Vol. 4 (Black Sabbath album)
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Black Sabbath Vol 4 is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1972 (see 1972 in music).
The original UK release was as a gatefold-sleeve, with a page glued into the middle. This gave each band member their own photo-page, with the band on-stage (and photographed from behind) at the very centre. The LP itself was in Vertigo's generic 'swirl' inner. The gatefold-sleeve and pages were retained in subsequent vinyl reissues on the WWA (World Wide Artists) and NEMS labels.
The album was originally to be titled Snowblind, the name of a track on the album which was a reference to cocaine use. The record company felt this to be controversial, for the American market in particular, so the title was altered. The song "Snowblind" had to be re-recorded because in the original Ozzy yelled the word "cocaine" after each verse. He can still be heard whispering "cocaine" in the final version, and he often shouted, "Cocaine!" during live performances of the song, as he does in their Reunion live album and the bootleg album Live at Last. In the liner notes of the album Black Sabbath thanks to "the great COKE-Cola Company," a slightly-hidden drug reference. Also during the Vol. 4 era, Geezer Butler sported a sticker that said "Enjoy CoCaine," a takeoff on the "Enjoy CocaCola."
The track "Changes" was one of the first Black Sabbath tracks to extensively use keyboards - piano was featured previously, on "Planet Caravan" from the Paranoid album and 'Solitude' from the Master Of Reality album.
The album was recorded in California, the first time Sabbath had recorded a studio album outside the United Kingdom. [1] "Changes" was a piano ballad written by Tony Iommi including some use of a mellotron for the orchestral sounds. A lyrically-adjusted cover version gave Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne a number one single thirty one years later.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Vol. 4 at number 60 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
The album was reissued in 1996 on the Power Sound label as Children of the Grave with a new cover and one additional track, the "Children of the Grave" recording from Live at Last.
The album's title and cover art were spoofed for the 1992 Peaceville Volume 4 compilation.
Track listing
All songs by Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward.
- "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener" – 7:57
- "Tomorrow's Dream" – 3:06
- "Changes" – 4:41
- "FX" – 1:39
- "Supernaut" – 4:40
- "Snowblind" – 5:25
- "Cornucopia" – 3:49
- "Laguna Sunrise" – 2:48
- "St. Vitus Dance" – 2:24
- "Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes" – 5:49
Personnel
- Colin Caldwell; Vic Smith - Engineer
- Patrick Meehan -Producer
- Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
- Tony Iommi – Guitar, Piano, Mellotron
- Geezer Butler – Bass guitar
- Bill Ward – Drums
