Monday Long Song

When Black Sabbath initially unleashed 'Vol.4' in the Autumn of 1972, my ears were probably too occupied with the recently released T.Rex masterpiece 'The Slider' to notice the kerfuffle. I came to 'Vol.4' a little later and it's always been my favourite of The Sabs' albums, though the follow up, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', runs it mighty close. I saw the classic Ozzy-led line-up just once, a little after their prime perhaps, but they were still an impressively thunderous live prospect.

Black Sabbath - Wheels of Confusion 

Version City #51 - Charles Bradley sings Black Sabbath

I'm sorry if my presence around these parts has appeared a bit fleeting over the past few days. I seemed to achieve very little really, but somehow the week just ran away from me. One tune that did stop me in my tracks the other day though, was Charles Bradley's remarkable cover of Black Sabbath's 'Changes'. It's a song I know intimately from my days as a young, long-haired head-nodder, as the original appeared on my favourite Sabbath LP, 1972's 'Volume 4'. Bradley initially issued the song as a limited edition Record Store Day single in 2013, though has now wisely adopted it as the title track of his forthcoming album, scheduled for release in April.