Friday the 13th, February 1970, the birth of metal

[Ritchie200]

50 years ago music was changed forever. Four boys from Birmingham redefined rock and Black Sabbath was born. Here is a surprisingly detailed snapshot of that moment in time. This from a publication that was, and continues to be, so out of touch I’m surprised they recognized the event. Especially with Ozzy taking shots at them.


Jim


https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/black-sabbath-debut-album-heavy-metal-origin-interview-949070/

[PRR]

“The whole album is a shuck,” wrote Lester Bangs. “The worst of the counterculture on a plastic platter—bullshit necromancy, drug-impaired reaction time, long solos, everything,” complained Robert Christgau.
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/a-deep-dive-into-early-black-sabbath-rarities/

[Ritchie200]

Sabbath was huge in the midwest and here in St. Louis they had the same guy from the newspaper reviewing EVERYTHING.  What I mean by that is he reviewed the symphony, musicals, plays, movies, popular music (new and oldies), and.....rock.  I have kept a lot of the reviews of concerts I went to over the years.  If I get a chance I will dig them out and post them as they were hilarious.  His reviews of Sabbath were always the same and I remember them well: Sounds like angry bees so loud that you would think they had access to your brain through your ears. Nonsensical lyrics mumbled for an agonizing 2 (or whatever) hours in a haze of pot smoke with a bunch of drugged out long hairs shaking their heads to some unrecognizable beat. etc, etc...  My parents thought I was going to hell in a handbasket!!!  Tony Iomi talks about how the reviews were always terrible in America, "but the kids loved us!"  He said there was one show that had to be cancelled because Ozzy lost his voice.  A complete concert review was in the paper the next morning saying how terrible the show was - that they never played.


Jim