Tuesday Two-Fer, VII: Ozzy Sabbath

Today's post is from HIM.

I take a firm line on this. Zep was blues made rocking. Sab were metal made complete. And, even as I say this, I add a huge qualification: I often like Sab for what they did that wasn’t metal as much as I do for what was metal. They were a fierce foursome that etched doom across the planet, while finding time for some tasty fills and jazzy diversions.
 
First Pick: “Symptom of the Universe,” Sabotage (1974):

This is the Rosetta Stone for metal. Full stop. You would have a hard time arguing with a bunch of hippies standing in front of a mirror . . . with their images looking right at them! What? Was your mind blown (by Iommi’s cropped do’ or Ward’s Ben Franklin stance?). As a sage on YouTube said regarding this song: “this is what cocaine sounds like when it snorts drums .” Yup. Sure thing. You can stick your “Whole Lotta Love” in a burlap sack and throw it in the river Styx. Sab wins with this song alone.
 
Second Pick: “Planet Caravan,” Paranoid (1970):

Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits 1970-1978

This is my qualification song. This isn’t the Sab everyone knows. Play this for a non-fan who ‘knows’ Sab and ask them who it is. Fun ensues. But this is a deep dive into the influences they showed throughout their early career. It is mellow, odd, and downright groovy. Need more cred? They made Pantera slow down and digest the majesty of this song when they tried to cover it.
 
Honorable Mention: “Never Say Die,” Never Say Die! (1978):

Train wrecks aren’t pretty. And Never Say Die! (don’t forget the exclamation mark) was just such a thing. But it was a lot better in spots than Technical Ecstasy (1976). Case in point: this song. It is buoyant. It rocks. Ozzy sounds excited. The whole song chugs along with so much pluck that you just can’t wait for the next . . .

Comments

[JT]

I think "Never Say Die" is my favorite Ozzy-era Sab song. Good picks.

[Bob]

so many amazing songs, but if I could only listen to one Ozzy Sabbath tune the rest of my life, it would undoubtedly be "A National Acrobat." It's heavy, but it also swings; and it has several different sections that keep the listener engaged for the song's full length. And Him, I share your sentiments about Zep. Yes, they took the blues in interesting directions, but they were not nearly as heavy as Sabbath, and they ripped off a fair bit of their early songs without a single writing credit to the original composers. Imagine how much differently Jake Holmes' life would have been if Zep had given him proper writing credit for "Dazed and Confused." Or how different Keith Relf's life would have been if Zep had given him proper lyric writing credit on "Tangerine." To this day, Jimmy Page refuses to acknowledge Relf's contribution to the lyrics for that song. That set of yardbirds recordings from 1968 that page released a few months ago has "Knowing that I'm Losing You", the song that morphed into "Tangerine" with Relf's vocal, and more importantly, the lyrics that Plant stole without giving Relf any credit, scrubbed from the track...Disgusting!

[GNR]

Songs that swing ? Sabbath you say ? Sabbra Cadabra !! - with two exclamation points :) A song that has everything.

[Bkallday]

Johnny Blade & Hard Road are also 2 great songs that were on NSD. Sabbath>>>Zep

[Bob]

a big hell yeah on both counts to GNR and BK.

[Metalboy!]

Bob, I understand your frustration with Page. His outsized ego (if anyone deserves to wear one, it’s him) let’s him confabulate that because he changed those songs so much (when it turns out he didn’t change them enough), he feels sharing the credit with the original writers would be no longer warranted.

And, though it may be true Sabbath is heavier than Zeppelin, Iommi is on record as saying there would have been no Sabbath without Zeppelin. Additionally, Ozzy is quoted as saying he wrote “Paranoid” to be like Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown”.

Another interesting tidbit in the world of Zeppelin vs. Sabbath is a little knowing fact Tony Iommi chose John Bonham, drummer of Led Zeppelin, as his Best Man for his wedding.

Also, as I’ve mentioned here before, my favorite Sabbath album is the much maligned and often derided “Technical Ecstasy”, released in 1976. You could say many would think I need a “Rock and Roll Doctor” for making such a statement but to that I say, “It’s Alright”!

[Gary]

Hard to pick one (as there is a litany of them) , but if I had to I’d probably say that Children Of The Grave is this guys all timer from “Das Sabs”.

[Bob]

Metalboy!, my good sir, interesting discussion as always. I had never heard or read that quote from Iommi regarding Zep. given that both bands essentially started around the same time, I don't see how it's possible that there wouldn't have been a Sab without a Zep, but who am I to question Iommi? Quite frankly, there may not have been a zep or sab without Blue Cheer, but that's a big rabit hole that I'm sure no one wants to go down. And, as for "Paranoid", I read that Ozzy quote as well, but I find it kind of funny because "Communication Breakdown" was written to sound like "Nervous Breakdown" by Eddie Cochran. Don't get me wrong, there are some Zep songs that I love, but for god sakes, the Jake Holmes tune was literally called, "Dazed and Confused." It had the same descending bass line, albeit played on acoustic guitar. It had a loud section in the middle with psychedelic guitars that then got back into the main section. All zep did was change the lyrics, tweak the instrumentation, and play the song more loudly. That hardly qualifies as it now being Zep's song to the exclusion of Jake Holmes. The amazing thing is, when Zep put their mind to it, and, heaven forbid, wrote something completely original, it was usually pure genius, so I don't know why they felt they had to resort to so much plagiarism. One could normally chalk it up to youthful exuberance, but page is still just as much of a jerk about that stuff now as he was 50 years ago. Finally, taking this back to Sabbath, although "Technical Ecstasy" isn't my favorite record by them, I like most of the songs on it. I think, "she's gone" is some of the best ballad singing Ozzy has ever done.