Black Sabbath (n.) 1. heavy metal!

Black Sabbath (Warner Bros.) 1970

1."Black Sabbath" (6:18)
2."The Wizard" (4:21)
3."Behind the Wall of Sleep" (3:37)
4."N.I.B." (6:04)
5."Wicked World" (4:42)
6."A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/Warning" (14:14)

Do you really need to read a review on this disc? Heavy metal is forever indebted to the Sabs! Every song on here is a classic. Use to own this on vinyl. Picked up the cd through one of those "Get 11 discs for free" deals. Gotta love FREE! (yea, right! Sucker!) Several of these songs were recorded earlier and have recently been released on Ozzy's "Ozzman Cometh."

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (Warner Bros.) 1971

1."War Pigs/Luke's Wall" (7:55)
2."Paranoid" (2:50)
3."Planet Caravan" (4:30)
4."Iron Man" (6:00)
5."Electric Funeral" (4:50)
6."Hand of Doom" (7:10)
7."Rat Salad" [instrumental] (2:30)
8."Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots" (6:15)

Once again, no review is necessary! Classic metal disc. Songs covered by practically every band on the planet. Megadeth's version of "Paranoid" is especially cool. Have played this particular disc more times than I can remember but have still not grown tired of it.

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (Warner Bros.) 1971

1."Sweet Leaf" (5:02)
2."After Forever" (5:25)
3."Embryo" [instrumental] (0:28)
4."Children of the Grave" (5:15)
5."Orchid" [instrumental] (1:30)
6."Lord of this World" (5:24)
7."Solitude" (5:02)
8."Into the Void" (6:12)

Another fantastic disc. Not a bad song in the bunch! I would say this is probably my favorite Ozzy-era Sabbath disc. Most of these songs have been covered by one band or another as well. Deliverance's version of "After Forever" is excellent. Too many covers to even list. This is an essential metal disc for any collector. Found my copy for an amazing $3.99.

Black Sabbath - Vol. 4 (Warner Bros.) 1972 1. "Wheels of Confusion/The Straightener" (8:00) 2. "Tomorrow's Dream" (3:08) 3. "Changes" (4:41) 4. "FX" [instrumental] (1:41) 5. "Supernaut" (4:43) 6. "Snowblind" (5:28) 7. "Cornucopia" (3:50) 8. "Laguna Sunrise" [instrumental] (2:50) 9. "St. Vitus' Dance" (2:25) 10. "Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes" (5:52)

Ozzy Osbourne

The metal brilliance of Geezer, Ozzy, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward continues on this their fourth disc. What an impact these first four albums have had on metal, it's actually quite amazing. Perhaps this is the reason there are no less than 10 tribute cds to this band.

Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Warner Bros.) 1973

1. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (5:44)
2. "A National Acrobat" (6:15)
3. "Fluff"-instrumental (4:08)
4. "Sabbra Cadabra" (5:57)
5. "Killing Yourself to Live" (5:40)
6. "Who Are You?" (4:11)
7. "Looking for Today" (4:59)
8. "Spiral Architect" (5:28)

Still brilliant! What else needs to be said? Found my cd copy used for under $6. Little known fact; Rick Wakeman (Yes) played keyboards on this album.

Black Sabbath - Sabatage (Warner Bros.) 1975

1."Hole in the Sky" (4:01)
2."Don't Start (Too Late)" [instrumental] (0:49)
3."Symptom of the Universe" (6:29)
4."Megalomania" (9:46)
5."The Thrill of it All" (5:55)
6."Supertzar" (3:42)
7."Am I Going Insane (Radio)" (4:13)
8."The Writ" (8:17)

Yet another great Sabbath disc. (Anyone noticing a trend here?) "Hole in the Sky" is an incredible song. Tony Iommi is the master of the monster guitar riff. You would think after five incredible albums, the man would begin to run out of ideas. Obviously not. Had to buy this one new but for a mere $9.99, but who's complaining.

Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy (Warner Bros.) 1977

1."Back Street Kids" (3:46)
2."You Won't Change Me" (6:34)
3."It's Alright" (3:58)
4."Gypsy" (5:10)
5."All Moving Parts (Stand Still)" (4:59)
6."Rock'n'Roll Doctor" (3:25)
7."She's Gone" (4:51)
8."Dirty Women" (7:15)

"Technical Ecstasy" is not held in high regard by most fans of hard rock and metal. I suppose it isn't Black Sabbath's most shining moment, but not a terrible disc either. I have read that some time off, some internal conflicts, and pressure from record company to become more mainstream nearly destroyed the band around this time. Most certainly the lyrics speak of some negative things the band may have been going through. I've read countless bad reviews of this disc, and while I will admit that it doesn't quite stand up to the mastery of albums like "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" or "Master of Reality", it's still better than average in my opinion. "Back Street Kids" starts the disc of with a fury. The very next song is a doomy, almost epic number and one of my favorite songs on this CD. I love the slow, moody, melancholy feel of this song. "It's Alright" features Bill Ward on vocals and is a moody, piano and acoustic guitar ballad. "Gypsy" is prime Black Sabbath with signature Iommi riffs. "Rock 'n' Roll Doctor" is a catchy song that is slightly more mainstream hard rock than what most people were use to hearing from Black Sabbath. The album finishes off with a pair of songs that seem to go together. "She's Gone" is a song about love lost, while "Dirty Women" is exactly what the title makes you think. "She's Gone" in particular features some of Ozzy's most emotional vocals. Personally, I find "Technical Ecstasy" to be far better than critics and some fans make it out to be. It was a departure from the norm for Black Sabbath as the band experimented with their sound a bit. I just happen to think it was a successful experiment.

I waited years to find a used copy of this disc and never saw one. I bid on it several times on eBay when I saw it for $5 to $6 or less, but some brilliant person always out bid me and probably ended up paying more than they would have at some big chain store. I finally gave up and bought this disc new for $9.99 at one of those big chain stores. $10!!! Did you hear that all you silly eBay bidders who always pay too much for discs that are still in print.

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die (Warner Bros.) 1978

1. "Never Say Die" (3:47)
2. "Johnny Blade" (6:27)
3. "Junior's Eyes" (6:41)
4. "A Hard Road" (6:03)
5. "Shock Wave" (5:13)
6. "Air Dance" (5:15)
7. "Over to You" (5:21)
8. "Breakout" [instrumental] (2:36)
9. "Swinging the Chain" (4:18)

Uh oh! Ozzy and the band seem to have become tired now. Signs of the excessive lifesyle they were living is obvious. Tired riffs, lackluster songs and saxaphone led songs (?!?!?!). Not their best, yet, far from being their worst, as this is yet to come. "Never Say Die" is one exception. Overkill did a great cover of this song on their "Coverkill" album. "Johnny Blade" is another decent tune with it's cool groove.

Black Sabbath - Live At Last (Creative Sounds/Germany) 1980

1."Tomorrow's Dream" (3:15)
2."Sweet Leaf" (5:22)
3."Killing Yourself to Live" (5:28)
4."Cornucopia" (4:04)
5."Snowblind" (4:40)
6."Children of the Grave" (4:31)
7."War Pigs" (7:37)
8."Wicked World" (18:59)
9."Paranoid" (3:09)

Never understood this cd. Is it a bootleg? Is it an official release? Is it an import? From what I understand, "Live Evil" was the first "official" live Sabbath offering, so what the heck is "Live at Last." Ah, who cares! It's Sabbath live with OZZY! Essential to any Sabbath fan. Found this German copy used for $7.99 at a little hole-in-the-wall cd store. Have not seen another one since. Glad I didn't pass it up. Just recently found out that this was released in 1980 a year after Ozzy left the band.

Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell (Warner Bros.) 1980 1. "Neon Knights" (3:49) 2. "Children of the Sea" (5:30) 3. "Lady Evil" (4:22) 4. "Heaven and Hell" (6:56) 5. "Wishing Well" (4:02) 6. "Die Young" (4:41) 7. "Walk Away" (4:21) 8. "Lonely is the Word" (5:49)

Enter Ronnie James Dio, who had recently been given his walking papers by Ritchie Blackmore from Rainbow. Ronnie brings much needed new life to this band. "Heaven & Hell" is an inspired metal masterpiece that ranks ABOVE the amazing Ozzy discs, in my opinion. Yeah I know, I just commited some sort of heavy metal blasphemy, so what! Every song on this disc is a metal monster. "Neon Knights" is one of Sabbath's heavier and fastest songs and one of my all time favorites."Heaven and Hell" is a lengthy, dark and moody song and one of the quintessential songs in the Sabbath catalog.

Here is some weird and useless information; I owned this record for years and it had a skip during the guitar solo of "Neon Nights." Now, even though I have replaced my vinyl with a CD and haven't actually heard that skip in over a decade, I still expect to hear that stupid skip almost like it was part of the song.

Sleepy Hollow covered "Children of the Sea".

