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ROCK AND ROLL! => Black Sabbath => The Ozzy Years => Topic started by: Jack the Stripper on September 23, 2020, 02:02:31 AM
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Ok with the debut wrapped up I guess it’s time to move onto iconic masterpiece and sophomore release - PARANOID
Quite fitting too given it has celebrated its 50th anniversary in the last week.
Here’s my prized original UK vinyl pressing
(https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/aa333/DAMAGEDsINCe85/D71431AC_804B_4B1B_B4A8_84587FAEDD55.jpeg)
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I always dismiss this album as a "middling" performer in their catalogue, but if you analyse each track like we are then it is so much better than that. Perhaps it's one of those occasions where the sum of its parts are not as good as the individual parts! ;)
However, we start with War Pigs. This is a top 5 Sabbath song for me, I just love it... even after 40 years! It was a wise move to re-write the lyrics from the original Walpurgis version. But it's nice to have the original for comparison.
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Yeah good old “War Pigs“. The song that keeps on giving. What else can you really say? Just a bona fide classic! Fantastic way to open an album. Every band member is on fire here and a strong message that still relevant 50 years on.
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The great War Pigs, arguably a benchmark for every hard rock/heavy metal song to come after it. It appears in the second half of my Top 10 Sabbath songs and has never gotten old, for me.
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This is a track that's in danger of being overplayed. I like it best when I go to it, not when it comes to me in a movie trailer or some other advertising sort of way.
But I do remember the first time I heard it, and I was greatly impressed thereof. The equation of war with traditional images of evil made the lyrics stand out and, again, Iommi's guitar work adds the secret sauce.
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War Pigs is a great song that has unfortunately suffered a major inflation due to being so over played.
It's a song that I very rarely listen to anymore. Even when I made Sabbath compilations for my car this song never got included. It just shows that even a great song can get boring if it's everywhere.
But to the song itself. The heavy intro, the abrupt break before the verses and the ending speed up are all brilliant. The lyrics are among Geezer's absolute finest even if he could find a word that would rhyme with masses... :D
Again one could argue about the placement on the album. Is it the best possible track to open with...and yes the more up tempo and "in through one ear out the other" song Paranoid might have been a more suitable opener in both terms of speed and accessibility...but on the other hand Sabbath wasn't really looking to be up tempo and accessible anyways.
Brilliant track that has been nearly played to death...which sadly plagues nearly every song on this album...
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Kind of like how I enjoyed "Welcome to the Jungle" the first 5999 times I heard it, but on listen number 6000, suddenly that magic was GONE.
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Kind of like how I enjoyed "Welcome to the Jungle" the first 5999 times I heard it, but on listen number 6000, suddenly that magic was GONE.
Indeed...although for me I think the magic of that song faded already around the 3695 mark...
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Kind of like how I enjoyed "Welcome to the Jungle" the first 5999 times I heard it, but on listen number 6000, suddenly that magic was GONE.
Indeed...although for me I think the magic of that song faded already around the 3695 mark...
I guess greatness, with me, doesn't "fade" so easily. :partay:
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Kind of like how I enjoyed "Welcome to the Jungle" the first 5999 times I heard it, but on listen number 6000, suddenly that magic was GONE.
Indeed...although for me I think the magic of that song faded already around the 3695 mark...
I guess greatness, with me, doesn't "fade" so easily. :partay:
The fade time varies ofcourse...certain songs last longer than other to reach that point. The thing is nowadays if you hear a G&R song on the radio it is always...always Welcome To The Jungle...and now I have to say when it comes on I tune out.
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Not to make this a GnR thread, but that's a textbook case of overexposure draining the fun out of the music. Another one for me is "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. When I first heard it as a kid, it was pretty magical and I loved it and memorized it and played it backwards because there were supposed to be secret messages and everything. But as it got overplayed and overplayed and overplayed on the radio, I got to where I just couldn't find the joy in it anymore.
In economics, it's the law of diminishing marginal returns - why you might enjoy the first one or two of something a lot and then fade out as it piles on.
