Black Sabbath - Live Aid (1985-07-13)

 

Black Sabbath, Live Aid rehearsal 1985

Last weekend, I did the pay-per-view for "Back to the Beginning", the farewell concert for Ozzy and Black Sabbath.  Artists often manage to have several "farewell" tours, with some of them lasting years, but with Ozzy's Parkinson's diagnosis, this really did feel like the last time we'll see the original four play together.  Given their activity and apparent good health, I suspect Tony and maybe Geezer will continue to be active, even if not as "Black Sabbath".

Ozzy is unable to stand and performed while seated in a "throne". Danette and I both noticed that there were several times where it was clear he wanted to get up and move around, but alas he could not.  Regardless, he sounded great, as good as ever in fact. It was also great that Bill participated, since contract disputes had prevented his involvement with their final studio LP and farewell tour.  

But this post isn't really about the "Back to the Beginning", it's really about the deja vu and nostalgia that I felt, watching a festival and waiting for Black Sabbath to play.  It was 40 years ago nearly to the day that Black Sabbath played in Philadelphia for Live Aid.  That was also a reunion of the original four members, albeit only six years out from the Ozzy leaving the first time in 1979.  

Still, I remember the anticipation of their brief reunion in 1985. I had the TV on, but was frequently in the back yard, doing something that I have long since forgotten.  I'd come in periodically and see who was playing, and then head back outside to the heat of July in Virginia -- not totally unlike last weekend. 

I was happy that my schedule allowed me to watch this concert last weekend -- and in 1985 as well.  It's hard to overstate the role of Black Sabbath in creating the genre of heavy metal, and I enjoy their music non-nostalgically and non-ironically even to this day.  

The video of their Live Aid performance is included below, but although this is the from the official Black Sabbath YouTube channel, the opening minute or so of "Children of the Grave" is cut off.  I'm also linking a Japanese feed, which is complete but has subtitles.  

Black Sabbath - "The Eternal Idol" (LP Review)

Yesterday I was texting with Scott about "Family Favorites", a bonus EP of covers from Entombed and the subject eventually turned to different versions of Black Sabbath, where we both agreed that "Vol. 4" is probably our favorite LP, and both Ozzy Sabbath and Dio Sabbath are great, but we treat them like separate bands and don't compare between them.  I even stated that I'm a big fan of Gillan Sabbath (Scott may have agreed on that, it's not clear), but certainly "Born Again" should be enjoyed separately and not compared with the Ozzy or Dio.  Although we did not discuss it last night, I've stated before that I even kind of liked "Seventh Star", mostly because I appreciate Glenn Hughes's bluesy vocals. 

This discussion made me recall that my interest in Black Sabbath came to an abrupt end with 1987's "The Eternal Idol".  I still have the vinyl packed away somewhere, one of the last vinyl LPs I ever bought new.  If I remember correctly, I bought it in my freshman year of college and I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to it since.  Clearly I didn't like it, but I couldn't quite remember why.

I've since read that Tony Martin-led era of Black Sabbath (of which "The Eternal Idol" was the first LP) has developed a cult following.  Had I missed something?  My interest in metal was waning in college, so perhaps I did not give it a fair listen?

With that in mind, today I re-listened to the LP (via YouTube -- I did not dig up my vinyl) for the first time in ~30 years, and the verdict is... it's awful.  Tony Martin is not a good singer, he's not even interestingly bad: he's just bland, generic, and would be right at home at your local bar in a Queensryche cover band.  There are spots where Tony Iommi's playing still shines through, but the vocals (and the simplistic lyrics) sometimes make it difficult to even locate, much less enjoy, Iommi.

The next LP in the Tony Martin era, "Headless Cross", receives a lot of praise but I'm in no hurry to listen to it.  In 2010, the demo version of this LP with Ray Gillen singing was released, and after a few spot checks Ray might be a bit better than Tony Martin, but not enough to matter.  Neither Gillen nor Martin bring an interesting vocal interpretation like Ozzy, Dio, Gillan, or even Hughes.  The most interesting part of the LP is the cover, with a live model reenactment of Rodin's sculpture "The Eternal Idol" (for which the models were both hospitalized because the bronze paint was toxic; further expanding the suffering caused by this LP).

Standout songs: "Scarlet Pimpernel" (it's an instrumental)

Songs that appear: "The Eternal Idol" (this would be vastly better as an instrumental)

Skip 'em songs: the rest (full LP playlist).

Final score: 3/10.  Maybe I'll revisit it again in another 30 years.

Black Sabbath - "Heaven and Hell" (LP Review)

Geoff Nicholls died this week.  You're probably thinking "who?" and that's ok, he was a journeyman in the NWOBHM movement, best known as the keyboardist for Black Sabbath from 1980--2004.  Most of the time he was credited as an "additional performer" but he was occasionally credited as a full-member of the band (e.g., on "Seventh Star"), his vacillating membership status serving as a metaphor for the awkward role of keyboards and heavy metal in general.  His wikipedia page states he typically played back- or side-stage during concerts -- nothing says "I'm not a full member of the band" like playing backstage (or in the bar's kitchen, but that's a story for another time). 