Black Sabbath - Mob Rules (Warner Bros.) 1981

1. "Turn Up the Night" (3:42) 2. "Voodoo" (4:32) 3. "The Sign of the Southern Cross" (7:46) 4. "E5150" [instrumental] (2:54) 5. "The Mob Rules" (3:14) 6. "Country Girl" (4:02) 7. "Slipping Away" (3:45) 8. "Falling off the Edge of the World" (5:02) 9. "Over and Over" (5:28)

"Mob Rules" is a bonified Black Sabbath classic. First of all, this is one of those albums that sports one of the coolest covers ever. Back in '81 this cover was so dark and eerie looking. I remember staring at the album cover looking at all the detail in the characters while listening to the music. Musically, "Mob Rules" easily matches the brilliance of "Heaven and Hell" and may have even surpassed it. "Sign of the Southern Cross" is one of the best Dio-era Sabbath songs. (Fates Warning did a fabulous cover of this song on the Dio tribute from Century Media.) "Turn Up the Night" is a fine album opener and one of the faster songs on the album. "Country Girl" is remaniscent of some of Dio's Rainbow material. Really every song on this CD is choice listening making for an overall solid album. Even the dark, moody and experimental instrumental is essential to this album. New drummer Vinnie Appice really steps up here, adding a bit of energy to the band. He works well with the pummelling bass rhythms of Geezer. Tony pulls out some of his finest guitar licks to date. Whether it's slow tunes like the aforementioned "Sign of the Southern Cross" or the upbeat title track, Iommi is at his best. The voice of metal also steps up to the plate here, offering more of his bizzare, poetic, lyrical twists and some of his finest vocals melodies.

Black Sabbath - Live Evil (Warner Bros.) 1983

From what I have read, by the time this album came out, Dio, Geezer, and Tony were at each others throats. Tony claims Dio messed with the mix of the album, Dio denies it. Whatever! Point is, this is a great double disc collection of live Sabbath classics. Only one thing missing from this Dio-fest, where's "I'm the man, You're the man, we're all the maaannnnn." (-:

Black Sabbath - Born Again (Warner Bros.) 1983 1. "Trashed" (4:10) 2. "Stonehenge" [instrumental] (1:57) 3. "Disturbing the Priest" (5:48) 4. "The Dark" [instrumental] (0:31) 5. "Zero the Hero" (7:45) 6. "Digital Bitch" (3:35) 7. "Born Again" (6:30) 8. "Hot Line" (4:50) 9. "Keep it Warm" (5:34)

Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan (ex-Deep Purple) with Black Sabbath was an odd pairing, but it worked for this one album. As a matter of fact, it worked quite well. I guess Gillan hated the insipid cover art (as do I) and the somewhat weak mix, but the songs are oh, so cool! "Zero the Hero" is a great song. Ian Gillan has one of the greatest voices in rock n' roll. I was fortunate to see Black Sabbath on this tour with Quiet Riot opening at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. PA. It was a GREAT show. I have a bootleg tape from this tour. Sabbath even played the Purple classic "Smoke on the Water." (Which I guess some people thought was blasphemy. I thought it was cool!) Still remember my mom freaking out on the t-shirt that features the same art as the cover. Guess I can't blame her, it is sort of disturbing.

Black Sabbath - Born Again Unmixed Demos & The Fallen (CDR bootleg)

1. "Hot Line" [demo] (4:40)
2. "Keep It Warm" [demo] (5:28)
3. "The Fallen" [demo] (4:16)
4. "Digital Bitch" [demo] (3:33)
5. "Stonehenge" [demo] (4:41)
6. "Trashed" [demo] (3:35)
7. "Zero The Hero" [demo] (8:44)
8. "Born Again" [demo] (6:14)
9. "Disturbing The Priest" [demo] (5:30)

"Born Again" has long been one of my favorite Black Sabbath records. Despite the horrific cover, the heavy Sabbath songs combined with Ian Gillan's superb vocals were a perfect mix. This CD is a very cool disc of demos featuring the unreleased track "The Fallen". It's too bad this track wasn't resurrected and released as a bonus song on the official remastered version of "Born Again". It's actually a very good song that would have fit well with the rest of the album. There are rumors that Sabbath recorded as many as five or six songs that were not included on the album The rest of the songs included here were all on the album, but these versions are a bit different. "Hot Line" seemed to have some additional guitar solos/fills that I don't remember being in the original. "Zero the Hero" is one of the most surprising songs, as the chorus isn't "What you gonna be brother - Zero the hero", but rather "What you gonna be brother - ooooh the hero". Also the opening moments are quite different as is the extended instrumental ending of the song. The album was recorded during the summer of 1983 at The Manor Studio, Shipton on Cherwell, Oxfordshire, England

