Temporary Res. conceived this Sabbath tribute some eight years ago and has had it on the backburner up until now. They explain its long put-off release as having something to do with the irony of the Osbourne family’s thorny recent resurgence in the cultural ratings; but I doubt there’s much irony; it’s just time to cash in on the Oz. In any case, this is definitely a worthy addition to the Sabbath tributes genre.
Don’t be fooled by Matmos, which isn’t the best starter, offering a miss-mash of minimalist Sabbath-less pings and pops. And while Ruins bring a bit more structure on “Reversible Sabbath”, their chunked-out medley is a bit much, even for sonic stew.
It’s Grails’s “Black Sabbath” that kicks in the set with a raw-but-reasonable number. Four Tet follows with an awesomely mellow instru-mental rendition of “Iron Man,” followed by Curtis Harvey Trio saddling up to a country twang rendition of “Changes” that can’t be horse-whipped.
Paul Newman dresses up “Fairies Wear Boots” in a manner barely divergent from its original; and this is easily the most satisfying sample on the disc; though The Anomoanon makes a just dirge of “Planet Caravan.”
The peak of this trip ends as Racebannon screams through “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” in sacrilege; and the tribute closes as weak as it begins with Greenness w/ Philly G. killing “Sweet Leaf” in a Canadian-AM-radio-in-space way.
All that starts like crap ends like crap on this one, but the burger in the middle is perfectly rare. I recommend Atkins…
