Customer Reviews

Seventh Star

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Some who have read my other reviews will know that I get a bit irritated with those who think that if a Sabbath album doesn't have Ozzy Osbourne, it's not really Sabbath.

Well, on this album I do agree. One other person who agrees is Tony Iommi. He never wanted this album to come out as a Sabbath album. It was originally to have been a solo album with different vocalists such as David Coverdale, Rob Halford and Glenn Hughes (who ended up singing on the entire album). Record company and management politics dictated that this come out as a Sabbath album or it wouldn't come out at all. I would have liked to have seen Tony dig in his heels on the issue, because having it come out as a Black Sabbath album set him up for more criticism than ever before for keeping the band's name. Glenn Hughes also did not want to be a member of Black Sabbath. As he would say years later, "I was into the Tony Iommi project, but not into the Black Sabbath name".

There are songs on here which wouldn't be out of place on a Black Sabbath album, but there are others which are decidedly non-Sabbath in flavour - which is what the idea of a solo album is all about!

"In For The Kill" - This is a fast, heavy opener that wouldn't have been amiss on "Heaven and Hell" or "Mob Rules". Glenn Hughes shows his vocal prowess right away.

"No Stranger To Love" - This left many Sabbath purists scratching their heads as it is a radio-friendly ballad. The video has extra harmony vocals from Hughes and features Denise Crosby, who would later portray Lieutenant Tasha Yar in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". A good song, but not Sabbath material.

"Turn To Stone" - Eric Singer's excellent drumming powers another fast, heavy number. Again, this wouldn't have been out of place during the Dio era.

"Sphinx (The Guardian)" - This is Geoff Nicholls (featured at last as a full member) playing some atmospheric keyboards. Not far removed from "Stonehenge" on "Born Again".

"Seventh Star" - Middle Eastern flavoured, both musically and lyrically. This actually sounds more like Rainbow than anything they did when Dio was in the band!

"Danger Zone" - Kind of typical mid-eighties commercial hard rock. Not a bad song, and of course different from Sabbath, but not my favourite.

"Heart Like A Wheel" - This shows Tony in a full heavy-blues mode not seen since the first album's "Warning" (which was a cover song anyway). Hughes really belts it out here and Tony is showcased here on guitar moreso than anywhere else on the album.

"Angry Heart" - Again kind of commercial, but not bad. Geoff Nicholls' keyboards make me think of Deep Purple - despite the presence of an ex-Purple member on this album, this is the only time I really can sense any kind of Purple influence.

"In Memory..." - Slow, largely acoustic and mournful. I think this is about the death of Iommi's father. Hughes wrings out the emotion on this one.

Anyone who knows the history of Sabbath knows that this was probably the most chaotic period in the band's history. Hughes only did a handful of shows before his drug problem (which had caused him to be sacked from Gary Moore's band the year before) got him fired from his second major shot at regaining his credibility in less than two years. It's too bad, because he is one of the best singers in rock. He should have been playing bass here too. No disrespect intended to Dave "The Beast" Spitz, but anyone who has heard Glenn's bass work on Purple's "Made In Europe" will know what I mean.

I actually had tickets to see this tour and was really looking forward to it, but my gig was one of the gigs that was cancelled and it wasn't rescheduled even after Iommi brought in Ray Gillen.

As an album, five stars. It really is good. However, labelling it as a Sabbath album when it clearly wasn't damaged the band's credibility even more, which is why I give it four stars.

Even so, make every effort to find it, though it's very hard to find in the States.

This is a Black Sabbath album in name only (Tony Iommi is the only original member present), but once you get past that fact, you can enjoy this for what it REALLY is and that's a first-rate pure metal CD. Nothing ground-breaking, but superb playing and excellent production make it a winner. Ex-Deep Purple bassist/lead singer Glen Hughes takes the vocals here and puts a bluesy spin on Iommi's trademark monster riffs on tunes such as "In For The Kill," "Turn To Stone" and "Danger Zone." Definitely the best of the Sabbath albums that didn't feature Ozzy or Dio. Check it out!

