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Q: We ran out of time the other day. What were you saying?
A: Mostly about post-Ozzy Sabbath. You know, on the first album, “Heaven and Hell”, they claim some was composed even during Ozzy’s time and 3 of the original members are on board. I don’t hear it all. I’m surprised. “They” diss on “Technical Ecstasy” and “Never Say DIe”, but those albums are awesome! There are fresh sounds happening, you hear the start of the “80’s” metal-to-come, heck, even of a something beyond that would never happen, but, most importantly: they sound like Black Sabbath. They sound like Black Sabbath because they are Black Sabbath.
Q: Should they have been renamed?
A: Absolutely, positively. In these documentaries I’ve watched, Tony Iommi states on several occasions that was his wish (certainly by “Born Again”) but the execs said NO.
Q: How are you liking “Heaven and Hell”.
A: It’s better than I thought it would be, but it’s holy unremarkable. If anything I hear more Molly Hatchet than Black Sabbath.
Q: Back to your formative rock years. Tell us more about your first impressions of Ozzy and Sabbath and when did you “get it”?
A: Well, many car rides with family, friends and a general exposure to FM rock informed me of at least “Paranoid” in my youth. I always liked the track and admired the strange vocal quality. When the world expanded (junior high) “Crazy Train” was the rage. I liked the song well enough, but I didn’t make the connection for a couple years. The “Ozzy” T shirts, and his comic-book stylings and antics were a turn off. Eating bats and doves seemed pointless and stupid. And he always looked special needs to me. But all his solo singles and the other tracks I heard were all ear-worms. Even post-Randy, Ozzy had a way of making melody happen.
Q: And Black Sabbath?
A: Well, I remember these live performances of Ozzy on MTV that caught my attention. Here was that clowning “Crazy Train” guy performing “Paranoid”. He was bloated and paced from stage right to stage left “breaking the news”, as it were. I think he had red or orange hair at the time. I then made the connection.
Q: But?
A: At the time there was so much dross happening. “This” is modern music? A litany of through-away metal acts filled the air. I admired some of the guitar slinging going on, but none of it was stirring. Not to me anyway. I went deep into The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett, thinking I was unlocking cosmic and sacred mysteries. When that tide ebbed, it was Robert Fripp and King Crimson. There was little sonic room for anything else when that happened.
Q: That’s still the case.
A: In a way. But other things have happened. John Coltrane, Indian raga’s, Persian Classical, Wagner, and of course, OPETH.
Q: Let’s return to the Black Sabbath question.
A: Yes. It wasn’t until Autumn 1987 I made my first purchase in this domain. It was at a used CD/record store in Quincy. It was “Tribute”. The live Ozzy album with Randy. I thought it was “complete” my music collection. You know, it had all the hits on it, including “Paranoid”. Then about a year later, I was at Mystery Train Records (the one on Newbury) and I first spied one of the greatest album covers of all time: Black Sabbath Black Sabbath. Wow. I never knew. Funny how their first album cover would be their best. Anyway, I then discovered a perfect album from beginning to end.
Q: Tell us about “Extensions” and Black Sabbath.
A: The early Extensions films had mostly new wave rock in the back ground. For “Extensions VI: The Wake” we filmed perhaps the greatest Extensions scene of all time.
Q: Ah yes, I remember this now. At the comedy club in Boston. The Storyteller is doing experimental art theatre.
A: Yes, he’s delivering a Greek Classical Monologue to a character “dying wife”, whilst “Death” is playing the riff to “Symptom of The Universe”. It’s really a fantastic bit, also featuring “Joe” the director. “G” plays “Death” playing Black Sabbath. So, meta. So excellent. So right.
Q: Then the Black Sabbath legacy continues …
A: Yes, for the problematic and brilliant “Extensions VII: The Film”, much of the ambient soundtrack is Black Sabbath on record. The opening monologue set to “Black Sabbath” is considered one of the best scenes in Extensions History as well. There is also a great scene preface monologue set to “Meglomania”, just fantastic.
Q: So “MOB Rules” is on now.
A: Yes. Not terrible. But even less remarkable that “Heaven and Hell”.
Q: Shall we stop there?
A: Let’s pick it up later on.
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May 14th 
Magnificent. I had similar impressions of Sabbath as well, familiarity with Paranoid; and Iron Man would get the occasional spin on WBCN or WCOZ. But it was via Ozzy I was more familiar. It was befuddling. There was an air of menace surrounding Black Sabbath. It seemed like intimidating, sometimes violent loiterers of Oak Square back then were all Sabbath enthusiasts. And Ozzy, especially the lighting for those familiar live video clips also had his own imposing vibe. Yet there were those powder blue pants clinging to the lower portion of his body. Those pants suggested something else. Humor? Warmth? silliness? It might be a nice tribute for the next BSM to find myself a pair of powder blue trousers!
There has been talk of “costuming” in the past for BSM. WF has hopes of everyone getting super ripped from pumping iron and then dawning handle bar mustaches, as an example. Ad shining blue pants to that as a group of men pour out of the BSM Mobile in Provincetown …. now that would be a confusing sight.
I had a long comment typed but the content was zapped out before i could post. Let me try this again and I’ll try to be concise:
I think part of the blame with not having the classic Sabbath records at one’s disposal or even a working knowledge of the Sabbath oeuvre in the early 80s may have to do with the resources available at the time (and being a certain age of course – we all grow up at our own rates). Indeed, WCOZ , WBCN, WHJY – all radio stations that I was listening to quite often back then – hardly ever played the lesser-known classic Sabbath songs, because, I think, and as VH has observed, Ozzy’s solo albums were all the rage at the time. “Crazy Train” , “Flying High Again”, “You Can’t Kill Rock n Roll” were huge hits and you heard them ALL the time. “Iron Man”, “Paranoid” & “War Pigs” were just about all one heard if one did not have access to the classic records and that became one’s “working knowledge”. There was no bloody “google” searching back then, so if one wanted these records, you had to not only know about them beforehand, you had to go find them someplace, figure out a way to buy them (paper routes helped) and then set aside time (later) to listen to them. Not always as easy as it sounds.
I’m sure the gist of thy thought carried forth. It’s a good one. But, I did manage to scrimp and scrounge and even save to amass an extensive Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin bootleg collection by sophomore high school year. I wonder if the timeline would’ve played out much differently if the eye (or is it ear?) had gone in a slightly different vector, eg: Black Sabbath. I’ve already conceived of an alternate reality in the Multiverse where The Groove Factor focused more on Black Sabbath than the cult or tompetty, and it is an awesome one …
It’s really just a matter of commitment.
G
” It’s really just a matter of commitment.
G”
I think that will be the name of my next post. Spot on!
Not surprisingly, I credit G with my own deeper education of Sabbath via our “Sunday Afternoon Computer Jeopardy! And Black Sabbath” events in the late 80s. He’d choose a Sabbath record to put on (vinyl, naturally) and we’d compete head to head with an early PC version of the classic Jeopardy! game. The stakes were high, monetarily as well as sonically. Great fun and a most fulfilling education.
For reference: http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/15/156529/2294941-Jeopardy.jpg