After a few weeks off it’s time to get this series going again. Here I go to a year and pick five songs I really like from that year. Not necessarily my five favorites, but certainly five of my favorites.
This time we’ve arrived at 1992. The music scene was a lot different after the nuclear chaos of 1991. Grunge and alternative were in, and a lot of ’80’s rock and metal was out. The metal end of it hung on for a bit but ’80’s rock was basically vaporized by this point.
I myself turned 15 this year so I was just along for the ride, taking in things as they came. By this point I had long accepted that I wouldn’t have the “Hair Metal High School” party that I had long been looking forward to as everyone had traded in their garb for flannel. I was well on my way to the far heavier side of music but this hindsight list doesn’t necessarily reflect that. Anyway, let’s have at it.
Iron Maiden – Judas Be My Guide
Maiden did not have the best decade in the 1990’s, but they did crank out a handful of nice songs and many of them are found on the ’92 record Fear Of The Dark. The one that hit with me beyond all the others, even the stellar title track, is this quick and dirty cut that is widely considered one of the band’s most underrated songs. This one does a good job of showcasing the more stripped down rock approach Maiden took in this era. Overall the move wasn’t well advised but it did work in spots, this being the prime one.
The Black Crowes – Remedy
The Crowes hit big in 1990 with their debut, and they hit again two years later with a bit of a change in direction. They went all in on deep fried southern melodies here and created a hodgepodge of rock, funk and soul that charmed a captive audience. This song basically says “uh, actually drugs are good” and is a total musical explosion.
Black Sabbath – I
For a brief moment we had another glorious run of Ronnie James Dio-led Black Sabbath. It didn’t last long but we did get the excellent album Dehumanizer out of the brief run. I is a slamming song that is apparently a redress of grievances from Dio to people who criticize heavy metal. This was a nice blast from a reformed legend in an era where everything was turned on its head.
Nine Inch Nails – Last
Up next is this cut from the 1992 EP Broken, which saw Trent Reznor dive into extremely heavy metal to get his points across. The points in Last are either that Trent is a lousy hook-up, and/or he hates the record industry. It’s probably both. The riff here is heavy and hypnotic and anchors this absolute slamming romp through whoredom, real or symbolic.
Alice In Chains – Down In A Hole
This one hails from the band’s seminal album Dirt. I’ve gone on about this song before, it is a haunting and beautiful lament that is actually a love track to Jerry Cantrell’s then-girlfriend, but sounds like the stuff of despair from someone at the end of their rope. This song goes beyond just the confines of this annual list and is one of my all-time favorite songs.
That covers 1992. If you’re keeping score, that means 1993 is next. I’m sure most everyone had that figured out already, but there’s always one in a crowd.
Now, in the spirit of the Spanish Inquisition, the unexpected part – the 1993 post is coming tomorrow. I’ve decided to double up on these in order to get them out of the way around the end of the year. I will probably not get two posts every week, which will cause this to run into 2026 for a little bit, but I am going to sprint these out because my various hiatuses have pushed this series WAY off track. So I will be spitting out twice the goods for a bit. Enjoy, or not.
My tribute week (and a half) to Ozzy Osbourne wraps up with this post. Today I’ll discuss one of Black Sabbath’s most significant songs, perhaps their most profound and noted work.
In 1970 Black Sabbath released two albums – their self-titled debut, and the breakout hit record Paranoid. The latter has a whole story behind its name which directly relates to today’s song, so of course we’ll get into it.
Sabbath originally had the framework for a song they were going to call Walpurgis, which is some kind of pagan or witch’s sabbath. The record label was not cool with the name so they changed the song’s name to War Pigs. The band’s intent was also to name the album the same thing, so they devised a cover photo with someone dressed (loosely) as a pig, with a sword to indicate war-inclined thoughts, I guess.
The record label again intervened, this time because a quickly-recorded single from the record had gained a ton of traction and the label wanted the album named after that song. The record was rechristened Paranoid, but the band were stuck with the odd sword guy on the cover because there wasn’t enough time for a different concept.
Everything worked out in the end – Paranoid the album became the band’s breakthrough hit and also their signature record. Paranoid the song was the band’s biggest hit single, and War Pigs became a foundational track of heavy metal on its own.
The song opens with a plodding duel between Geezer Butler’s bass and Tony Iommi’s guitar, with Geezer anchoring the proceedings. Air raid sirens come in to generate the war atmosphere being discussed here. It’s a very effective intro for setting the tone.
