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ROCK AND ROLL! => Black Sabbath => The Ozzy Years => Topic started by: Zzzptm on October 02, 2020, 01:02:54 PM
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Gonna skip ahead to the 5th album because I can. :smug:
This song is, to me, *THE* best opener of any Ozzy-era Sabbath album and I won't get too far ahead of myself about which song is their best closer, but we *will* be talking about it in a few days... :)
There is a great variety to the parts of the song, with the lighter choruses and bridge section contrasting with the driving, growling, hammering riff-based verses. The end half gives us a different set of piledriver chords before taking us on a guitar flourish to end the piece.
Lyrically, the song shows amazing maturity. We don't have poetry set to music, nor do we have the copying of another style. We have actual *lyrics*, delivered powerfully by Ozzy in his prime.
I've been wanting to do this album for a few weeks now, and that's how much I love it that I couldn't take the wait anymore. We can do Master of Reality another day. Today, it's SBS time!
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I think it is safe to say that this is my favourite album of all time (just beating out Sabotage)... I think I may have mentioned this fact here before, I forget!
And the title song is my favourite song off my favourite album, even after 40 years it sounds as fresh as the first day I heard it.
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The title cut is another of my Top 5 favorites. Enough said. :rockon:
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Man, I gotta play it again!
DUNNUH DU-NAH DUNNUH DU-NAH DA DA DA DAAA DAA
:rockon:
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Thought we might’ve done MOR next seeing the first two and Vol 4 are out of the way :doh:
Anyhow. SBS title track is a classic! Amazing riff and the slow part features one of Ozzy greatest vocal melodies. Just such a clever and brilliant song from a band that was hitting its peak both as musicians and songwriters.
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Yeah why jump MOR? It is the best Ozzy era album!
Well.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath has one of of Tony's best ever riffs. Ozzy probably does one of his most challenging vocal preformance ever, the only real let down of the song are the silly lyrics. God knows as your dog knows? Bog blast all of you? Come on... But then again they were doing more and more drugs at the time so naturally that would have an effect on Geezer too.
All in all I'd say Sabbath Bloody Sabbath as an album features some of Geezer's most outlandish and incomprehensible lyrics. I'm sure they might have made some sense to him at the time but...
Anyways. The title track is among the top 5 songs from the original line up that's for sure. The drive of the song is just relentless. But in the end it all comes down to that riff...that amazing intro riff. Which once again proves that Tony Iommi was/is and will forever be the driving force of the band.
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Ok moving on...
A National Acrobat is another heavy mid pace groover with a mesmerising riff. The different melodic passages are quite complex in the song and feature some of Geezer’s most interesting lyrics and again Ozzy’s vocals and melodies really lift the song...Love it
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A National Acrobat is another stone cold classic. The lyrics are again great, I also really like the closing riff, the tone change used to give me goosebumps (a musical dunce here so I'm not sure what the correct tern is!).
It's a top 20 Sabbath track for me (they can't all be top 5/10!!).
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Just to clarify, "God knows as your dog knows" means God doesn't know anything.
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A National Acrobat gives a haunting and menacing type of feeling which is a perfect fit for this album. I love the various melodies throughout the song. A terrific piece of music.
It's a top 20 Sabbath track for me (they can't all be top 5/10!!).
:yes: There is just so many killer tracks, what can you do?
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Just to clarify, "God knows as your dog knows" means God doesn't know anything.
I know what it means...but it still doesn't make it a good lyric! :D
Anywas on to National Acrobat..
Another great heavy riff from the riff master! It carries the song on very well indeed.
It is yet another quite complex piece of work, there's a good ammount of tempo changes and melodies here.
This is also lyrically without a doubt the best track on the album no god dogs or bog blasts or metaphoric motor replays (!?!?!?!?!?) here. Just a nice story about love, hate and life.
This is one of those truly forgotten Sabbath classics that should have also been a live staple instead Killing Yourself To Live.
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Before I hit National Acrobat, I'm going to nominate Charger as the one to kick off MOR. I had to go to SBS because I do love it so. :D
A National Acrobat hits us with that slow roll riff that's a variation of the SBS theme. We get to the middle part which has another slow roll riff, just as compelling and hypnotic as the first. Best lines of SBS' lyrics here, as well, which we see at the top of the forums here. :)
Break it down and then speed it up with a key modulation to the major and sail on out with a beautiful Iommi solo.
When I first heard it, I was let down that it wasn't a raging teenage rocker. By the middle of that first listen, though, I got it. Such a sweet tune, this one.
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We move on to the beautiful and gentle instrumental composition that is Fluff
The various acoustic parts are beautifully woven together with the piano and what sounds like some Hank Marvin inspiration on the background electric guitar. Having it 3 tracks in is a bit odd but it does seem to flow nicely into the next track. Love me some “Fluff”
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I do like Fluff, my only criticism is it is maybe a minute too long!
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Fluff is the definition of an over long overly repetetive instrumental.
