Nights at the Roundtable with Proto-Heavy Metal icons Black Sabbath in an early session for the BBC, recorded on April 26, 1970.
April 23, 2012

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Black Sabbath - no one knew what to make of them in 1968, except they were loud.


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Since I've been going on a familiarity binge the past few days (with Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Elvis Costello) I thought I would dig a bit deeper and pull up this one. Black Sabbath from one of their earliest surviving sessions for the BBC. Recorded for the John Peel Program on April 26th 1970, this session features the band right at the tipping point in their careers. It's ironic that Black Sabbath achieved a larger following in England and Europe than America, at first. It was around 1970 the U.S. finally caught up with the rest of the world and Black Sabbath became a household name ever since.

Before Black Sabbath came along, there really weren't any bands characterized as Heavy Metal, as least to the extent they explored doom-laden lyrics with dramatic word pictures. Most bands considered Heavy Metal had a basis in blues or hard Rock. Black Sabbath came along and changed all that, and in doing so, carved out their own niche in the annals of music.

Here is a rundown of what they play tonight:

1. Black Sabbath
2. Walpurgis
3. Fairies Wear Boots
4. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
5. Evil Woman

This should give you a good introduction of what the band were capable of. You may have missed some of these the first time around. The sound is a little strange in places. But the band certainly weren't.

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