Your view on: Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

[fange]

So where do you stand on the Brummy boys' fifth studio album, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, released near the end of '73?






What did you think when you first heard it or heard about it, and how about now?



Where does it stand for you in terms of the Sabs' and Ozzy's catalogue, and in the wider rock genre?



What are your fave songs? Pick the ones you like in the poll and tell us why (if you feel like it).



What do you think of the cover art?

[oh oooh]

I don't know it. I'm only familiar with the first three.

I change my mind about them on an almost daily basis. Sometimes they sound very limited, dull, kind of stupid even - but at other times they sound like they walked out of the swamps, born to make this unique, hellish noise.

I'll see how the poll develops and give the big tunes a listen later.

[fange]

Try 'Fluff' and 'Spiral Architect', JC. Like to know your thoughts.

[rayge]

Never listened to it, nor indeed any of their albums that I can recall.
I understand they are from Birmingham.

[fange]

So i've heard too, Ray.

[adamcoan]

After a while, the fact that Ozzy mimics the guitar parts and therefore sounds limited often grates. They sometimes hit the ground running.

[Stacy Heydon]

Jan 4, 2024 10:57:56 GMT rayge said:

Never listened to it, nor indeed any of their albums that I can recall.
I understand they are from Birmingham.

I thought they were from the depths of hell.
Might be the same thing though.

[DarknessFish]

I only know the title track, which is pretty good. I can't believe they called a track Sabbra Cadabra. Though I always wanted to open an undertakers called Abracadaver.

[fearlessfreap]

It was the first one I bought, so I have a soft spot for it. It's probably their proggiest, which will put some people off it. The title track and Spiral Architect for me.

I've always wondered about this -- is it a fake? Did Black Sabbath tour Brazil in 1973? I think this is supposed to predate Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

[fange]

Jan 4, 2024 12:22:57 GMT fearlessfreap said:

It was the first one I bought, so I have a soft spot for it. It's probably their proggiest, which will put some people off it. The title track and Spiral Architect for me.

I've always wondered about this -- is it a fake? Did Black Sabbath tour Brazil in 1973? I think this is supposed to predate Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.

Wow, the initial part of the riff is very similar, huh, though it seems to finish slightly differently. Cheers for that.


Instead of proggy, i would call it their most, er, progressive The use of synths, the strings, the arrangements, they were really stretching and growing in various ways, but still very Sabbath for me. The textures add to my enjoyment of the songs, rather than feeling like prog-style showing off.

[Half Machine Lipschitz]

I'm only familiar with the title track as well, but it has one of my favourite Sabbath riffs in the second half of the song. It's a total sludge-fest and I absolutely love the way Ozzy comes in at the beginning of each verse of that section with his pitch rising on the first word. It's one of those 'minuscule moments' we've discussed before.

[loveless]

What did you think when you first heard it or heard about it, and how about now?

It wasn't the first one of theirs I discovered, by any means (though the title track had long ago made its mark via We Sold Our Souls..., a de rigeur high school burnout platter of the era). I was full on with Sabotage and Paranoid, and certainly knew Vol 4 , the debut and Master... more than well enough.

I loved it when I came across it. Classic melodic, hard rock Sabs, but with all sorts of odd baroque detours.

"Who Are You" was the real gateway track for me.

Where does it stand for you in terms of the Sabs' and Ozzy's catalogue, and in the wider rock genre?

I mean, as one of the first six, it towers over nearly 50 years of subsequent efforts (I like Oz's first two solo LPs, for sure).

Not as rock solid, perhaps, as - say - BS, Paranoid, Vol 4 or Sabotage, but...damn good, and...brave and bold with it. I'm glad Wakeman got to work on a Sabs record.

ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES WITH IT pre-2004 (right?), was that it really sounded like shit on CD. The original discs that lingered for nearly 20 years had really "absent" mastering, so...a big draw for The Black Box was getting to hear it as God intended,

What are your fave songs? Pick the ones you like in the poll and tell us why (if you feel like it).

Looking For Today, Who Are You, and the title track.

What do you think of the cover art?

It's stupidly garish and over-elaborate, BUT...it's perfect for the record.

[DayoRemix]

There are good tracks, but never warmed to the overall finished product. Always felt like Sabbath abandoning the darkness and trying to be Zeppelin, with some Yes sprinkling in. Sabotage is more successful (At least the first half). It's a far lesser product than the first four and the first two Dio albums. Don't know enough Ozzy solo to compare it to.

[Charlie O.]

What did you think when you first heard it or heard about it, and how about now?
My brother Jon bought it when it came out - I was 8, I guess? At that time I had previously only heard Paranoid. I found this less "immediate" than that, but I liked it quite a bit.


Where does it stand for you in terms of the Sabs' and Ozzy's catalogue, and in the wider rock genre?
It's my favorite after the first two, and it's a very close third at that. At this point it may be the Sabbath I'm most likely to reach for. Ozzy solo was never really my thing.


What are your fave songs? Pick the ones you like in the poll and tell us why (if you feel like it).
The only tracks that strike me as slightly substandard are "A National Acrobat" and "Sabbra Cadabra" - and I like them anyway. My very favorites are probably "Looking For Today" and "Spiral Architect", and then the title track. I find them uplifting. Always good to begin and end an album strong!


What do you think of the cover art?
It is what it is. Not crazy about it.

[Sneelock]

What did you think when you first heard it or heard about it, and how about now?
Due to the cover and the title track I think I was pretty crestfallen that it wasn't the greatest Sabbath album of all time. not to ME anyway. I know it is to others. those first three were as much a part of my life as TV and Peanut Butter Sandwiches.

Where does it stand for you in terms of the Sabs' and Ozzy's catalogue, and in the wider rock genre?
in all honesty, I thought they were a little past it. I like it better now than when it was new. I came around on Vol 4 & Sabbotage too. sometimes I get an itch that only Sabbath will scratch.

What are your fave songs? Pick the ones you like in the poll and tell us why (if you feel like it).
I think the title track is a career highlight. I also took two that I remember without listening to it - "killing yourself.." & "...architect" I must think they're a cut above. I couldn't name any others without refreshing my memory.

What do you think of the cover art?
I think it's Gnarly-Ass Bitchin'!.