Programming note: We are taking a one-day break from the hoddle hero for Ozzy Osbourne. The hoddle hero - Yves Bissouma - will return tomorrow.
I’m not sure what more I can say about Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath that is more insightful or impactful than what his family, bandmates and slate of legendary musicians have already shared.
One tribute I was particularly keen to look at was Queen guitarist Brian May, who inducted Black Sabbath into the UK Music Hall of Fame.
View this post on InstagramAD(@brianmayforreal)
A few years ago I was record shopping in Connecticut. I don’t often seek out specific records, but there was one I was searching for that day: Master of Reality, by Black Sabbath.
I had never listened to it, but I was drawn to it. Was it the cover art, with its wavy words and purple lettering over Master? Was it the slight contrarian in me seeking that out over Paranoid (which I picked up on a later day)?
I flipped through the Black Sabbath bin, only to find it not there. I searched through every single new arrivals bin and flipped through hundreds of records, only to find it not there.
It was a surprisingly difficult find, as I later learnt that it’s been some time it would be reissued.
But as I was about to call it a day, my ears caught wind of the unmistakable sound of Black Sabbath playing in the shop.
Wouldn’t you know it, the record store owner took it out of the bin and was spinning it. I immediately went up to him and said, Dear Mr Record Store Owner, please may I purchase this copy of Master of Reality?
Of course he said yes. What luck!
I brought it home with me and spun it on my turntable. What I heard was something so bombastic and daring. It was sludge metal at its best.
There is so much to love here: the coughing fit at the start of Sweet Leaf, Geezer Butler’s bass riff bringing us out of After Forever, the hardcore drumming in Children of the Grave (oh yeah, Tony Iommi on guitar too), the structure of Into the Void. Even softer sounds like Orchid feel iconic.
It quickly catapulted into my all-time favourite albums list. And as I spin it tonight I try to go back to the first time I listened to it. It blew my freaking mind. It still does.
Fitzie’s track of the day: Master of Reality (in full), by Black Sabbath
(quick note - you’ll have to manually start it at 00:00. Or you can just start at Children of the Grave)
And now for your links:
Alasdair Gold: “Morgan Gibbs-White and the Tottenham winners and losers after Thomas Frank debut”
The Telegraph: “Yoane Wissa leaves Brentford training camp amid Newcastle and Spurs interest”
BBC: “‘Is this a movie?’ - England overcome odds to reach final”
The New York Times: “Ozzy Osbourne, the Lovable Prince of Darkness”
AP: “Ozzy Osbourne, who led Black Sabbath and became the godfather of heavy metal, dies at 76”
NBC News: “Never say die: Ozzy Osbourne’s life in photos”
More from cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com:
- Team news: Victor Wanyama is back! And there’s a slight issue for Harry Kane
- Tottenham eying Brazilian attacker Malcom in January transfer window
- Pochettino: Harry Kane can be Tottenham’s Totti
- Jan Vertonghen thinks Belgium has the advantage over England in World Cup
- Saturday football open thread
- The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Friday, December 29
- Italian media claims Tottenham in for Ajax starlet
