Rate Black Sabbath Albums

I'll put the two original Dio-era albums way in front in terms of my favorites. But I do recognize and enjoy the purity and innovation on those first 5 or 6 Ozzy-era records.

1. Master of Reality
2. Paranoid
3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
4. Black Sabbath
5. Vol 4
6. Sabotage
7. Heaven & Hell
8. Born Again
9. Tyr
10. Cross Purposes
11. Technical Ecstasy
12. Mob Rules
13. The Eternal Idol
14. Headless Cross
15. Dehumanizer
16. Never Say Die!
17. Seventh Star

Black Sabbath     9   - The album the progressed metal, atmosphere is darkly brilliant,     the                                                production sparse which serves it well.

Paranoid               9  - Bit of comic imagery but the tense atmoshere (e.g. Hand of Doom) holds things togther. Fairies is pleasantly insane and a great metal number.

Master of Reality  9 - Album way too short. Ultra heavy and climactic. Features (IMHO) the only Ozzy    
                                      ballad worth hearing - rather ironically given the future - it's Solitude.

Vol 4                    9          Worth it for Wheels Of Confusion alone. THE Sabbath number in prog metal. All       
complex harmony a nd time changes. Climactic and heavy. Then there's the rest of the album as bonus tracks ;) First wriong step, the awful Changes. Getting his daughter to screech it (as well) does not make it better. Leave this sit of thing to Elton John and play to strengths. Geezer Butler its not only a fione bassist but lyricist.

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath   8    - Very sophisticated. Wakeman doing sessions while bored with Yes over the road in Willsden. Iommi provoing to be quite the orchestrator, the riffs, lyrics all as developed. Not quite as climactic as it could be as a n album but has some really imaginative (take the tome to listen) music beyond the obvious hits. Their jazz roots starting to really sprout here.

Sabotage                6   - Symptom is classic and the album as sophisticated as it could be. A choir, jazz, metal. Some of the material (Megalomania) comes across better live. Good ideas but lyrics about lawsuits in the music biz reflect my least favourite aspect of 70s rock bands. Moaning about their lot. Bear this one in mind...

Technical Ecstasy        7           More orchestration, utterly wasted on a dreary balld that bogs itself downn. Nonetheless a favourite album for some cracjiong hard rock (Back Street Kids) and a glorious darkly climactic closing number Dirty Women. Worth it for riff alone. Rock and Roll Doctor a little bit of filler but some amore left of centre ideas that keeps Sabbath original.   Not perfect but the strengths are there despite the constrant rigours.
     
Never Say Die            8      Ozzy moaning about moaningrock stars but Hitler beat 'em all. Actually a terrific little album that has Iommi's sophisticated harmonies all over the place. Unexpected and unpredictable. Not as climactic an album as many. If you want fist banging metal then Sabbath are a bit too prog for that. Still the knuckes are off the floor and waving...
   
Past Lives         8        The later compilation of live material that is taken from bootleg (but excellent sources.) Time to put a box set with DVD togther and really sum up tyhe era. The Live At Last album is included but the set is till enjoyable. (It was unofficial - unlicensed by Sabbath at the time.)

Heaven and Hell          9      Post Ozzy debut. Absolute classic. Geezer's ltrics not needed with Dio (which is both a pity - as I love Geezer's lyrics) and a good thing as one can never hhave too much of a good thing... or can one? The remaster with the B sides and more is 90 odd minutes you need.

Mob Rules                8            Dio indicates that sticking with a proven formula equals success.   The duplication of material with slight changes from their debut lowers this for me. On it's own terms a fine album, in conjunction with the debut slightly less inspired.  The concert Sabbath here is possibly improved as the remaster with the originally limited to 5000 copies Live At Hammersmith proves. Great re-release. If onluy everyone else could do as much justice and give value as Sabbth do. First class.

Live Evil                8      It says expanded. Apparently some extra applause. Woo hoo. Having said that it's an excellent live album. But what I said about value as per above, does not apply here. It was fine on vinyl but an expanded edition relly means "more material."  

Born Again - Dio out, another Blackmore reject Gillan in. Supertsar and super lunged Gillan gives Sabbath life and fun. The brooding atmosphere and thepower are all present on a superb album only marred by a production so awful that IG threw his stack of free copies in the bin. I hope it's been remastered. Great verison of this band that couldn'and didn't last. According to Gillan "Digital Bitch" is not about the Ozness' wife and their then manager. No, very well dead panned Ian. The inference is quite clear.          
        
