Black Sabbath - Behind the Wall of Spock

Have you got a hole in your life that needs more Black Sabbath? Haven't we all?

I've never had time for post-Ozzy Sabbath, so this 1975 live recording is just the ticket. I'm told that this is a recording from the Sabotage Tour and was from the The Asbury Convention Hall, N.J. on 6th August. But I like to retain a healthy dose of scepticism about most things, so a pinch of salt may be needed with those details.

As a reasonably long time fan of Sabbath, since picking up their vinyl back in the mid/late 80s, It does seem somewhat strange that they've been "back in" these last few years. A good thing I say, but strange.

Ozzy tends to get the props, but you have to credit them all really. The amazing loose/heavy/tight black country grooves laid down by Bill Ward, Geezer Butler's Bass sitting fat and heavy like a genetic cross of Bootsy and Entwistle (OK I went to far there ...) and Iommi. The SG. The frown (thanks Nigel). The beard topiary. Those Riffs. Legend. His riffing took what had gone before, stripped it down, battered it and deep fried it with chips. All echoing the sound of heavy black country industrialisation, while the smell of rough shag tobacco, brown ale, patchouli and bad rehearsal rooms permeates. However, by the time of this bootleg, early smell of weed and amphetamine had given way to cocaine and things spinning out of control, culminating in Ozzy leaving. In many people's eyes, the end. Of course, Ozzy's vocals cannot be ignored - nothing else would have done the job. Like a wide-eyed soul boy in Primal Scream therapy. Or something.

I always liked pulling out Master of Reality, Paranoid or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath back in the post-rave back-to-mine sessions. It was quite often met with disbelief, but who's laughing now...?!!

Back in the days when I was deafening myself playing records to people in night clubs (ploughing my own furrow of techno, in case you ask), I remember someone asking what a track was. I handed him a sleeve and some minutes later he was still squinting at the hard-to-read print. This inspired me to take various "dummy" sleeves out with me in the trusty record bag, among those was always a few Sabbath sleeves, as well as Leonard Cohen and various others. It was always a pleasure watching people absorbing these mysterious sleeves and I like to think that maybe just one of them became acquinted with the work of Iommi and co. or any of the other things. Or did I just like taking the p*ss? Hmm...

Get this dose of Sabbath HERE

It looks something about like this:
Disk 1:
1. Supertzar/Introduction/Killing Yourself To Live
2. Hole In The Sky
3. Snowblind
4. Symptom Of The Universe
5. War Pigs
6. Megalomania
7. Sabbra Cadabra
8. Jam / Guitar Solo
9. Drum Solo / Jam
10. Supernaut
11. Iron Man
Disk 2:
1. Orchid / Guitar Solo / Rock'n'roll Doctor / Don't Start (Too Late)
2. Black Sabbath
3. Spiral Architect
4. Embryo / Children Of The Grave
5. Paranoid