Black Sabbath...

[Rick and Roll]

Originally posted by Methem
Sabbath's music in general isn't the type that should be played here much, but is it possible to have some individual pieces from their albums on the station's playlist? Would for example Fluff, Spiral Architect (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), The Writ (Sabotage), and Air Dance (Never Say Die) be suitable material? All of these are from the 1970s; I cannot comment on the band's later production, as I'm not familiar with it at all.

Some of the older posts here seem to have mentioned the band from time to time, so obviously this is not a totally new thing.

But anyway... just a loose suggestion, and nothing more.

-Methem

Methem you have hit on a subject near and dear to my beliefs. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and select others are progressive. Hands down. It's the style of music that has the typical prog fan howling. They are as progressive in their style as a band like Tarentel is in theirs, and certainly more prog than a band like Queen.

By demand, I played The Who on my show. It was received very well. From time to time, I think bands like these are welcome. Sometimes I will play a band that I think has prog leanings but am reminded I am wrong (Depeche Mode was one that most likely will not be repeated). But I try. And most of what I play is prog or "prog-like).

Now let's discuss Sabbath in detail. Just to get it out of the way, "Fluff" is just OK and nothing special, just a diversion. However, everything else on "Sabbath Bloody", "Sabotage", "Technical Ecstacy", and "Never Say Die" have incredible depth. You mentioned "The Writ" and "Spiral Architect" and "Air Dance". All of these tunes are excellent, but all also contain mellow or keyboard in places (Air Dance featured prominently).

I submit you stick to your guns on this Methem. The heavier selections are just as worthy as the ones tinged with mellow spots.

To summarize, to me the first four Sabbath are straight ahead rock (but no more than Queen I is compared to the rest of Queen). The next four are prog hard rock (a lot more than a band like Pain of Salvation or OSI IMHO).

The Dio Sabbath is quality rock. Kevishev may disagree with me, but "Heaven And Hell" is almost universally enjoyed by every prog fan I've met. I was 17 when it came out, and trust me, as a high school/college student, that and KC "Discipline" blew away all else.

Bands get stuck in these labels, and Sabbath was one. They were a bluesy as Tull was when they started (Tony Iommi almost joined Tull). Say what you want about Ozzy, or some of the tunes, but the music is not AC/DC or bands like that. It's quality and prog.

All that being said, I would rather see the Sabbath rather than snippets. As stated, the entire 5-8 records are all worthy.

I think I'll feature them on a show. I've got a few others to get to, but I like this idea. Hearing 10-20 tunes would provide a good cross-section and certainly initiate discussion.

Of course I'm biased, as others are, but the listener who is truly not familiar with their output may have a fresh opinion. That's the target audience, in my view.

Good post Methem!