Vol. 4 (Black Sabbath album)

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Vol. 4
Black Sabbath Vol. 4.png
Studio album by
Black Sabbath
Released25 September 1972
RecordedMay 1972
StudioRecord Plant (Los Angeles)
GenreHeavy metal[1]
Length42:18
LabelVertigo
Producer
Black Sabbath chronology
Master of Reality
(1971) 		Vol. 4
(1972) 		Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
(1973)
Singles from Vol. 4
  1. "Tomorrow's Dream"
    Released: 22 September 1972 [2]

Vol. 4 is the fourth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in September 1972. It was the first album by Black Sabbath not produced by Rodger Bain; guitarist Tony Iommi assumed production duties. Patrick Meehan, the band's then-manager, was listed as co-producer, though his actual involvement in the album's production was minimal.

Recording[]

In June 1972, Black Sabbath began work on their fourth album at the Record Plant studios in Los Angeles.

"It's the first album we've produced ourselves," observed Ozzy Osbourne. "Previously we had Rodger Bain as a producer – and, although he's very good, he didn't really feel what the band was doing. It was a matter of communication. This time, we did it with Patrick, our manager, and I think we're all very happy… It was great to work in an American studio."[3]

The recording was plagued with problems, many due to substance abuse. In the studio, the band regularly had speaker boxes full of cocaine delivered.[4]

Struggling to record "Cornucopia" after "sitting in the middle of the room, just doing drugs",[5] Bill Ward feared that he was to be fired: "I hated the song, there were some patterns that were just horrible. I nailed it in the end, but the reaction I got was the cold shoulder from everybody. It was like 'Well, just go home, you're not being of any use right now.' I felt like I'd blown it, I was about to get fired."[6] According to the book How Black Was Our Sabbath, Ward "was always a drinker, but rarely appeared drunk. Retrospectively, that might have been a danger sign. Now, his self-control was clearly slipping." Iommi claims in his autobiography that Ward almost died after a prank-gone-wrong during recording. The Bel Air mansion the band was renting belonged to John du Pont and the band found several spray cans of gold DuPont paint in a room of the house; finding Ward naked and unconscious after drinking heavily, they proceeded to cover the drummer in gold paint from head to toe.

In his autobiography I Am Ozzy, Osbourne speaks at length about the sessions: "In spite of all the arsing around, musically those few weeks in Bel Air were the strongest we'd ever been." But he admits, "Eventually we started to wonder where the fuck all the coke was coming from ... that coke was the whitest, purest, strongest stuff you could ever imagine. One sniff, and you were king of the universe." Osbourne also recounts the band's ongoing anxiety over the possibility of being busted, which worsened after they went to the cinema to see The French Connection (1971), about undercover New York City cops busting an international heroin-smuggling ring. "By the time the credits rolled," Osbourne recalled, "I was hyperventilating." In 2013, Butler admitted to Mojo magazine that heroin, too, had entered the picture: "We sniffed it, we never shot up ... I didn't realize how nuts things had gotten until I went home and the girl I was with didn't recognize me."

Composition[]

Vol. 4 saw Black Sabbath beginning to experiment with the heavy sound they had become known for. In June 2013 Mojo declared, "If booze and dope had helped fuel Sabbath's earlier albums, Vol. 4 is their cocaine ... Despite their spiraling addictions, musically Vol. 4 is another ambitious outing. The band's heavy side remains intact on the likes of 'Tomorrow's Dream', 'Cornucopia' and the seismic 'Supernaut' (a firm favorite of Frank Zappa, featuring Bill Ward's soul-inspired breakdown), but the guitar intro on 'St. Vitus Dance' possesses a jaunty, Led Zeppelin-flavoured quality, while 'Laguna Sunrise' is an evocative neo-classical Iommi instrumental." After being up all night and watching the sunrise at Laguna Beach, Iommi composed the song.[4] In the studio, an orchestra accompanied Iommi's guitar, although they refused to perform until their parts were properly written out.[4] The same orchestra performed on "Snowblind".[4]

"Snowblind" is the band's most obvious reference to cocaine, their drug of choice during this period. Snowblind was also the album's working title, but Vertigo Records executives were reluctant to release an album with such an obvious drug reference.[4] The liner notes thank "the great COKE-cola"[4] and, in his autobiography, Osbourne notes, "Snowblind was one of Black Sabbath's best-ever albums – although the record company wouldn't let us keep the title, 'cos in those days cocaine was a big deal, and they didn't want the hassle of a controversy. We didn't argue."

