![]() In terms of instrumentation, SBS is the band at its most ambitious, employing organ, synthesizer, flute, and assortment of percussion instruments, as well as hiring arranger and conductor, Wil Malone, to handle the string arrangements that appear on several on the songs. 4 and, in some respects, Master of Reality before it, being largely Iommi vessels, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath would be a record with the full band contributing ideas for the songs musically and lyrically (but Iommi still in the lead). Listening to the progressive, well crafted songs on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath it's hard to believe that guitarist Tony Iommi, the chief songwriter and architect of the band, had suffered from writers block for almost a year until the riff from the title track "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" came to him and, almost instantaneously, freed him and and the songs began developing organically at a rapid rate. (In truth, this cover did little to help the band's image in terms of the Satanic overtones that would plague the band to this day, yet one cannot argue the effectiveness of the ambiguity the band has displayed over the years in terms of these themes - pro or con). In my opinion, it's one of Black Sabbath's best album covers in that it conveys almost perfectly what is contained in the album itself: songs of light and shade of malevolence and beauty. With black, green, and reds, Drew Struzan's artwork is compelling and coupled with the 'S''s in Sabbath resembling that of the Nazi SS, it leaves a lasting impression upon the viewer. With the devil extending his arms around the bed, and the number of the beast (666) embedded on the headboard of the bed, it is a disturbing image that is not easily forgotten. It is a comforting image as opposed to the front, which depicts, perhaps, the same man besieged by demons after living a life of sin and wantonness. Shielding by the arms of an angel (or God), and protected by two statutes of lions at the foot of his bed, his family hold a vigil at, what we can surmise, are his final hours. Firstly, I've always got a bit of a Emerson, Lake, and Palmer "Lucky Man" vibe from the back cover with an adoring family looking on at a man who is on his death bed after a life of good fortune and admirable deeds. Looking at the cover of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, a few things immediately stand out for me. It is, indeed, Black Sabbath at the pinnacle of their success and inventiveness. Produced by the band themselves, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was well received by the critics of the time (almost a first for the band) and fans alike. Recorded in September of 1973 in Morgan Studios, London, after a failed attempt to recreate the vibe and energy in Los Angeles, California, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath finds the Birmingham quartet at their most creative, fluid, and playful, compositionally. Taking its title from John Schlesinger's 1971 movie, "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and a headline from Melody Maker magazine retaliatory article about the band that read "Bloody Hell, Bloody Sabbath", Black Sabbath fused the two titles and named their 1973 album, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,which is regarded, by most, as their finest record as an outfit. With that said, I'll add a bit of introduction to the album and some background of the recording of it. As with all song by song threads, please stick to the song at hand and don't jump forward ahead of me. If you care to, please share what got you into this album and what your initial thoughts of it were. 4 thread has wrapped up, I thought we'd start a song by song for the follow up of that album, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath which was released in 1973.
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