Black Sabbath - Live Murder Act I & II (bootleg)
CD1: Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK, 20th January 1981
CD2: Reading Festival, UK, 27th August 1983

DISC ONE 1. "Intro/War Pigs" (8:57) 2. "Neon Knights" (5:05) 3. "N.I.B." (5:29) 4. "Children of the Sea" (6:22) 5. "Sweet Leaf" (8:09) 6. "Lady Evil" (4:44) 7. "Black Sabbath" (8:18) 8. "Die Young" (7:20) 9. "Paranoid" (3:33) 10. "Children of the Grave" (5:15) DISC TWO 1. "Hot Line" (4:48) 2. "War Pigs" (7:11) 3. "Black Sabbath" (6:53) 4. "Zero The Hero" (7:52) 5. "Digital Bitch" (3:29) 6. "Iron Man" (7:57) 7. "Smoke on the Water" (4:56) 8. "Paranoid" (3:34)

Geezer with a reunited Black Sabbath, Live Aid 1985

Two moments in heavy metal history preserved on this two disc bootleg. Disc one features Ronnie James Dio recorded live on the "Heaven & Hell" tour. This show does feature a few tracks not on the officially released "Live Evil" CD ("Die Young", "Lady Evil" and "Sweet Leaf") making it an interesting listen. However, my main interest here is Act II (Disc Two) which features the short lived line-up featuring extraordinary vocalist Ian Gillan. I saw this tour at the Spectrum in Philly and loved it. Still one of my favorite Sabbath CDs to this day. Recording live in Reading in 1983, apparently this recording started off life as a perfect soundboard recording. While the sound is decent here, it's also a bit muffled or muted, making me think that this CD may have been many generations away from an original soundboard tape. Either way, a nice collection of songs that would unfortunately not see the light of day again after this tour. As I recall, Sabbath doing "Smoke on the Water" was sacreligious to many hardcore Deep Purple and Sabbath fans back in the day. I thought it was very cool, having been a fan of Deep Purple for just as long as I had been a fan of Sabbath.

Black Sabbath - Purple Sabbath Definitive Edition (CDR bootleg)
The Centrum, Worchester, Massachusetts, USA 4th November 1983

1. "DJ Into" (1:12)
2. "Black Sabbath intro" (2:20)
3. Children on the Grave" (5:05)
4. "Hot Line" (5:01)
5. "War Pigs" (7:30)
6. "Iron Man" (8:59)
7. "Zero the Hero" (7:46)
8. "Heaven and Hell" (8:42)
9. "guitar solo" (8:42)
10. "Digital Bitch" (3:51)
11. "Black Sabbath" (7:52)
12. "Smoke on the Water" (5:18)
13. "Paranoid" (3:51)

I absolutely love this short-lived era of Black Sabbath. Gillan had always been on of my favorite vocalists and I thought his work with Sabbath was brilliant. This bootleg was taken from "Captured Live", a US radio promo, so the sound is excellent for a bootleg. Classic recording of Sabbath featuring a smokin' version of "Smoke on the Water", a song many Sabbath die-hards felt was blasphemy for Sabbath to be playing. Gillan sounds a bit strained on a few songs here, especially on "Heaven and Hell". However, when he goes into those high, falsetto screams, he sounds fantastic! The line-up for this tour was Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass), Ian Gillan (vocals), Bev Bevan (drums) and Geoff Nicholls (keyboards).

Black Sabbath - Star of India (CDR bootleg)

1. "Star Of India" (Seventh Star-Take 1) (6:19)
2. "Take My Heart" (No Stranger to Love-Take 1) (4:33)
3. "Eye of the Storm" (Turn to Stone-Take 1) (3:13)
4. "Love On the Line" (Heart Like a Wheel) (4:51)
5. "Star of India" (Seventh Star-Take 2) (5:36)
6. "Chance on Love" (Danger Zone) (4:24)
7. "Take My Heart" (No Stranger to Love-Take 2) (6:32)
8. "Eye of the Storm" (Turn to Stone-Take 2) (3:14)
9. "Star Of India" (Seventh Star-Take 3) (5:17)

Very cool bootleg studio recording of the "Seventh Star" line-up of Black Sabbath with Jeff Fenholt on vocals. Jeff, who has also sang with Joshua, went on to become a big TV Evangelist on the TBN network. For years Tony Iommi denied that Jeff was ever even part of Black Sabbath. Of course this CD proves differently, although it is true that nothing was ever officially released with Jeff on vocals and that he never toured with the band. I am actually one who agrees that Jeff wrongfully used Black Sabbath's name to make a name for himself among Christians. But politics aside, Feholt did an amazing job on these demo tracks. Can't say that I like them better than the final tracks that were recorded with Glenn Hughes, but they are still an interesting listen for Black Sabbath die-hards like myself. Production is very listenable for a demo with unknown sources. My particular copy is a CDR copy complete with inserts. I am unsure if this disc was ever mass produced or pressed on silver discs.

Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi - Seventh Star (Castle) 1986

1. "In for the Kill" (3:48)
2. "No Stranger to Love" (4:28)
3. "Turn to Stone" (3:28)
4. "Sphinx (The Guardian)" [instrumental] (1:12)
5. "Seventh Star" (5:20)
6. "Danger Zone" (4:26)
7. "Heart Like a Wheel" (6:36)
8. "Angry Heart" (3:06)
9. "In Memory..." (2:36)

1986's' Seventh Star" is a Tony Iommi solo album in all but name. The album was never really intended to be a Black Sabbath release, as the band had effectively broken up. "Seventh Star" was originally conceived by guitarist Tony Iommi as his first solo project, but rumor has it that record company pressure forced him to use his old band's name to increase sales. Knowing this, it is easier to disconnect this album from past Sabbath doomfests and makes the album VERY enjoyable. Vocalist Glenn Hughes (ex-Deep Purple) brings the album to life, especially on the more commercial cuts like "No Strange to Love." This song seriously should have burned up the charts. Iommi's guitar playing is fabulous on this disc with inspired riffs and outstanding fresh solos. I really can't understand why people hate this cd so much. OK, it is a departure from the Sabbath of old, the music is much more bluesy and commercial, but it's still a very classy disc. I bought this album as a new release when I was in college but unfortunately I bought it on cassette. Replacing it with a cd was more of a chore than I ever thought, especially since this disc was released on Warner Bros. Once again, I must thank my friend and fellow cd trader Olaf for hooking me up with this one.

Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol (Warner Bros.) 1987

1. "The Shining" (5:58)
2. "Ancient Warrior" (5:34)
3. "Hard Life to Love" (5:00)
4. "Glory Ride" (4:48)
5. "Born to Lose" (3:43)
6. "Nightmare" (5:17)
7. "Scarlet Pimpernel" [instrumental] (2:07)
8. "Lost Forever" (4:00)
9. "Eternal Idol" (6:35)

Some would say that this is the best of the Tony Martin-Black Sabbath albums. "Ancient Warrior" and "Lost Forever" are both fabulous songs that are close to being as classic as the Dio and Ozzy era Sabbath. Still, not on the same level as any of Sabbath's past discs in my opinion. For some reason most of the Tony Martin albums just come off as unmemorable to me.

Black Sabbath - Headless Cross (I.R.S.) 1989 1. "The Gates of Hell" [instrumental] (1:06) 2. "Headless Cross" (6:28) 3. "Devil & Daughter" (4:39) 4. "When Death Calls" (6:56) 5. "Kill in the Spirit World" (5:09) 6. "Call of the Wild" (5:18) 7. "Black Moon" (4:05) 8. "Nightwing" (6:32)

Tony Iommi Brockum Trading Card

Another of Black Sabbath's forgotten discs. This album features consumate drummer Cozy Powell of Rainbow fame as well as vocalist Tony Martin. The songs are actually not bad at all; most retaining a heavy, doomy, yet melodic hook. Songs like "When Death Calls" are actually some of the better Tony Martin-era material, if not some of the best Tony Iommi has ever written. The whole disc has a haunting, heavy gothic feel. Iommi has written some fabulous riffs for this disc, and as with most of these newer Sabbath discs, with repeated listens I am sure they could become classics. Unfortunately Tony did not put as much thought into the lyrics as they come off as rather cliche and silly. The devil this and the devil that, blah, blah, blah. This disc is out of print, but is still in circulation and pretty easy to find. My copy was given to me by a friend. (Thanks James.)

