The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[OB1]

I’ve just recalled a story about the first time I saw Sabbath, which was on the Technical Ecstasy tour. It was a really good gig but I confess the most memorable thing was before the gig, which was also my first visit to the Cow Shed (A.K.A. New Bingley Hall, Stafford), which meant it was 10,000 plus people standing. My school friend (another Blue) and I got a lift form to older guys he knew that had a car.

We arrived well before the gig so that we could be in the queue to get reasonably close to the stage (how naive and British and as one learned over time, a waste of time). At some point well before the doors opened and when there was a sizeable, another fan produced a dead rat from somewhere (perhaps he had been planning to make a salad to eat in the queue) and launched it into the air and once it landed someone else threw it along the q. This went on, to cheers, for a little while until it landed where a security guard could grab it and confiscate it, which produced a very large chant of “we want the rat back”. You had to be there but Ozzy would be proud.

Talking of Ozzy, did I mention the time I met him?

The next time I saw Sabbath, they had a little known band from California supporting them who simply blew Sabbath away. Mind you, those young Americans did go on to be the U.S.A.’s greatest rock band.

 

[Protein Junkie]

I’ve just recalled a story about the first time I saw Sabbath, which was on the Technical Ecstasy tour. It was a really good gig but I confess the most memorable thing was before the gig, which was also my first visit to the Cow Shed (A.K.A. New Bingley Hall, Stafford), which meant it was 10,000 plus people standing. My school friend (another Blue) and I got a lift form to older guys he knew that had a car.

We arrived well before the gig so that we could be in the queue to get reasonably close to the stage (how naive and British and as one learned over time, a waste of time). At some point well before the doors opened and when there was a sizeable, another fan produced a dead rat from somewhere (perhaps he had been planning to make a salad to eat in the queue) and launched it into the air and once it landed someone else threw it along the q. This went on, to cheers, for a little while until it landed where a security guard could grab it and confiscate it, which produced a very large chant of “we want the rat back”. You had to be there but Ozzy would be proud.

Talking of Ozzy, did I mention the time I met him?

The next time I saw Sabbath, they had a little known band from California supporting them who simply blew Sabbath away. Mind you, those young Americans did go on to be the U.S.A.’s greatest rock band.

Van Halen ?

 

[GornikDaze]

I’ve just recalled a story about the first time I saw Sabbath, which was on the Technical Ecstasy tour. It was a really good gig but I confess the most memorable thing was before the gig, which was also my first visit to the Cow Shed (A.K.A. New Bingley Hall, Stafford), which meant it was 10,000 plus people standing. My school friend (another Blue) and I got a lift form to older guys he knew that had a car.

We arrived well before the gig so that we could be in the queue to get reasonably close to the stage (how naive and British and as one learned over time, a waste of time). At some point well before the doors opened and when there was a sizeable, another fan produced a dead rat from somewhere (perhaps he had been planning to make a salad to eat in the queue) and launched it into the air and once it landed someone else threw it along the q. This went on, to cheers, for a little while until it landed where a security guard could grab it and confiscate it, which produced a very large chant of “we want the rat back”. You had to be there but Ozzy would be proud.

Talking of Ozzy, did I mention the time I met him?

The next time I saw Sabbath, they had a little known band from California supporting them who simply blew Sabbath away. Mind you, those young Americans did go on to be the U.S.A.’s greatest rock band.

What is it with rock/metal fans? Waiting for Slipknot to take the stage at Sonisphere there was a bag of poo being thrown around to loud cheers - strange bunch aren’t we haha

 

[OB1]

Van Halen ?

Of course.

 

[OB1]

What is it with rock/metal fans? Waiting for Slipknot to take the stage at Sonisphere there was a bag of poo being thrown around to loud cheers - strange bunch aren’t we haha

That is gross. Sadly been at outdoor gigs where bottles full of wee were thrown.

 

[Saddleworth2]

So what to say about this album? To be honest I’m torn a couple of ways. There have been lots of comments around how iconic it is, invented the heavy metal genre, gave birth to a 1000 other bands…..
Whilst I can understand those sentiments, they are only positive attributes if you like what it spawned, and I don’t. Heavy Metal has never done anything for me and I dislike bands from all corners of the earth that play it. It’s dull. It’s derivative. It’s repetitive. There are riffs on this album that populate most of the heavy metal I have ever heard.
So I’m not starting from a positive position. However, there has always been a little corner of my soul that likes Black Sabbath. Despite the fact they were openly mocked by my circle of music listening 15 year olds, I had a copy of Paranoid and played it quite a bit. I laughed at Iron Man and Fairies wear boots but enjoyed the album. It was fun and a relief from Tales of Topographic Oceans.

