Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

brilliant through my system all my vinyl was stolen decades ago as well as my recording studio so it's taken many years to replace most of it but I have a long way to go with vinyl.this was one I loved when it came out.yes I've had it on cd many years but since poor Ozzy went I've been getting all ov his except for ozzmosis + tribute.way to expensive so now gone on to all Sabbath's vinyl/dvds/bluerays + books.this is mostly great.get it.

Great pressing and great sound. What more do you want? Better than the original! All of the Sabbath re-issues are in my opinion. Due to commitments (Royal Navy) I missed the original release of Vol. 4. Arriving home on my first leave I bought Vol. 4 and this at the same time. I played them back to back. I doubt many people would have been in a position to do so. It felt like a double album. Unlike a lot of bands at the time, Sabbath were able to get better and better. Not once do I recall thinking, "It's not as good as........". They always managed to produce something different whilst retaining their identity. Remarkable really.

What a record. I mean what a record. Most people go for vol. 4. Orasyer of Reality....by A National Acrobat?! Come on man.

Ok insert embarrassed emogi here. This album is a total classic for sure. 'What you didn't know? Call yourself a Sabbath fan since birth?'....yes it's true I never owned this album. But it's never too late as they say. Growing up on a diet of their brilliant debut, and the timeless Paranoid and Master of Reality albums you would think I'd know better. But yes after these I kind of stuck with various best ofs and some of the other albums. So Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage and believe it or not Vol.4 all got ignored. Til this year. They are all great. Don't leave it too late and buy all the first 7 albums. One of the greatest bands ever. Period.

A great, almost experimental, album at a time when the winds of change were starting to blow. This showed Sabbath coming to the end of their down-tuned, doom-riffery and exploring the realms of modern and (now) classic rock; even easy listening and jazz on later albums. The darkness still remained however and it is that which added shade to the difference of some of the more upbeat tracks. The title track is rightfully considered a classic, but to any new listeners it may be bewildering as to why? It needs a couple of spins before the lumpen riffs and tunes kick in. Great opening. 'A National Acrobat' is possibly the only filler track here. On its own it is ok but compared to the rest it's an also-ran. 'Fluff' blew me away completely. Not musically, as a feather could split it in 2!, but because of its placid, entirely serene notes. It is a 4 minute acoustic equivalent of laying in a grassy field by a river and a wood, maybe some hills, on a sunny day just after you've retired at the age of 30 with millions of pounds to do nothing with for the rest of your life - and it's sunny every day. As you can probably tell from my covert ironic-ese, it's a waft of a song. But it is beautiful. Will later appear on an album containing tracks that don't sound anything like they've been written by who they've been written by. On the down-side, it kind of sounds like the musical accompaniment to the viewers' gallery on the old Tony Hart children's art TV programme. But, actually, that isn't a bad thing. 'Sabbra Cadabbra' is more of an upbeat, traditional rock and roll tune. It's very good and is considered by many (including Metallica, who covered it very boringly) to be a classic. It's fun and breezy and tuneful and very good indeed, but it doesn't reach the heights of the title track or indeed other later tracks of other albums like 'Symptoms of the Universe'. 'Killing Yourself to Live' is great. Again, no classic but a very worthy and catchy track. It has a great opening riff. 'Who Are You' is also very good but is one of the more experimental additions. It revolves around a synthesised keyboard riff and is actually all the better for it. Much better than 'Am I Going Insane' from Sabotage, which was similar in execution. 'Looking for Today' is as 'Killing...' is. It is a great track, albeit slightly throwaway. 'Spiral Architect' is a great closer. Close to a classic it has a very infectious tune, is understated and quite sophisticated. It may be a classic because of its stature in the Sabbath canon but musically it is only really a 4 star effort. This is not a criticism however as it is definitely a favourite of mine. But, in all honesty, later albums that many deride, like Tyr, The Eternal Idol and even Dehumanizer, are of equal, if not better quality.

