Eh ... that stuff gets exaggerated.
Lester Bangs wrote a very positive two part piece on them in 1972. It used to be easy to find but Creem seem to have taken their stuff down. Here is part one ...
http://www.ideologic.org/news/view/c...sabbath_72_pt1
But originally, I guess he thought they were derivative of Cream. He seemed to go back and forth over the years but his 1972 piece called "How Black Was My Sabbath" was largely positive and compared their lyrics to Dylan. It also cites the amazing tempo shifts and stop on a dime transitions in "Hand Of Doom" and the lyrics as completely organic, and far more convincing than Neil Young's "The Damage Done." I guess the latter didn't do anything for him. I disagree and one thing I never like about many critics is how they have to put something else down in order to lift something else up, but anyway ...
Rolling Stone had several very positive reviews of their albums. I just googled Gordon Fletcher's 1974 review of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which states:
"In fact, this record transcends third-generation rock in that it possesses a degree of internal intricacy that belies popular conceptions of heavy-metal. The use of tempo changes and electronic keyboards to cast liquid emotions makes Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath an extraordinarily gripping affair."
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/al...#ixzz2Q5Q3ctYE
Circus? I don't know ... I seem to remember Sabbath getting tons of run in that mag but don't recall it often being "negative." I read a quite a few of the 70s back issues when I was a teen in the early 80s, but maybe I missed some of the really negative stuff.
Anyway ... I know they had their share of horrible reviews. In the end, they were never "critic's darlings. " Nor were most of the other bands who have had long lasting impact. I just came across this Guardian article by Tom Ewing, which discusses just how wrong critics were about Sabbath and explores what they might be wrong about now. Kind of an interesting read:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010...bbath-mall-emo
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