Friday Night Record Party : Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath

1970

Vertigo Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc and Vinyl

Track Listing: 1. Black Sabbath 2. The Wizard 3. Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B 4. Wicked World 5. A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning

I love putting this on...When the needle touches down you're greeted with the sound of a thunderstorm and ominously clanging church bells, and then comes Tony Iommi's legendarily oppressive tritone guitar riff...

"Nyerrr Nyerrrrr Neyyeyyeyyer... " Yea, that's what I fell like doing when I hear it!

"What is this that stands before me?" Ozzy sings in a low moan...The horror in his voice is palpable...What ungodly sight could he possibly be witnessing? Is it my checking account balance after a night at the bar?

"No! No! Please God, Help me!"he screams, as Satan comes 'round the bend and the music becomes a howling maelstrom all around him... There's no disputing it, the 1970 debut album by Black Sabbath is the birth of Heavy Metal... (I mean, you can dispute it if you want...But you're just going to sound silly..)
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And it's a pretty easy birth, it turns out...Like an episode of "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant..." It just kind of falls, fully-formed, into a world that wasn't quite ready for it...Critics were confused and Parents feared it...

Really the only difference between this and their later classics, is that Ozzy's voice is much lower (which makes him sound cooler and creepier...) and there's a heavy bluesiness that doesn't really happen much after this album (See the honking harmonica on "The Wizard" and the extended jamming on "Warning" for evidence). I actually kind of miss the blues-rock aspect, they really had an original, gothic take on it....Especially "Warning"I...t has the gritty feel of recording your live set in the studio, quick and dirty! I wish bands still did this...

The original European addition had the song "Evil Woman" which didn't appear on the US version...Hell, I've never heard the song until very recently...Maybe it's just because I grew up with the American version, but I think "Evil Woman" doesn't gel with the rest of the album for some reason...I like it fine on its own, it's a nice catchy pop-rocker, but it detracts from the doomy, supernatural feel of the album...And apparently "Wicked World" wasn't on the European edition, which I think is the much better choice for the album... I think the current CD version has both songs on it...Mine doesn't though...

I originally owned this on cassette tape...

I remember as a kid, the Black Sabbath albums were abundant in the cheapo cassette bin at the local K-Mart...Which was fortunate for a broke heavy metal obsessed kid...I think one of the hardest decisions in my life was deciding if I should pick up the "Sabotage" or the "Black Sabbath" cassette...This cover art ended up making the decision easy...The decaying European-style haunted house, and the figure in black on the cover, that either looked like the Mona Lisa, the Wicked Witch of the West, or Ozzy himself depending on your mood...I wish I could tell you the incalculable amount of hours I spent hanging out with Josh listening to these Black Sabbath tapes and burning incense...

(I've always been partial to the kind of incense that look like adorable little Gnome hats...)

So it's about time to put on some Sabbath, but what do you serve your guests while you're listening to this masterpiece of 70's metal at your Friday Night Record Party?

Nahhh, it doesn't seem right to drink beer and listen to Black Sabbath for some odd reason, but this record just seems like you shouldn't be in your right mind while you're listening to it, so how about...