Black Sabbath had used keyboards on previous LPs, but fortunately they had never really been central to their sound.  1980's "Heaven and Hell" was the first LP in which Nicholls appears, but of course this LP is better known for being the LP with Ronnie James Dio replacing longtime lead singer Ozzy.  At the time there was a lot of concern about Ozzy-less Sabbath, but I think most people eventually realized that Dio had re-energized Black Sabbath -- honestly, the last two Sabbath LPs with Ozzy weren't very good.  In high school I was a huge Dio fan, so I had no qualms about him leading Sabbath, and I just considered early 80s Sabbath and early 70s Sabbath as basically two different bands.

Although I rarely listen to it now, this LP still occupies a special place for me and it is hard to overstate how important this LP was to me back in the day.  It still sounds good, but I also realize that I can not even begin to separate it from the nostalgia of the mid-80s.  I'll also admit as much as I generally dislike keyboards in metal, Nicholls does a fine job on songs like "Die Young" and "Lonely is the Word", where the keyboards are present but not central... like they're being played from back stage.

Standout songs: "Neon Knights", "Children of the Sea", "Heaven and Hell", "Wishing Well", "Die Young", "Lonely Is the Word"

Skip 'em songs: "Lady Evil"

Final score: 9/10

Black Sabbath - "Born Again" (LP Review)

Black Sabbath's 1983 LP "Born Again" has to be the most unfairly maligned major artist LPs ever released.  Contemporary reviews panned the LP ("one of heavy metal's all-time greatest disappointments").  Few liked the production ("in a misguided attempt to record the heaviest album ever, [they] came away with the muddiest instead"), and nobody liked the cover art, including the person that created it (black-sabbath.com has a nice article with quotes from the artist explaining the cover's origin).  The supporting tour was a comedy of errors (more on that later). 

In late 1982, Black Sabbath was looking to replace its vocalist for the 3rd time in as many years.  Ronnie James Dio had joined the band in 1980, replacing the venerable Ozzy Osbourne, but had left in 1982 in a bitter dispute with Tony Iommi.  The replacement was Ian Gillan, who had been quite successful fronting Deep Purple during their height of popularity.  So you have a set of veterans trying to recapture the magic of 10+ years ago, especially in light of their style of music about to be supplanted by the emerging sub-genre of thrash metal (remember: "Kill 'Em All" also came out in 1983).  Add to this mix a family feud (Ozzy & Sharon Arden vs. Black Sabbath & Don Arden (Sabbath's manager and Sharon's father)), and the result is simply a band trying really, really hard -- perhaps too hard -- to be the heaviest thing out there.

Here's where I stand: this is actually a pretty good LP.  Not a great LP, mind you.  But a good one nonetheless, even if it doesn't hold up to the classic Ozzy-led Sabbath LPs, or even the two Dio LPs.  It is leagues ahead of the last two Ozzy Sabbath LPs (remember "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die"?  I didn't think so). 

• cover art: I agree with bassist Geezer Butler, who said of the cover: "It’s shit. but it’s fucking great!"
• production: Geezer's quote applies here too.
• Ian Gillan: I love Deep Purple, I love Black Sabbath, and I have no problems with Purple Sabbath (full disclosure: I also kinda liked Glenn Hughes on "Seventh Star", even though that barely qualified as Black Sabbath).

But I'm here to tell you that even if you have never heard of this LP, you should celebrate its very existence for one reason:

It is the cornerstone of "This Is Spinal Tap".

Ok, sure, there are plenty of rock/metal cliches for Spinal Tap to mine, and maybe Spinal Tap would have existed without this LP, but it would not have been as funny.  Here, in increasing order of priority, here are the contributions of "Born Again" to Spinal Tap:

• production that no one likes: "You don't, you don't do heavy metal in doubly, you know"
• cover art that no one likes: "I think we're stuck with a very stupid and dismal-looking album"
• most importantly: Stonehenge

Yes, the "Born Again" tour gave us Stonehenge.  And not just Stonehenge mind you, but Stonehenge with a dwarf, because who doesn't look at the 20+ feet-high trilithons and think "you know what's missing?  a dwarf."  In real life, the Sabbath Stonehenge set was actually too big (because of a feet vs. meters confusion) to fit in most venues instead of too small ("I think that the problem *may* have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being *crushed* by a *dwarf*. Alright?"). Here's a short reflection from Ian Gillan about Stonehenge (transcript).

In summary, this is an enjoyable, but not classic, LP.  And in retrospect, it was Sabbath's last commercially or critically significant studio LP.

Standout songs: "Trashed" (there just aren't enough songs celebrating drunk driving...), "Disturbing The Priest" (and even rarer: songs inspired about interrupting choir practice), "Zero The Hero", "Digital Bitch" (and the rarest rock genre of all: songs trashing Ozzy's wife), "Born Again" (Iommi's guitar sound on this is great), "Keep It Warm" (well-suited for Gillan's style).

