Evil Woman

Black Sabbath, 1970

Anyone who knows me would not describe me as any sort of metalhead. That said, and given the state of Pop music in 1970, it is difficult to minimize the impact Black Sabbath had on our young ears. The Beatles had just broken up. FM Rock radio was in its infancy, so the radio airwaves were filled with AM Pop singles being turned out by a flock of new bands with horn sections. Soul singers were trying to continue the 60's legacy of Stax and Motown. There were Bubblegum bands that weren't real bands at all. The rise of singer/songwriters such as James Taylor and Elton John was just getting traction.

There had been some definite seismic evidence of what became known as Heavy Metal music prior to 1970. Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page both experimented with putting some heft and crunch into the Blues. The Who and Grand Funk Railroad had turned their volume knobs way up. The long term influence of Jimi Hendrix was already apparent, along with other primitive rumblings from the Psychedelic era that hinted at what was to come, even though most of them were cover versions themselves, like Deep Purple's version of "Hush", Frijid Pink's "House Of The Rising Sun, and "Summertime Blues" by Blue Cheer, which is often cited as a Ground Zero point in the birth of Metal. (I would throw an honorable mention to "Journey To The Center Of The Mind" by The Amboy Dukes.) But none of these records or trends were able to predict the arrival of the plodding Tyrannosaurus of Metal known as Black Sabbath.

I recall hearing the debut Sabbath album for the first time at a friend's house. The sonic environment painted by the eponymous opening track was terrifying, due in no small way to the thematic tritone played in Locrian mode. Not many bands were playing in lower tunings at that time either, so that half step down made a huge difference in the sound. This music was made loud to be played loud. It took a few listens, but over the next couple of albums, it became clear that their lyrics, inspired by literature and filtered through bad horror films, weren't necessarily about promoting all things devilish, but were instead fearful, and often angry and accusatory about the wrongs and hypocrisies of the world. I suppose it's important to be smart about the difference between what is entertainment and what might be harmful, but that's all in how the listener processes it.

The UK 45 of "Evil Woman"

The stateside edition of the album had a different running order than the British release, which had a more distinct separation of the tracks. Songs on the U.S. version were edited together as near-medleys using instrumental tracks recorded during the 2 days the band had to record and mix the entire album. During that session, The Sabs recorded a cover of "Evil Woman", a song that had been a minor hit for an American band, Crow. In his autobiography, Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi admits the band reluctantly agreed to do the song at the behest of their manager, Jim Simpson, who insisted they record "something commercial". "Evil Woman" found a home at the top of Side 2 on the British edition and was released as a single in the U.K., but the song was omitted from U.S. pressings, and replaced with "Wicked World", which was the B-side of the single. "Evil Woman" didn't see an American release until a 2002 compilation, "Symptom Of The Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978". Given the musical flow of the debut album's U.S. release, this track would have stuck out as an odd duck, though it's certainly possible that it may have scored a stateside hit for The Sabs. However, I could not find any chart position listings for the Sabbath single of "Evil Woman", so perhaps that fact is telling enough.

Crow, 1970

"Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)" was written and first recorded by Minneapolis-based band, Crow. The song first appeared on their 1969 album, "Crow Music". Their single release of "Evil Woman" cracked the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 that fall, peaking at #19 in January of 1970.

Crow formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in August of 1967, and was originally known as "South 40". The original band members were Dave Wagner (vocals), Larry Wiegand (bass/vocals), Dick Wiegand (guitar), Dave (Kink) Middlemist (Hammond organ/vocals)  and Harry Nehls (drums/vocals).

In 1969, Denny Craswell replaced Nehls on drums. The band then changed their name to Crow, and released the album "Crow Music" on the Amaret label. They were fortunate to score a few Top 100 hits from 1969 to 1972, including "Evil Woman", "Cottage Cheese", and "(Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie) On The King Of Rock n' Roll", which was also recorded by Long John Baldry on his great 1971 album, "It Ain't Easy".

"Crow by Crow" and "Mosaic" were the follow-up album releases for 1970 and 1971, respectively. But the singles released off Crow's later albums were not as successful as their first one. So the band considered a move to Elektra Records, but Amaret would not release them from their recording contract while they retained their band name. Vocalist Wagner left the group in 1971. The band replaced him with Mick Stanhope and attempted to move forward, but collapsed and disbanded in 1972. David Wagner then recorded a 'contractual obligation' solo album for Amaret in late 1972 sarcastically titled "d/b/a Crow". Crow reformed anew in 1988. They continue to play select concerts to this day.

I find it interesting that this tune relies so heavily on the sound of the horn section, but no one in Crow was a horn player! Those musicians remain uncredited, which is a shame. The horn parts were likely added as a way of hitching Crow's wagon to the explosion of horn-driven bands that were happening at the time, such as Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Lighthouse, Cold Blood, Chase, and plenty more.

The music of Crow is available again through the Sundazed label, which is a good thing, as Sundazed is well known for high quality reissues of vintage music. Be sure to browse their website, as there's lots of choice oldies to be found. The 3 albums from Crow, and an excellent "Best Of" can also be found, on both CD and vinyl, at Amazon, or through your local music merchant.

Most, if not all, of the Black Sabbath catalog has been sonically tidied up to haunt your dreams in the best possible fidelity. Their first 3 albums are inarguably essential for any fan of Heavy Rock. They have also been reissued in appropriately heavy 180 gram vinyl. For those who want it all, there's a nifty CD boxed set of their 8 releases for Warner Brothers.

Have a safe and fun Halloween!