Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)

The departure of Mick Abrahams left a glaring absence in the guitar slot of Jethro Tull's lineup. It was promptly (though briefly) filled by a young guitarist Tony Iommi. He was a member of the band long enough to be featured in "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" (see Jethro Tull video clip) but left soon after due to leadership disagreements with Ian Anderson. Iommi then rejoined his old band Earth, which would rechristen itself as Black Sabbath.

Black Sabbath emerged from remnants of two fractured Aston bands. Tony Iommi (guitar) and Bill Ward (drums) came from the band Mythology while "Ozzy" Osbourne (vocals, harmonica) and Geezer Butler (bass) survived the band Rare Breed. The four merged in 1968 to form The Polka Tulk Blues Band, which would become Earth and finally Black Sabbath. They toured the West Midlands originally envisioning themselves as a heavy blues band, but as the band progressed in skill and style they began moving into uncharted territory. In particular, the ominous sound produced by the musical tritone and dark lyrics evident in their song "Black Sabbath" became the foundation for the sonic territory the band wanted to go in (which was counter to the prominent flower-pop of the time).

Signing to Phillips Records in late 1969, Black Sabbath released their first single in January the next year. "Evil Woman", a Crow cover, failed to chart. Sabbath was subsequently allotted two days in the studio with producer Rodger Bain to record their debut. Doing what they could with the limited time and budget, the band played the album live with minimal overdubbing and few second runs. The album Black Sabbath was released very quickly on Friday the 13th of February 1970 to surprising commercial success (23 on the Billboard 200).

Critics were not as favorable at the time, saying the band was a poor imitation of Cream and the "the worst of the counterculture on a platter" (Robert Christgau). Although this early Black Sabbath does not stack up in skill to Cream, reviewers failed to see the eponymous album as nothing but an imitation instead of as the divergence to a new style of rock and roll. Since then, the critical reaction to Black Sabbath's debut has improved dramatically, ranking with the best and most important recordings of all time. Despite the lingering heavy blues influences, the album's muddy sound, dark lyrics, and fascination with the occult mark its historical importance as the de facto origins of heavy metal.

Here is the discography surrounding Black Sabbath's debut album:

1969 Demo
Evil Woman (1970 single)
Black Sabbath





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