Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath

1970 was an interesting year for Rock N' Roll. The drug-induced optimism of the hippies had been fatefully destroyed at the Altamont Speedway, where a concert-goer was stabbed to death by one of the security managers, a member of the Hell's Angels; all this while Mick Jagger prophetically sang "War, children, it's just a shot away." The list of deaths from drug overdoses became longer and longer, making martyrs of Joplin, Hendrix, and Morisson while illustrating the insufficiency of the music and the lifestyle to produce immortality. The slow erosion had been happening for a while, but its most dramatic figureheads were a couple of boys from Birmingham.
Black Sabbath, formerly known by names like Earth and Polka Tulk, had been a blues band before a combination of bad dreams, horror films and a freak sheet metal accident involving lead guitarist Tony Iommi's fingertips inspired them to write dark lyrics and darker music.
The album opens with a church bell ringing during a thunderstorm, segueing into the scariest riff in the history of music. Ozzy Osbourne's terrified vocal is so evocative, one wonders if Satan himself was running the soundboard. Though not the first band to experiment with dark music (Black Widow had been incorporating black magic rituals into their concerts since 1966), they were the first of such bands to become household names, directly paving the way for heavy metal to emerge as its own genre.
Similar to Led Zeppelin's first album, the spontaneity is part of the appeal, expressed in the frenetic bass, drum and guitar solos and Ozzy's coarse, unrefined vocals. There are a lot of elements of fun to this record as well: the harmonica on The Wizard, the jaw harp on Sleeping Village and the Doors-esque Wicked World all serve to make an enjoyable, eclectic listening experience.
Also notable is the prevailing fantastic element to the lyrics; most deal with myth and imagination, in contrast to the later albums which dealt more directly with disillusionment, the harmful effects of drug abuse, the corruption of the recording industry, the horrors of war, etc.

Harvest by Neil Young Review

This gem from 1971 has strongly stood the test of time. Notable as Neil Young's first real breakthrough album and spawning four major radio hits, Harvest is also one of my favorite albums of all time.

Right from the booming rhythm of 'Out On the Weekend', Neil's wailing harmonica cuts right to the heart, setting the tone of the whole album. This song is really minimalistic; story-telling with a backbeat. Its strength lies in being lyrically broad enough to apply to anyone, yet somehow the listener feels as if Neil is singing about them personally. This kind of emotional complexity runs rampant through the whole record.

Neil's distinctive acoustic guitar driven sound is crucial to this album but it does not hold a monopoly. 'Harvest' and 'Are You Ready For the Country?' rely primarily on the piano and even the London Symphony Orchestra make an appearance on two tracks: the melancholic 'A Man Needs a Maid' and the cinematic experimental cut 'There's a World'. The loud electric guitars of 'Alabama' and 'Words (Between the Lines of Age)' lend credence to Neil's status as the Godfather of Grunge, the latter song featuring brilliantly executed time changes and harshly dissonant guitar solos that have led many to wonder if he really meant to play it that way. I personally feel he was just balancing out the mainstream nature of the rest of the record with a touch of the avant-garde.

Most Recognizable Tracks: 'Heart of Gold' 'Old Man' 'Alabama' 'The Needle and the Damage Done'

Trivia: Neil Young was caught off guard by the success of this album, particularly 'Heart of Gold' as a number one hit. "This song put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."