Black Sabbath: Song By Song

Steve Pilkington FONTHILL MEDIA

Exhaustive analysis of every Sabbath track.

Don’t make the mistake of trying to read this as a narrative, because that isn’t the point. It’s a reference work, one you can dip into when the mood strikes.

What Steve Pilkington has done is painstakingly analyse every song the band have ever recorded, and put each into context. He also goes into detail about Sabbath’s album artwork and every live recording. Clearly written, the expertise is obvious, as well as the author’s enthusiasm for the task at hand.

It should also be emphasised that the book doesn’t merely stick to the Ozzy years. In recent times there has been a tendency to see Sabbath only in terms of that era, but Pilkington thankfully devotes as much attention to the rest of the band’s career in an informed and informative book.