I'm ready to admit freely that the first two Ozzy-era albums I'll reach for are SBS and Sabotage. Both of those albums have stayed very fresh for me through the years. Having these "weekend retreats" with the other albums is helping me to rediscover some of the fun I had with them and get them to where they shine again for me.
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The lyrics are among Geezer's absolute finest even if he could find a word that would rhyme with masses... :D
I always found that quite genius, rhyming the same word but with two different meanings.
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Moving onto to the album and bands biggest hit song and title track “Paranoid”
Quite a simple and traditional structured song by Sabbath’s standard but it rocks. Cool & original opening riff into a nice uptempo heavy groove. Whole band sounds tight & locked in. Nice short & sweet solo that complements the song well. Love Geezer’s rumbling & slappy sounding bass throughout. Possibly my least favourite from the album if I had to choose one but it’s still a great song.
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I enjoy Paranoid a lot. Yes, I've heard it so often it's lost that initial thrill, but it's still a pretty good song and without it I don't believe Sabbath would be as big a deal as they are (but still a big deal! ;D). But for a throw away, last minute addition to the album it rocks!
When it came out it was probably the heaviest song that had ever charted in the UK, Purple's Black Night charted around the same time but it's not sd heavy!
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Paranoid, a song that was not suppose to happen, but I am sure glad it did.
Quite a simple and traditional structured song by Sabbath’s standard but it rocks. Cool & original opening riff into a nice uptempo heavy groove. Whole band sounds tight & locked in. Nice short & sweet solo that complements the song well. Love Geezer’s rumbling & slappy sounding bass throughout. Possibly my least favourite from the album if I had to choose one but it’s still a great song.
:yes: Agreed, although I can't say it is my least favorite from the album. I like it more than that.
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This is one that always stays fresh for me. The lyrics could easily fit into a traditional blues number by Howlin' Wolf or Lightning Hopkins, perfect for their catalogues of outsider tunes.
What makes this song for me is the grit in Iommi's guitar and the ascending loo-doo-loo-doo in the bass line. That little bass hook is something I always listen for because it's so much fun when it comes up.
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Talk about a song that has suffered a serious inflation due to over playing...granted even as a song Paranoid is hardly perfect, far from it.
But it is a nice little short rocker but you can clearly see from everything that it was done in about 30 minutes.
Easily the worst song on the album no doubt. But at the same time it is very understandable why it became their biggest hit. It IS short, it IS catchy, it IS simple, it IS Sabbath's only really radio friendly track.
I think if Tony would have had bit more time to perfect the solo section that would have possibly saved the song. Now as it is even the solo is bit overly simplistic.
Think about Smoke On The Water, the main body of the song, the riff and the verses are very simple but the solo section is where the song comes alive in Paranoid that doesn't happen but the simplistic approach carries through that as well.
Honestly I have to say my world would not shatter all too much even if I never ever heard Paranoid again.
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I dunno... can't get a whole lot of solo into a song with a radio single time on it. And if you *did*, it would be cut for the (Radio Edit) version, so keeping it minimal works for Paranoid. And given Sabbath's penchant for roaming and wandering in their jams onstage, they need a nice exclamation point of a song to wrap things up and let everyone know it's time to start coming down from their highs. :D
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Wasn't really talking about the length of the solo but more of the quality of the solo. As it is now it is missing that "something" special. Like said, overly simplistic...like the rest of the song.
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^^^^^^
Agreed.
Honestly I have to say my world would not shatter all too much even if I never ever heard Paranoid again.
:naughty: Careful, this is approaching blasphemy.
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Up next has Sabbath heading into psychedelia with Planet Caravan
Ozzy’s dreamy vocals accompanied by Tony’s laidback jazz like guitar, Geezer’s simple but effective underpinning bass line and Bill’s gentle bongo’s make this one of the most uniquely brilliant and beautiful Sabbath songs in their catalogue.
Have always had a soft spot for this song.
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Planet Caravan was a real step outside the box for Sabbath. I think they took the basic idea of Sleeping Village and went a whole lot further with this one.
