I worship the early Black Sabbath so strongly, that I am scared to write an article on them. Scared because I feel, and know, that words cannot describe the effect that their sound had on the audience. Pure and strong, deep and heavy, they are arguably the godfathers of the heavy metal genre that we know today. The late sixties and early seventies was a golden age for rock and roll. Musical genius flowed freely and hugely influential bands emerged with alarming regularity. While many of the greats displayed breathtaking skill and contributed to the growth of rock in their own way, for me, nobody invented as distinctive and influential a sound as Sabbath did. Iommi's godly riffs, the rhythmic pulse of geezer's bass and ward's drums, and, the howling insanity of front man Ozzy Osborne, kept some away, but reached deep into the souls of those who cared to listen.
Those introduced to Sabbath will most probably hear their studio albums from the mid seventies or the reunion album of 1997. Not that these albums aren't inspiring enough themselves, but there are a collection of recordings from the 1969-1972 era that are far superior- the true roots of the heavy sound that defined a whole new genre: a concert in 1970 (location still a controversy- some say Paris, some say Belgium), the "basement tapes" (1969 or 1970), and a Blues cover "Warning".
The "Paris" 1970 concert is considered by many Sabbath fans to be their best sound ever. Heavy spine-chilling guitar riffs, strong bass lines, pulsating drums, and Ozzy's voice that was still intact- strong and wailing, oozing over the rest of the music to give the finishing touches (unlike later on, when I think his voice became far weaker due to his own problems). What caught my ear when I heard these recordings first was the drumming. Bring together a basic drum kit and superhuman energy, and Bill Ward's drumming is pure dynamite. What we have in this concert is four raw youngsters who don't give rat salad about anything in this world but their music, lost in the ecstasy of sound.
Which is what Rock'n'Roll is all about.
Another series of recordings called the "Basement Tapes" offer the same sound- these recordings are supposed to be those of the band rehearsing in a London basement, but some claim it was actually from a BBC show. Either way, it represents music that is untouched by the commercialization or interference from record companies.
"Warning" is a fifteen minute masterpiece which sounds closer to heavy blues than anything that the band was to play later on. It is a song that best represents the musical roots of Black Sabbath- taking the blues lines of the time and making the sound heavier and deeper. Geezer's bass rhythm sets a great platform from where Iommi and Ozzy take off. Iommi's work on guitar with the Blues lines is pure brilliance. If you are serious about rock'n'roll, dive deep into "Warning" and lose yourself to the music.
Genius sometimes offers it's best when there is nothing to lose- the early Black Sabbath recordings are creative genius at it's unburdened best.
