Black Sabbath Vol. 4 Song by Song Thread

Snowblind is probably my favourite Sabbath tune, the beat Bill Ward plays when they go into the faster, shuffle section is the best thing he ever did IMO & the orchestra coming in at the end always gives me the chills.

A monster of a song.

 

Evidently they don't stay with ME very well. Last time I sing lyrics in my head while posting lol.

 

The first time I ever heard this album was on an old console record player my Grandma had given to my Dad. I knew who Ozzy was, but I hadn’t really discovered Sabbath yet. So I Went to his house and was like, “what the hell is this thing?” He said,”That was your Grandma’s don’t you remember” I said, “ Oh yeah, well let’s hear it.” So after a couple records, I pulled out Vol 4. He said, “Good luck getting that one to play.” And he was right it was in bad shape. But it played. And the way it sounded one that console, with static and all, was mesmerizing. Especially the 2 and a half minute closing part on wheels of confusion, “The Straightener”. And Laguna Sunrise was like I had been born all over again haha. My Dad told me that when him and my Unclle first started listening to Sabbath my Grandpa said, “You’re all going to HELL for listening to that ‘Acid Rock’” hahaha. After that day I immediately went through Sabbath’s entire catalog. At least what he had on vinyl, then I went out and bought all the CD’s. And the rest is history!

What a great album, front to back. This one and “Master of Reality” are my favs.

 

Ozzy came up with nearly all vocal melodies in Sabbath. As he has in his solo career. Rare exceptions exist such as "It's Alright", written by Bill.

Ozzy wrote both "Who Are You?" and "Am I Going Insane"" on synthesizer. Additional arrangements were written by the band and of course probably most worked out by Tony.

 

Not my favorite album by Sabbath, but holds a very special place in my heart. Supernaut is obviously the standout, but all the tracks are fantastic. Love Under the Sun, Cornucopia, Snowblind. And, "Changes" is Ozzy going for some raw emotion, which he so rarely does but when he does it he does it so well.

 

Snowblind is another gem.

 

"Snowblind" is the perfect marriage of music and lyrics to my ears--possibly Geezer's finest set of lyrics and a top 5 Sabbath song for me. I never grow tired of it. It was years before I knew it was "about" cocaine--I think Ozzy overdoes this connection in concert. For me, it is a song in which melancholia takes on almost romantic qualities.

 

Supernaught is one of my favorite songs by anyone. Just behind Somewhere Over The Rainbow and Mother Earth by Memphis Slim. Just otherworldly. Love the cool lyrics. But the riff and the feel and the breakdown. So funky and heavy. Unique, to me. Love Supernaught. First heard it on acid in the back of one of those old full size carpeted vans. Beer cooler and all. FX came on it was perfect, then the high hat, and man i was off. Such a great riff. The sound on that song is so cool. Love Supernaught. Best song of all time to me. Supernaught!

Snowblind is great. Love the tuning on it. And Tonys playing is so memorable and catchy. Great song.

 

Snowblind - Ok, so I was a kid when I 1st heard this song, and I really had no idea what Ozzy was singing about, well, I thought it was about a blizzard. Good times man, good times..... Anyways, I love how the song POUNDS in with Ward, and Iommi slamming the intro of the song with power chords! Iommi's guitar trilling at the end of the song are fantastic. The tempo changes help keep the song interesting. Love it, my favorite song from this album. 9/10

 

I thought Geezer wrote the lyrics fot the song Black Sabbath too. Then I saw the interview where he said it was Ozz. (I even created a thread about it. Boy, that was fun. I think a mod even deleted some pretty nasty posts in that one.)

I don't know why I thought that. I swear I read it somewhere.

And you are not annoying

 

Yes, I timed my entry back into the thread perfectly. Snowblind is my favorite Sabbath song just edging out Megalomania. Which also makes it one of my favorites period. I never tire of it, always sounds as fresh as the first time I heard it. The beginning is so heavy and it stays on edge the whole time. Everyone is at the top of their game especially Bill Ward and Iommi. Like the changes in tempo at approx 3:30. Just the perfect rock song, maybe just a little too short.

Backtracking a little, Supernaut is a great song also but I look at it as the appetizer to Snowblind.

 

Snowblind

Guitar tuned down three half steps.

Kicks off with a crazy power chord and arpeggio mix...a weird hybrid of heavy metal and R and B if you can believe that. However, arpeggios are pervasive thru the album and keeps the songs tied to the blues in an obtuse way that only Black Sabbath can do it. BTW, listen to those arpeggios......just the right touch is needed at that volume or it sounds like a mess but TI has the right touch. The verse riff starts at :18 and is a beauty of simplicity...another bluesy drone for Ozzy to do what he does best with the vocal melody. A minor based melody that conveys a feeling of uncertainty/regret in the first person style. At :42 Tony repeats a variation of the intro riff but makes it less "introductory" sounding and shortens it up to move the song along its "merry" way. The verse riff returns and Ozzy tries to convince us he is OK with what he is doing. At 1:23 the full intro riff returns and then at 1:40 a descent into hell or heaven....all depends on Ozzy's state of mind. In this case Ozzy sounds like he may be wrong thinking he has everything under control. Awesome repeating open string in the descension. A Snowblind Sonata. Hey it's a bridge technically bit not really emotionally in this case......more of a let me think about it a little more on my own in isolation. I like how Ozzy's vocal gets a little louder before the solo break. At 2:22 Tony plays a fine Claptonesque solo in E minor pentatonic/blues. The verse returns at 2:55 and at 3:29 a surprising new section which is a new verse section. This section is a variation on the main verse section...still E-D but with a quicker tempo. At 3:58 the post verse riff returns and then lo and behold another verse section...that makes five altogether. Prog/Dylanesque stuff. However, without a waste of time the final verse gets a treatment of finality with some strings trying to reign it in and then the Sabs turn it into an outro to bring the trip to an end.