This was not meant to be a Black Sabbath album.It was originally a Tony Iommi solo project.That is why it doesn't really sound like a Sabbath album.The record co. decided that they were going to call it Black Sabbath.However,this is a very good album.An "Ozzy only"Sabbath fan won't like it,but someone interested in hearing something a little more diverse will thoroughly enjoy this CD. It has a good mix of hard rock,blues,and even a ballad.Glenn Hughes is an EXCELLENT singer,and his voice fits in very well with what Tony was trying to accomplish.

So I listened to this four times tonight as I was doing some late night paperwork. I had it on "repeat" on the CD player, and I never got my paperwork done. Practically every song made me stop my work right at the guitar solo, just so I could concentrate and focus on the inspired licks that the great master Obi-Wan Iommi kept dishing out throughout this album. I agree with many of the other reviewers that this is NOT a typical Black Sabbath album, and that it does make more sense as a Tony Iommi solo effort. It is, nonetheless, a very good album. It has a great grooving, bluesy feel to it, and Glenn Hughes' vocals are reminiscent of Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. The songs are very melodic and will tempt you to sing along, but Tony's guitar solos will prick up your ears and make you listen. The tone of the album is not as dark as a Black Sabbath album, but it still generates the haunting, moody atmosphere that a good melancholy blues band can pump out, but still rocks and grooves pretty hard. This is a sadly underappreciated and overlooked album...well worth your cash to get this! And now, I'd better switch this CD to something by Celine Dion or Phil Collins so that I can finish my paperwork...ciao for now...

this album will blow you away. deep purple fans will know how good a vocalist glenn hughes was when he replaced gillan with coverdale. hughes literally blew david coverdale off the stage in live shows in songs like burn.
but that was nothing compared to what he did on seventh star.
the state of his voice and more importantly what he does with it
are unreal. his vocal perfomance on this album has never been and probably will never be matched even by people like ozzy, gillan, martin or even the legendary dio. if you've ever sung a note in your life you will be grateful you bought this album to see just what can be done with the human voice in a rock song.
tony iommi has always been a guitar legend but this album was the start of his new richer wetter guitar sound. The guitar riff on turn your heart into stone is out of this world and most of his solos are just astonishing. the ones in heart like a wheel
( there are several of them ) match those of some of the greatest blues guitarists in the world.
the drummer and bassist are not cozzy powell and geezer but they are really good.
its rare for me to find an album where i like all the songs.
but this is one of them.
iommi and hughes themselves would probably disagree with me but this is the best album either of them ever made.

I immediately liked this album. It is a bit different from much of the rest Sabbath had done to that point, and has done since, but that's part of what I like about it. It shows some versatility. In my opinion, it is outstanding music and musicianship. I recommend it strongly!

This album really isn't THAT terrible. Generally it's reserved for completists, and if you absolutely have to own everything with the name "Black Sabbath" on it, you can do worse (though not too much).
First of all, if you do feel adventurous enough to buy this disc, take a big black marker and cross out the name "Black Sabbath" - the way it was intended; and you might enjoy it more. By the time this album was recorded, Sabbath had broken up, but Tony Iommi legally owned the name. He wanted to make this a solo album, but the record company rightfully knew that more people would buy a Black Sabbath album than a Tony Iommi album. The personnel on this album are:
Tony Iommi - guitar (of course)
Dave Spitz - bass
Eric Singer - drums
Geoff Nichols - keyboard
Glenn Hughes - vocals

