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Friday Full-Length: Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell

Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell (1980)

I just wanted to end this week with an album I love. On a high note, maybe, but even more than that, just something that I can’t see being the person I am without. So here we go, Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell. It’s not a record I can claim to be Johnny Groundfloor on — it came out a year before I was born — but it has touched me profoundly over the years and I’ve gone back to it over time the way you do to things when they become a part of who you are. It’s been a while since last I made my way through, and I’ve missed it. Fucking “Children of the Sea.”

Yeah, you can go ahead and argue in favor of Ozzy-fronted Sabbath. I don’t even necessarily disagree. The way I see it, Master of Reality is just about the best heavy album ever made. It’s apples and oranges — or for a comparison of two even more disparate things — Ozzy and Dio. I’m glad both exist, I’m glad Geezer Butler played in both and I’m happy to leave it at that.

What a week. If I was drinking, I’d already be drunk. I was out this afternoon to meet with a guy from the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center to explore funding options for buying a bar. It went like this: “Uh, I see here you’re poor. There’s no funding for poor people.” I’m not out yet, though that was a fun hit to take. Then I went to the grocery store and had — not one, but two! — debit cards declined. I was doing a pretty good job on the maintaining thing, keeping my head together, but then it was time to break out Heaven and Hell, which is right up there in my book with watching Futurama in the dark.

Normally — though using such a word feels like a perversion of the concept — I’d probably follow up the one (Heaven and Hell) with the other (Futurama in the dark), but instead of sitting on my ass and wallowing in the waste of space and precious oxygen I’ve let myself become, I’m going out tonight. Gonna go catch Cortez and Pants Exploder at Radio in Somerville, then tomorrow there’s an early show for Esoteric and I might just hit that too, because fuck it, music’s still good.

There was a lot this week I didn’t get to post. In addition to reviews for one or both of the shows above, look for reviews to come of The Freeks and Mos Generator, an interview one way or another with Dave Wyndorf of Monster Magnet and some new audio from Supervoid. So there’s a lot as ever. I’ve got some work-type work to finish up, so I’m going to get through that while Heaven and Hell rounds out and then have a bite to eat before I head to Radio for that show. If you’re going, I hope I’ll see you there.

And even if not, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. If you get the chance, please hit up the forum and the radio stream.

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4 Responses to “Friday Full-Length: Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell

  1. Ron says:

    Hang in their JJ, things will turn in your favor bro. Your a good dude, and good things happen to good people.

  2. goAt says:

    I fuckin’ LOVE DIO…so glad I got to see him a few times before he passed…

  3. Brian H. says:

    We agree JJ – Master of Reality is maybe the finest heavy album ever made. Heaven and Hell is pretty close up there though, such an amazing album, no bad tracks, superb production, and career defining performances from all, especially Dio. It is my second favorite Sabbath album and probably gets the most spins from my out of anything in the catalog. I’m old enough to remember the release of it (was near 16) and while different than the old stuff, it was widely accepted at the time – Lady Evil was the first song released for the radio, was great to hear that in rotation on the local rock stations for a while. Saw them on the Mob Rules tour with Outlaws opening, one of the best shows ever. While they did more with Dio of course, they never caught the magic of this release which is to bad.

  4. Woody says:

    SABBATH ROCKS FOREVER!!!! Being poor is only temporary.

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