I'm not a big fan of slow ballady type of songs but I have to say Sabbath hit it out of the park with this one and Solitude...This isn't you typical ballad anyways...
The atmosphere (again..that's a word you use quite often when it comes to Sabbath songs now don't ya? ;D ) in the song is great...or maybe in this case ambiance would be a better word.
Ozzy's vocal preformance is among his finest here (as well as on Solitude but we'll get to that one soon enough I think..) showing that he can do more than just that simpler more monotonic deliverance people are accustomed to hear. Too bad he didn't use this style after Solitude ever again...
The one thing that kind of feels bit out of place are those bongos...they add a kind of nice touch but their sound isn't quite right for the rest of the song. Something with bit softer sound would have potentially been a better choice...but overall that's actually a minor gripe.
Honestly I have to say my world would not shatter all too much even if I never ever heard Paranoid again.
:naughty: Careful, this is approaching blasphemy.
:D
Yeah I know...but honestly I am pretty damn sick of that song.
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Planet Caravan is one of those songs which sets Sabbath apart from other rock bands. You never know what you're going to get on a Sabbath album as it's not all heavy, heavy, heavy!
I like Planet Caravan, the otherworldly-ness of it is so calming and atmospheric. I won't lie there are better songs on the album, and if I'm honest I think the thematically similar Zeitgeist does it better... but the album wouldn't be as good without it.
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How about 5 hours of Planet Caravan? :smug:
I'm not holding this up as anything groundbreaking. It's the heavy stuff where Sabbath pushed the edges, not when they did stints as The Tony Iommi Jazz Trio. If I was including the songs from Paranoid on a mixtape playlist, this is one that would land on the cutting-room floor. It's not bad, it's just that it's not a standout. For a chill track between three icons of rock, I'd rather go with Led Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore" from their fourth album.
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Planet Caravan is my second favorite BFTO tune from the Sabbath catalogue. When I first heard it, many years ago, I didn't think Ozzy was doing the vocals. Was pleasantly surprised when I confirmed that he was. Songs like this are just another reason why Black Sabbath stands head and shoulders above all others, for me. 8)
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Alright moving onto Iron Man there’s times I listen to it and actually think it’s straight up Sabbath’s greatest ever song and one of the best songs ever written. The opening kick drum stomps, Tony bending the E string above the nut with a robotic Ozzy announcing “I Am Iron Man” that leads into that classic memorable riff. Then all the the different movements of the song which are tied to the lyrics and story of the song for me make it one of the most ingenius and audacious pieces of rock music for its time. I’ve always been amazed how a band could write such a composition for 1970. There wouldn’t have been anything remotely like it....Just think about that.
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Alright moving onto Iron Man there’s times I listen to it and actually think it’s straight up Sabbath’s greatest ever song and one of the best songs ever written. The opening kick drum stomps, Tony bending the E string above the nut with a robotic Ozzy announcing “I Am Iron Man” that leads into that classic memorable riff. Then all the the different movements of the song which are tied to the lyrics and story of the song for me make it one of the most ingenius and audacious pieces of rock music for its time. I’ve always been amazed how a band could write such a composition for 1970. There wouldn’t have been anything remotely like it....Just think about that.
:yes: All true. It's almost like they could see into the future. There are a number of Sabbath's songs that you could call "groundbreaking", and I believe Iron Man is one of them. I know others are going to say that it has been played to death. But that should never diminish the creativity of a piece. And as Jack touched upon, those who were not around in 1970 wound up hearing this tune for the first time after hearing many other heavy rock tunes that were released later on. So I can't blame them for not being able to appreciate its groundbreaking status. It is a classic. :rockon:
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Iron Man...
That riff...that riff is what makes this song. Talk about an iconic riff.
The lyrics are bit silly as they don't really follow the Iron Man story...as far as I know anyways. But it doesn't really matter you can just ignore the fact that it's supposed to be based on the character and just enjoy it as it is. I doubt Geezer was much of a comic guy anyways...
