Call Upon The Author

Let’s start this review with a confession… I was extremely happy to receive these CDs as I actually far prefer Ronnie James Dio to Ozzy Osbourne!
I realise that to many this may seem blasphemy, but when I’m listening to an album, I want to hear a talented singer, not a showy front man and frankly, Dio is a far superior vocalist. Sure, I’d love to see Ozzy front the band, but that’s a different experience entirely!
So then, to the music. The first of these special editions, Heaven and Hell, is probably the Sabbath album I have the most experience of, and as such, my favourite. I’d always shyed away from the band really, but I remember reading an interview with Dave Grohl and he cited Neon Knights as one of his favourtie songs, so I thought I’d give it a go. What a way to get into this band! A superb track that sets the tone for the album beautifully, with it’s soaring vocals, chugging rhythm and fantasy/sci-fi lyrics and overall theatricality. It was love at first listen! The rest of the album stands up admirably too, most especially the title track, another that would stand against the best the band has produced in their long career.
Next up, we have The Mob Rules. The first Sabbath album to feature Vinny Appice (younger brother of Vanilla Fudge/Cactus drummer Carmine) who had replaced Bill ward on tour. Much darker than it’s predecessor, The Mob Rules is also a descent into what you might expect from an early eighties metal album. That said though, there are some great songs here and possibly my favourite cover art work in the whole heavy metal canon!
Sign Of The Southern Cross is a haunting piece, dark and epic, it may just be the best tune Dio has ever performed!
Others, such as Turn Up the Night and Voodoo, echo classic Sabbath riffery and ultimately provide nothing new, though they’re eminently enjoyable tunes. That the album ends with a power ballad (Over and Over) reminds you it was written in 1981, though the lack of synthesizers stop this from being too cheesy!
The third album of there re-releases was, to be frank, the one that interested me the least. I’m not big on live albums (Live DVDs on the other hand…), and although Live Evil is a pretty good representation of what a Sabbath gig at this time must’ve been like (mostly new material, a few old favourites including the obligatory Paranoid), it’s the one occasion when I almost missed Ozzy’s ability to connect with a crowd, the one thing that might have taken this from being a good live recording into being a good album of any kind.
Of course, in their special edition forms all of these releases come with a wealth of B-sides, demos, mono recordings and live takes that are fascinating enough, but like sifting for gold, you have to work through the dirt to find a few precious nuggets.
Ultimately, if you’re a true metal head or Sabbath fan, you probably own these already, and I’m not sure there’s enough here to warrant you shelling out again, but if you’re interested, or perhaps just dipping your toes into the Sabbath back catalogue, snap up Heaven and Hell, you won’t regret it and you may well find yourself back again soon enough to grab more!