Although most of the album is in the band's trademark heavy style, some songs demonstrate a more sensitive approach. "Changes", for example, written by Iommi with lyrics by Butler, is a piano ballad with mellotron. Iommi taught himself to play the piano after finding one in the ballroom of the Bel-Air mansion they were renting. It was on this piano that "Changes" was composed.[4] "Tony just sat down at the piano and came up with this beautiful riff," Osbourne writes in his memoir. "I hummed a melody over the top, and Geezer wrote these heartbreaking lyrics about the break-up Bill was going through with his wife. I thought that was brilliant from the moment we recorded it."

"FX" came about unexpectedly in the studio. After smoking hashish, the crucifix hanging from Iommi's neck accidentally struck the strings of his guitar and the band took an interest in the odd sound produced.[4] An echo effect was added and the band proceeded to hit the guitar with various objects to generate odd sound effects. Iommi calls the song "a total joke".[4]

Of "Wheels of Confusion", Henry Rollins said: "It's about alienation and being lost in the wheels of confusion, which is the way I find myself a lot of the time. Sabbath could be my favourite band. It's the ultimate lonely man's rock. There's something about their music that's so painful and yet so powerful."[7]

The album, Tony Iommi told Circus's sister magazine Circus Raves, "was such a complete change – we felt we had jumped an album, really ... We had tried to go too far."[8]

Artwork[]

Sleeve Photo

The album cover features a monochrome photograph of Ozzy Osbourne with hands raised throwing the peace sign,[9] taken during a Black Sabbath concert at Birmingham Town Hall in January 1972 by Keith Macmillan (credited as Keef).[10] The album's original release (on Vertigo in the UK, on Warner Bros. in the United States and on Nippon Phonogram in Japan) features a gatefold sleeve with a page glued into the middle. Each band member is given his own photo page, with the band on-stage at the very centre. All photos were from the aforementioned Birmingham gig.

The album's original cover art has proved iconic, and has been imitated and parodied on numerous occasions, such as on the 1992 Peaceville Volume 4 compilation album, the 1992 Volume Two EP by the band Sleep, Longmont Potion Castle Vol. 4 by the prank caller Longmont Potion Castle, and the 1994 Planet Caravan EP by Pantera.

The U.S. 8-track tape and cassette releases of the album feature alternate artwork: a yellow background with Ozzy silhouetted in black.

Release and reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic96/100
(super deluxe)[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[12]
Classic Rock3.5/5 stars[13]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music4/5 stars[14]
Pitchfork9.0/10[15]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide3/5 stars[16]
Rolling Stonefavourable[17]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[18]
Sputnikmusic1.5/5[19]

Vol. 4 was released in September 1972, and while most critics of the era were dismissive of the album, it achieved gold status in less than a month, and was the band's fourth consecutive release to sell one million copies in the United States.[20] It reached number 13 on Billboard's pop album chart[21] and number 8 on the UK Albums Chart.[22] The song "Tomorrow's Dream" was released as a single but failed to chart.[23] Following an extensive tour of the United States, the band toured Australia for the first time in 1973, and later Europe.

