The Eternal Idol

Black Sabbath

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: December 8, 1987
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002LB4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #124,417 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Well Worth Buying, April 23, 2000

By	Erik Rupp (Southern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

THE ETERNAL IDOL marked the lowpoint for Black Sabbath as far as lineup stability. Ironically, it was also the high water mark for Tony Iommi's songwriting. After failed lineups with Ian Gillan, and then Glenn Hughes as singer, Iommi knew that he had to come back with a classic HEAVEN AND HELL style album. That's exactly what he delivered. Recruiting Tony Martin (after Ray Gillen didn't work out), Iommi proceeded to record what is considered by many fans to be the best Black Sabbath album. An all-star lineup of musicians including drummer Eric Singer (KISS, Badlands) bassist Bob Daisley (Ozzy, Rainbow) and long-time Sabbath keyboard player Geoff Nichols give outstanding performances, as everyone involved seemed to know that anything less than great would be viewed negatively by skeptical fans and critics alike in view of the constant personnel shifts. While album opener "The Shining" gets most of the attention from fans, it is actually one of the weaker songs on the album. It is an outstanding track, but songs like "Hard Life To Love," "Glory Ride," and "Born To Lose" are even better. Tony Martin has been called either "the best singer ever in Sabbath," or "a second-rate Dio clone." The truth is that he is neither. His vocals are reminiscent of Dio, true, but they also bring to mind the voice of David Coverdale. His performance on THE ETERNAL IDOL is very strong, despite the fact that most of the vocal parts were written by another singer (Ray Gillen), and he is a much better fit in Sabbath than either Ian Gillan or Glenn Hughes. If Ronnie James Dio had been the singer on this album, it is quite possible that MOST Black Sabbath fans would consider this their best album, or at least equal to HEAVEN AND HELL and MOB RULES. But that is a moot point, as Tony Martin and Tony Iommi made one hell of a great album without Ronnie. THE ETERNAL IDOL is well worth checking out for any Dio-era Sabbath fan.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A raging comeback, despite the confusion!, October 18, 2004

By	B.A.D. (North America) - See all my reviews

This album came out in 1987, during the very unsettled period in Black Sabbath's history when lineups changed almost weekly and probably the only one who knew who actually was in the band was Tony Iommi himself!

"The Eternal Idol" followed on from "Seventh Star", the Glenn Hughes-fronted album that was supposed to have been an Iommi solo album. Hughes' drug problems kept him from cutting it live, and American Ray Gillen (later to form Badlands and who died some years ago) replaced him on the live dates. He cut the original vocals for this album and bootlegs of this are floating around.

The album lists Tony Iommi as "The Player" and credits all songs to him, with many other players in the lineup. However, based on the research I've done, the lineup was probably:

TONY IOMMI (of course!) - Guitar
TONY MARTIN - Vocals
BOB DAISLEY - Bass Guitar
GEOFF NICHOLLS - Keyboards
ERIC SINGER - Drums

I would also say that Bob Daisley probably had a hand in the lyrics, which he did many times for Ozzy Osbourne and received unjust treatment in return from the Sharon Osbourne corporate machine now controlling virtually anything to do with Ozzy and Sabbath. As anyone familiar with his work with Rainbow, Uriah Heep, Gary Moore and (of course) Ozzy can attest, the Australian is one of heavy rock's best bassists and is criminally under-rated.

This album is most notable for the debut of Tony Martin, another under-rated talent who unfortunately became best known not for his considerable vocal talent (I've seen Sabbath live with him on vocals and can attest to his abilities) but as the band's "farm team" singer - brought in when no-one else would do. That's a shame. His similarity to Ronnie James Dio has also been noted, but he's far more than a clone of RJD. As much as I admire Tony Iommi as an artist, he should be ashamed for his treatment of this man, who deserved far better than he got.

Despite the confusion, this is an excellent album - well-crafted songs, excellent production and fine performances from all concerned. Of course, since it didn't have Ozzy on it, it was all but forgotten. Rarely has anything from this album been performed live. Even when I saw them live in 1994, they didn't do anything from this album.

As I said, the songs are excellent:

"The Shining" - A typical high-energy Sabbath opener that has been customary for their lead-off tracks in the post-Ozzy era. I imagine this would have been an excellent fist-pumper live!

"Ancient Warrior" - Primo Dio-type Sabbath; i.e., strong, melodic, heavy with mediaeval-flavoured lyrics. Eric Singer's drumming shines here.

"Hard Life To Love" - A nod toward Tony Iommi's early blues-boogie influences. Catchy riff and very good vocals.

"Glory Ride" - A fine song about fighter pilots going into battle. Tony Martin takes command of the mic in fine fashion. It's amazing he was able to slot in this well so quickly and given that he had little to no creative input.

"Born To Lose" - The album's weakest track. It's a good song but kind of a too-obvious shot at a "hit single". Am I the only one who thinks Tony Martin kind of sounds like Don Dokken here?

"Nightmare" - Geoff Nicholls' atmospheric keyboards introduce this song which recalls earlier, Ozzy-era Sabbath. For trivia freaks, the laughing in the middle section is actually Ray Gillen, which is the only officially-released Sabbath material with him!

"Scarlet Pimpernel" - Some people don't like Iommi's acoustic interludes that pop up from time to time, but I think they're wonderful examples of The Man's versatility. This one is no exception and is nicely accompanied by Bob Daisley's bass line.

"Lost Forever" - Fast and high energy. This one wouldn't have sounded amiss on "Seventh Star"

"Eternal Idol" - This is the most "old-school" Sabbath track on the album. Long, heavy and moody (but always interesting) and touching on religion and politics lyrically. Sabbath were always very good at this type of thing.

Apart from a few scattered dates in the UK and Europe and some infamous gigs at Sun City in then-apartheid-ruled South Africa, there was no touring to support this album, which is probably another reason why it died a quick death commercially.

However, as a piece of "Sabbatherian" art, I think it has far more creativity and artistic credibility than the "greatest hits jukebox" currently playing the old classics day after day at OzzFest.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just say YES!, January 27, 2002

By	Michael Courtney "exiled01" (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tony Iommi proves why he uses the name Black Sabbath without any of the other original members in the line up. The greatest news with this disc is the arrival of singer Tony Martin, who breathes back to life the vital sound of Black Sabbath. To me this is the best Sabbath ever! While some talk of instability in the line up, Iommi surrounds himself with seasoned veterans Dave Spitz, Bob Daisley, Bev Bevan and Eric Singer. The creditials of those musicians alone show the seriousness of this recording.

Anyone that feels that this album is a let down, also believes that there is no Sabbath without the original band. That's their opinion, this is mine. This is great! Lyrically the band has never been better and the musicianship never more superb, with the possible exception of Seventh Star! This is as good a disc as any group has ever put out. It stays in my jukebox!

The songs here are first rate. I can't even begin to tell you the weakest link, because they are all worthy of airplay. Some of my all-time favorite tracks are "Born to Lose", "Hard Life to Live" and "the Shining". Great tracks are "Nightmare", "Lost Forever" and "Ancient Warrior". Iommi's guitar, Martin's scorching vocals, Singer's skin slammin' combined with the artistry of the additional members weave a tapestry that proves Rock is alive and well. To say this is highly recommended would be an understatement!