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Planet Caravan

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"Planet Caravan"
Song by Black Sabbath
from the album Paranoid
Released18 September 1970 (1970-09-18)
Recorded16–21 June 1970
Genre
Length4:29
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rodger Bain

"Planet Caravan" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was originally released on their 1970 album Paranoid.

Overview

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Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler – who composed the song's lyrics – said the song is about floating through the universe with one's lover.[3] Black Sabbath lead vocalist Ozzy Osbourne uses a Leslie speaker to achieve the vocals' treble and vibration effects.[3] The piano parts on the track were played by album engineer Tom Allom.[3][failed verification] Iommi overdubbed flute to the reversed multitrack master which was then re-forwarded and treated with stereo delay.[3][failed verification]

On 31 May 2020, "Planet Caravan" was used as wake-up music for the crew of a SpaceX Crew Dragon before the craft's launch later that day. It was the first time music was used to wake astronauts since the last shuttle mission in July 2011. The craft was bound for the International Space Station.[4]

Legacy

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Nigel Williamson of Uncut considers it a "curveball" on Paranoid as it finds the band as "unlikely psychedelic dreamers with flute, bongo, cosmic guitar and a dreamy, far-away vocal from Osbourne as he sings about floating through space. It's about as close to Pink Floyd as Sabbath ever got."[5] Also writing for Uncut in 2000, David Stubbs describes "Planet Caravan" as "a dubby, pastoral piece haunted by Ozzy's treated vocals which could sit alongside any of today's post-Massive Attack trip hop offerings." He cites it as evidence of the group's capability for subtlety, deeming it "a glimmer of something else in the Sabs' black pool of noise, something that, sadly, got washed away along the way."[6] Grayson Haver Currin Pitchfork, noting the song's "circular bass and hand-drum patter", cites it alongside Miles Davis' contemporary 'electric' period as a "clear precedent for metal's exploratory psychedelic side", citing Om as an example.[7] AllMusic biographer describes it as a "trippy, mellow doom anthem" that revealed Black Sabbath "had far more creative gas in the tank than their detractors would have cared to admit."[8] Morgana Robinson has cited it as the song she wants played at a funeral, praising it as "so otherworldly."[9]

Personnel

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Pantera cover

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"Planet Caravan"
Single by Pantera
from the album Far Beyond Driven
Released1994
Recorded1994
Length4:03
LabelEast West
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pantera singles chronology
"I'm Broken"
(1994) 		"Planet Caravan"
(1994) 		"5 Minutes Alone"
(1994)

"Planet Caravan" was covered by American heavy metal band Pantera for their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven.

Release and reception

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The song was released as the second single from the Far Beyond Driven album, and the follow-up single to their hit single "I'm Broken" in 1994 on East West Records as a 12" single.[10] It became Pantera's highest-charting single, peaking on the UK Singles Chart at number 26.[11] Metal Hammer magazine ranked the cover of "Planet Caravan" number 31 on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs.[12]

Track listing

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American single
No.TitleLength
1."Planet Caravan" (Album Version)4:03
2."Cowboys from Hell" (Live)5:08
3."Primal Concrete Sledge" (Live)3:57
4."By Demons Be Driven" (Biomechanical Mix)4:16
European single 1
No.TitleLength
1."Planet Caravan" (Black Sabbath cover)4:03
2."The Badge" (Poison Idea cover)3:56
3."A New Level" (Live)5:43
4."Becoming" (Live)4:04
European single 2
No.TitleLength
1."Planet Caravan" (Black Sabbath cover)4:03
2."The Badge" (Poison Idea cover)3:56
3."Domination" (Live)4:55
4."Hollow" (Live)2:27

Charts

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Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 90
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 26
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[15] 2
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] 21

References

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  1. ^ Sweeney, Joe (16 September 2020). "Black Sabbath's Paranoid at 50: potent anthems of working-class strife". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  2. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1970". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 232–233. ISBN 9781493064601.
  3. ^ a b c d BLACK SABBATH - The Story Behind "Planet Caravan" (DVD). 30 July 2015 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ "SpaceX's 1st Crew Dragon with astronauts to dock at space station today. Here's how to watch". Space.com. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  5. ^ Williamson, Nigel (2024). "Paranoid". Uncut Ultimate Music Guide Series (53): 12–13.
  6. ^ Stubbs, David (August 2000). "Black Sabbath: The Best Of Black Sabbath". Uncut.
  7. ^ "Black Sabbath: Paranoid". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  8. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Black Sabbath Biography by James Christopher Monger". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  9. ^ Hunt, Ellie (4 April 2022). "'Planet Caravan by Black Sabbath feeds my soul': Morgana Robinson's honest playlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Pantera - Planet Caravan (1994, Part 1, CD) - Discogs". Discogs. 1994.
  11. ^ "Pantera (billboard)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "The 50 best Pantera songs ever". 4 February 2019.
  13. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 26 Feb 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Pantera Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
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