The song delivers three verses without any sort of chorus or deviation. These feature short bursts of Bill Ward’s drumming with Iommi and Butler going on their own paths while Ozzy offers up the dark lyrics conflating warmongering politicians with evil and Satan. Each verse is broken up by jam-style pounding, fitting since the song was conceived out of jams the band used to do to fill time in sets in their early days.
The coupling of war-motivated politicians and evil was the original goal of lyricist Geezer Butler. Anti-war sentiment was huge around this time, as the US had mistakenly involved itself in Vietnam while UK residents were fearful of being dragged into it. Sabbath members have offered up differing opinions of just how much Vietnam played in the song’s conception – Butler considered it a central point, while Osbourne felt this was more just a general anti-war song. But there’s no denying War Pigs has a connection to the Vietnam era.
War Pigs caught fire with the crowds around the world also concerned about warmongering and became an immortal hit despite not being released as a single. The song has gone on to be one of the most covered tracks in history, both within heavy metal and beyond. It is often cited near the top of countless best of Black Sabbath lists as well as heavy metal and rock offerings. The song did not chart originally due to not being a single, but Black Sabbath’s final tour in the 2010’s did see War Pigs dance around the UK charts, and it again showed up after Ozzy’s death a few weeks ago.
War Pigs is one of heavy metal’s greatest treasures. The song has withstood the shift of time and generations to become immortalized in the collective conscious, both as an anti-war protest and as a heavy metal masterpiece. It is a true crown jewel in the legacy of heavy metal’s most iconic band, Black Sabbath.
This post concludes my Ozzy Osbourne tribute. There will be more Ozzy posts in the future, of course, but next week I will get up to some other stuff. There are a few unusual posts next Monday and Wednesday, one a commemoration and the other a hilarious story I was just made aware of last week. ‘Till then.
Yesterday came the news we knew was coming someday but came much quicker than any of us anticipated. Ozzy Osbourne died at 76 years old after a five-decade long career as the singer of Black Sabbath and ringleader of his own highly successful solo career.
Ozzy had been dealing with a slew of health problems the past several years which deteriorated his quality of life. He had Parkinson’s disease, had injuries sustained in a fall in his home as well as old injuries from an ATV accident.
He had just recently performed his final concert, the massive Back To The Beginning event in his hometown of Birmingham, England, which wound up being biggest money raiser of any charity concert ever. While his mobility was severely impacted, he was able to pull through a short solo set as well as a Black Sabbath stint.
We all knew Ozzy was in rough shape and that we would be writing posts and tributes like this, but it does seem very sudden just a few weeks after he triumphantly bowed down from the live stage. I assumed he would live a comfortable retirement, or as comfortable as possible given his health issues. But this grand, sad day is upon us and now we are left to mourn the legend of rock and metal’s godfather.
Ozzy was one of the most significant figures in music, especially in the realm of metal. From Black Sabbath to his solo career, to his massive and at times monstrous reputation, and to his kinship with many of rock and metal’s iconic figures, Ozzy has loomed large over this scene since the beginning. He drew legions of fans across several generations and his influence on this scene will be felt for time eternal.
Like many I have been massively entertained over the years by Ozzy’s music as well as his crazy and charming personality. It is difficult to truly put it into words now that I have to think about it in terms of his death, but I am one of many who are in this game to any degree largely due to Ozzy Osbourne.
I think Ozzy deserves an extended tribute, and to make that happen I will preempt my planned content for the rest of July to honor the fallen Prince Of Darkness. I’ll cover some of his songs, albums and also try to offer up a more focused post that discusses his impact to me. This will all be on the fly but it’s not like any of us had anything in the can for this dark day.
I will do those posts over the next several days and I’m sure the world will overflow with tributes to Ozzy, that seems to already be happening. Until then, I raise a glass to Ozzy and thank him for everything he brought to us over all these years, and condolences to his family, friends, bandmates and fans worldwide. We have lost a legend among legends.
The Back To The Beginning event on July 5th in England was a historic send-off for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. The show took place in Birmingham, Sabbath’s hometown. My write-up of the show can be found here.
While Birmingham is where Black Sabbath hail from, Sabbath aren’t the only heavy metal institution from the area. This city is also where Judas Priest were founded, giving Birmingham the “home of heavy metal” moniker.