The fifth studio release from the masters of the heavy rock universe is, for me, a return to form after a disappointing Volume 4. The band was still going through problems, mainly liked to substance abuse, but whereas on Vol.4 this led to a rather patchy affair on this release they managed to harness it and put it to good creative use. As well as the usual doom laden lyrics, many dealing with the band's problems, there is some excellent musicianship and vocals on display here. The band tried to expand their musical palette on 4, but it was a hit and miss affair. Now they have got the hang of it, and a much more cohesive record results, in the form of heavy rock with distinctive prog leanings. Tommy Iommi is on fine form with his trademark down tuned guitar sound, and Ozzy seems possessed with his singing. Ward and Butler are also giving it their all, and a classic heavy rock album results. Along with their self titled debut and `Paranoid' I rate this as the best from the classic Sabbath line-up. It's the greatest album cover of all time as well.

Great album great seller thanks

Bought this back in 83, 10 years after it was released. Had it various times since then, but tended to loan it out and lose it too often. Decided to go for the remastered version. I love Sabbath, and for me , along with Zeppelin, they have created probably the greatest riffs of all time. This album is no exception. some tracks have more riffs that you would find on one album. Musically wonderful, lyrically dark as you would expect. This would always be in my top 10 albums. Not a duff track on it.

Para muchos el segundo mejor disco de la banda tras Paranoid. Abre por todo lo alto con la canción homónima y continúa con momentos sublimes. Atentos a la instrumental, genial.

