Disc 6 is...Vol 4
Artist: Black Sabbath
Year of Release: 1972
How I Came To Know It: Although I've been a Black Sabbath fan since a tender age, I have to admit that I came to Black Sabbath in the Dio Years and my first love was "Heaven and Hell". I always admired the classic Sabbath, but it wasn't until my buddy Spence (with Nick tag-teaming me in the other ear) reminded me to give the early stuff a new listen. Wow.
How It Stacks Up: I have 11 Sabbath albums (6 Ozzy, 4 Dio and 1...er...Ian Gillan). Vol 4 is the greatest Sabbath album ever made. And that is saying a lot.
Rating: 5 stars, but only because the system only goes to 5.
Vol 4 has everything you could want in a Black Sabbath album - everything that makes them arguably the founders of an entire musical movement (Heavy Metal) and unquestionably one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
Ozzy is at his peak, Iommi's guitar solos are awesome, and Bill Ward's drums have that precise, but somehow ominously hollow drums beats. Geezer also great.
Many of Vol 4's greatest tracks have this incredible riff, followed by another completely different, equally incredible riff in the same song, perfectly playing off one another back and forth. Then, in the midst of this perfect balance comes heavy drum or a guitar solo. And the solos do not soar pointlessly over the top of the song - they form a part of the song. Half the time you find yourself listening to the solo, half the time the driving riff. You can just slip back and forth seamlessly, or take it all in together - it just depends on what you want right then.
The opening of Wheels of Confusion is this otherworldly sound that puts you a little off, and then rescues you with driving guitar. 8 minutes later the song has gone through at least 3 separate stages, each one of which would stand alone as an incredible rock piece. At this point, you are only 1 track in.
"Changes" reminds us all of the confusion of a broken heart when we are new to the experience. It is on a level with Alice Cooper's "18" in capturing the emotional intensity and directionless of a young man who first sees the world stripped of romance. It is disillusionment, it is deep, dark and painfully raw. It is Sabbath on piano.
Track 5 is quite simply one of the greatest driving rock songs ever written, from the opening high hat, through the dirty guitar, to Ozzy's screeching vocals honouring a space traveler that is too cool to be an astronaut - he could only be...a Supernaut. Every time I hear this track, I want to be a Supernaut, and every time my wish is granted.
Tomorrow's Dream, Snowblind, St. Vitus Dance - all tracks that on any other album would be the greatest track available. On Vol 4 they are just another great track - as Sabbath unrelentingly lays down excellence.
Vol 4 is 37 years old. It is still as heavy an album as anything the world has heard since. Later bands have been busier, they have been angrier, and they have been louder - but none have been heavier.
If you don't own this album - go buy it. If you own this album, go put it on. Seriously, stop reading this and go put it on. You're welcome.
Best tracks: All tracks.
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