Rock critic Lester Bangs, who had derided the band's earlier albums, applauded Vol. 4, writing in Creem, "We have seen the Stooges take on the night ferociously and go tumbling into the maw, and Alice Cooper is currently exploiting it for all it's worth, turning it into a circus. But there's only one band that's dealt with it honestly on terms meaningful to vast portions of the audience, not only grappling with it in a mythic structure that's both personal and powerful but actually managing to prosper as well. And that band is Black Sabbath." Bangs also compared the band's lyrics to those of Bob Dylan and William S. Burroughs. In June 2000, Q[24] placed Vol. 4 at number 60 in its list of The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever[25] and described the album as "the sound of drug-taking, beer-guzzling hooligans from Britain's oft-pilloried cultural armpit let loose in LA." In his 2013 biography on the band Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe, Mick Wall insists "Under the Sun" would become the "sonic signpost" for bands that would follow Sabbath in years to come, such as Iron Maiden and Metallica. Frank Zappa has identified "Supernaut" as one of his all-time favorites.[26] (In a 1994 interview with Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Butler revealed, "I loved Zappa's lyric approach. That influenced me lyrically, definitely.") "Supernaut" was also one of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's favorite songs.[27]

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 48 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[28] Rolling Stone ranked it 14th on their 2017 list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[29] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[30]

Thomas Gabriel Fischer of Triptykon and previously frontman of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost cited Vol. 4 as highly influential on his musical formation and stated he "learned to play guitar from that album".[31]

Track listing[]

All music was written by Black Sabbath (Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward); all lyrics by Geezer Butler. Some North American pressings have parts of the songs titled as "The Straightener" and "Every Day Comes and Goes"; the former is the coda of "Wheels of Confusion", while the latter is a two-minute segment that serves as the bridge for "Under the Sun".[32] These parts are not titled on original releases or any European release.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Wheels of Confusion"8:02
2."Tomorrow's Dream"3:12
3."Changes"4:45
4."FX" (instrumental)1:44
5."Supernaut"4:50
Side B
No.TitleLength
6."Snowblind"5:33
7."Cornucopia"3:55[33]
8."Laguna Sunrise" (instrumental)2:56
9."St. Vitus Dance"2:30
10."Under the Sun"5:53
Total length:42:18
2021 Vol. 4 Super Deluxe, Disc Two (Outtakes, New Mixes)
No.TitleLength
1."Wheels of Confusion"8:14
2."Changes"3:06
3."Supernaut"4:11
4."Snowblind"5:02
5."Laguna Sunrise"2:31
6."Under the Sun (Instrumental)"3:44
Total length:24:26
2021 Vol. 4 Super Deluxe, Disc Three (Alternative Takes, False Starts & Studio Dialogue)
No.TitleLength
1."Wheels of Confusion (False Start with Studio Dialogue)"0:26
2."Wheels of Confusion (Alternative Take 1)"4:03
3."Wheels of Confusion (Alternative Take 2)"5:20
4."Wheels of Confusion (Alternative Take 3)"5:24
5."Wheels of Confusion (Alternative Take 4)"5:30
6."The Straightener (Outtake)"3:18
7."Supernaut (Outtake)"5:10
8."Supernaut (Alternative Takes with False Starts)"13:26
9."Snowblind (Alternative Take 1 - Incomplete)"3:30
10."Under the Sun (False Start with Studio Dialogue)"2:00
11."Under the Sun (Alternative Take with Guide Vocal)"3:44
Total length:51:53
2021 Vol. 4 Super Deluxe, Disc Four (Live in the UK 1973)
No.TitleLength
1."Tomorrow's Dream"3:21
2."Sweet Leaf"5:31
3."War Pigs"7:52
4."Snowblind"5:17
5."Killing Yourself to Live"5:45
6."Cornucopia"4:55
7."Wicked World / Guitar Solo / Orchid / Into the Void / Sometimes I'm Happy"19:57
8."Supernaut / Drum Solo"3:57
9."Wicked World (Reprise)"2:17
10."Embryo"0:23
11."Children of the Grave"5:37
12."Paranoid"4:11
Total length:69:04
Notes
  • Discs two and three of the 2021 Super Deluxe edition feature alternate versions from the May 1972 recording sessions that have been mixed in 2020 by Steven Wilson.
  • Disc four of the 2021 Super Deluxe edition features live recordings from two performances from 1973 that have been mixed in 2020 by Richard Digby-Smith. Tracks 1–4 and 7–12 were recorded on 16 March 1973 at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England, and tracks 5–6 were recorded on 11 March 1973 at the Hardrock Concert Theatre in Manchester, England. Tracks 3 and 5–12 were previously released on the 1980 live album Live at Last, while tracks 1, 2 and 4 were previously unreleased. The March 11 and 16 concerts were originally recorded for use in a planned live album release, but the project was ultimately scrapped despite its plans being already promoted in UK newspaper articles. The master tapes of the March 11 and 16 recordings were taken out and remastered for accurately compiling a complete 1973 concert setlist for the 2021 Volume 4 Super Deluxe release.[34]