Would it be around 1:30 or maybe even 2 minutes it would work well but as it is now it really doesn't. Skip skip skip track.
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I agree that the BFTO track that is Fluff, is a minute too long. However, it does flow nicely into the next song.
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Fluff is nice, even if it's, well... fluff. Let's just flow along nicely into the next song, shall we, then?
Sabra Cadabra has a fun blues riff to it that then gives away to a more doomy finish with Rick Wakeman having some fun with the band.
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Sabra Cadabra is another fine piece from this album. But I must say that I definitely prefer the first half of the song, before the transition over to the second half. The rockin' first section really gets my juices flowing. :guitar:
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I have nothing but love for Sabbra Cadabra. Love how it changes between hard hitting melodic riffs and tempered breakdowns, then the weird turn it takes midstream with the synths. It’s dynamic, it’s big and it’s fun.
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There are 5 top 20 (or better) songs on this album and SabraCadabra is one of them. Just love it and Rick Wakeman is an important part of that, the end section is great.
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Sabbra Cadabra is one of my favourites! The funky groovy riff is what makes this song so special. I remember when way back when the first cell phones started having mp3 ring tones Sabbra Cadabra was my first choice!
The live Jam version was also brilliant, this song worked so well as a platform for a big jam.
The lovey dovey lyrics are also so kind of out of place for Sabbath that it's cool.
It was really sad that after the Sabotage tour this song was completely forgotten...would have loved to see this in the live set for the Reunion tour.
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Nice summation Charger and the 2nd person to get the spelling right :)
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:D
Didn't even notice...I've never had trouble spelling this one so didn't even pay attention.
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Nice summation Charger and the 2nd person to get the spelling right :)
I should know better than to copy Zzz. :squint:
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Nice summation Charger and the 2nd person to get the spelling right :)
I should know better than to copy Zzz. :squint:
I have a wrist brace on, it's affecting my typing. My apologies. :)
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Nice summation Charger and the 2nd person to get the spelling right :)
I should know better than to copy Zzz. :squint:
I have a wrist brace on, it's affecting my typing. My apologies. :)
Blaming an innocent wrist brace.
:facepalm2:
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Hey, it gets in the way, makes my hand ride up higher, so it's harder to get traction when I mash the keys. I'm a victim of circumstance!
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Side 2 starts with the engaging heavy mid pacer Killing Yourself To Live with its somewhat proggy influence and poignant lyrics.
Big big fan of this one. It has a great blend of Sabbath’s earlier heaviness and their experimental side. The riff is one of Tony’s best and most complex from the album as are his layered solo’s. Love the dramatic turn it takes at 2.45 which builds into a really heavy groove before taking yet another dramatic but brighter uptempo turn at 4.06 which sees out the song along with Tony’s dazzling solo.
A 10/10 song.
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I've always loved this song and it's just got better over the years. Nearly a top 10 song!
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Killing Yourself To Live is musically pretty good. The riff is catchy but with a bit of a twist and melody carries the song on quite well...
The lyrics are bit off putting for me at times and there is just something "special" missing from this song in compared to the previous tracks. Ozzy's vocal preformance was bit over the top in the studio and he could never do this song justice in the live setting, which is kind of sad that despite that they chose this song to be the live staple.
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I think Killing Yourself To Live is another great song in so many ways. The tempo changes and the message of the lyrics really keep my full attention form beginning to end.
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The song goes through several parts, changes and unfolds in a very well-thought-out manner. I've made my peace with "smoke it... get high!" as being on the lines of "Have you seen junior's grades?", just that I don't like repeating the line. That fly in the ointment aside, the rest is, well, ointment in this metaphor... and a layered one, at that. How many different themes are used in this song? It's a medley of I don't know how many songs that only Black Sabbath knows about. Gonna have to spin it again and count carefully this time.
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I went back through the song and picked up an abcbcdefgh structure. Basically, after the intro there's a verse/chorus-verse/chorus and then it's a trip through three more extended parts before wrapping up with the outro.
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Time for Ozzy to shine on his own with the next track Who Are You?. I actually dig this song. It’s obviously a strangely different track for Sabbath but I think it fits the experimental nature of this album and I can honestly listen to Ozzy sing on just about anything.
The only other thing I’ll add... As much as I don’t mind the sci fi like synths on it, I would’ve liked to have heard the main synth on the verses replaced with Tony emulating the synth on his guitar with a phaser and a little bit of wah on it.
Anyhow, as it is I still enjoy it and don’t ever skip it.
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Who Are You? is another example of where you can never predict what the Sab boys will come up with next. So different. It's not a bad song either, it's not in the same league as the rest of the album but I do enjoy it.
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Who Are You is the big miss track for me on the album.
The synths are overpowering and it doesn't really at any point have that "Sabbath" feel to it. Ozzy's vocal melody is tedious and the song really never goes anywhere it just plods on like an over weighted snail.