The vocal melody is the same as the riff but it doesn't matter...Ozzy did that a bit anyways...it was his style and it worked.
And yes this song completes the overplayed trilogy of this album. This song I believe has been played on every SINGLE tour by every SINGLE line up just like Paranoid...and as if that wasn't enough Ozzy played it with his solo band as well virtually on every single tour.
Ofcourse it doesn't take anything away from the original composition but it does dilute the song...
That being said as a song this is much stronger than Paranoid and I still don't mind hearing this...Granted if I do a Black Sabbath collection on my car this song will NOT be on it.
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Iron Man is another of those songs where I feel like the Heretic. It's one I've never been particularly fond of. I would like it better if it was an instrumental, as I'm not a fan of the lyrics, but the ending jam is pretty great.
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All these years on and fans still don’t get “Iron Man” and how the music follows the story of the song. And No, the story is not about or based in anyway on the Marvel comics character. Geezer was big into Sci Fi and the storylines a self-fulfilment prophecy mixed up with time travel.
It’s about a man who goes into the future and witnesses the apocalypse, then going back to his own time he encounters a magnetic field, which turns him into a mute, steel creature. Unable to talk, he still tries to warn people about the impending end of the world, but is only mocked for his troubles. Angry and bitter, he eventually causes the devastation he’d warned everyone about and ultimately the would-be hero becomes the villain.
Ozzy inspired the title which triggered the story as he thought the riff sounded like a big Iron bloke or Iron Man walking - Hence Geezer came up with the story and wrote the lyrics.
The whole song is quite complex and as I mentioned, the story, the music, and how both are tied together was like nothing for its time.
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Actually I guess it was about a comic after all...but just not a Marvel one...or atleast not Iron Man..
From Tony's Book:
"We smoked a lot of dope, so that might be why some of the lyrics a bit unusual. Like Iron Man which came from a comic about a robot which became alive. I supposed there was a serisous thought behind that, really, that somebody living couldn't get out of that body, couldn't get out of this thing."
In anycase the smoking a lot of dope makes sense lyric wise here. :D
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Until the Iron Man film came out around 2008(?) I didn't even know there was a comic book character by that name. I did check at the time if the song and the character were connected, so I've never been confused about the two. :D
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Until the Iron Man film came out around 2008(?) I didn't even know there was a comic book character by that name. I did check at the time if the song and the character were connected, so I've never been confused about the two. :D
Yeah I didn't really know much about Iron Man either before the movie. But I did remember Geezer talking about the song somewhere and said it was about a comicbook character. But perhaps he only took the name of the character and wrote the story around that. Or maybe there's another Iron Man character out there as well...I honestly don't know.
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^^^
Marvel reboot and reinvent their characters so often that the Iron Man we see in the films might be a later incarnation of the character who first appeared in 1963. But more likely Geezer was inspired by a comic character and not necessarily Iron Man.
EDIT: I thought the character might have been more like the Iron Giant so I just googled the 1999 Iron Giant film and saw it was based on a story called The Iron Man by Ted Hughes which came out in 1968... coincidence, maybe! :D
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Geezer Butler
My parents never let me read American comics when I was growing up,
I knew about Batman and Superman, but that’s about it. For me it was all about the Beano and the Dandy. So whenever someone’s said to me over the years: ‘Oh, didn’t you write this about the superhero?’, I’d just say: ‘Sorry, never heard of him.’”
“I can’t exactly recall what Ozzy said, but it was something like: ‘Why don’t we do a song called Iron Man, or maybe Iron Bloke’. That got me thinking about a lump of metal, and then putting it all into a science-fiction context. It all flowed from there.”