It would have been a natural fit for Judas Priest to appear at Back To The Beginning, but scheduling conflicts sadly kept that from happening. Priest had already agreed to appear at another landmark show – the Scorpions held their 60th anniversary concert in Hannover, Germany on the same evening as the Black Sabbath gig, and Priest were opening for the Scorpions. Former guitarist K.K. Downing was on hand for the Ozzy event, and Judas Priest sent in a video message honoring Ozzy and Sabbath.
As an additional gift of sorts, Priest also surprise released a cover of Black Sabbath’s seminal War Pigs on July 2nd. War Pigs is one of Sabbath’s top songs, as evidenced by the song’s placement as the opener at the group’s final gig. It is also the song Judas Priest have used as stage “walk-on” music for several years now.
Not that there was any doubt, but Judas Priest execute War Pigs in massive fashion. This sounds spectacular – The band is tight and this has a huge and heavy feel to it. This sounds just as War Pigs should with no huge deviations or embellishments, but also has an extra kick in the ass from a Judas Priest group that has been insanely fresh and vital sounding in their later years.
It was a total bummer that Judas Priest were unable to make the gig honoring Ozzy and Sabbath. The bands have long had a close relationship, to the degree that Rob Halford is actually a former Black Sabbath singer. Rob filled in under emergency conditions twice for Sabbath – he did two shows in 1992 when then-Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio refused to perform, and then in 2004 Halford filled in when Ozzy was ill.
While Black Sabbath’s legacy is now likely sealed for good, Judas Priest are still kicking with no discernible end in sight. It is nice to have this memento that commemorates Sabbath’s metal immortality from another of heavy metal’s greatest practitioners.
Back on Saturday the 5th we had the Back To The Beginning concert, which was the final live bow for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. I have a huge post detailing that event here. Today I want to get into a song performed both live at the show and also released in digital studio form afterward in a bit of a surprise freebie.
Lamb Of God were one of the many acts to perform a min-set at the event. The band played their two most beloved songs, Laid To Rest and Redneck, then offered up a cover of Black Sabbath’s treasured song Children Of The Grave. It’s a song that easily could have been in Sabbath’s own set, but Ozzy had to power through both his own solo material and then the Sabbath portion so they kept things a bit shorter.
Much is made of Black Sabbath’s influence on heavy metal and here with Lamb Of God we have a case that illustrates just how long the timeline is. Lamb Of God formed in 1994 (originally known as Burn The Priest) and are now 31 years into their career. They took time to honor Sabbath, who just wrapped up 57 years in the business.
This is a faithful rendition of the original, it does a good job of retaining what makes the original work while also “sounding” like Lamb Of God. The song does suit Lamb Of God very well anyway, with the chug-a-long rhythm working great with LoG’s groove metal blueprint. It’s also interesting to hear vocalist Randy Blythe do more singing than growling here, it’s not something you get everyday.
Heavy metal covers of Black Sabbath songs are a dime a dozen, it’s pretty logical that many bands cover the band at the root of metal. But Lamb Of God offered up a very nice cover of one of Sabbath’s best songs and it commemorates the special event of Ozzy’s retirement wondefully.
Last Saturday on July 5th, Ozzy Osbourne hosted a special event in his hometown of Birmingham, England. This concert, dubbed “Back To The Beginning,” was a huge, star-studded affair that marks Ozzy’s final live performance.
This massive show was staged at Villa Park, the home of Aston Villa Football Club. Given attendance was 40,000. The event was also streamed, though it was a two-hour delay. This stream was how I took the show in. The event raised a considerable amount of money for a handful of Birmingham area charities.
There was a lot of buzz going in to the event – many wondered if Ozzy would be able to perform at all. The answer was a resounding yes. The concert’s somewhat unusual itinerary was also a source of concern – most bands were getting very short 15 minute sets with a bit more time afforded to a few marquee acts at the end. Many wondered how the show was going to go off with all the logistics involved, but a rotating stage and other accommodations made it run like clockwork.
A final source of controversy revolved around an act that Sharon Osbourne said was thrown off the show. This is a whole story unto its own so I won’t get into it here as it’s not relevant to the show itself. As of my writing in the afternoon of Sunday, July 6th, we do not yet know the identity of the jettisoned act. Sharon is supposed to reveal this information at some point soon.
Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine fame was the musical director for the event. The show also had a host – you could be forgiven if you thought you were supposed to acknowledge your tribal chief Roman Reigns as the host, but no that was his clone, actor Jason Momoa.
