I have always been of the opinion that the Tony Martin era of Sabbath is criminally overlooked. “Tyr”, “Cross Purposes”, “Headless Cross” are great albums. I have pre-ordered this new box.
I have always been of the opinion that the Tony Martin era of Sabbath is criminally overlooked. “Tyr”, “Cross Purposes”, “Headless Cross” are great albums. I have pre-ordered this new box.
I've always liked "Guilty as Hell," "Rusty Angels," "Sick and Tired," and especially "Kiss of Death," which I feel is one of Sabbath's finest songs, period. I'll get it for the remix of Forbidden, alone.Originally Posted by Rael
But, wow. This box set is lean on extras. I was expecting a bonus live album and some Dehumanizer demos with Tony's vocals.
Absolutely. I thought it was pretty cool to catch a "new" Sabbath video on the tube, that being the one for "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle." That was like...whoa!
I don’t have any of those albums. I’m in!
These Sabbath sets seem all over the place. Any chance that a Master of Reality box comes out? That seems like a no-brainer, so I assume there are reasons why it does not exist.
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Agree, I was hoping for a live album from the Martin era. I know there are bootlegs out there, so I just figured there would be some source material.
What a killer song!
This box has been talked about for a while. All of the Tony Martin albums have been out of print for years. Unfortunately it will not include "Headless Cross" due to record company issues.
H&H / Mob Rules are essential. But another 2 favorites of mine are Seventh Star and Eternal Idol. Outstanding material.
I'll probably get the new box set but disappointed Eternal Idol wasn't included. Looks like Forbidden was the only one (remixed?) remastered though. I know Tony reprocessed the guitar and drums because he hated the original sound.
JG
"MARKLAR!"
According to the press release, Forbidden was remixed by Iommi and the other three have been remastered.
And yeah would’ve been cool to have Eternal Idol in this to make the Martin years complete, but this set is limited to the albums released on IRS records.
I think you mean Eternal Idol is not included due to it was on Warner Bros/Vertigo and not IRS. Eternal Idol is still in print. https://www.amazon.com/ETERNAL-IDOL-...s%2C134&sr=8-1
Yup, sorry I am getting my albums mixed up.
Born Again, and the supporting tour pretty much destroyed Gillan's voice. The primary reason he can no longer perform Child in Time today.
I never understood why Glenn Hughes sang, but didn't play bass on Seventh Star.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
My first time seeing Sabbath was on the “Born Again” tour. Gillan certainly did his share of screaming during that show.
Regarding Hughes, I remember he discussed why he did not play bass in his autobiography (fantastic book btw), but it has been a while since I read it, so don’t remember. I know he was pretty much at the height of his substance abuse problems around that time and was a compete mess. He didn’t make it more than a few dates on the tour before he was replaced by Ray Gillan he was in such bad shape. It was not long after that that he got sober and turned his life around. Also, when The 7th Star was recorded it was supposed to be a Tony Iommi solo album, so I seem to remember that playing into the whole bass thing as well.
Listening to Mob Rules now. It's a solid album. The criticism is that it follows the template of Heaven and Hell too closely. That wasn't a problem with previous Sabbath records? The first 4 were pretty much in the same mold (S/T through Vol. 4), then the next two (SBS, Sabotage), then the next two (TE and NSD). To suddenly accuse them of repeating themselves with Mob Rules seems a little fatuous. Never really gave the post-Dio records a close listen except for Born Again, which I think is execrable.
Even at my most panegyrical SB commitment, I could always live without MR - although I came into folds of fandom by way of H&H, which I purchased at 11 y.o. during autumn of 1982 after having discovered Rainbow's Rising in a handful of cassettes my sister bought at a local fleemarket that very spring. I only got around to the Ozzies a couple of years later.
However, although it still sounds supremely awful, Born Again remains an interesting album. Here was Ian Gillan from merits of fabulous success with DPurple and his own band - both of whom had dealt away from most temptations of pigeonholing adherence/style as in 'genre' - joining forces with the one act every heavy metal-legislator of the day would deem "Major Majesty", not least in the wake of the NWBHM phenomenon. And, according to just about every voice of reason at the time, ruining both trappings.
Of particular note is the closing track, "Keep It Warm", which has been consistently shunned for its subject total matter (lyrics) as apparently at odds with arches of frail authenticity in nourishing the 'metal mind' devotion of the day. Meaning? Songs about the genitals of a girlfriend aschewed the fact that 80s metal was so much more about divides of sexual tradition as in culture overall, the fact being that dudes were no longer expected to be "naturally" acquainted with anything as previously obvious as a female genital and thus should resort to stuff less embarassing-gone-shortcoming - such as military formations/strategies, uniforms, battlecries, weapons, motorbikes and especially fishing rods.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Agree, with everything you say. I came to H & H through Ronnie's work in Rainbow and was the first Sabbath album I owned, so it still holds a special place with me. Mob Rules had some great individual tracks, but overall was not as good IMO. My first live Sabbath experience was on the Born Again tour, so I have always liked that record too. Yes, it was recorded like shit, but the material is all good to great.
A kid in my high school didn't like Black Sabbath...................until he heard the then newly released Mob Rules. He found it more appealing than even Heaven and Hell.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
I'm one of the minority that feels Mob Rules is roughly the equal of Heaven and Hell. You can't have one without the other.
"Turn Up the Night" is no "Neon Knights" (one of my favorite songs by any hard rock band or singer), but it's a very strong opener.
"Voodoo," however, is a fantastic song, just as good as "Children of the Sea," if more sinister. The chord progression makes it. One of Iommi's coolest riffs.
Here comes the heresy: IMHO, "Sign of the Southern Cross" is as good as "Heaven and Hell." I might even like it a tad more.
"Lady Evil" is an alright tune, kind of a throwaway (but I still like it). Mob Rules doesn't have anything close to filler.
"Falling Off the Edge of the World" is a rager, no debate. "Die Young" sounds better, production-wise, but both go hand-in-hand as second side barnstormers.
"Over and Over" is an exceptional closer and Tony's solo is superb.
Geezer stepped it up a bit on Mob Rules, too: "When we were in Japan, I picked up this prototype Yamaha pedalboard, and I've never seen one ever since,” [Geezer] recalls. “It had all these different effects, and you could mess about with the wires, sort of like a telephone-exchange thing, and get all these different kinds of sounds.” The same board is used to create the windy, atmospheric bass lines during the verses in the epic, “Sign of the Southern Cross.”
I'm just glad we have them, and Dehumanizer.
Last edited by dropforge; 03-25-2024 at 04:21 PM.
I'm one of the few who likes The Mob Rules even better than Heaven & Hell! And I love both albums. For me, Sabbath did no almost no wrong when it came to their studio work. I'm not much of a Forbidden fan, but the rest of the catalog is highly enjoyable for me. I even really like Seventh Star a lot too!
7th Star is a great album. I never owned it until they did the re-issue 2 disc addition a while back and it was a pleasant surprise.
Don't know this era of the band at all. Would have been very interested in a budget-priced "Original Album Classics"-style boxed set, but much less so for a ~$100 super-deluxe boxed set.
I agree that the price point for this seems to be a bit high. I am still going to get it as I am a big fan of this era, but I wonder how many people will pass on it with the price. If you have never heard any of the Martin era I would say it leans more towards Dio style Sabbath than Ozzy style Sabbath.
$60 preorder on Amazon. I don't think the price will get better, unless you can take advantage of a coupon from another seller (who may have it at a higher price and require a larger overall order).
List price from the record label is $59.98.
I was speaking of Canadian dollars. Pre-order price on Amazon.ca was $92.
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