Cover versions[]

"Wheels of Confusion"
  • Estonian band Rondellus on their tribute album Sabbatum, sung by two female voices accompanied by a frame drum. Their version has lyrics translated into Latin, and the song has been retitled "Rotae Confusionis".[35]
  • Doom metal band Cathedral on the tribute album Masters of Misery – The Earache Tribute.
  • Sludge band Thou on digital platforms.
"Tomorrow's Dream"
  • Van Halen covered this song in their live sets in 1976. This can be heard in a bootleg taken from a performance at L.A.’s famous rock nightclub Gazzari’s.
"Changes"
  • In 1999, thrash metal band Overkill included a cover on their Coverkill album.
  • Sampled by rapper Eminem on the song "Going Through Changes" for his Recovery album.
  • A new version with altered lyrics appeared on Prince of Darkness with Kelly Osbourne and Ozzy singing a duet version.
  • Hell Is for Heroes covered this song as a B-side to their single "Night Vision".
  • Fudge Tunnel covered this song on Earache's Masters of Misery compilation.
  • Japanese melodic punk band Hi-Standard covered this song on their Making the Road album.
  • Nashville garage rock duo JEFF the Brotherhood included a cover of this song as the final track on their album Hypnotic Nights.[citation needed]
  • Charles Bradley featuring The Budos Band and the Bullets covered this song for a limited edition Record Store Day Black Friday 7" single release (2013). Bradley's version would also become the theme song for the animated show Big Mouth, the "My Furry Valentine" episode of which includes a version of the song performed in character by actress Maya Rudolph.
"Supernaut"
  • Ministry side project 1000 Homo DJs on their Supernaut single, and for the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black, as well as Ministry themselves on their 1992 Psalm 69 tour, and on their album Cover Up – both Ministry versions include vocals by Al Jourgenson. The Nativity in Black and Black Box – Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years versions include vocals by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Reznor's involvement was nixed by his at-the-time record label, and he was not credited on the Sabbath tribute album, though his vocals remained. The Wax Trax box properly credits him as the vocalist.
  • Coalesce on the 2007 reissue of their Led Zeppelin tribute EP entitled There is Nothing New Under the Sun and also on the Hydra Head Records Black Sabbath tribute album In These Black Days: Vol. 3.
  • O'Connor (from Argentina) for Hay un Lugar (1999).
  • Turisas for a cover CD issued by UK magazine Metal Hammer.
  • The joint venture of Los Coronas and Arizona Baby covered the song in their 2011 live album Dos Bandas y un Destino.[37]
  • Candlemass covered some of "Supernaut" as part of a Black Sabbath medley on their third album, Ancient Dreams.
"Snowblind"
"Cornucopia"
"Under the Sun"

Personnel[]

Black Sabbath

Additional

  • Colin Caldwell, Vic Smith – engineering
  • Patrick Meehan – production

Charts[]

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[42] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 14
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[44] 7
UK Albums (OCC)[45] 5
US Billboard 200[46] 13
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[47] 58
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[48] 142
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[49] 8
Swedish Hard Rock Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[50] 1
Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[51] 3
Swedish Vinyl Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[52] 2
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[53] 17