A great song and one of my favorites from the album. Geezer really knows not to overplay and he and Bill really keep the groove going. Great songwriting moves as well with a mixing up the intro riff and a post verse riff. The variation verse section is cool as well. Another prog rock like multi sectional song with thematic development that firmly kept Sabbath in a league of their own and was yet another blueprint for metal to come and beyond.

 

"Snowblind"

One of their best. I remember that in my copy of the We Sold Our Souls songbook, I added the note "Whispered: 'Cocaine'" after the first verse.

I liked the "Sleep" cover; I'd never heard it before and thought they were actually pretty faithful to the original.

 

Ha the beat the Ward plays during that section might be might least favourite section of the album - I still kinda half expect something more pummelling and instead he's doing some noodly jazz stuff. I like that it's weird and unexpected, but the song loses a bit of its heaviness there for me. Love the rest of the song though.

Every version of Snowblind that I've heard starts off quite quiet and gets progressively louder - was it always thus? Only heard cd versions.

 

Snowblind - It's yet another one of my favourite Sabbath tracks, I always love it live, especially the bridge. One of the tracks on We Sold our Souls, which was my introduction to the band.
My naïve teenage self never really thought of the lyrics as being about cocaine, despite Ozzy shouting it - it's always just been a song that conjures up images of winter etc.

 

Sleep were ardent Sabbath worshippers. Their album Sleep’s Holy Mountain sounds a ton like MoR. Their tune “Dragonaut” is, essentially, “Lord of this World”.

 

Not to mention that almost familiar song title!
Sleep's Holy Mountain is a rightfully deserved classic in the stoner rock genre - great album!

 

The bass player for Sleep, Al Cisneros, has the Vol 4 album cover tattooed on the entirety of his back. He showed it to me (begrudgingly). That’s dedication.

 

Inspired by this thread, I listened to Sabbath's 'Changes' for the first time ever today.

Yes, really.

For years I automatically skipped this song when listening to this album. I had only heard they rather saccharine version that Ozzy did with daughter Kelly in about 2003. Which I hated.

The original though, is really affecting. The combination of Ozzy's soft wail and the stark mellotron chords are really affecting. And although the lyrics are hardly Shakespeare, you can hear that he means every word he is singing.

 

Great review! Ozzys best vocal on the album and one of his best of all time. This song is constructed so well and different, four verses, two bridges and the mellotron (?) on the last verse really puts a great touch on it

 

The vocal on Supernaught is so cool too. Ozzy is just screaming. Such high (in every way) singing/yellin. Love Ozzy's voice on Supernaught.

 

I agree about John's voice. Love Supernaut.

 

And Franks guitar work!

 

Snowblind:
I've read that too much coke can make one loose their sight temporary. Don't know if it's true, but it seems plausible.

These guys just never let up. As already mentioned the riff/guitar/solo, the drumming, the bass (love how Geezer dances around what Tony plays), the vocals, the lyrics, the arrangement. Always enjoy this one live. Sorry I have to disagree with streetlegal. I've always loved how Ozzy does the "Cocaine's" live at the end of each verse. I could see how it might be irritating on the recorded version, but with the excitement in a live setting it works, IMO. I really like on one boot where Ozzy says "Up the nose" and sniffs . It's so great how the song has a party atmosphere to it and at the same time an underlying chill/coldness. Another gem.

 

Snowblind is probably the tune that originally compelled me to own Vol 4, and I think I remember the specific listening..McGoo's tavern jukebox here in Tacoma, early 90s. I was familiar with the song since about 82, but never really got into Sabbath, outside the 1st 3 albums until the 90s.

So now for me, it's part of the great body of work that is Volume 4. The tempo and detuned sound of "Snowblind" to me lends itself to a Quaalude or Red's experience. I'm way to old for stimulants, and don't recommend them for any age group, but this is not the type of tune I would write from a Cocaine experience. I've always thought that. On the album version Ozzy kind of whispers the word Cocaine in the song. On live versions Ozzy tends to shout it. I much prefer the whisper version, it sounds very cool the way it's recorded.

Regarding Vol 4 sonics........
I recently bought a 2012 master of Vol 4 cd, as an upgrade to my old WB copy. I had never put any thought into it before, but I really think the album itself was poorly recorded and mishandled, in spite of its greatness. Many of the instruments could just plain sound better, with a lot of noise in places for a studio album. I really think Bain did a better job with production on the previous albums. Now maybe we don't get the same music with Bain producing, so we love the album for what it is. I suspect drug intake plays a role in these issues. Maybe too many overdubs/redo's wore on the tape? I haven't heard the 86 Castle, but from my reading it has many issues. I guess I need to hear the original record/mastering to form a final opinion, as to weather the issues are with age or more so original production. I'd appreciate anyone adding insight about the sonics..
Peace