows.}} | {{listen|filename=Black Sabbath Black Sabbath (song).ogg|title="Black Sabbath"|description=This song features an early example of the use of the ''diabolus in musica'' harmonic progression in heavy metal and remains a staple in Black Sabbath's live shows.}} |
Revision as of 19:10, 25 June 2014
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Black Sabbath is the eponymous debut album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released on 13 February 1970 in the United Kingdom, and later on 1 June 1970 in the United States, the album reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart and has been credited with significantly influencing the development of heavy metal music.
Recording
According to guitarist Tony Iommi, the album was recorded in a single day on 16 October 1969, while other sources say that 17 November 1969 was the date of recording. Iommi said: "We just went in the studio and did it in a day, we played our live set and that was it. We actually thought a whole day was quite a long time, then off we went the next day to play for £20 in Switzerland." Aside from the bells, thunder, and rain sound effects added to the beginning of the opening track, there were virtually no overdubs added to the album. Iommi recalls recording live: "We thought 'We have two days to do it and one of the days is mixing.' So we played live. Ozzy was singing at the same time, we just put him in a separate booth and off we went. We never had a second run of most of the stuff."
Iommi began recording the album with a white Fender Stratocaster, his guitar of choice at the time. A malfunctioning pickup forced him to finish recording with a Gibson SG, a new guitar he had recently purchased as a backup but had not played much yet. The SG was a right-handed model which he played upside down. Soon after recording the album, he met another guitarist who was playing a left-handed SG upside down, and the two agreed to swap guitars. Decades later, Iommi donated that original left-handed SG guitar to the Hard Rock Cafe.
Music and lyrics
According to Allmusic's Steve Huey, Black Sabbath marks the beginning of heavy metal music as it is known to most listeners and that it "transcends its clear roots in blues-rock and psychedelia to become something more". The songs on the album's first half feature simple blues licks by Iommi and deal with themes characteristic of heavy metal, including evil, paganism, and the occult. Most of the second half has blues-rock jamming. Former Metal Maniacs magazine editor Jeff Wagner credited the album for making a distinction between rock and roll and heavy metal. He said that the album transfigured blues rock into "something uglier, found deeper gravity via mournful singing and a sinister rhythmic pulse". Sputnikmusic's Mike Stagno observed that Black Sabbath combined elements of rock, jazz and blues, with heavy distortion to create one of the most influential albums in metal history.
"Black Sabbath" This song features an early example of the use of the diabolus in musica harmonic progression in heavy metal and remains a staple in Black Sabbath's live shows.Problems playing this file? See media help.
Musically and lyrically the album was considered quite "dark" for the time. The first song on the album is based almost entirely on a tritone interval played at slow tempo on the electric guitar. The song's lyrics concern a "figure in black" which bassist Geezer Butler claims to have seen after waking up from a nightmare.
Similarly, the lyrics of the song "N.I.B." are written from the point of view of Lucifer, who falls in love with a human woman and "becomes a better person" according to lyricist Butler. Contrary to popular belief, the name of that song is not an abbreviation for "Nativity in Black". Osbourne said in his autobiography that it is merely a reference to drummer Bill Ward's pointed goatee at the time, which was shaped as a pen-nib. The lyrics of two other songs on the album were written about stories with themes from myth. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a reference to the H. P. Lovecraft short story Beyond the Wall of Sleep, while "The Wizard" was inspired by the character of Gandalf from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The latter includes harmonica performed by vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.
Artwork
The album cover features a depiction of Mapledurham Watermill, situated on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. Standing in front of the watermill is a figure dressed in black. The name of the woman pictured on the front cover is forgotten, though guitarist Iommi says that she once showed up backstage at a Black Sabbath show and introduced herself.
On the original release, the inner gatefold sleeve featured an inverted cross with a poem written inside of it. Allegedly, the band were upset when they discovered this, as it fuelled allegations that they were Satanists or Occultists; however, in Osbourne's recent biography I Am Ozzy he says that to the best of his knowledge nobody was upset with the inclusion. The album was not packaged with a gatefold cover in the US.
Release
The album was recorded for Fontana Records, but prior to release the record company elected to switch the band to another of their labels, Vertigo Records, which housed the company's more progressive acts. Released on Friday the 13th February 1970 by Vertigo Records, Black Sabbath reached number eight on the UK Album Chart. Following its US release in June 1970 by Warner Bros. Records, the album reached number 23 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for over a year, selling a million copies.