“I was heavily into science fiction at the time,” “Remember, this was the era of the space race,” he says. “A lot of the stuff I was writing about was inspired by those sorts of stories. I was fascinated by what might happen to a man who’s suddenly transformed into a metal being. He still has a human brain, and wants to do the right thing, but eventually his own frustrations at the way humanity treats him drives this creature to taking extreme action. It’s almost a cry for help”
I think Tony should stick to explaining how he came with the riffs and leave the lyrics to the guy that actually wrote them :D
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Turning the record over to side 2 it opens with the dark and sinister Electric Funeral which starts with a menacing doom laden Tony riff accentuated by the use of a wah pedal. Great lyrics on this one delivered in Ozzy’s classic sinister style. Love the uptempo change mid-song that then leads back to the menacing main riff which really became a trademark of Sabbath’s songwriting.
One of the stronger tracks on a very strong album and a great way to open side 2.
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For the longest time I didn't much care for Electric Funeral, but in recent years I've grown to like it more and more. I still don't think it's one of the better songs on this album but I don't skip it anymore! ;)
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Electric Funeral is another fine song that fits perfectly in with the overall feeling of this album. It gets overshadowed a bit by the mammoth hits, but is strong nonetheless. Parts of the song actually gives me the feeling of radiation. Yikes! :twitch:
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Electric FuneralParts of the song actually gives me the feeling of radiation. Yikes! :twitch:
That’s so true. The wah on the main riff is like radiation is emitting from it.
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Electric Funeral is without a doubt a top 10 Ozzy era track!
That sinister riff, the brilliant solo, great lyrics, Ozzy's riff following haunting vocals...this got it all. And yes Tony even uses the WAH pedal which he did not too all that much.
It's a pure DOOOM masterpiece plain and simple. And it is also without a doubt my favourite song on the album and it is a criminally underrated track as well. It wasn't done a lot live during the 70s...in fact I think it's live debut took place during the Techinical Ecstacy tour!
I was so glad they brought it back during the Reunion tour and the live version on Reunion album is fantastic.
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Coming in late on the Iron Man discussion...
Pretty sure the band was smoking lots of dope based on the cover alone. That being said, the lyrics are fine enough for the monster riff. I love this song, especially the bittersweet instrumental ending where the skills of the Tony Iommi Jazz Trio are applied to an excellent metal headbanger. No question in my mind, this is one of Sabbath's best cuts, ever. It does not get old or worn out for me.
I just don't listen to Dio doing it, and I'm fine.
Now for Electric Funeral... I thought it was the second part of Iron Man. The lyrics do go together, kinda sorta. Especially if you're totally high, I'd bet. :smug:
Again we get a Tony Iommi Jazz Metal Trio doing a funky time-change and instrumental change-up, this time in the middle. I love it.
Come to think of it, the band could have said that this was all a concept album with War Pigs and who would we be to argue? Taken as a trilogy, War Pigs - Iron Man - Electric Funeral work very well together, although I think the ending of EF leaves me wanting a bit more... and that comes in with the next song, truth be told.
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Hand Of Doom follows next which starts out with Geezer’s slow haunting bass line and some subtle jazzy rim shot and hi hat work from Bill. Ozzy then brings the gloom like only he can before Tony unleashes his riffs of doom, mimicking Geezer’s bass line.
Ive had an ever increasing love for this track over years as some of the more overplayed ones wore a bit thin. The way the song transitions from quiet parts to ultra heavy in an instant is a highlight and works so effectively with the dark subject matter of the lyrics, a subject matter that only Sabbath dared to touch.
Another brilliant, dark, heavy & groundbreaking song from the Sabs
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Hand of Doom is another that took a long time for me to appreciate. Love it now, probably my 3rd favourite off the album.
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I can agree with that...
For the longest time I didn't find Hand Of Doom so enjoyable...always thought it to be bit...I don't know...just lackluster really and bit monotonic.
However lets say in the past ten or 15 years I've slowly began to appreciate it more and more. Ozzy's talkative vocal delivery is still what kind of irks me a bit musically the song is great. It's something of a Geezer song...his bass line is what makes the song really. That being said I do wish he would have gotten a bass solo in the middle that would have elevated the song even more.
Also I have to say Slayer did one hell of a cover version of this for NIB 2...
