"Planet Caravan" is a song by the English heavy metal band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

. It was originally released on their 1970 album ''

Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...

''.

Overview

Black Sabbath's

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

– who composed the song's lyrics – said the song is about floating through the universe with one's lover. Black Sabbath lead vocalist

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

uses a Leslie speaker to achieve the vocals' treble and vibration effects. The piano parts on the track were played by album engineer

Tom Allom Thomas James Allom is an English record producer and sound engineer. His best-known work was in the 1970s and 1980s, working with artists such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Krokus, Loverboy, Def Leppard, Kix and Rough Cutt. Allom is a memb ...

. Iommi overdubbed flute to the reversed multitrack master which was then re-forwarded and treated with stereo delay. On 31 May 2020, "Planet Caravan" was used as wake-up music for the crew of a SpaceX

Crew Dragon Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Ins ...

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 The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

. The song features an ambient and laid back sound which is often considered a departure from the band’s traditional brand of heavy metal.

Personnel

* Ozzy Osbourne – vocals * Tony Iommi – guitar, flute * Geezer Butler – bass guitar * Bill Ward – congas * Tom Allom – piano

Pantera cover

"Planet Caravan" was covered by American heavy metal band Pantera for their 1994 album ''

Far Beyond Driven ''Far Beyond Driven'' is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on March 22, 1994 by East West Records. Pantera's fastest-selling album, it peaked at number 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Platinum ...

''.

Release and reception

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 "I'm Broken" is a song by American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Pantera from their seventh album, ''Far Beyond Driven''. It was the first single issued from the album. Kerry King said on the Japanese TV show ''Rock Fujiyama'' (featuring gui ...

" in 1994 on

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England. History Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with t ...

as a 12" single. It became Pantera's highest-charting single, peaking on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 21. ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' magazine ranked the cover of "Planet Caravan" number 31 on their list of the 50 best Pantera songs.

Track listing

;American single ;European single 1 ;European single 2

Charts

References

{{Authority control Black Sabbath songs 1970 songs Songs written by Geezer Butler 1994 singles Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Bill Ward (musician)