Black Sabbath : Black Sabbath 1970 : Reaction & Memories

Black Sabbath : Black Sabbath : 1970 It was 1973 the year my interest in music exploded. The year before had been about singles, Slade, T-Rex, Sweet etc and 73 was the year I discovered bands that did albums. I had heard Paranoid but when I went to get a copy from Woolworths they did not have it, but they did have this one. They seemed a scary band singing about scary subjects and this one has this mysterious woman ( a witch at the very least) in front of a haunted barn ( must be haunted!). There was no pictures of the band either, one of them was called Geezer! I opened the gatefold cover to see an upside down cross and some strange poem about upturned swans and rabbits born dead in traps. It ended with a mention of a young girl ( perhaps the one on the cover?) a rolling bell and the still falling rain. It seemed only right therefore that the album starts with the still falling rain and a tolling church bell and thunder. A few moments later that riff appears, a riff that defined a genre, a riff so heavy it appears to be standing still instead of moving forward. The riff then settles back and that voice appears, ‘what is this that stands before me, figure in black’… jeez …this was all your favourite hammer horror films with their own rock soundtrack. Black Sabbath from the album Black Sabbath by the band Black Sabbath…inspired by the film Black Sabbath! By the time Ossie ( that is how it was spelt on this album) sings ‘oh please god help me’ you just knew life was never going to be quite the same again for me or my parents! The album also had songs about Wizards ( complete with a tinkling bell) A Wall of Sleep, N.I.B which mentioned some dude call lucifer and over on side 2 there were evil women and a warning from Ozzy that his love was a little bit too strong (or the song was in the wrong key!). The cover was by Keef who’s talent for tinting photos was second to non and the production by Roger Bain defined a movement and sound that bands are still trying to replicate now! Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine Become a Patron and see all my videos before general release   / nowspinning