Skip' em songs:  none.

Final score: 6/10.  Stonehenge, people, it gave us Stonehenge: "Where the dew drops cry and the cats meow".

Bonus links #1: official videos -- caution: they're really awful and will make you enjoy the songs less:  "Trashed", "Zero The Hero"

Bonus links #2: bootlegs of unmixed demos are floating around the web (illogical contraption, viva les bootlegs).

Bonus image:  The magazine image that became the cover:

Bad Bonus link: The Guardian has an article that points out problems with the timing of Black Sabbath influencing "This Is Spinal Tap": the band's tour and the movie both occurred in 1984.  But that would mean that life imitated art, down to dwarfs and dimensionally inappropriate Stonehenges, and that is just too terrible to contemplate.  I'm sticking with my more comforting ordering of events.

Update: Bad Bonus links #2: Turns out, the Stonehenge bit was in the original, 1982 20 minute demo version of the movie, entitled "Spinal Tap: The Final Tour".  Here is a direct link to the scene, and here is the full demo (parts 1 and 2).  Sabbath would not have known about the 20 minute demo film in 1983/84, so I guess this is like Newton and Leibniz. 

Black Sabbath - "Vol. 4" (LP Review)

This review goes out to Butch @ Squealer Music. Butch and I share an interest in drone & doom music and he's turned me on to some cool bands like Earth, Sunn O))) and Deathprod. I plan to review LPs by those artists later, but first I thought I'd start with our mutual interest in the progenitor of doom, Black Sabbath.

Unlike most metal bands from my youth, I can honestly say that I enjoy Sabbath nearly as much now as I did then. And who doesn't, really? People who do not count themselves as fans probably sing along to songs like "Paranoid", "Iron Man" or maybe even "War Pigs". Ozzy-era Sabbath has a popular music legacy that is larger than most casual fans might imagine.

Having said that, Sabbath is probably best well-known for their great songs, not necessarily their great albums. For every "Paranoid"-quality song on an LP, there seemed to be something like "Planet Caravan". OK, so "Planet Caravan" is kind of cool in its own way, but check your iTunes play count and tell me how it rates compared to other Sabbath songs. Be honest.

Butch and I discussed our favorite Sabbath LPs one time, and while I think he went with "Master of Reality", I have to say their greatest LP is 1972's "Vol. 4". It has fewer hit songs (I'm not sure any get current radio airplay), but it is arguably the strongest start-to-finish LP they released (at least in the Ozzy era). I could make an argument for 1973's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", but the inclusion of keyboardist Rick Wakeman made for interesting songs, but ones that rawked less.

I'm not entirely sure why the songs from Vol. 4 don't get airplay on the classic rock stations: standouts like "Wheels of Confusion", "Tomorrow's Dream", "Supernaut", and "Under the Sun" are upbeat, have killer riffs and are very heavy. It might be that none of these songs have sing-along choruses like "Paranoid" and "Iron Man". For example, you can probably sing along with the guitar riff of "Supernaut" (which is at least as good as "Paranoid") better than you can remember and sing along with the lyrics ("I want to reach out and touch the sky / something something something / something something something..." -- there's actually no chorus).

Come to think of it, "Changes" is pretty much is the only song that you can sing along too. I also consider it the weakest song on the LP. It is not really bad, and you do have to give them credit (blame?) for basically inventing the metal power ballad genre, but it clearly not as enjoyable as the other songs. I'm ambivalent about the cocaine-themed "Snowblind", its neither bad nor good. The only truly skippable song is "FX"; 1:44 of electronics noodling which I guess seemed cool at the time.

"Laguna Sunrise" is the "pretty" instrumental Sabbath has on nearly every LP that serves as a vehicle to demonstrate Tony Iommi's guitar virtuosity. "St. Vitus Dance" is a nice example of Sabbath doing "hippie metal" -- it even has acoustic guitar in parts.

Another thing I like about this LP are the medleys: "Wheels of Confusion" leads into "The Straightener" and "Wheels of Confusion" interpolates "Every Day Comes and Goes" -- sort of a metal version of "A Day in the Life". The song writing and arrangement is at Sabbath's zenith here. This is the last LP where the drugs amplified their creativity instead of hurting it.

So despite the limited radio / single impact, I think this is their finest LP. They had recorded better individual songs before and after this, but as a collection of songs this is their high water mark.

Standout songs: "Wheels of Confusion / The Straightener", "Tomorrow's Dream", "Supernaut", "Cornucopia", "St. Vitus Dance", "Laguna Sunrise", "Under the Sun / Every Day Comes and Goes".

Skip 'em songs: "FX", "Changes".

Final score: 9/10. "FX" and "Changes" keep this from being 10/10.

2010-06-18 Edit: Butch insisted I include this link for "Snowblind". I'm surprised at how many high-quality, 1970s concert videos you can find on YouTube.

2012-07-05 Edit: The entire LP on YouTube.