How do you like Bill Ward's Accountable Beasts album?

[Sabbabbath]

How do you like Bill Ward's Accountable Beasts album?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeGa6tCdPx0

To me it is a mystery how it couldn't be enormously sucessful. Was it just due to a lack of marketing strategy and/or money? Or is it something about the music that turns people off? Personally I LOVE the album, it is probably the best new album I have heard in at least a decade. So prog and innovative, yet so warm and comforting.

[Charger]

Rather horrible in my opinion truth be told.

Never really cared much for Bill's solo stuff but this is just so bland and amateurish I'd never consider speding a dime on this.

Honestly if this is all that Bill could have muster I am very happy things didn't workout with him and Sabbath.

[Axefiend]

It's Bill's brand of quirky and weird and the mix IMO isn't the greatest, but I love the album and still give it a listen regularly. By contrast, I hardly ever listen to Sabbath's 13 (Except for Pariah, which I really love). "Katastrophic world" is probably my favourite.

[Billy Underdog]

My fave solo album from any Sabbath member (which basically means it is running against the Iommi album and Ozzy's first two, No Rest, No More Tears and Ozzmosis. Geezer, as good as his music is, doesn't seem to be able to make it flow through a whole album).
It's alot less accessible than any of these, though, which is pobably why it's my fave. Quirky Syd Barret/Bowieish moments along with thorough Hard Rock!
There's dull moments, but essentially every song is good. Standouts are Katastrophic World and First Day Out. And the title song, Straws and Wall Of Death. And i can just hear Ozzy singing As It Is In Heaven.

You noticed who uploaded the video, btw, Linda?

[Zzzptm]

You noticed who uploaded the video, btw, Linda?

* Zzzptm checks to see, finds out who uploaded it...

 

I love it! Full circle!

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

The album is a mixed bag. Some of the tracks could have done with better vocals, I don't think Bill can sing well enough anymore.

My favourite tracks are Leaf Killers, DOTH and Ashes.

[Thelemech]

I like it - but I do find it quite dull and generic in places. Not great, but not necessarily a bad album. 

[Sicko FanAtic]

It's weird as shit! Which I like. The production is a problem, and I can see for certain why it didn't become a hit. Downright goofy in lots of spots. Charming though, like that old, crazy uncle who smells funny. I think his wacky sincerity would have helped out 13, if they could have waited 10 years to make the album...

I still like Ward One much better, but this is a neat little nugget in its own way

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[Sabbabbath]

Billy - no, I didn't notice that the video had been uploaded by you. Full circle indeed! 

Wow, amazing how different people think about the album. I mean, I am not surprised that some like it more or less than others, or even dislike it (like Charger). What I find surprising is how different even the basic impressions and descriptions are on which the judgements are based. E.g. Billy finds AB "less accessible", while for me it is absolutely accessible: First time I listened to it, I immediately loved pretty much every second of it. Thelemech says "dull and generic in places", KDC says "mixed bag", Charger says "bland and amateurish", I say: original and innovative all the way through. Sicko says "The production is a problem", and I do hear the production is imperfect, but I find the way it is imperfect extremely charming and not a problem at all. And so on. Since I rarely give much attention to lyrics when listening to music in English, I cannot rule out the possibility that some of the lyrics are indeed goofy. The music just makes me happy.

At the same time, I find most of "13" pretty boring, same goes for TDYK. Both predictable, dull and polished. Both lack exactly what AB offers. (The only negative thing that all these 3 albums have in common is that they are all compressed to an extent that makes my ears bleed. Dynamic range is extremely low for all 3.)

Now I am thinking that I should probably be happy (like Charger, but for very different reasons) that Bill Ward didn't participate in the reunion. Yes, 13 would probably much better than it is, but given all expectations, pressures, powers and business obligations, I doubt that they, and especially Bill, would have had enough freedom to do anything really original; and AB wouldn't have happened at all. So after all, I am probably better off the way things happened.

[JSTHECONQUEROR]

I have listened to it twice probably. I remember liking it to some extent.

[Zzzptm]

Black Sabbath meets Danny Elfman, with unexpected consequences.

[Jack the Stripper]

Never given it multiple thorough listens to give it a fair & proper assessment...I do like to give albums multiple listens, even putting them aside when they haven't clicked with me and giving them another go down the track before outright dismissing them, but from what I've listened to of Accountable Beasts the production sounded woeful and the music a little too eclectic for my taste.

[Billy Underdog]

Am i the only one who doesn't have one bit of a problem with the production? One thing is that i listen to BM albums that are basically demo casettes recorded directly into the boombox, but this is actually very well produced compared to that. Well, it's produced atleast. You can hear all the instruments, nothing stands out or is buried too much, and your ears still work after listening through the whole album with earplugs. That's alot better than some of the contemporary big budget stuff being released, Rick Rubins 13 included.
Don't think the singing is too shabby either. It's got character and emotion, and he hits the notes. That's pretty much all i require from a Rock vocalist, and the first two isn't exactly overflowing the market these days.

[Sicko FanAtic]

Am i the only one who doesn't have one bit of a problem with the production? One thing is that i listen to BM albums that are basically demo casettes recorded directly into the boombox, but this is actually very well produced compared to that. Well, it's produced atleast. You can hear all the instruments, nothing stands out or is buried too much, and your ears still work after listening through the whole album with earplugs. That's alot better than some of the contemporary big budget stuff being released, Rick Rubins 13 included.
Don't think the singing is too shabby either. It's got character and emotion, and he hits the notes. That's pretty much all i require from a Rock vocalist, and the first two isn't exactly overflowing the market these days.

There are spots where certain instruments pop out to the point where it messes with the illusion of a live performance that I like to get with more even production. That being said, I don't have a problem with it personally, but I see how the production quality is a barrier to this being a mainstream hit.

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[Billy Underdog]

There are spots where certain instruments pop out to the point where it messes with the illusion of a live performance that I like to get with more even production. That being said, I don't have a problem with it personally, but I see how the production quality is a barrier to this being a mainstream hit.

I can't imagine he was aiming for it to be a big hit anyways. Ofcourse he wanted it to be noticed, which it was (after all, we're still here talking about it almost three years after the fact), but even with Bills somewhat questionable view of reality i don't think he was aiming to even come close to the solo releases of his former bandmates, GZR included. If he had he would've had a bigger team with him, both on production, but more specifically on management and distribution.