This massive concert lasted ten hours so it was a hell of a time commitment. For me I had to miss the first portion of the stream as I had stuff to do around the house, like mowing the lawn in 85 degree hell heat. I picked up on the first all-star jam and watched through to Metallica’s first song, when I had to split because I was due at the theater for a showing of This Is Spinal Tap. Thankfully there was a few days of replay time for the stream so I was able to catch everything I missed, especially the main event of Ozzy and Black Sabbath.
I won’t run down the entire show as that would just be wasting words for the sake of it. I thought all of the bands did fantastic. For such a huge logistical challenge, most everyone sounded fine and the few hiccups there were weren’t glaring or show-ruining.
The time between the brief set changes was filled with video clips of fans as well as some tributes from musicians. Those included Dolly Parton, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Elton John as well as Judas Priest, who were unable to play the show due to already being booked for the Scorpions’ 60th anniversary concert the same night. Jack Black and Fred Durst each sent in pre-recorded performances of Mr. Crowley and Changes, respectively.
For a complete rundown of who performed what, the Wikipedia article on the show is honestly the most concise and easiest to read of the lists out there.
Both of the all-star jams were of special interest. The first one was especially cool as Jake E. Lee took the stage after not having contact with Ozzy in decades and just eight months after being shot multiple times in a botched robbery attempt. It was also nice to hear two songs from The Ultimate Sin album, a record that Sharon especially has run down over the years. Lzzy Hale did a fantastic job singing the title track from that album, it was one of the highlight performances of the show. Later in that same set, Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe came out and did a stellar rendition of Ozzy’s Believer. And the first all-star set concluded with a somewhat unlikely figure, as Yungblud performed Changes in one of the most talked-about and pleasantly surprising moments of the show.
The second all-star jam opened with Billy Corgan, K.K. Downing and others offering up a Judas Priest song, then having at Sabbath’s Snowblind. Sammy Hagar then came out with Vernon Reid of Living Colour for Flying High Again and Montrose’s classic Rock Candy. Following a rendition of Bark At The Moon from Ghost’s singer Tobias Forge (I don’t know what he’s calling himself these days), we got what was, at least to me, a surprise guest as Steven Tyler took the stage. Tyler sounded great and while his guest shot was only three songs, it does give hope that he might be able to pilot Aerosmith through their own farewell show of some sort.
After several hours of bands and all-star jams, it was finally time for the show’s reason for being. There wasn’t a ton of build-up or anything – after the set change, Ozzy was on hand for his solo set. Ozzy came out from the stage floor in a huge throne from which he’d perform. He is left unable to walk after Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries. His band included a cast of his former associates, including Zakk Wylde, Mike Inez, Tommy Clufetos and Adam Wakeman.
Ozzy’s set comprised five of his classic songs – I Don’t Know, Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Mama I’m Coming Home and the ubiquitous Crazy Train. Everything went off without a hitch and Ozzy sounded really good despite his physical condition. While the affects of age and debilitation are there, he still sounded strong.
And Ozzy was ever the showman – as he has always done, he implored the crowd to get into it by yelling, showing their hands and the like. The Prince of Darkness is clearly able to still command an audience. The power and energy of an Ozzy Osbourne performance was present and accounted for, any concerns about his ability to make it through the set vanished as he ruled over his domain.
After the solo set there was one more set change, and it was time for the final event – Black Sabbath, with all four original members present. While Black Sabbath bowed out on a farewell tour in 2017, drummer Bill Ward was controversially not included in that tour. Everyone had expressed regret for that decision in the years since, and for this final bow, Bill Ward was on hand alongside Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne.
Sabbath performed four songs – War Pigs, N.I.B., Iron Man and Paranoid. Before going into Paranoid, Ozzy mentioned that it would be Sabbath’s final song ever and thanked the fans for everything over the years. With the stone cold classic knocked out, it was all over.
The film crew chose to focus on fireworks over the stadium rather than what was going on with Ozzy. Apparently the other members of Sabbath gave him a cake to commemorate the occasion. It was kind of odd not to show any real interaction with the rest of the band, but I guess those fireworks weren’t cheap.
And with that, Ozzy Osbourne’s live performance career is now over. He has mentioned still being able to record so we’ll see if the book’s shut or not on his studio output yet. Sharon Osbourne did relay that she is now happy to leave the music industry, so we’ll see if Ozzy will get to recording or not.
