The Wizard (Black Sabbath song)
| "The Wizard" | ||||||||||
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 Cover artwork for the single, as used in the Netherlands |
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| Single by Black Sabbath | ||||||||||
| from the album Black Sabbath | ||||||||||
| Released | 13 February 1970 | |||||||||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||||||||
| Length | 4:21 David Wells review[1] 4:24 European edition 4:22 North American edition 4:24 2009 deluxe edition 4:46 2009 deluxe edition (studio outtake) |
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| Label | Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Butler/Iommi/Osbourne/Ward | |||||||||
| Producer | Rodger Bain | |||||||||
| Black Sabbath singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"The Wizard" is a song by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, taken from their 1970 album Black Sabbath. It is the second track on the record. The song was composed by all four members of the group and was produced by Rodger Bain."The Wizard" was the B side to the title track of the band's second album Paranoid.
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[edit] Information
"The Wizard" is about a wizard who uses his magic to encourage people he encounters. It was also meant to be about their drug dealer at the time. The song was also inspired by the character of Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.[2] Like the tracks " Black Sabbath" and "N.I.B.", "The Wizard" was an indication that the band's obsession with evil and black magic seemed to be more than just stereotypical heavy metal posturing because of the suffocating and dim musical atmosphere the band had constructed.[3][4]
[edit] Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals, harmonica
- Tony Iommi – guitar, slide guitar[5]
- Geezer Butler – bass
- Bill Ward – drums
[edit] Covers
The song was covered by Rob Halford's band Bullring Brummies for the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black.[6]
The song was covered by Zakk Wylde's band Pride & Glory on the second disc of the reissue of Pride & Glory. Wylde had also been a member of Ozzy Osbourne's solo band at the time.
[edit] References
- ^ Wells, David (November, 2006).Black Sabbath (p. 17) [CD booklet]. London: Sanctuary Records Group, Ltd.
- ^ Neeley, Sir Wendell (April 2005), 20 Questions with Geezer Butler, Metal Sludge 26 April 2005, http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=256&Itemid=52, retrieved 2008-04-29
- ^ Huey, Steve, Black Sabbath Album Review, Allmusic, http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1998, retrieved 6 September 2009
- ^ Moore, Ryan, Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis, (NYU Press, 2009), ISBN 0814757480, p.88.
- ^ "Black Sabbath (album) review". Rolling Stones Magazine. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/black-sabbath-black-sabbath-19691231.
- ^ Parisien, Roch, Nativity in BlackReview, Allmusic, http://www.allmusic.com/album/r206693/review, retrieved 15 July 2011
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