Customer Reviews

We Sold Our Soul For Rock 'N' Roll

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I'm not sure what originally attracted me to the vinyl album in the first place. I was a little nervous because I was not a Black Sabbath fan, and wasn't sure what I was going to get. However, a friend of mine had recommended the group to me and I thought, why not?

From the moment "Black Sabbath" began to play, I was hooked. The heavy bass, the drums, a full heavy sound, and yet so sparse, was outstanding. Looking back when I bought this on vinyl, I was into The Moody Blues and King Crimson, which we now recognize as progressive rock, and listening to Black Sabbath, I see some of the elements I liked so much in progressive rock.

While I still have the vinyl album, I had to have the CD because of its portability. Even better, this two-disc CD has the songs missing from the one-disc version, "Warning" and "Laguna Sunrise," along with "Wicked World." While this CD cost more than the other, unless you have the original albums you may want these three excellent songs.

If you are a hard-core Black Sabbath fan, then there is probably no point in you owning this CD unless you just have to have everything they ever recorded. Or perhaps, as another reviewer noted, you were looking for something to play at a party that is a Sabbath mix. On the flip side, if you are a casual Black Sabbath fan, then this could really be a good CD for you. However, Black Sabbath is like many great groups in that a "best of" collection really catches only a fragment of the quality of their music.

There is no point in reviewing the individual songs. I like every one. They are fun, full of bass, heavy lead guitar riffs, and drums that beat into and out of the songs to give a flavor that is hard to believe from typically three instruments. There are whimsical songs ("Fairies Wear Boots", "Am I Going Insane") that are just plain fun. Songs of warning ("War Pigs", "Iron Man" and "Warning"), a ballad ("Changes") and a pretty instrumental ("Laguna Sunrise"). If you have wondered about the roots of metal, look no more, you've pretty much found the tap root. Sit back, crank up the bass, and enjoy.

I remember my dad having this album and he used to listen to it when he would drink. Those are the only memories I have of my dad and when I hear a Black Sabbath song that he used to play (which are all on this album) I can just see him sitting there singing to us kids. The one Black Sabbath song I will always cherish is Changes. When this song would come on he would put me on his lap and sing this only to me. That was OUR song and still is. Since then he has passed away and so in his memory I will get this record just for the memories.

Where do I begin? This album is probably THE definitive Heavy metal release of the seventies. Sabbath clearly established themselves with this one. The album was a double release, I'm not sure how the CD is packaged, but it is worth the money. believe me.
Black Sabbath touched on so many subjects that the recording industry (and society in general) refused to even discuss. They wrote songs about witchcraft (NOT! endorsing it, I might add) war, pollution (War Pig's!) drug abuse, paranoia and just general teen angst. What is even more amazing, is that even while listening to this recording, one can catch a feeling of subtle humor wrapped around just about every song, i.e. "...People think I'm insane 'cause I'am frowning all the time."
The line up of Tony Iommi (Guitar), Terry 'Geezer' Butler (Bass), Bill Ward (Drums-and a underrated drummer at that), and of course Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, created a driving metal machine that most certainly dispensed with the "flower power" mentality. Though one can find humor in some of the writings, many of the songs were also of a very serious nature. Sabbath wanted to be REAL about their music, and this recording definitely shows this to be so.
Prototypical heavy metal riffs were laid down with ALL of Sabbath albums, as this is a collection of recordings from "Black Sabbath" to "Vol-Four." There are some parts that drag. "Warning", in particular, is a bit redundant,(though Iommi comes through with a riveting solo here also). Would have liked to see "Electric Funeral" to have made the cut here also, but it was simply not included.
This is a recording of a TRUE heavy metal band that worked with a bond and chemistry that is sorely lacking with many of todays bands. If you are a true heavy metal fan, and haven't found this one yet, you are in for a very pleasant surprise. They don't get any louder (or any more realistic lyrically) than this one. The only thing that bothers me, is I shudder to think if the title has any truth to it. But then again that would be right in line with the Sabbath tradition...realism, albeit painful realism

look if you really want to hear some of the best hard, cranking, kick (...) music ever made buy this album. you won't be sorry!great guitar and great words sung by ozzy.it's one of the all time greats.

This digitally remastered reissue restores this album to its full two-disc glory, adding back three songs cut from the anemic U.S. CD version - "Warning", "Wicked World", and "Languana Sunrise". All are excellent and add more dimensions to the Sabbath sound. "Warning" is probably one of the trippiest songs they ever did, more in line with the late 60's acid rock scene than with the heavy metal sound that Sabbath helped invent. "Wicked World" is a bluesy riff-driven jaunt with numerous mood changes and a killer (but short) Tommy Iommi solo. But the best of the three restored tracks is "Laguana Sunrise", an acoustic instrumental that along with the ballad "Changes" and the Moody Blues-ish "Am I Going Insane (Radio)" really stand in sharp contrast to the other songs on the collection and mark Sabbath as a more diverse band than they really get credit for.

Along with those you get the classic rock radio staples "Sweet Leaf", "War Pigs", "Iron Man", and "Paranoid", along with classics "Black Sabbath", "The Wizard", and "N.I.B." Throw in a handful of other great tracks, and this is truly the only album the casual Sabbath fan will really need. And the remastered sound, cool packaging, and expanded track listing makes the higher price a moot point at best.

It's my firm belief that some bands, like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin to name a few, must NOT release any best-of albums, because each studio release is not just a set of songs, but a solid piece of work where all the songs are meant to intertwine into each other thus making each album a unique recording. Any compilation would kill the drive and spirit the songs hold as integral part of the album. However, this CD set is not the case and I recant the above statement without any hesitation or reservation.

I still remember that each time I played this record back in the mid-70's I had a feeling that I was embarking on an eerie and haunting yet nevertheless breath taking and flamboyant musical adventure you would wish to experience over, over and over again. I have no idea how the CD releases are packaged, but I owned several vinyl copies of the album in all those years and still own one with the scary inner picture of a girl lying in a casket, although I don't listen to the album anymore. As a true Black Sabbath fan for more that 27 years I prefer to listen to their studio albums, but still this one is more than just an album for me. It's more like a testament - so I treasure my old vinyl copy the way a true believer treasures an ancient Bible (yes, I do understand the irony).

So. If you a Black Sabbath fan, then you probably don't have to own this album. But if you belong to the digital era generation and look for something special, start your collection with this one.

This is easily the best Black Sabbath compilation there is. This double disc, remastered classic is just plain awesome. This one includes all the songs on the American version, plus "Wicked World", "The Warning", and "Laguna Sunrise". If you like Black Sabbath and you don't own this, then you are only hurting yourself. The sound quality is awesome, just like the songs. All the original artwork is included as well--everything you could ask for and more........