The Eternal Idol         5     Glossing past the Gless Hughes time (another Blackmore reject we come to the singer who should have been great but for two things. Ray Gillen died of aids and he couldn't write well. The latter was a problem with Badlands (plus Jake E Lee out classed everyone else on those albums. We'll never know how good that band could have been... ultimately.)

Lyrical inspiration was never a problem with Sabbath until now. Get Geezer. Obvious innit. Oh it's the Tony Iommi band. But  for the Shining this album lacks distinction. great voice but not a lot memorable about it. Melodic, riffs... bit uninspired. But do get The Shining. That is classic.

Headless Cross          6        New singer and a great one. A cross between the sophistication which doesn't work as well as it might and the metal which works better than it should. Not a bad debut but not a classic.

(I need to hear Dehumanizer again - it didn't work for me at the time. But that may have been user fault.) But a reunion with Dio probably lost their new public impetus. But not creatively...

 
TYR                      9     but are we improving or what. Atmosphere, power, imagery and the mother rocks like a beast! It's sophisticated and intelligent metal.   For those that still perpetuate the rock / pop group (we're a band of chaps against the world mentality - sigh...) this is still the Tony Iommi Band but with Tony Martin, Neil from Whitesnake and Cozy Powell on drums this is first class.

Cross Purposes           9    A change of atmosphere (I don't have a copy on CD yet - I used to have it...) but what an album, immmediate reinvention and a lovely warm production. Another top effort and Geezer's back and Tony Martin proves to be the singer they needed. Well done.
     
Cross Purposes Live      9      This was issued on tape with the album (I know I saw it and due to a brain storm didn't buy it. The oddities have commenced however. It has been issued on DVD in edited format. Why? I have no idea. The official tape has been issued (cough... unoffically on DVD) The official DVD is prime quality, the DVD of the tape slightly less so but with the complete concert from Hammersmith in 1995. I was lucky to have been at this gig and the footage and sound does it justice. Still have the T shirt and it looks only slightly worn. After 15 years with me! Talk about quality T shirt. Great concert, great DVD. You might find it cheap if you look carefully. I was looking for it for years and found it for five dollars.  
       
Forbidden         5  This is their last studio album and it's a bit clunky. It sounds like it's been bolted together but someone's not had their heart in it. Odd really, if you ever hear the demos (ROIO source of course) the original ideas come across superbly. As instrumentals. Regrettably we are still in a regressive pop / rock group mentality and we could never accept a metal band as all instrumental.

For some reason if a guitarist displays prowess he is showing off, is self indulgent etc. But if he does it in bits then it's fine. Our little brains can accept that. Sad to say but I think industry guided audience controlled perception will keep many bands limited and our enjoyment. This reactonary approach (ironically so un-rock and roll!) is what keeps many bands from fulfilling their potential.

This may have been a great instrumental album. The tunes are there and the material has a great basis just didn't fire on it's two cylinders. Still it's hard to keep everything down and Guilty As Hell is a dynamic tune that is a s fine as anything. But the title track works even better as an instrumental.

Thankfully we prog rock fans are not hide bound by convention.


Oh no.

Reunion - The reunion live album with Ozzy is a great party live Sabbath album. No chances, it's the hits and Ozzy indluging his profanity.

The Dio Years compilation features 3 new tracks that would be better served as part of a new album. The later Heaven and Hell bands debut (ahem!) and final album could have featured this material.

Cheers.  Now back to the ozone.

P.S. Black Sabbath are a great metal band and a great prog rock band. And both. RIP Ronnie who also worked magic with Rainbow.

Black Sabbath (1970) - 9/10
Paranoid (1970) - 10/10
Master of Reality (1971) - 10/10
Vol. 4 (1972) - 7/10
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) - 9/10
Sabotage (1975) - 8/10

Edited by SouthSideoftheSky - July 09 2009 at 12:49

I am always willing to be convinced that I am wriong in opinion about a great band's releases. Perhaps when I heard Live At Last (first release) it's quality of production put me off. Past Lives is a much better production of Live at last material. The playing is good as ever - Sabbath were always good musos no matter what one's opinion oof the vocalist at whatever time.