Black Sabbath - TYR (I.R.S.) 1990

1."Anno Mundi" (6:12)
2."The Law Maker" (3:53)
3."Jerusalem" (3:59)
4."The Sabbath Stones" (6:46)
5."The Battle of Tyr" [instrumental] (1:08)
6."Odin's Court" (2:41)
7."Valhalla" (4:42)
8."Feels Good to Me" (5:44)
9."Heaven in Black" (4:05)

I've actually owned this cd several times before and have traded it off for other things that I wanted. "TYR" is another Tony Iommi solo album in all but name. TYR is one of those albums that has grown on me with time, but I can honestly say that upon first listen several years ago, I was not instantly hooked like on past Sabbath projects. This disc is a bit more gothic in approach. Of course Iommi's crushingly heavy guitar riffs are in place, but the songs don't seem as aggressive as on past discs. This disc is also one of the first Sabbath concept discs based loosely around the mythical deity Odin and the gods of war. Also have to mention that former Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell is still on board for this one. Vocalist Tony Martin sounds great and holds his own with Sabbath's long list of impressive vocalists.

Black Sabbath - Dehumanizer (Reprise) 1992

1. "Computer God" (6:10)
2. "After All (The Dead)" (5:37)
3. "T.V. Crimes" (3:58)
4. "Letters from Earth" (4:12)
5. "Master of Insanity" (5:54)
6. "Time Machine" (4:10)
7. "Sins of the Father" (4:43)
8. "Too Late" (6:54)
9. "I" (5:10)
10. "Buried Alive" (4:47)
11. "Time Machine" (Wayne's World version) (4:18)

After a bunch of Tony Iommi solo albums under the name Black Sabbath, the Dio-era line-up reforms. Dehumanizer is not their best album but it's not half bad either. As usual it could just be nastalgia, but it would have taken a miracle for them to come up with an album that is as good as the two studio albums Dio did with Sabbath in the 80's. I guess the teaming up didn't last long as plans were in the works for a Ozzy/Sabbath reunion. Dio split before the tour was done and if I am not mistaken, Rob Halford (Judas Priest/Fight) filled in on vocals for a short time. Now that would have been a show to see.

Black Sabbath - Cross Purposes (I.R.S.) 1994

1. "I Witness" (4:58)
2. "Cross of Thorns" (4:34)
3. "Psychophobia" (3:14)
4. "Virtual Death" (5:49)
5. "Immaculate Deception" (4:15)
6. "Dying for Love" (5:53)
7. "Back to Eden" (3:57)
8. "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (4:30)
9. "Cardinal Sin" (4:21)
10. "Evil Eye"(6:05)

Of the Tony Martin-era Sabbath platters, this is my favorite. I can only imagine if Dio had stayed on board how much better this disc would have been. Not saying Tony is a bad vocalist at all, but Dio certainly brings along a certain charisma that is missing from many of the Tony Martin discs. The disc starts of with one of the best songs on the platter, a fast and furious song called "I Witness." The rest of the disc ranges from heavy, bluesy numbers to a few that would have followed up perfectly to 'Mob Rules,' like the doomy 'Back to Eden.' Should also mention that Geezer Butler was still around for the recording of this disc, but soon jumped ship to record g//z/r.

Black Sabbath - Forbidden (I.R.S.) 1995

1."The Illusion of Power" (4:54)
2."Get a Grip" (3:59)
3."Can't Get Close Enough" (4:28)
4."Shaking off the Chains" (4:04)
5."I Won't Cry for You" (4:48)
6."Guilty as Hell" (3:28)
7."Sick and Tired" (3:31)
8."Rusty Angels" (5:00)
9."Forbidden" (3:49)
10."Kiss of Death" (6:09)

I just don't like most of the Tony Iommi solo-Black Sabbath albums as much as anything from the Dio or Ozzy eras (save for "Seventh Star" which I love). This disc is no exception. It's just kind of boring. Ice T makes a guest appearance, which doesn't really help any. The song writing just isn't what it use to be. There is absolutely nothing memorable about it, which is frustrating since everyone knows that Tony Iommi is a master of writing simple, yet memorable riffs.

Black Sabbath - Reunion (Epic) 1998

DISC ONE 1."War Pigs" (8:28) 2."Behind the Wall of Sleep" (4:07) 3."N.I.B." (6:45) 4."Fairies Wear Boots" (6:19) 5."Electric Funeral" (5:02) 6."Sweet Leaf" (5:07) 7."Spiral Architect" (5:40) 8."Into the Void" (6:32) 9."Snowblind" (6:08) DISC TWO 1."Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (4:36) 2."Orchid/Lord of this World" (7:07) 3."Dirty Women" (6:29) 4."Black Sabbath" (7:29) 5."Iron Man" (8:21) 6."Children of the Grave" (6:30) 7."Paranoid" (4:28) 8."Psycho Man" [new studio track] (5:18) 9."Selling My Soul" [new studio track] (3:10)

