Vol. 4 (1972)

(1972)

This album was panned on its release, just as Master of Reality had been, but its popularity with grunge and stoner-metal bands of the 90s and beyond has rehabilitated it some. I never really took to it, though, even with the seven or eight additional spins I gave it as part of this project. To me it just sounds like the circumstances in which it was recorded: i.e. the band producing themselves in some mansion somewhere (a Bel Air one owned by John DuPont; who lends their mansion to Black Sabbath, for six effing months? This was a thing to do for the well-to-do in this period, for Alice Cooper, the Stones, Zeppelin, whomever.) with access to way too many drugs. Geezer estimates they spent about $70k on cocaine alone in the six months they spent recording it. Which sounds like a lot, and it certainly is especially in early-70s money, but over six months? Fleetwood Mac spent this much on coke in six days, probably, in the late 70s. 

I'd be curious on the economics of coke-inflation from 1972 to 1979. Where was that class in college?

Simply put, the album is a mess and so was the band when they were making it. Still plenty of Sabbath to sink your teeth into! This will be a pretty breezy entry. 

Wheel of Confusion

I can admire a good nodding-Sabbath groove, but there's more to life than just nodding off. Sorry, very boring. Ah well. Picks up a bit in the up-tempo section but a very underwhelming beginning to the album.

Tomorrow’s Dream

Slightly better but still nothing to write home about. 

Changes

Many consider this to be one of Sabbath’s best tracks. I don’t dislike it, but it’s always struck me as a bit overdone. Sort of like 80s Ozzy. The mellotron is cool, though, and these post-chorus stretches in particular.

I understand they used this in the new version of The Stand that just aired. I didn’t watch but going from the review here it was to mirror a similar scene between Harold and Frannie from the 90s Stand miniseries that used “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” That’s kind of the best scene in the original miniseries, you ask me, so homage-ing it even with Black Sabbath will bristle me somewhat, but it’s an interesting choice as far as Stand subtext goes. I don’t recall if Harold and Frannie have a scene in either the original novel or the expanded one or what song accompanies it. Anyway, it's interesting that to update the 90s adaptation (which used a popular 80s song) of a book written in the late 70s that they went back to the early 70s. Or maybe not interesting. I can't tell anymore.

FX

How to rate such things. This is just the lads on drugs throwing different things against Tony’s guitar while it’s plugged in to a reverb pedal. I like little moments like this on albums, though, to break things up, and it’s always fun playing around with fx. Especially when you’re loaded.

Supernaut

Here’s the album’s best track. Not perfect but pretty damn cool. Apparently the other bands that Sabbath toured or partied with always told them “Supernaut” was their favorite song. 

While we're here, what exactly is a 'naut? I get the nautical reference and it's probably just that but how did this become something affixed to things? As a kid I never understood how a British naval ship translated to "cybernaut" in that old Avengers episode, or, like -gate from Watergate, I guess, it just became something to add to things? A "supernaut" is what? The lyrics don't help much.

Snowblind

Side two opens up with this one, which veers close to the same riff as “Wheel of Confusion,” so it’s boring twice removed. Couple cool bits here and there. The weird thing is how un-cocaine-like this song is. They wanted to name the album Snowblind to reflect its participants state of mind, but the label nixed it.

Cornucopia

This is a pretty cool riff/slog. I instantly want to play some NES in the basement. “You’re gonna go insane! I’M TRYING TO SAVE YOUR BRAIN!” screams Ozzy. Who you telling, Ozzy? 

This song is undercooked, though, and it’s too bad, as it probably could’ve came together into something more awesome.

Laguna Sunrise

Nice enough little filler. Kind of reminds me of a dream montage in a 70s movie.

St. Vitus Dance

Trying for something a little off-time here, but not sure it worked. It’s a cool enough riff, kind of – actually, it’s a bit much. (This one should've been named "Snowblind.") It feels like it could’ve gone somewhere different but was forced into the direction recorded here. 

Under the Sun

Not a bad ending. Appropriately doom-metal-y. Kind of encapsulates the album actually, with its intermittent, muddied charms poking up through the muck here and there. Doom metal riff, Ozzy’s vocals kinda iffy in spots, muffled bass line (apparently Geezer was an absolute wreck during the recording of this.) 

~

The band went it alone on this one, productionwise, and maybe they needed a Bob Ezrin or Mutt Lange to whip them into shape. I doubt they'd have listened even had a steady hand been guiding the ship.

One thing that did jump out to me though: this is really a dry run/ dress rehearsal for Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath. Similar progressions and mixes here and there, similar melodic ideas, similar song placements, etc. Except Sabbath is the fully-finished, polished, and lacquered version of what they appear to have been going for on this one. 

Vol. 4 is the Bag of Bones to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath's Duma Key, perhaps. Makes sense to me anyway!