Sabbath (Page 1 of 2)

Was my very first concert..."Master of reality" tour Sept 1971.......I've seen them a bunch of times over the years......:)
            This experience was probably the reason why I got inot Gibson SG's....in the first place....all because of Tony !           
              ( We were just kids and someone's mother drove us up & back in her station wagon .......L.O.L )

I sorta do and don't remember that show....it was rather a bit smoky in the Arena.....:)  It was very loud

One of the first albums I bought

Review from a VIP listening party :

1.End of the Beginning (8:07). Too long a track for an opener but otherwise very good. Very heavy. Ozzy’s vocals don’t evoke dragons and knights and the soaring evil of Dio…rather, they have a melodic but, unsettling quality to then. Not operatic bombast, but understated, melodic eeriness. But it works. This is not the uninspired songwriting of those two songs from the Reunion album — this is real songwriting with some good riffs from Iommi. A very good song.

2.God is Dead? (8:54). This song slays. Very cool riffing and a good melody line. The B section is evocative of the Hole in the Sky riff but it still works really well. This is an excellent song, worthy of standing with anything in the Ozzy catalog (thought it lacks the instant memorability of Iron Man or Paranoid).

3.Loner (5:06). Sounds a LOT like a heavy, modern-production version of NIB (I even sang “Oh yeah” after the appropriate riff). Lyrically and mood-wise it mixes in some Johnny Blade. It’s a good song, but not as good as the previous ones.

4.Zeitgeist (4:28).  Mellow, and somewhat evocative of Planet Caravan. It’s fine, but I anticipate skipping this on CD.

5.Age of Reason (7:02). This song kills. My notes (again, scratched in there by keys) are unintelligible. But this one had people pretty fired up.

6.Live Forever (4:49). Has a Children of the Grave / Hole in the Sky Feel once again. A good song, if not as ambitious as some of the others.

7.Damaged Soul (7:43). Very heavy blues. Too bluesy for my tastes. Blues blues and more blues, and when you are done with the blues, it shoves another does of blues up your ****. This is overstated — it’s plenty heavy. It just is too (wait for it) bluesy for my tastes. Others enjoyed it more than me. Still, this is not a throwaway, just not one of my favorites.

8.Dear Father (7:06). A great song to finish with, again quite heavy with a lot of energy. The B section is the one featured in the video with Rubin telling Ozzy to try again (“…the victims of the sins you devise.”) The main section is beefier than that part. There is a recurrent tritone riff that is very evocative of the first notes played in the song Black Sabbath. It’s so evocative that one wonders if it’s purposeful…and the riffs appears again at the very end of the song…and then the song ends…with rain…and church bells. Very cool. Very cool indeed.

In all, four terrific songs (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 8). Three good songs (3, 6, 7 if you like blues). One song that non-stoners will skip. And non-stoned stoners, probably.   On balance, this is a very, very strong record.

Supposedly Ozzy is back on the wagon after slipping off with booze and drugs. We'll see if Sharon once again stays with him

According to Huffington Post - so add salt as needed - on the way to being Sabbath's first UK #1 album in 43 years, since Paranoid.

I am really digging this album. Love tracks 1 and 5. Songs on the bonus disc are good too. Next question - should I go see them live? Hmmmm.

Sorry but I love the album - didn't buy  the expanded edition as I thought the extra tracks would  "spoil the overall quality" of it by making the album too long with inferior songs. Play it by skipping the extra ones.

Don't know the whole Bill Ward story but it would seem that he couldn't play a whole live set.