BLACK SABBATH

A fine album, and seldom does a band start a career with such a fine offering. I am a bit ambivalent about BS, and basically I only really enjoy their 3 first albums, but this is the one I enjoy the most. It's not that the musicianship is extraordinary--Iommi doesn't show much virtuosity, although he has tones that belong only to him. I suspect that the most competent musician in the band is actually Butler. Still, what I like very much in the first album is that we can feel what influenced them, and I can smell a lot of Cream in this album.

This a fine example of the whole being more than the sum of its part. It's sometimes cheesy (and Osbourne could sure lay it thick at times), sometimes a bit too easy, and sometimes the musicianship sounds suspicious, and still, despite all this, the album remains an experience to enjoy and behold. It has the magic spark that makes me want to listen to it again and again, in the same way I enjoy listening to Led Zep, The Who or Zappa. It may not strictly be prog, but most progressive rock music lovers should enjoy it; in my opinion, this recording has the wonderful gift of not generating listening fatigue... 4.5 / 5 for me.