Between 1970 and 1975 Black Sabbath released six great albums that today are classics, in every sense of this overused word. Afterwards the things went very badly indeed. The uncommonly dull ''Technical Ecstasy'' (1976), as thoroughly un-Sabbath as its futuristic cover, and the simply dismal ''Never Say Die'' (1978), which sounds pretty much like cheap copy of the Beatles on steroids, marked the sad end of a great era in the history of rock music. But every band deserves to be judged - if at all - by their best. If we concede that ''Black Sabbath'' (1970) and ''Sabotage'' (1975), the debut and the beginning of the end respectively, fine albums as they may be, do not quite match Sabbath's own extraordinarily high standards, we are left with the four albums in the middle: ''Paranoid'' (1970), ''Master of Reality'' (1971), ''Vol. 4'' (1972) and ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' (1973). To put the matter bluntly, I personally wouldn't want to be without any of these six albums and would give them all five full stars, despite some mild reservations I may occasionally have. They are utterly different and every one of them has its own unique character. But if I am forced to choose but one Sabbath album from the Ozzy years, I would most probably go with ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath''. Whether ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is your favourite album or not, like virtually everything else, is purely a matter of taste. But it is beyond dispute that this is their most sophisticated, varied and musically mature album. It was inevitable, perhaps, that it should turn to be the pinnacle of their discography from the 1970s. Indeed, nothing like it can be found among the greatest rock music of the time, with the possible exception of Led Zeppelin's Fourth album and ''Physical Graffiti''. There are but eight songs in ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'', but all deserve a few words of their own. ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' opens the album with one of Tony's most unforgettable riffs. Curiously, the song has never become a concert favourite, even though it would certainly make a fine opportunity for terrific headbanging. The second part of the song, in particular, is one of the slowest and heaviest things ever recorded by Sabbath. The first part, on the other hand, can boast a marvellous lyrical passage. ''A National Acrobat'' is an entirely different affair, as often happens in this album. It's a complex three-part composition with some of Tony's most whimsical guitar work, especially the obsessive riff-solo towards the end. The intense middle part is in somewhat stark contrast with the buoyant outer ones. It includes most of the text which, mostly, matches the quality of the music, even if after-life speculations are not your cup of tea: Just remember love is life And hate is living death Treat your life for what it's worth And live for every breath Looking back I've lived and learned But now I'm wondering Here I wait and only guess What this next life will bring ''Fluff'' is no mere fluff, as some superficial fellows seem to think. It's a most beautiful instrumental in which at least three different guitars, all played by Tony of course, are ingeniously combined; there is only bass and a hint of keyboards to keep them company. The piece has serenity and tranquility that are not often associated with Black Sabbath. Yet ''Fluff'' has a distinguished pedigree: ''Orchid'' from ''Master of Reality'' and ''Laguna Sunrise'' from ''Vol. 4''. Like the album on the whole, this perfectly delightful instrumental is the pinnacle in its category. ''Sabbra Cadabra'' is the kind of stuff that's so uniquely Sabbath that it can hardly bear any other treatment. It was a great mistake on Metallica's side to try it, and even guitar magician such as Kirk Hammett couldn't pull off convincingly the wacky major riff. The lyrics are some of the most outrageously flippant in whole album, recounting Ozzy's sexual escapades, but with such stupendous music who cares? This is also the song with most prominent keyboards in the whole album, and it is here that Rick Wakeman himself makes a memorable appearance. ''Killing Yourself to Live'' is one of the more straightforward tracks, pretty heavy but with a great variety of quite outstanding guitar riffs and solos. Indeed, this is perhaps the most complex composition in the whole album, having at least three clearly defined sections none of which, except the first, includes any repetition. In earlier times, Sabbath might have made at least two songs of this material. ''Who Are You?'' could not have been more different than its predecessor. It's a somber and restrained song full of bizarre sounds and virtually without any guitar riffs or solos. The text is one of the most serious and shattering in the whole album. It takes some time to realize that this is actually Ozzy's conversation with God himself. I guess He won't be amused: Yes I know the secret That's within your mind You think all the people Who worship you are blind You're just like Big Brother Giving us your trust And when you have played enough You'll just cast our souls Into the dust Into the dust You thought that it would be easy From the very start Now I've found you out I don't think you're so smart I only have one more question Before my time is through Please I beg you tell me In the name of hell Who are you? Who are you? ''Looking For Today'' is a most welcome relief: cheerful stuff with one of Tony's most ebullient riffs. There is more in it, though. ''Looking for Today'' shares with the title song the highly effective idea of introducing a beautiful and tranquil passage, entirely different mood, in the middle of the guitar maelstrom. The contrast, as in the other case, works wonderfully. ''Spiral Architect'' is a most fitting conclusion for it is the craziest song here. Especially the lyrics are quite a mish-mash of science fiction, fantasy and pure nonsense. I and a friend of mine used to joke that these ''silver ships on plasmic oceans'' were inspired by fag ends floating in beer. You know, there is a great story - apocryphal or not - how this text was written. Apparently, Ozzy was out of inspiration and called Geezer. The bassist told him to call back in half an hour. He did and was told the complete text. Ozzy loved it so much that he couldn't but ask: ''What did you smoke, man?!'', to which Geezer replied innocently ''Ah, nothing, I wrote it on the grass outside.'' ''Do you happen to sell this grass? Can I buy it'', Ozzy immediately inquired. No matter how strange the text, the music is definitely of the same stupendous quality as the rest of the album. My only qualm with ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is actually the usual one I have with all of Sabbath's early albums: a little too much guitar dubbing, particularly of solos. A very minor point of course. The album is very well recorded sonically, indeed better than any Sabbath album before (or since indeed, with the possible exception of ''Heaven and Hell'', but that's quite another story). Musically and artistically, ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is an essential listening for anybody interested in rock music from those heady times - the 1970s - which will never again occur. You have to listen to it at least once, even if it's only to know that it's not your cup of tea.

Inconsistent volume levels throughout the different tracks

Mógłby ktoś zająć się porządnym masteringiem płyt Sabbath. Trochę to mało dynamiczne. Trzy pierwsze płyty to majstersztyk pod względem mastera - a robił to ten sam gość. Tu jakieś brzmienie przymulone, różne poziomy głośności, tzn. niektóre kawałki są ciszej niż pozostałe. Dodało by to kopa płycie, tak to jest poprawna, ale czegoś jej brakuje. Narażę się tu fanom Sabbat, którzy uważają ją za szczyt, dla mnie jest tylko lustrem, następna Saobtage jest mięsista, a ostatnia z OZem NSD to piękny eksperyment - który wyszedł. W moim rankingu jest zaraz przed Techniczną Ekstazą. Jak będzie jakiś remiks/bądz wersja odświeżona - płyta na pewno zyska nową jakość.

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