Black Sabbath Scores

Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath. Photo by Ben Upham.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE RARE BLACK SABBATH PHOTOS AND ARTWORK:
BLACK SABBATH FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM
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“Black Sabbath Scores”
by Deniese Kusel
The Press Telegram
Long Beach, Ca.
September 10, 1975

Black Sabbath’s claim to fame was that they were louder than any other rock band around. That was in 1970 when they first got together.

Sunday night at the Long Beach Arena they proved, once again, that if you pump out the decibels with enough force, people will cheer for anything.

In their first concert in two years, Black Sabbath kept the audience on their feet well after the second selection, “Hole in the Sky.”

It was obvious that the fans had missed the flamboyant group and were excited to have them back.

With the exception of a good lick sprinkled here and there and some rapid rhythmic changes on the lead guitar, Black Sabbath is just “another loud rock band.” They were colorful, but predictable. The audience response was tremendous and the band worked. Their driving, hard rock sound was reminiscent of early Led Zeppelin.

Tony lommi, lead guitar, is one of few really good left-handed leads around on his customized Gibson. Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, hot after a successful European tour, spiked his lyrics with shouts and screams. The audience ate up the fleecy costumes and theatrics.

“Snow Blind” and “Symptom of the Universe” — the latter featuring lommi — were highlights of the concert. Bass player Geezer Butler’s fluid movements and showy stage style was a dynamic force in creating the visual imagery for Black Sabbath. Drummer Bill Ward falls into the same league as the hard-hitting Ginger Baker during his days with Cream. Hanging above his drum kit, an acoustical shell captured the sound and held it together.

Clearly, a lot of effort was put into putting the group back into action.

They drew heavily from their new album “Sabotage” for their concert material. Black Sabbath is a working band and seems destined to continue their present success. If hard rock is your bag, then dig them. They go deep.

BLACK SABBATH DISCOGRAPHY:
1970 Black Sabbath
1970 Paranoid
1971 Master of Reality
1972 Black Sabbath Vol. 4
1973 Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1975 Sabotage
1976 Technical Ecstasy
1977 We Sold our Souls for Rock ‘N’ Roll
1978 Never Say Die
1980 Live At Last
1980 Heaven and Hell
1981 Mob Rules
1982 Live Evil
1983 Born Again
1986 Seventh Star
1987 The Eternal Idol
1989 Headless Cross
1990 Tyr
1992 Dehumanizer
1994 Cross Purposes
1995 Forbidden
1995 Cross Purposes Live
1998 Reunion
2002 Past Lives
2007 Live at Hammersmith Odeon

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE RARE BLACK SABBATH PHOTOS AND ARTWORK:
BLACK SABBATH FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM
and
BLACK SABBATH CONCERT PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM