Slipping Away- Black Sabbath MP3
4/10/11
beeradvocate.com- A-
Stone Ruination IPA- Community Beverage, Queens, NY- 22 oz. bomber into Pub Glass. Brandy Snifter- 7.7% ABV. Today I have a Double IPA by Stone Brewery. Straw colored in appearance with bits of orange. Pretty clear in appearance with a steady stream of small bubbles. The head was about 1 1/2 fingers thick. Lacing was moderate on the glass. The aroma was a pure American IPA, though not overpowering,.bitter, citrusy hops. Medium bodied, silky mouth feel with small sparkling carbonation. This is defined as a Double IPA but it doesn't overpower. Well balanced but some bitterness lingers. This reminds my of Victory Hop Wallop but a bit more bitter. This is a good IPA and I wouldn't mind having it on draft. At 7.7 ABV its a nice beer to have a couple of without feeling the affects of the booze to quickly but still has a bit of bite.
On the turntable is Mob Rules- Black Sabbath- Recorded at the Record Plant, Los Angeles for Electra/ Asylum Records in 1981. This post is inspired by my trip to Huntington, Long Island, my hometown, to meet my friend and attend a book signing by DJ and Heavy Metal/ Hard Rock expert Eddie Trunk. I have listened to Eddie Trunk on the radio, on and off, for years and since his first season of That Metal Show on VH1 Classics, which coincidentally, coincided with me getting cable for the first time in many years.
I don't have a whole lot of heavy metal on vinyl. I don't come across it much as other genres but I actually believe it is one of the genres that truly benefits from the sound quality delivered by CD. The clarity and precision of a cd mirrors the inherent qualities present in heavy metal all to well. As a result most of the heavy metal I have is on CD. However when I come across some metal on vinyl, for the right price, I will buy it. I started dipping into the Ronnie James Dio era of Black Sabbath back when for their reunion tour around 2006. It was serious fodder for the guitar magazines at the time and I soaked it up. I grew up with Ozzy era Black Sabbath but I have come to really enjoy the Dio era of the band a lot and in someways it has a more focused approach. Tony Iomni's guitar playing really evolved at this time and his solos became even more aggressive and Dio's vocals, which certainly have more range than Ozzy's, breathed new life into the band. One thing stood out to me on this album were the drums. I am not a drum guy and usually they are the last thing I remember about an song but for some reason they stood out to me on this LP. Today after doing a bit of research on wikipedia I learned that the drummer was not the original Black Sabbath drummer, Bill Ward, but a guy named Vinnie Appice. There is not much filler on this LP and wasn't sure which song I wanted to include as an MP3 so I decided on Slipping Away. A catchy track, with a cool chorus, and whose main guitar riff is a bit reminiscent of Led Zeppelins Custard Pie. My favorite part of this track is the dueling Guitar and Bass solos at approximately 2:09. Geezer Butler, on Bass, is one of my favorite bassists and has an melodic approach on the bass and whose hard grooves often drive many of Black Sabbath songs as much as Iomni's guitar.
One thing that struck me as I was riding home on the LIRR, from the book signing, leafing through the Eddie Trunk book was his commitment to a specific genre of music. He made note that he listens to other types of music, being a radio guy, but he is clearly committed to heavy metal/ hard rock and has a knowledge of those genres which is clearly unmatched. In some ways I am really envious of this unwavering interest in particular bands or genres. I have always found it difficult to commit my interests to one type of music. I have never felt complete allegiance with one particular musical scene. Sometimes I think I spread myself to thin, bouncing from one tradition to the next without fully exploring every music al detail. There are common denominators reflected in most of the artists I like:
1. Well crafted songs, with somewhat definitive themes (lyrically or musically)
2. Strong musical hooks and/or chops
3. Acknowledgement of the past and its influence on the artist
4. Focused improvisation.
5. A deep catalog (i.e. Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Frank Zappa, etc.) preferably with lots of live material available in bootleg form. There is nothing better than finding an artist with a deep catalog that you can get lost in for while, leave it, come back, and then get lost again. This example is a stretch and by no means a requirement for me but its nice if you can find it. I have also listen to an artist with only one recorded song which has its on intrinsic benefits.
But to be honest I am just following my on interests form one day to the next. One day it will be Blind Willie McTell and then the next week will by Ennio Morricone with bits of The Pretenders and Deep Purple mixed in. There isn't a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it. It got me to thinking about other writers/ historians who have raised the bar in their commitment to exposing and analyzing the music of specific artist and or genres:
Phill Schapp- Charlie Parker and all things Jazz
Barney Hoskyns- Los Angeles bands from the 60's and 70's
Greail Marcus- Van Morrison and Bob Dylan
Ben Watson- Frank Zappa
Peter Guarlnick- Southern R&B/ Rockabilly/ Roots Music
etc., etc., etc...
Frank Zappa once said writing about music is like "dancing about architecture" which is most likely aimed at music critics in general. I have to agree that writing about music is often times kind of silly but I wouldn't have experienced a lot of music without being exposed to it through writers and historians in some way. Lets face it there are not a lot of avenues for being exposed to music through traditional avenues anymore, especially, old music.
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