Reception and legacy
Black Sabbath received negative reviews from contemporary music critics. In a review for Rolling Stone magazine, Lester Bangs said that the band was "just like Cream! But worse." He dismissed the album as "a shuck—despite the murky songtitles and some inane lyrics that sound like Vanilla Fudge paying doggerel tribute to Aleister Crowley, the album has nothing to do with spiritualism, the occult, or anything much except stiff recitations of Cream clichés". Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, panned the album as "bullshit necromancy" and gave it an "E" grade. He later gave it a "C–" and said that the album reflected "the worst of the counterculture", including "drug-impaired reaction time" and "long solos".
In his four-and-a-half star retrospective review, Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote that Black Sabbath featured several classic metal songs and was impressed by how the band's "slowed-down, murky guitar rock bludgeons the listener in an almost hallucinatory fashion, reveling in its own dazed, druggy state of consciousness". In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), journalist Scott Seward gave it five stars and highlighted Bain's grandiose production on "an album that eats hippies for breakfast". Mike Stagno of Sputnikmusic gave the album a score of four out of five and felt that "both fans of blues influenced hard rock and heavy metal of all sorts should find something they like on the album". BBC Music's Pete Marsh referred to Black Sabbath as an "album that changed the face of rock music".
In 1989, Kerrang! ranked Black Sabbath thirty-first in its list of the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". In 1994, it was ranked number 12 in Colin Larkin's Top 50 Heavy Metal Albums. He praised the album's "crushing atmosphere of doom", which he described as "intense and relentless". In 2000, Q magazine included Black Sabbath in their list of the "Best Metal Albums of All Time" and stated, " was to prove so influential it remains a template for metal bands three decades on". In 2003, the album was ranked number 241 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time; it was ranked number 243 in a revised edition of the list in 2012. In retrospect, Black Sabbath has been lauded as perhaps the first true heavy metal album. It has also been credited as the first record in the stoner rock and goth genres.
Track listing
All songs credited to Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne, except where noted.
European edition
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Black Sabbath" | 6:20 |
2. | "The Wizard" | 4:24 |
3. | "Behind the Wall of Sleep" | 3:37 |
4. | "N.I.B." | 6:08 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "Evil Woman" (Crow cover) | Larry Weigand, Dick Weigand, David Wagner | 3:25 |
6. | "Sleeping Village" | 3:46 | |
7. | "Warning" (The Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation cover) | Aynsley Dunbar, Alex Dmochowski, Victor Hickling, John Moorshead | 10:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
8. | "Wicked World" | 4:47 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Wicked World" (single b-side, TF1067) | 4:44 |
2. | "Black Sabbath" (studio out-take) | 6:22 |
3. | "Black Sabbath" (instrumental) | 6:13 |
4. | "The Wizard" (studio out-take) | 4:46 |
5. | "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (studio out-take) | 3:41 |
6. | "N.I.B." (instrumental) | 6:08 |
7. | "Evil Woman" (alternative version) | 3:47 |
8. | "Sleeping Village" (intro) | 3:45 |
9. | "Warning" (part 1) | 6:58 |
North American edition
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Black Sabbath" | 6:20 |
2. | "The Wizard" | 4:22 |
3. | "Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B." | 9:44 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
4. | "Wicked World" | 4:47 |
5. | "A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning" | 14:15 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "Evil Woman" | 3:25 |
Original North American Warner Bros. Records pressings of Black Sabbath quote incorrect running times for "Wicked World" and the "Warning" medley (4:30 and 14:32, respectively). These pressings also credit the album's original songs using the band members' given names: Anthony Iommi, John Osbourne, Terence Butler, and William Ward.
The Castle Communications edition of 1986 also featured a live version of "Tomorrow's Dream" as bonus track.