As for Never Say Die, the last 4 Ozzy era albums are great progressive metal. I would recommend anyone starting to listen to sSabbath to try any of the first 4 (only one dodgy track in th e lot - Changes). The rest is all mile high. The second 4 show a developing and extensive Sabbath that incorporate jazz fusion  and classical, not modern classical like Zappa but the 18th C stuff that is a bit far out for an industry manipulated audience to immediately apprecaite.

I thought Tech Ecs was great but She's Gone was too dreary for my tatste. R and R Doc was ok but too basic for Sabbath by then. Back St Kids, Dirty Women is killer material.

As for Sabotage I rather thought that a piece about legal issues in music (The Writ) was too self involved even by 70s era rock band standards. But then there were not many bands - not like now when the Sabbath fans band their own versions and became... Metallica.

Never Say Die is a totally original album but it's not a headbanger release. If a metaller wants that sort of thing I'd say look away now, but for a more mature deveoped approach that has some interesting, even fascianting ideas then keep ears open for Iommi.

The drummer and bassist are great musos but Iommi has an ear for structure and interesting melody (he and Geezer were great for killer riffs as well) that puts him up on that level with Page for expansive thought.

Tie between Sabotage and Heaven and Hell for 10 points.  Sabotage has their best and most intriguing music, Heaven and Hell has the best performances.

Sabbath's REALLY heavy albums, like Master of Reality, Sabotage, and Vol. 4 are my favourites. Into The Void is amazing, and Symptom Of The Universe is probably one of my favourite metal songs of all time.

Sabbath put some pretty damned progressive metal. heh, you should hear their pre first album stuff. Iommmi riffs with trumpets on four jazz tunes...

The only stinker moemnt on the first four is Changes. Solitude is a dark ballad Osbourne does well with, Changes is so bad not even his daughter could make it (too ) much worse. Tnhough she tried.

But Wheels of Confusion - now we are talking.

Sabbath Bloody Saabbth to Never Say Die get short shrift. Probably all that prog rock turning up. But The Thrill of if All on Sabotage has some decent guiatr abstractions, Symptom is mind blowing and has that great acoustic guitar orchestral (how many tracks??) jazz coda.

Dirty Women on Tech Ecs has an explvosive riff, one of the most dynamic I have ever heard. The rest of the tune must never be listened to in mono though.

Master of Reality is one of the heaviset albums and Never Say Die has Air Dance. Very experimental and if the reactionary rock audience were alittle more allowing then they could enjoy greater diversity. But we don't want change now do we. Progressive? Implies change. Hence the success of formulas.

Post Ozzy albums - Heaven and Hell is great, the Mob Rules, formula dhearnce time except for Country Girl.

Tony Martin's Sabbath picks up in many way s from the last period of Ozzy's Sabbath. Sometimes brillinat like Cross Purpose, or clunky like Forbidden. Tyr is terrific, Headless Cross probably better than than Eternal Idol which does have The Shining. Two great  and one good albums is not bad achievement though. This was the only Sababth line up I ever saw, the concert recorded for that rare live VHS only Hammersmith Odeon concert 1994.

But in Iommi we trust (not Ozzy and his wife Don Arden's daughter). He's the guy that threatned Jimmy Page with broken fingers once (Page was wanting Steve Marriot for Zep and Arden managed Humblie Pie, marritss' band) and she's 'not' the subject of the underrated Born Again line up's song Digital Bitch. According to Ian 'Ironic' Gillan. pretty good album with awful production. No wonder the studio outtakes (with an unreleased tune) are more popular.

7th Star I'm not too familar with and cannot comment. I have some other Hughes Iommi Sabbath material they do a Tull song  - and it's not bad.

Most Sabbath is well worth it. The alternative Paranoid is interesting but I've not heard (I don't think they are released yet) the other deluxe editions.

Sorry but Live At Last was not Sabbath at their performing best but the 2 CD set including lots of the 75 Asbury Park, NJ soundboard mixed with a remastered Live At Last seems to make up for it. Still not overly compelling. Live Evil wasn't bad, the Reunion live album was a good performance but I'm not a great one for expletive laden performances. It might be rock and roll, or it might not. But I prefer the lyrical atmosphere of their first and then every album thereafter. That is Sabbath's legacy, the abiulity to conjure images via sound rather than a soundtrack for looney head banging.

For a Sabbath newbie pick one or two albums from every line up - the first and Volume 4 (optional with the Paranoid and Reality there). Heaven and Hell, Cross Purposes, Tyr.