Black Sabbath (album)

Black Sabbath
Studio album by Black Sabbath
Released	February 13, 1970
Recorded	July 20 1969 - January 8 1970
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	40:16
Label	Vertigo Warner Bros. (US/Canada)
Producer	Rodger Bain
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (C-) link
Black Sabbath chronology
Black Sabbath (1970) Paranoid (1970)

Black Sabbath is the self-titled debut album by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was released in the United Kingdom on Friday the 13th of February, 1970.

The album is often regarded as one of the first heavy metal albums.^[1]

Contents 1 Recording 2 Music and lyrics 3 Artwork 4 Release and reception 5 Track listing 5.1 1970 Vertigo release (United Kingdom) 5.1.1 Side one 5.1.2 Side two 5.2 1970 Warner Bros. release (North America) 5.2.1 Side one 5.2.2 Side two 5.3 Warner Bros. CD release 5.4 2004 Sanctuary release (remastered) 5.5 2004 release on "Black Box" (remastered) 6 Personnel 7 Release history 8 References

Recording

In August 1969 the band, who were then known as Earth, decided to change their name to Black Sabbath. Around the same time they recorded and distributed a demo version of their eponymous song. In December 1969 they recorded and released their debut single, "Evil Woman". In January 1970, the band recorded and mixed the remaining seven songs that would appear on their debut album. The songs were recorded "live" and the entire process took just three days. Guitarist Tony Iommi recalls recording live: "We thought 'We have two days to do it and one of the days is mixing.' So we played live. Ozzy was singing at the same time, we just put him in a separate booth and off we went. We never had a second run of most of the stuff."^[2]

Music and lyrics

Musically and lyrically the album was considered quite "dark" for the time. The first song on the album, the eponymous "Black Sabbath", is based almost entirely on a tritone interval played at slow tempo on the electric guitar (due to the "oppressive" or "scary" sound it produces, the tritone had in the Middle Ages come to be associated with "evil" in Western music). The song's lyrics concern a "figure in black" which is identified as Satan. Similarly, the lyrics of the song "N.I.B." are written from the point of view of Lucifer. Contrary to popular belief, the name of that song is not an acronym for "Nativity In Black". Tony Iommi said in several interviews that it is merely a reference to drummer Bill Ward's pointed goatee at the time, which was shaped as a pen-nib.

Lyrics of two other songs on the album were written about supernatural-themed stories. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a reference to the H. P. Lovecraft short story Beyond the Wall of Sleep, while "The Wizard" was inspired by the character of Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.^[3] The latter includes harmonica performed by vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.

Both the songs "Warning" and "Evil Woman" are covers of blues songs, with lyrics regarding relationships. The first was written and performed by Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation, and the second was written and performed by the band Crow. Black Sabbath's take on the originals is "heavier" and more jam-oriented.

Artwork

The album cover features a depiction of Mapledurham Watermill, situated on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. Standing in front of the watermill is a figure dressed in black robes. This is perhaps an allusion to the lyrics of their eponymous song: "A figure in black, which points at me". On the original release, the inner gatefold sleeve featured an inverted cross with a poem written inside of it. Vertigo, the band's record label, was allegedly responsible for adding the cross. The band was upset when they discovered this, as it fuelled allegations that they were Satanists or Occultists.

Release and reception

The album reached number 8 in the UK, and following its US release in May 1970 by Warner Bros. Records, the album reached number 23 on the Billboard 200, where it remained for over a year, selling a million copies.^[4][5] While the album was a commercial success, it was widely panned by critics, with Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissing the album as "discordant jams with bass and guitar reeling like velocitized speedfreaks all over each other's musical perimeters, yet never quite finding synch".^[6]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 238 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Q magazine (8/00, p.126) later included it as one of the Best Metal Albums of All Time, claiming that "[This] was to prove so influential it remains a template for metal bands three decades on. The band's signature song remains the scariest of all heavy metal songs."

Track listing

All songs written by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, except where noted.

• The titles "Wasp", "Bassically" and "A Bit of Finger" are unique to the North American editions. They are not extra songs but rather a name for some part of a song, for example "Bassically" is simply the bass introduction of "N.I.B". "Wasp" is the title of the first 'suite' (Behind the Wall of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B.), and "A Bit of Finger" is the name of the second 'suite' (Sleeping Village / Warning). All editions of the album, except the original UK edition and 2004 remaster, feature separate songs bridged together with these titles added.
• The original North American releases of the album had "Wicked World" in place of "Evil Woman" due to conflicts over publishing rights. Beginning with the first CD remaster in 1996, "Wicked World" has been added as an extra song outside of North America.
• The song "Warning" originally contained a guitar solo preformed by Tony Iommi that lasted over 30 minutes. While the album was being produced, Rodger Bain cut the guitar solo down, feeling that it made the album too long, and would confuse listeners.