Personnel
Black Sabbath
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica on "The Wizard"
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass
- Bill Ward – drums
Production
- Rodger Bain – production, Jew's harp on "Sleeping Village"
- Tom Allom – engineering
- Barry Sheffield – engineering
- Marcus Keef – graphic design, photography
Release history
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | 13 February 1970 | Vertigo | LP | VO 6 |
1992 | Castle | CD | CA196 | |
United States | 1 June 1970 | Warner Bros. | LP | 1871 |
1 July 1988 | CD | 2-1871 | ||
Europe remastered | 2 July 2009 | Sanctuary | double CD | 2700819 |
See also
Template:Misplaced Pages books
- Black Sabbath (album) at Black Sabbath Online
Notes
- ^ Iommi & Lammers, 2012 & chapter 16 - Black Sabbath records Black Sabbath harvnb error: no target: CITEREFIommi_&_Lammers2012chapter_16_-_Black_Sabbath_records_Black_Sabbath (help)
- ^ "Black Sabbath Biography". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ Wells, David (2009). "Black Sabbath (1970)". Black Sabbath (CD Booklet). Black Sabbath. London, UK: Sanctuary Records Group.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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(help) - Black, Johnny (14 March 2009). "Black celebration: the holy grail of Black Sabbath". Music Week. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - Rosen 1996, p. 38
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Black Sabbath review". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- Wagner, Jeff (2010). Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal. Bazillion Points Books. p. 10. ISBN 0979616336. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- ^ Stagno, Mike (15 August 2006). "Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- Iommi & Lammers, 2012 & chapter 14 - The early birds catch the first songs harvnb error: no target: CITEREFIommi_&_Lammers2012chapter_14_-_The_early_birds_catch_the_first_songs (help)
- Black Sabbath Story Vol. 1. Warner Music. 3 November 1992.
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(help) - Osbourne 2010, p. 99
- Neeley, Wendell (26 April 2005). "20 Questions with Geezer Butler". Metal Sludge. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- Cope, Andrew L. (2010). Black Sabbath and the rise of heavy metal music. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-7546-6881-7. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
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(help) - Black Sabbath at Black Sabbath Online
- Osbourne 2010, p. 103
- Iommi & Lammers, 2012 & chapter 17 - Now under new management harvnb error: no target: CITEREFIommi_&_Lammers2012chapter_17_-_Now_under_new_management (help)
- "The Official Charts Company - Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath Search". The Official Charts Company. 17 September 2013.
- "Black Sabbath Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- Ruhlmann, William. "AMG Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
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(help) - "Black Sabbath Biography". RollingStone.com. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
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(help) - McIver, Joel. Black Sabbath: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Music Sales Group. p. 119. ISBN 085712028X. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
- Bangs, Lester (17 September 1970). "Album reviews Black Sabbath". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
- Christgau, Robert (19 November 1970). "Consumer Guide (14)". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- Christgau, Robert. Consumer Guide Album. Robert Christgau. Archived from Christgau's 1990 book Rock Albums of the '70s: A Critical Guide. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
- Marsh, Pete. "Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Hotten, Jon (21 January 1989). "Black Sabbath 'Black Sabbath'". Kerrang!. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - Larkin, Colin (1994). Guinness Book of Top 1000 Albums (1 ed.). Gullane Children's Books. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-85112-786-6.
- "Best Metal Albums of All Time". Q. London: 126. August 2000.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. New York. 18 November 2003. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
{{cite journal}}
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(help) - Rolling Stone (6 April 2009). "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: #243". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - Kolsterman, Chuck; Mlner, Greg; Pappademas, Alex (April 2003). "15 Most Influential Albums". Spin. 19: 84. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- Baddeley 2002, pp. 263–4
- As per the album labels from the original North American LP release of Black Sabbath, Warner Bros. Records, catalog no. WS 1871, released June 1970.
References
- Baddeley, Gavin (2002). Gothic Chic: A Connoisseur's Guide to Dark Culture. London: Plexus Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-85965-308-0.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Christe, Ian (2004). Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-380-81127-4.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - Iommi, Tony; Lammers, T. J. (11 December 2012). Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306821455.
- Osbourne, Ozzy (January 2010). I Am Ozzy. New York: Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-446-57313-9.
- Rosen, Steven (1996). The Story of Black Sabbath: Wheels of Confusion. Castle Communications. ISBN 1-86074-149-5.
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(help)
External links
- Black Sabbath (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
- Black Sabbath at Discogs (list of releases)
- Pages with empty short description
- 1970 debut albums
- Albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Albums produced by Rodger Bain
- Black Sabbath albums
- Castle Communications albums
- Heavy metal albums
- Sanctuary Records albums
- Universal Deluxe Editions
- Vertigo Records albums
- Warner Bros. Records albums