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I don't know what it is like to shoot up with heroin, but Hand Of Doom sure gives me an impression of it. The first third of the song relates the depression of needing the fix. Then the fast paced middle seems to be the pleasurable high, caped off by Ozzy singing, "you need someone to help you, stick the needle in . . . yeah!" In final section, death slowly comes calling. Wow, what a ride. :o Have always liked this song.
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I've always loved this track. Iron Man and Paranoid got played all the time on the radio, and I love 'em, but Hand of Doom is the one I truly look forward to most when I play Paranoid end-to-end.
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I'll kick off Rat Salad.
This is a rare track in that it is an instrumental which isn't an accoustic lead gentle peice or a synth lead ambient peice, it's full on hard rock with a drum solo! It's one of their better instrumentals.
I can't think of another "rock" instrumental by the boys.
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^^^^^^
Agreed, and I was glad it contained a drum solo. Bill Ward can do no-wrong throughout the Great 8. :drummer:
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^^^^^^
Bill Ward can do no-wrong throughout the Great 8. :drummer:
Swinging the Chain comes to mind...he did do awfully wrong there! ;D
Anyhow... Rat Salad is a nice little instrumental...nothing much else can be said about that...rather insignificant track all in all. More like a small part of an instrumental jam than anything else.
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Yeah it’s just a fun jazzy instrumental jam that adds another different element to the album and doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. Bill’s the obvious standout but Tony also adds some nice playing along with some good solid bass work from Geezer.
Btw...
Rat Salad > Moby Dick... All day every day
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I do like me some Rat Salad. Bill Ward lets the sticks fly and shows us all what he's got under the hood.
I think it would only be appropriate, by the way, to allow Jack the Stripper to lead off the discussion on, well... "Jack the Stripper". :D
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Ok so we‘ve come to my namesake and final song on the album Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots. A song inspired by Ozzy’s apparent encounter with a bunch of skinheads, although the lyrics are something completely different.
Have always loved this song....The intro has a unique jammy feel to it with some smooth playing by Tony. Bills drum breaks are iconic which still to to this day never sound quite right when played by someone else. Love the groove on the verses and Ozzy’s wacky tripped-out lyrics bring a sense of fun to it with Geezer providing some very tasty bass runs throughout.
Summing up, Fairies is one of Sabbaths most dynamic songs and is a fine way to finish this brilliant album.
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Fairies is another Top 10 song for me, I just love it to bits.
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Fairies Wear Boots is one of those songs that always brings a smile to my face.
The riff is just so funky...it's a feel good song.
And that also carries on with the tongue in cheek lyrics. Probably some of the funniest lyrics in Sabbath's history...
The soloing on this one is also top notch.
Perhaps a bit of an oddity in Sabbath's catalogue but a good oddity. It's okay to have a "fun" song too even if you are all gloom and doom!
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Right off the bat, Iommi's guitar is pleasure to my ears, to begin Fairies Wear Boots. I always make sure I give it my full listening attention right before it starts. :) Of course the entire song is completely enjoyable. A great closer to a superb album. Probably Sabbath's best known album worldwide.
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Yes, those lyrics are FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN
CAUSE SMOKIN AND TRIPPIN ARE ALL THAT YOU DO
YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
:)
I remember belting those out in the hallway at high school with some of my buddies and other Sabbath fans joining in, great song!
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The inevitable, unnecessary ranking of the songs!
1= War Pigs
1= Fairies Wear Boots
3. Hand of Doom
4. Paranoid
5. Iron Man.
6= Electric Funeral
6= Planet Caravan
6= Rat Salad
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1. Electric Funeral
2. War Pigs
3. Fairies Wear Boots
4. Hand Of Doom
5. Iron Man
6. Planet Caravan
7. Rat Salad
8. Paranoid
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Hand of Doom on the top of my list, Planet Caravan at the bottom. The rest are in a big, juicy delicious middle. This is a great album not just for the band but for rock in general.
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Inserting my final rating of the albums for completion's sake.
Paraniod - 10/10
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Paranoid:
* * * * ½
Title track is just a bad song...there's no way around that.