Sweet Leaf
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
| "Sweet Leaf" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Black Sabbath | |
| from the album Master of Reality | |
| Released | 21 July 1971 |
| Recorded | Record Plant, Los Angeles, California, 1971 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:05 |
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US) |
| Songwriter(s) | Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward |
| Producer(s) | Rodger Bain |
"Sweet Leaf" is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their third studio album Master of Reality (1971), released on July 21, 1971.[2] It is considered one of the band's signature songs[3] and was included on their 1976 greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll.[4]
Overview
The song begins with a tape loop of guitarist Tony Iommi coughing from a joint he was smoking with bandmate Ozzy Osbourne.[5] The song's subject is cannabis, which the band was using frequently at that time.[6] The title of the song was taken from a packet of Irish cigarettes that read "It's the sweet leaf".
Significance
"Sweet Leaf", and the Master of Reality album as a whole, arguably represents the earliest example of the music that would influence the emergence of stoner rock in California in the early 1990s.[7] A compilation album, also titled Sweet Leaf, comprising covers of Black Sabbath songs by stoner rock bands, was released by Deadline Music in 2015.
Notable samples
The main guitar riff, paired with a loop of a drum sample from Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks",[8] is the instrumental basis of the Beastie Boys' song "Rhymin & Stealin", the first track on their breakthrough album Licensed to Ill (1986).[9]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers play the riff as the outro to their hit song "Give It Away" (1991).[10]
The Butthole Surfers have reworked the song as "Sweat Loaf" (1987), and Shooter Jennings samples music from it in his 2005 song "Put the 'O' Back in Country" (2005).[11]
References
- ^ Steve Huey. "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
Classic opener "Sweet Leaf" certainly ranks as a defining stoner metal song, making its drug references far more overt (and adoring) than the preceding album's "Fairies Wear Boots."
- ^ "Black Sabbath - Master Of Reality". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ Rolling Stone (2013-05-01). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Greatest Black Sabbath Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ "Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll". Discogs. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ Songfacts. "Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ ByComplex. "The Best Songs About Weed". Complex. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ "Bands that Influenced Stoner Rock - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ https://ultimateclassicrock.com/beastie-boys-led-zeppelin-licensed-to-ill/
- ^ "Black Sabbath - Google Books". Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ "Black Sabbath - Google Books". Retrieved 2020-03-29.
- ^ "Black Sabbath - Google Books". Retrieved 2020-03-29.