What days they were. What music we had in that period of early 70s. What choice. Bands like Zeppelin, the Who, the usual prog rock suspects, Bowie, Roxy all at their absolute peak. Or how about a bit of Californian music? Something different? Santana or Zappa or Paul Simon or Joni or Back Door or Wishbone Ash or, or, or. The choices and range of genres and quality of output was astonishing.
So where does that place Sabbath and this album in the great band/album chart that is embedded in my soul/heart/head? Well not very high I’m afraid. But it is a guilty pleasure, I enjoyed listening to it. Tony Iommi is an extraordinary and unique guitar player. I loved the production. The album could run back to back with paranoid and you wouldn’t really notice the join. I haven’t listened to that in decades and I won’t be going back to this anytime soon.

It’s a score of 6 from me as the positives have dragged the score up from where it started. Nice pick though thanks as it did take me back to my youth.

 

[OB1]

So what to say about this album? To be honest I’m torn a couple of ways. There have been lots of comments around how iconic it is, invented the heavy metal genre, gave birth to a 1000 other bands…..
Whilst I can understand those sentiments, they are only positive attributes if you like what it spawned, and I don’t. Heavy Metal has never done anything for me and I dislike bands from all corners of the earth that play it. It’s dull. It’s derivative. It’s repetitive. There are riffs on this album that populate most of the heavy metal I have ever heard.
So I’m not starting from a positive position. However, there has always been a little corner of my soul that likes Black Sabbath. Despite the fact they were openly mocked by my circle of music listening 15 year olds, I had a copy of Paranoid and played it quite a bit. I laughed at Iron Man and Fairies wear boots but enjoyed the album. It was fun and a relief from Tales of Topographic Oceans.

What days they were. What music we had in that period of early 70s. What choice. Bands like Zeppelin, the Who, the usual prog rock suspects, Bowie, Roxy all at their absolute peak. Or how about a bit of Californian music? Something different? Santana or Zappa or Paul Simon or Joni or Back Door or Wishbone Ash or, or, or. The choices and range of genres and quality of output was astonishing.
So where does that place Sabbath and this album in the great band/album chart that is embedded in my soul/heart/head? Well not very high I’m afraid. But it is a guilty pleasure, I enjoyed listening to it. Tony Iommi is an extraordinary and unique guitar player. I loved the production. The album could run back to back with paranoid and you wouldn’t really notice the join. I haven’t listened to that in decades and I won’t be going back to this anytime soon.

It’s a score of 6 from me as the positives have dragged the score up from where it started. Nice pick though thanks as it did take me back to my youth.

Oh well. You will hate some (more) of my future picks.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Oh well. You will hate some (more) of my future picks.

That may well be so. You introduced me to John Cale though so swings and roundabouts mate.

 

[chesterbells]

That is gross. Sadly been at outdoor gigs where bottles full of wee were thrown.

I scroll back to Queen at Maine Road in 86.

Having had to sit through Belouis Some and Quo, we were on the tarpaulin covered pitch and the dry ice appeared on stage and the pre-show music started.

The crowd naturally surged forward a bit and my mate and I saw an opportunity to get even further forward as a gap appeared in the surge … only to find out it contained pools of freshly produced vomit.

Seeing dozens of people surging forward to then panic and suddenly try and take evasive action at the last minute, caused carnage. Not many of us were focussing on One Vision.

Edit. Oh and yes, having played it back in full yesterday, 7/10 for Sabbath for me ta

 

[OB1]

I scroll back to Queen at Maine Road in 86.

Having had to sit through Belouis Some and Quo, we were on the tarpaulin covered pitch and the dry ice appeared on stage and the pre-show music started.

The crowd naturally surged forward a bit and my mate and I saw an opportunity to get even further forward as a gap appeared in the surge … only to find out it contained pools of freshly produced vomit.

Seeing dozens of people surging forward to then panic and suddenly try and take evasive action at the last minute, caused carnage. Not many of us were focussing on One Vision.

Edit. Oh and yes, having played it back in full yesterday, 7/10 for Sabbath for me ta

I was in the crowd at the Cow Shed for Queen on the Day at the Races tour and some twat puked next to us. Obviously a tightly packed crowd! Great gig though, famous even because it inspired We Are The Champios due to the crowd ver loudly singing You’ll Never Walk Alone before the encore.