Tracks
- Wheels of Confusion
- Tomorrow's Dream
- Changes
- FX
- Supernaut
- Snowblind
- Cornucopia
- Laguna Sunrise
- St. Vitus Dance
- Under The Sun
Black Sabbath Vol. 4 is a ponderous album. The music is heavy metal. Most of the songs work from a simple riff. There is also an odd ballad or two and a couple of short instrumental fillers.
Most of the songs start off with the best of intentions with a really cool and heavy riff, but then quickly transform into lumbering behemoths that prefer to plod on than to lay down and die. Cornucopia is the quintessential example of this and it's not even four minutes long.
While Changes is a good ballad, it's doesn't fit on this album. And FX and Laguna Sunrise get in the way.
The album is decent. It's worth listening to for the riffs, but there's no need for it to be on the 1001 Albums list. And if this is the album that inspired 1000 hair bands from the '80s to include ballads on their albums, then it would have been best that this album had never been made.
Most of the songs on this album are good. The stand outs are Wheels of Confusion, Supernaut, Snowblind, and Under The Sun.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Tracks
- War Pigs
- Paranoid
- Planet Caravan
- Iron Man
- Electric Funeral
- Hand of Doom
- Rat Salad
- Fairies Wear Boots
Paranoid is a fierce album. The music is heavy metal. The album comes right on the heels of their debut. It's just as heavy as that one, but this album is more refined, better focused during the long soloing/jamming sections, and it introduces a bunch of serious riffs.
There is also quite a bit of political commentary in the lyrics. While it's not as subtle as, say, Dylan, it's more sincere than anything since Dylan's early works.
This album is excellent. It's worth listening to and this is essential for anyone who takes music collecting seriously.
Every song on this album is outstanding. Rat Salad is probably the weakest, but it's only two-and-a-half minutes long. The stand out songs for me are War Pigs, Planet Caravan, Electric Funeral and Fairies Wear Boots.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Black Sabbath
- The Wizard
- Behind The Wall Of Sleep
- N.I.B.
- Evil Woman
- Sleeping Village
- Warning
Black Sabbath is a dark and sinister album. But, boy, does it sound great. The music is grounded in the blues and relies heavily on the groove. The lyrics deal with the occult, ideas from H. P. Lovecraft and anti-Christian themes.
The album starts off really strongly. The first four songs are like nothing that has come before (at least on the 1001 Albums list). Black Sabbath sets the dark tone and the following three songs delve deeper and deeper into darkness. The last three songs are good but aren't as strong.
There's no doubt that this album is worth listening to and it certainly belongs on the 1001 Albums list. I'm ambivalent about it being necessary to own. This is the first genuine heavy metal album and band, and the first four songs are arguably the progenitors of all heavy metal. However, Black Sabbath stumbles with the last three songs. Those songs are merely hard rock and belong on a different album.
Black Sabbath, The Wizard, Behind The Wall Of Sleep, and N.I.B. are the stand out songs.
★★★★★★★★★☆