Geezer Butler

I am surprised it took me this long (two years) to finally secure a copy of this disc. For some reason I just never wanted to fork over the $20+ for this as a new disc. Even the used copies I'd see were well over the $15 range. Anyhow, finally picked up this copy for $5. Well, what we have here is live Sabbath with the original lineup of Ozzy, Geezer, Tony & Bill. With this the band came up with the incredibly creative title "Reunion." Ahhh...let us pause for a moment and ponder the creative genius. Anyhow, the band sounds excellent, almost as good as they did thirty years ago! There are points where Ozzy lets his age show, like in the disappointing vocal performance in "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" where he doesn't even attempt to reach the high notes. Also, Ozzy's crowd interaction is reduced to one four letter word. Apparently years of substance abuse have seriously limited his vocabulary and intelligence. On the positive side, there are a bunch of obscure numbers on this disc including; "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (complete with Geezer Butler's solo), "Snowblind," "Electric Funeral", "Dirty Women", and, the excellent, "Spiral Architect." "Dirty Woman" is especially surprising since I have never heard the band say anything good about "Technical Ecstasy," which is probably the worst studio album from the original lineup. Despite this, it's probably the best song from that disc. As for the new material, well, they're not bad, but they are not all that exciting either. "Psycho Man" received some radio airplay and is probably the most memorable of the two songs, but it actually sounds more like something off one of Ozzy's recent solo discs than it does a Tony Iommi number.

Black Sabbath - Past Lives (Sanctuary/Divine) 2003

DISC ONE 1. "Tomorrow's Dream" (3:15) 2. "Sweet Leaf" (5:22) 3. "Killing Yourself to Live" (5:28) 4. "Cornucopia" (4:04) 5. "Snowblind" (4:40) 6. "Children of the Grave" (4:31) 7. "War Pigs" (7:37) 8. "Wicked World" (18:59) 9. "Paranoid" (3:09) DISC TWO 1. "Hand of Doom" (8:26) 2. "Hole In The Sky" (4:47) 3. "Symptom of the Universe" (4:53) 4. "Megalomania" (9:53) 5. "Iron Man" (6:26) 6. "Black Sabbath" (8:24) 7. "N.I.B." (5:32) 8. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (5:03) 9. "Faries Wear Boots" (6:40)

Tony Iommi

Seems like there have been a ton of Ozzy and Black Sabbath compilations coming out as of late. Guess 'ol Ozz is not happy with the millions he is making off of MTV right now. In anycase, of the recent releases, this one was of interest to me for two reasons. Disc one is supposedly a remastered version of "Live At Last" and disc two features live performances for the vintage 70's years of Sabbath. The material is all good to excellent, however, the recording quality and production isn't top notch. It's all listenable, but is really tantamount to a bootleg, rather than an official live release. The songs seem untouched with little or no studio fixes. Every crack in Ozzy's voice is left in. My favorite tracks on this disc are "Hole in the Sky," "Symptom of the Universe" and "Megalomania" all pulled from the never released, 1975 King Biscuit Flower Hour performance. "Black Sabbath," "N.I.B." and "Hand of Doom" are taken from the infamous 1970 Paris concert. These tracks sound like they were transfered directly from a tape, hiss and all. So, while this is a cool disc for the Black Sabbath die-hard like myself, I doubt it would be of much use to a casual fan. Nice booklet with tons of vintage photos and a decent essay on the band's Ozzy years as well.

Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath (1970-1978) (Rhino) 2002

Just what the world needs, yet another compilation of Black Sabbath hits. This is really overkill considering there are already so many 'hits' packages and compilations. Even Ozzy recently released discs with Sabbath classics. So, why did I buy this disc if it's a waste of plastic and paper? Well, actually I got it from BMG to fulfill my contract and to get a bunch of other CDs for free. That being the case, this collection is actually pretty nice. The packaging itself is rather nice, with a black slipcase enclosed with two digipack discs and a 50-page full color book. The book contains a ton of vintage photos as well as a pretty indepth biography of the Ozzy years of Black Sabbath. Of course no one will complain about the track listing. The songs here are all classics, with track selected from every Ozzy-era Black Sabbath disc. There is even the inclusion of the somewhat rare "Evil Woman" that was never 'officially' released in the U.S. So, while the world really doesn't need another Black Sabbath best of disc, this one is actually pretty nice.

