Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath/Master Of Reality (Deluxe editions)
Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath/Master Of Reality (Deluxe editions)
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Monday, 29, Jun 2009 04:12
Sanctuary, out June 29th.
In a nutshell...
As the members of Sabbath fall into old age and bitter personal feuds, a timely reminder of why we cared in the first place.
What's it all about?
Two of Sabbath's classic albums, re-mastered and re-packaged to include a swanky sleeve and a bonus disc of unreleased material.
Who's it by?
Tony Iommi. Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, and lest we forget, Ozzy Osbourne once ruled the roosts of metal as Black Sabbath, offering terror to the staid, and excitement to the kids. Sadly, the reverse could now said to be true.
As an example...
"Children of tomorrow live in the tears that fall today." - Children Of The Grave, from Master Of Reality
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
These days, an Ozzy appearance at the Grammys seems to be borderline compulsory. Whether the long haired bunch of hellraisers they used to be would get an invite is debatable.
What the others say
"Rock & roll has always been noise, and Black Sabbath have boiled that noise to its resinous essence." - Rolling Stone Magaxine, 1971
"Great slabs of down-tuned guitar and doomy caterwauling." - Guardian
So is it any good?
"SHAAAARRRRRRROOOOON! The cat's shat on the carpet!" Ah, the joys of time. How lovely to see such a stereotypical slide into irrelevance, ridicule and television commercials. For the long time Black Sabbath fan it must have felt like a slow gradual betrayal. Something that lasted for months, then years, until you wake up, look in the mirror (or in this case, at the Coronation Street adverts) and realise you are embarrassed you ever liked Black Sabbath. It must hurt like hell, the confession that perhaps you were wrong about Rock 'N' Roll. Perhaps the cynics were right; it is all rampant commercialism and lack of values and personal dignity. That even the greatest, the most debauched, the darkest, come through the other side shaking the hand of 'the man' and grasping the filthy lucre to their palpitating bosom.
Then you go back to the records. You slip the debut, Black Sabbath on. You've just bought it again, as it's been re-issued with a bonus CD of demos, and you only have it on scratched old vinyl anyway. You start quietly, so as not to alert the family you're giving this sell-out old lunatic another shot. Then you hear Black Sabbath in all its roaring intensity and originality. You hear Tony Iommi attacking his guitar and remember how innovative and unprecedented it was. You realise how underrated drummer Bill Ward is, but most importantly you realise how great Ozzy was. Despite the album sounding very much like a debut, the likes of The Wizard so impress you, that next day it's back to the shops to grab the new, deluxe version of Masters Of Reality. Sneaking it back home, you realise this was the moment Black Sabbath showed the world what they could do. From the opening cough and the heavy riffs of Sweet Leaf right through to the laidback Orchid, and the drawn out Into The Void, it's reassurance all the way. An album that set the blueprint for so many others to follow.
Sure the bonus CDs are a little unnecessary, but it's nice to hear the unreleased Weevil Woman, and the studio outtake version of Solitude sits nicely alongside the original. They also make you feel better about shelling out for albums you already own, in some shape or form. So you take the next step. You go to the wardrobe and dig out that Ozzy Osbourne world tour 1998 T-shirt and proudly put it on.
Emblazoned with your newly reaffirmed faith in rock n' roll, youth, and of course Mr Osbourne himself, you boldly leave the house. Then a kid in a Slipknot hooded jumper screams "WORLD OF WARCRAFT ADVERT" at you, and you scamper back home as quickly as you can, desperate to give those two peerless examples of rock another spin.
8/10
Tom Williams