The album opens with the hard-charging "In For the Kill", which has some pretty cool vocal harmonies by Glenn Hughes and a trickily timed Iommi gallop riff. The solo is great, and the playing is in top form - if it's not the most amazing song in their catalog, it's at least competent.
Next comes the obligatory power ballad, "No Stranger to Love" - which is decent enough for what it is. The video had Tony walking around with his typically leaden expression and a wolf running about.
Eric Singer kicks off "Turn to Stone" impressively, and the song turns into a fairly pedestrian fast-paced rocker. A blazing wah-wah lead lifts it slightly above mediocrity.
Geoff Nichols creates some wind effects before the stomping title track begins. There's a pretty interesting middle section which features some exotic scales, upbeat cymbal smashes, and a nice clean arpeggio before going back into the plodding main riff. The old Supertzar choir comes back for the chorus, giving an ominous feel.
Tony begins the album's highlight: "Danger Zone" - one of the few tracks that was played live due to Hughes' quick ousting from the band (and Ray Gillen's very competent replacement, but that's another story). Very nice shifting thirds with an A pedal tone. Before the 3:00 mark is the best riff on the album, shame they didn't ride it out more.
"Heart Like a Wheel" is up next. Unfortunately, Iommi is known more for his pummeling riffs more than his pentatonic blues soloing. The solos are fast and furious, but they seem to just spin wheels as opposed to really going anywhere. Did I mention the solos were really fast though?
"Angry Heart" sounds like it could have been on the Rocky IV soundtrack. It smells slightly of album filler.
"In Memory" is a pretty effective ballad, with a top-notch vocal performance from Hughes - particularly at the end.

All in all, it's not a terrible album, but it should definitely only be purchased by VERY die-hard Sabbath fans. They will be pleasantly surprised, but others should look elsewhere.

It's really sad that this period of the band's history was so poorly received.

Glenn Hughes IMO was the best singer that Black Sabbath ever had outside of Ozzy and Dio.

Although Hughes himself says that he didn't want to be a part of Sabbath and that he didn't fit their sound or image, HIS VOCALS RIP!!!!

I think that Sabbath really could've done well if they contnued in this vein.

If you listen to Iommi's "DEP Sessions" and "Fused", you can definitely hear how well these two icons mesh together.

I have always loved bluesy, soulful metal singers (Chris Cornell, John Corabi) and this album is definately one of the reasons why.

And I really feel that "No Stranger To Love" is a wonderful track.
It didn't get the respect that it deserved.

However, I can't readily forgive Hughes butchering classics like "War Pigs" onstage during the very short time that he toured behind this record.

Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi-Seventh Star ***

Basically this is not a Black Sabbath album. Not at all. Tony Iommi wanted to release a solo album but the record company would only release it if it was under the name of Black Sabbath. Shame because while this is a decent hard rock album it in no way sounds, feels, or looks like a Black Sabbath record. Glen Hughes is here from Deep Purple, Eric Singer is also here from Kiss (I hate kiss).

'In For The Kill' is a nice rocker and great opener. 'Turn To Stone' is a fantastic hard rocker with some fiery fret work from Iommi though it sounds like a Deep Purple track rather than Sabbath. The title track is very 1980's and sounds Middle Eastern influenced. A nice song if the mood is right but even though it is the title track it feels out of place. Iommis riff is good though. 'Danger Zone' sounds like every other rock song to come out of the 1980's, while not bad, it isn't original or particularly good for that matter. 'Im Memory' closes the album. It has that typical metal acoustic guitar sound going on. Any where else on the album and it would be wrong, but as a closer it manages to work.

The rest of the album is a mess however. 'No Stranger To Love' is over produced and forced. among the worst Sabbath tunes to emerge from the 1980's. The rest of the album is not memorable by any means.

So while it isn't a great album Seventh Star is a nice rock album to break out if the mood ever strikes. Not an album I would ever recommend buying however, unless you are a completest or Tony Iommi is your favorite guitar player.

Stop living in the past;it's been done. Yeah,Ozzy was long gone. Yeah, this was supposed to be Tony's solo album. And yeah, Seventh Star blows away anything by Van Halen, Guns'n Roses or Ozzy Osbourne. Tony tries everything and makes it all work. No surprise there, but Glenn Hughes makes the record of his career. Tony and Glenn sound like they'd been recording together for years. It's impossible to pick favorite tracks because everyone scores. Forget the preconceptions and expectations. This is time capsule good and it doesn't get much better than that.