Black Sabbath - The Dio Years (Rhino) 2007

1. "Neon Knights" (3:49)
2. "Lady Evil" (4:22)
3. "Heaven And Hell" (6:56)
4. "Die Young" (4:41)
5. "Lonely Is The Word" (5:49)
6. "The Mob Rules" (3:14)
7. "Turn Up The Night" (3:42)
8. "Voodoo" (4:32)
9. "Falling Off The Edge Of The World" (5:02)
10. "After All (The Dead)" (5:37)
11. "TV Crimes" (3:58)
12. "I" (5:10)
13. "Children Of The Sea" [live] (6:08)
14. "The Devil Cried" (6:01)
15. "Shadow Of The Wind" (5:40)
16. "Ear In The Wall" (4:06)

About a year ago or more, rumor spread throughout the metal underground that a new Black Sabbath box set was to be released that would focus on the Dio years of the band. Being a fan of both the Ozzy and Dio eras of Sabbath (as well as the lone Ian Gillan album), I was excited about the possibility of hearing such a collection. What got instead is this single disc 'best of' collection. Just to get it out of the way now, there is one glaring omission from this CD. How can there be a compilation of the best of the Dio years that does not include "Sign Of The Southern Cross"? This song is one of Sabbath's finest cuts ever. This complaint aside, "The Dio Years" is a decent overview of the short lived Dio era of the band. The collection is a sixteen track retrospective covering featuring thirteen tracks spanning four albums, as well as three newly-recorded tracks. Five tracks from Heaven make it to this set, where four from successor, Mob Rules, show up. All the chosen tracks are great, although I could have easily trade out "Falling Off the Edge of the World" for "Sign of the Southern Cross". Tracks 10-12 are from the 1992 Dehumanizer album, which was when Dio and Sabbath first rekindled their relationship, albeit for a short time. Beside the three tracks included, I might also have suggest including "Master Of Insanity" or "Time Machine". Either way, I am glad that this short lived reunion album was given fare time on this compilation. Only one track, "Children of the Sea" was chosen from "Live Evil". Again, this was a good choice. The last three songs are all newly recorded and are obviously included to entice die-hard Sabbath fans to purchase this collection of songs that most fans will already have. "The Devil Cried" was getting some airplay on my local Clearchannel station for weeks before this disc was released. It's a good song, as are the other two. Dio still sounds great, and Iommi is still the riff master. Overall, "The Dio Years" is a good retrospective of a classic era in the Black Sabbath saga. However, it's a shame the rumored box set wasn't release. Early rumors were that the box set would include a classic live performance from the Hammersmith Odeon from 1981. Instead this live CD is being sold exclusively through the Rhino website and only 5000 numbered copies are being released.

Black Sabbath - Live At Hammersmith Odeon (Rhino Handmade) 2007 1. "E5150" (1:19) 2. "Neon Knights" (4:37) 3. "N.I.B." (5:16) 4. "Children of the Sea" (6:07) 5. "Country Girl" (3:53) 6. "Black Sabbath" (8:24) 7. "War Pigs" (7:40) 8. "Slipping Away" (3:18) 9. "Iron Man" (7:05) 10. "The Mob Rules" (3:33) 11. "Heaven and Hell" (14:24) 12. "Paranoid" (3:21) 13. "Voodoo" (5:44) 14. "Children of the Grave" (5:03)

Ronnie James Dio

"Live At Hammersmith" is a 5000 copy, limited edition CD put out by Rhino Handmade Records. Hot on the heals of the recently released "Dio Years" single disc compilation and the Heaven & Hell world tour, "Live At Hammersmith became the fastest selling CD on the label, selling out all 5000 copies the day they were listed on the website. Within a week of it's release, copies were showing up on Ebay with bids upwards of $100. Several had starting bids of $140. OUCH! Each CD is numbered. (Mine is 3883/5000). According to the Rhino website this album was originally released as a double LP. The disc is 14 tracks running about 79 minutes! The CD is wrapped by a three panel digi and includes a 16 page booklet and an inlay card promoting "The Dio Years" collection. Long before this CD was released, rumor had it that this show was originally to be released in the "Dio Years" box set that was scrapped.

"Live At Hammersmith" was originally recorded on December 31, 1981 at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The show captures Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and drummer Vinny Appice during Sabbath's 1981 tour for Mob Rules. Personally I found this live album to be even better than the officially released "Live Evil" album. The band seems to be enjoying themselves on stage and all members give a spectacular output. There are a couple songs here that didn't make it to "Live Evil" as well, including "Country Girl" and "Slipping Away". The band also performs several pre-Dio classics including "Paranoid," "Children Of The Grave" and a smokin' version of "War Pigs."

Also see Heaven & Hell.

Related Collections:
Heaven & Hell | Iommi | Ozzy | G/Z//R | Dio | Gillan | Glen Hughes

Back to Index