BLACK SABBATH — Black Sabbath (review)

BLACK SABBATH — Black Sabbath album cover Album · 1970 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Pekka
While contemplating reviewing this album I found myself battling with its massive historical importance and the actual music. If I placed more importance on the former, the rating would unquestionably be full five stars, but as for this listener the album includes material very much varying in quality I must be slightly less generous.

I saw the original Sabbath live in 2005 and the unforgettable highlight of that concert was the thunderous masterpiece that is their title song. It was 2005 so a lot had happened in rock music, I can't even begin to think how people felt about the track when they heard it in some Birmingham club in 1969, even if with far lesser lighting and sound (effects) equipment. If all of the album was on the same level than this dark masterpiece, we'd be talking about one of my favourite albums ever, but as this album pretty accurately represents their live set at the time and the early 70s was an era plagued by the stand-alone guitar solo, this album also includes some of the most skip-worthy Sabbath material ever recorded.

The aforementioned title track and hard riffing N.I.B. are the most classic tracks from the album - I don't think they've played many shows without both of them in the setlist - but they're by no means the only good stuff of the album. The Wizard, Behind the Wall of Sleep and Wicked World (included on the US pressing and the remastered CD) are all very fine tunes showcasing the bluesier influence they had, The Wizard even featuring Ozzy on harmonica. Not many moments like that on their later albums. But. Not really a song per se, Sleeping Village is more like a medley of different parts not really fitting together that well. They're quite nice pieces of work, especially the ominous beginning which could almost be from a Sergio Leone movie, but it's cracking at the seams very badly. And a much bigger minus comes from The Warning, a quite nice tune basically but then there's the soloing section that goes on and on and on and on and on. Some riffing here and there with the entire band, but basically just a long as hell directionless jam and Tony Iommi showcase solo fest, which makes The Warning my least favourite Sabbath track ever. Though I haven't had the chance to get my hands on their last two albums yet.

Definitely essential listening for being one of the most influential albums in the history of rock music, but including some of their very best material as well as some of their very worst, purely musically it's only barely excellent.
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