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[54] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] Gold 100,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[56] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All time". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Black sabbath singles".
  3. ^ "Sabbath – Clocking on in the States". Sounds #36. 30 September 1972.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Iommi, Tony (2011). Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306819551.
  5. ^ Rosen 1996, p. 73
  6. ^ Rosen 1996, pp. 73–74
  7. ^ unsourced clipping, probably from Melody Maker, reproduced in Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross #12, January 1994, p6
  8. ^ Circus Raves No. 119, October 1975
  9. ^ "The Book of Seth: Black Sabbath - Vol 4". Julian Cope presents Head Heritage. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  10. ^ Grow, Kory (13 February 2020). "'That Evil Kind of Feeling': The Inside Story of Black Sabbath's Iconic Cover Art". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Vol. 4 [Super Deluxe Edition] [Box Set] by Black Sabbath Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  12. ^ Huey, Steve. "Review Black Sabbath, Vol. 4". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  13. ^ Rock, Classic (14 January 2020). "Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 Album Of The Week Club review". Loudersound. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  14. ^ C. Strong, Martin (2002). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Canongate. ISBN 1852279230.
  15. ^ Collins, Sean T. (4 March 2021). "Black Sabbath: Vol. 4 (Super Deluxe) Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  17. ^ Clark, Tom (7 December 1972). "Review Black Sabbath Vol. 4". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  18. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 1841955515.
  19. ^ "Black Sabbath Vol. 4". Sputnikmusic. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  20. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "AMG Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  21. ^ "AllMusic Billboard albums". Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  22. ^ "UK chart history – Black Sabbath Vol. 4". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  23. ^ "Billboard Black Sabbath chart history". Billboard.com. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  24. ^ Q Magazine, issue No. 165, June 2000, p. 69
  25. ^ "Rock List Music". Rock List Music. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  26. ^ Black Sabbath Vol. 4 2009 reissue booklet, page 11
  27. ^ "BILL WARD Talks About Legendary BLACK SABBATH/LED ZEPPELIN Jam Session". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  28. ^ Hotten, Jon (21 January 1989). "Black Sabbath 'Vol. 4'". Kerrang!. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
  29. ^ Grow, Kory (21 June 2017). "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  30. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (7 February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  31. ^ "Interview: Tom Gabriel Fischer". hit-channel.com. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  32. ^ Joel McIver Black Sabbath: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 2007 "St Vitus Dance. it serves as a perfect intro to 'Under The Sun', which drags into life with a weighty, down-tuned intro that is the heaviest metal that Sabbath has attempted to date. Not one but two tempo accelerations follow in the next two minutes, .... instrumental outro – often given its own independent title, this time 'Every Day Comes And Goes' – finishes the album off."
  33. ^ Original North American Warner Bros. Records pressings of Vol. 4 (catalog no. BS 2602) incorrectly list "Cornucopia"'s running time as 4:52.
  34. ^ Volume 4 Super Deluxe (2021). Rhino Records. p. 34.
  35. ^ "Black Sabbath songs covered by medieval music band Rondellus". Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  36. ^ "sHeavy Cover Songs". Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  37. ^ Mariano Prunes. "Dos Bandas y un Destino: El Concierto - Arizona Baby, Los Coronas | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  38. ^ "Overview Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live!!". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
  39. ^ "Overview Masters of Misery-Black Sabbath: The Earache Tribute". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  40. ^ "Overview: Stash". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  41. ^ "Entombed Lyrics". DarkLyrics.com. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
  42. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4586". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  43. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  44. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Black Sabbath – Vol 4". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  45. ^ "Black Sabbath | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  46. ^ "Black Sabbath Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  47. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Black Sabbath – Vol 4" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  48. ^ "Ultratop.be – Black Sabbath – Vol 4" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  49. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Sabbath – Vol 4" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  50. ^ "Veckolista Hårdrock, vecka 7" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  51. ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 7" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  52. ^ "Veckolista Vinyl, vecka 7" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  53. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Sabbath – Vol 4". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  54. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Black Sabbath – Volume 4". Music Canada.
  55. ^ "British album certifications – Black Sabbath – Vol 4". British Phonographic Industry.
  56. ^ "American album certifications – Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath - Vol. 4". Recording Industry Association of America.

Bibliography[]

  • Rosen, Steven (1996). The Story of Black Sabbath: Wheels of Confusion. Castle Communications. ISBN 1-86074-149-5.
  • Chow, Jason (2006). Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
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