I will admit I was a bit concerned at how this event would go off, but after watching it I have to so it went off great. It was a fitting tribute to a man and band that have been the influence to several generations of heavy metal, rock and beyond. It is sad to think that the Prince of Darkness won’t be electrifying stages and terrorizing the populace, but this man definitely earned his rest at this point. Cheers to you Ozzy, may your retirement suit you well.
This series, often delayed, is now up to 1981. Again, the ’80’s are a tough time to narrow things down to five songs, so take this list as “five of my favorite songs from the year” rather than being a definitive list of my five absolute favorites. Nothing much more to say, let’s get right after it.
Iron Maiden – Murders In The Rue Morgue
The final salvo from Maiden’s Paul Di’Anno era came with this pounding musical rendition of the classic Edgar Allan Poe story. It’s fast, noisy and a great cut from Di’Anno’s final bow. This song is a bit less celebrated than many other Maiden tracks but it’s always been my favorite slab from this record.
Van Halen – Unchained
This was an absolutely slamming track that became one of Van Halen’s signature songs. Eddie does all sorts of stuff with the guitar here – making noise, keeping rhythm and just going all out. And David Lee Roth is, well, DLR here in all his glory. In this case it totally enhances the song, as it usually did in the early Van Halen catalog. Easily one of my very favorite Van Halen tracks here, can’t go wrong with it.
Rush – Limelight
Funny thing here – Rush wrote a song about being uncomfortable with the increased attention they’d gotten around this time, so the song they wrote became a hit and one of their signature tracks. The song features Rush being quite accessible yet also still offering the mind-bending music they excelled at. This song in particular is the Alex Lifeson show, with one of his most memorable solos. Rush would commendably succeed and do so largely on their own terms.
Ozzy Osbourne – Over The Mountain
I’ll set aside the valid arguments about who didn’t get properly comped for their writing work on this and other Ozzy classics and simply focus on the amazing music. This is a massive triumph that was part of an unlikely second life for Ozzy, who came out swinging as the Prince of Darkness in the early ’80’s. The song is phenomenal in every way and especially with Randy Rhodes, this is one of his finest works in a brief yet crowded field. This would sadly be his swansong, but it’s a hell of a way to go out.
Black Sabbath – The Sign Of The Southern Cross
While Sabbath’s former singer was racking up his own accolades, Sabbath themselves were trucking along just fine with Ronnie James Dio. This crushing doom track sees Dio explore the darker side of religion. It was one more triumph for Black Sabbath before things came undone, but it was again one hell of a way to wrap up the first Dio stint.
That does it for ’81. More very awesome music next week as the hits keep coming in what has to be the greatest decade of human existence.
This little series that I’ve half-assed for the past while is now in to 1980. The 1980’s were the most significant decade in my musical development so this whole decade is gonna be loaded with songs I love.
And, as this series has gone, I will only pick five per year. It is more important than ever to remember that this is simply a list of five songs I like a lot from a particular year, this not a definitive list of my five favorite songs from any given year. There are so many awesome songs left off these ’80’s lists that it’s honestly impossible to mess with much – I just go with the vibe and choose five I really like. This stuff does get a hell of a lot easier once I get to the late ’90’s and especially the 2000’s.
But we are in it to win it here, so let’s kick off this look at the best decade the world has ever seen.
Judas Priest – Living After Midnight
In 1980 Priest would finally gain a foothold in the US with their landmark British Steel album, featuring this cut among others. The song is a bit more simple and fun than other things which was a point of debate, but it’s a glorious party anthem and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden
And now we’re on to the debut from my favorite band of all time. Pretty easy auto-include here with their self-named song from their self-titled album. This one is also fun, though much more murdery than the Priest track. Maiden have played this song live more than any other and by quite a margin. While they have a handful of signature songs, it’s pretty clear that this one is the real calling card.
Van Halen – And The Cradle Will Rock
Shocking stuff here, as the band who defined party rock offer up another party anthem. It’s also a rather simple offering, though Eddie makes quite a bit of noise as he often did. Rock on, indeed.
The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me
This one was huge business for Sting and company, a dark tale of a teacher wrapped up in lust for a student all set to the signature reggae-rock catchiness The Police had refined by this point. It’s moody and haunting at its core but a very infectious song on the surface, something the band would nail down again in a few years time.
Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell
Sabbath had a bit of drug-fueled turmoil that saw the exit of singer Ozzy Osbourne. The band were able to regroup with Ronnie James Dio and offer up this massive slab of heavy metal. It features a grand battle between good and evil within a person, something that would be a calling card of Dio’s career. Although Sabbath wouldn’t enjoy the full fruits of the decade of metal, they were off to a very hot start.
And that wraps this one up, five songs of about five thousand great ones from the first year of the ’80’s. The tough sledding continues in the weeks after.
Time marches on and it’s now 1973 on my songs and years thing. I honestly don’t have much to say about the year – I was not around for it and nothing really jumped out at me when I was looking through stuff. I had no problem picking five songs, it does get to be a problem a few years down the line as a lot more acts started up and things get really crowded. But for today, no problem.
Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Sabbath had issues recording their fifth album but when it came down to it they were able to belt stuff out, including this masterpiece of a title track. The song is somewhat bright and melodic (but still plenty heavy) for most of the way, then descends into one of the heaviest pieces of music ever recorded in the song’s final moments. This is truly the stuff of legend.
Pink Floyd – Time
One of the cuts from Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon album that took over the world and never let go. Time is a remarkable song with both atmospheric elements and also some flat out rocking all contained within. Time is the thing that rules over all our lives and also may very well not really exist outside our perceptions, but I don’t have time for all of that today. A marvelous song.
Joe Walsh – Rocky Mountain Way Splendid stuff here as Joe was struck by songwriting inspiration while mowing his lawn in Colorado. It was the boost Walsh needed to get over his depression from leaving The James Gang and get his solo career kickstarted. Find a dive bar, get a cheap beer and enjoy this slice of rock n roll greatness.
Alice Cooper – Elected
Here lies one of the last vestiges of the Alice Cooper band, as after ’73 Coop would rebrand as a solo artist. Alice has actually run for President in most elections since this song, though obviously he hasn’t broke the threshold and been elected. But he put out this fun staple of his live set.
Montrose – Rock Candy
Montrose wound up billed as “the US’s answer to Led Zeppelin” when their debut album dropped in ’73. And this song was one huge reason why – it’s sleazy, groovy and balls out rocking. Montrose never got their commercial due, but this song was massively influential to legions of rockers who would come along later. This early version of Montrose was short-lived but they cranked out some badass music.
That does it for 1973. Nothing much else to go over, have a good weekend and we’ll get back to the grind next week.
The “Five Songs a Year” series rolls on into 1971. As always, these are five of my favorite songs from a year as opposed to “my five favorites,” nothing here is too definitive.
This year was really easy for me to throw together, I saw a few things that got released that year and had my list together real quick. I’m sure I could have done a more exhaustive review of the music from ’71 but this is supposed to be a quick and easy thing so I’ll leave it at that. Things start getting really crowded in a few years’ time so I’ll enjoy these easier ones.
Alice Cooper – Under My Wheels
The Coop has arrived on this list, for the first and likely not last time. This was the classic band formation of Alice Cooper on their fourth album Killer. This one is a fun old-school boogie that also gets into a bit of sensory overload at points. They are going completely off here and it’s a crazy experience.
T. Rex – Get It On
A song and album so influential that just about everyone who’s made music since has a copy of the record. The song is a very simple jam but adds enough to stand out from the other happenings in rock at the time. Even 53 years later the song lives on in rock immortality.
Black Sabbath – Children Of The Grave
And here is another signature track from the masters of metal. This one has some crazy bass and percussion on it, and is even a bit bright musically. But the song is a dire warning yet again about the ills of war and its possible apocalyptic consequences. Another one of Sabbath’s finest songs.
The James Gang – Walk Away
While this group never got the traction they might have been after, this song would become a fairly solid hit for them over the years. It was another Joe Walsh composition and performance, and the amount Walsh had to put into writing for the group led him to do just what the song’s title states not long after release. The James Gang would go on for several more years before sputtering out. Never heard how it panned out for Joe Walsh…
Led Zeppelin – The Battle Of Evermore
All of the other songs here are uncomplicated, there’s nothing to get in a fuss over about them. But this one? We have a guest singer! Mandolin! Lord of the Rings AND King Arthur! The song’s overall structure is not complex but man there’s a lot going on here. I’ve heard this practically my whole life and I still can’t wrap my head around it. Not sure what that says more about – the song or me.
That does it for 1971. Things stop getting quick and easy real soon as more of rock and metal’s immortal acts show up on the scene through the next several years.
The Crooked Wanderer 