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I guess I'm going to be the one that likes Who Are You more than anyone else here (even Jack). I actually look forward to hearing this song when playing through this album. I find myself singing along with Ozzy, perhaps because it is an easier tune to perform and I'm not much of a singer. :) Yes, the song plods along, because the message it sends plods along. The world's leaders use you, until finally they cast your souls into the dust. The appropriate way to deliver that message is by plodding. ;)
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Who Are You is the big miss track for me on the album.
The synths are overpowering and it doesn't really at any point have that "Sabbath" feel to it. Ozzy's vocal melody is tedious and the song really never goes anywhere it just plods on like an over weighted snail.
The part where the synths give way to guitars in this song is beautiful, even though the synths don't entirely give way. Had the synth line been replaced with a guitar riff, I would have much preferred it. Hell, if it had been a mellotron instead of a synth, I think I'd be on board with it. But I'm with Charger, hard pass. Get me to the last two tracks, please.
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Looking For Today is another little miss on the album. It is somewhat better than Who Are You but it is still quite commercial sounding and lacks punch...also the main riff is bit un-Iommi-like. It actually has a little bit of Blackmore in it.
Ozzy's vocal melody is bit all over the place on this one too...also he stresses his voice bit too much at times. Especially during the Looking for TodaaaaaaaaaYYYY part...it sounds odd and over the top. And the singing over the guitar solo is a sacrilige.
The semi acoustic breaks are actually the best parts of the song.....and the short outro solo, but that fades out bit too early. Or should I say starts bit too late.
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^Could not disagree more with the above post.
“Looking For Today” is such a solid song. Love the arrangements on it and particularly the lyrics. They’ve just always struck a chord with me for some reason. But the real star of the show here is Ozzy. Love love his vocal melodies on this song, especially where he sings...
“Everyone just gets on top of you
The pain begins to eat your pride
You can't believe in anything you knew
When was the last time that you cried”
Man, Ozzy killed it on this album
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I like Looking For Today a lot. Having said that there are 5 better songs on the album, but that's more to do with the overall quality of the album. Lyrically, I always felt it was ahead of it's time calling out all those wannabies who appear on those Simon Cowell talent(less) shows.
Yes it's a little bit commercial, but so was Supernaut and I don't see anyone complaining about that song!
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Looking For Today is my favorite Black Sabbath song. A masterpiece and sonic perfection as far as I am concerned.
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Really like Looking For Today. A nice mix of melodies that present another life advising message. Not a heavy pounding tune, but they don't all have to be in order to be effective.
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So we come to the album closer Spiral Architect
I consider nearly every song Sabbath wrote and recorded between 1970 and 1981 as masterful pieces of music. Out of all those masterful pieces of music, there’s about 10 that stand alone as the very best of the best... Spiral Architect is one of those.
Brilliant, epic and majestic, it’s a song that exemplifies the creative genius of Black “fucking” Sabbath.
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Spiral Architect is a gem indeed.
Musically this is among the more complex recordings and without being all that heavy this still manages to capture the essense of Black Sabbath.
Lyrically we are deep into the "Geezer's gibberish" Superstisous centuries, synchronated undertakers and plasmic oceans and metaphoric motor replays....yup. Drugs....lots and lots of drugs.
But honestly you can easily look past the bizarro lyrics and appreciate the song itself...tune out the lyrics so to speak. Ozzy's vocal melody is top notch and as said the muscian ship is brilliant. Not all Sabbath epics need to be ultra heavy and long.
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Another Top 10 song for me. Absolutely love the song from the accoustic start, string section and faux applause! Another of example of a song which doesn't conform to the norm! I like the lyrics too, a little hippy-dippy but they work well with the vibe.
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Spiral Architect is an excellent closer for this album. Although there are 4 or 5 other songs on SBS I prefer, it is still a unique and entertaining piece.
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Looking for Today and Spiral Architect, to me, are inseparable. I can't listen to one without the other and feel right about it. So much about them is beautiful, and I still cry a little when I do listen to them, such is their ability to generate an emotional response. I don't care if I don't get the lyrics, it's the sound of the words that goes so perfectly with the instrumental tracks. And what tracks!
The strings in Spiral Architect are genius. Just genius.
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This is my favourite album, the listing in order would be:
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
2= Spiral Architect
2= Killing Yourself to Live
4= A National Acrobat
4= SabbraCadabra
6. Looking For Today
7. Who Are You?
8. Fluff
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Mine would be:
1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
2. National Acrobat
3. Sabbra Cadabra
4. Spiral Architect
5. Killing Yourself To Live
6. Looking For Today
7. Who Are You
8. Fluff.
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1. Looking for Today - Spiral Architect TIE and they both win the tiebreaker!
2. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
3. A National Acrobat
4. Killing Yourself to Live
5. Sabbra Cadabra
6. Fluff
7. Who Are You
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Are we moving onto MOR next?
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Yes.
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Inserting my final rating of the albums for completion's sake.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 10/10
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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
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Fluff, Looking For Today and Who Are You combined drop a star...but only one as the title track is worth atleast 3 stars all on it's own.