1970 Vertigo release (United Kingdom)

Side one

1. "Black Sabbath" – 6:16
2. "The Wizard" – 4:24
3. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" – 3:38
4. "N.I.B." – 6:06

Side two

1. "Evil Woman" (Dave Wagner, Dick Wiegand, Larry Wiegand – Crow) – 3:25
2. "Sleeping Village" – 3:46
3. "Warning" (Aynsley Dunbar, John Moorshead, Alex Dmochowski, Victor Hickling) – 10:32

1970 Warner Bros. release (North America)

Side one

1. "Black Sabbath" – 6:20
2. "The Wizard" – 4:22
3. "Wasp / Behind the Wall of Sleep / Bassically / N.I.B." – 9:44

Side two

1. "Wicked World" – 4:30
2. "A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning" – 14:32

Warner Bros. CD release

(Note: The Warner Bros CD release features track names in an incorrect order [#"Wicked World" is listed before #"A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning"],though the tracks themselves remain the same. The following is the corrected track name order.)

1. "Black Sabbath" – 6:16
2. "The Wizard" – 4:18
3. "Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B." – 10:40
4. "A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning" ("Warning" written by Aynsley Dunbar et al.) – 14:20
5. "Wicked World" – 4:42

2004 Sanctuary release (remastered)

1. "Black Sabbath" – 6:21
2. "The Wizard" – 4:24
3. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" – 3:37
4. "N.I.B." – 6:07
5. "Evil Woman" (Crow) – 3:25
6. "Sleeping Village" – 3:46
7. "Warning" (Aynsley Dunbar et al.) – 10:32
8. "Wicked World" – 4:43

2004 release on "Black Box" (remastered)

Main article: Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970–1978)

1. "Black Sabbath" – 6:19
2. "The Wizard" – 4:23
3. "Wasp/Behind the Wall of Sleep/Bassically/N.I.B." – 9:44
4. "Wicked World" – 4:47
5. "A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning" ("Warning" written by Aynsley Dunbar et al.) – 14:16
6. "Evil Woman" (Crow) – 3:23

Personnel

• Ozzy Osbourne* – Vocals, harmonica on "The Wizard"
• Tony Iommi – guitar
• Geezer Butler – bass guitar
• Bill Ward – drums
• Tom Allom – engineer
• Barry Sheffield – engineer
• Rodger Bain – producer

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Notes
United Kingdom	13 February 1970	Vertigo Records
United States	1 June 1970	Warner Bros. Records
Canada	???	Warner Bros. Records
Australia	???	Fontana Records	First released on Fontana Records then on Vertigo.
New Zealand	???	Fontana Records
United Kingdom	1986	Castle Communications	released under their "That's Original" series as a double album with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
United Kingdom	2004	Sanctuary Records

References

Black Sabbath Ozzy Osbourne • Tony Iommi • Geezer Butler • Bill Ward Vinny Appice • Bev Bevan • Jo Burt • Bob Daisley • Ronnie James Dio • Ian Gillan • Ray Gillen • Glenn Hughes • Tony Martin • Neil Murray • Geoff Nicholls • Cozy Powell • Bobby Rondinelli • Eric Singer • Dave Spitz • Dave Walker Studio albums Black Sabbath • Paranoid • Master of Reality • Black Sabbath Vol. 4 • Sabbath Bloody Sabbath • Sabotage • Technical Ecstasy • Never Say Die! • Heaven and Hell • Mob Rules • Born Again • Seventh Star • The Eternal Idol • Headless Cross • Tyr • Dehumanizer • Cross Purposes • Forbidden Live albums Live Evil • Cross Purposes Live • Reunion • Past Lives • Live at Hammersmith Odeon Compilations We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll • Under Wheels of Confusion • The Sabbath Stones • Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978 • Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970–1978) • Greatest Hits 1970–1978 • The Dio Years • The Rules of Hell Unofficial albums Live at Last • The Sabbath Collection • The Ozzy Osbourne Years • The Best of Black Sabbath Singles "Evil Woman" • "Black Sabbath" • "N.I.B." • "The Wizard" • "Paranoid" • "Iron Man" • "War Pigs" • "Fairies Wear Boots" • "Sweet Leaf" • "Children of the Grave" • "After Forever" • "Changes" • "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" • "Symptom of the Universe" • "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor" • "Dirty Women" • "Never Say Die!" • "Neon Knights" • "Die Young" • "The Mob Rules" • "Turn Up the Night" • "Trashed" • "No Stranger to Love" • "TV Crimes" • "Psycho Man" Videos Never Say Die • Black and Blue • The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1 • The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2 • The Last Supper • Inside Black Sabbath - 1970-1992 • Black Sabbath's Paranoid • Rock Review • In Their Own Words • Hangin' with Heaven and Hell Related articles Discography • Members • Heaven and Hell (tour) • Nativity in Black