Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Born Again Indeed....Too Bad It Didn't Last, May 1, 1999
By A Customer
This is what I consider to be Sabbath's last album. After this, there were so many lineup changes, the band basically deteriorated into a Tony Iommi solo project. Don't believe all of the derogitory comments you hear about this album; it is a classic. It is a horrible shame that Ian Gillan didn't stick it out with Sabbath longer than this. His vocals fit in perfectly with Sabbath's style on this album, which is heavier than anything from any point in their history. Gillan's vocals on the sinister "Disturbing the Priest" is so menacing it would send the guys from Slayer running out of the room. "Trashed" is another classic track. It is about a wreck Gillan had during the recording while driving under the influence. It may be politically incorrect, but it kicks harder than anything Sabbath has released since the early Ozzy days. "Zero The Hero" has a great riff which Guns n' Roses later used for "Paradise City," and "Hotline" is a great song that I wind up singing to myself days after I last listened to the album. If you expect this album to sound like a cross between Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, don't worry about it. This album is all Sabbath, and Gillan turns in an awesom performance. If you like Sabbath at any stage of their career, whether it be with Ozzy, Dio, or Martin, get this album. It will not disappoint.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"I looked at the cover and puked!", October 9, 2004
So said Ian Gillan upon perusing this album cover, a bad cross between "The Exorcist", "Rosemary's Baby", and "It's Alive".
Well, Ian, I did too. I've heard that Tony Iommi allowed it because he found it hilarious.
Note: I haven't heard the remastered version. My review of this is based on my original German-made CD.
When Ronnie James Dio left the band, I was crushed. However, somehow, I predicted that they would get Ian Gillan. To my surprise, I was right!!!
This is not their best album. However, it is not worth the abuse ("Black Purple") that has been heaped on it over the years (mostly by people who won't accept anything past "Never Say Die" anyway).
I got this album during my senior year in high school (83-84). I had high expectations, since Sabbath are my favourite HM band and I have very high regard for Ian Gillan. Nobody shrieks like him! Plus, Bill Ward was back (albeit temporarily).
When I played it, I was struck by two things. First of all, I was surprised at how HEAVY it is - far heavier than the two previous studio albums. Riffmaster Tony Iommi certainly doesn't disappoint! I also noticed that, indeed, some of the songs (especially "Hot Line") could easily have come off a Deep Purple album or one of Gillan's solo albums (he was huge as a solo artist in Europe and Japan). Indeed, there was some controversy as he had broken Gillan up due to nodes on his vocal chords and then he shows up in Black Sabbath!
This is perhaps Sabbath's most controversial album after "Seventh Star" (which isn't a Sabbath album, really). Apparently Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler didn't want to call it a Sabbath album. Also, oddly enough, Ozzy praised the album at the time, calling it "the best thing I've heard from Sabbath since the original band broke up" (could be due to the fact that he and Gillan come from the same era of groundbreaking British metal and he and Dio hate one another's guts).
Gillan hated the production. He said "Geezer went a bit wally and it turned into a bass solo". Personally, I love the bass-heavy production - perfect for Sabbath. Tony Iommi has also slagged the album.
And the songs are really good, as Gillan has said, despite the way they were put together. He left the instrumentalists and producer Robin Black to construct the backing tracks while he camped out in a tent and wrote the lyrics while drinking Scotch and then added his vocals.
"Trashed" - A fast one, apparently about Gillan's misadventures with driving mini race cars while intoxicated.
"Stonehenge" - Weird Geoff Nicholls keyboard blurbs. Stonehenge would, however, play a major part in this chapter of the Sabbath saga.
"Disturbing The Priest" - GILLAN RIPS HIMSELF OFF! If any of you have heard the title track of the Ian Gillan Band album "Scarabus", the vocal and melody line are identical! It's got some good shrieking, though the pseudo-evil lyrics don't really fit Gillan, who is known more as an affable jokester.
"The Dark" - Tony Iommi playing flute through some really weird effects.
"Zero The Hero" - The album's finest moment, and one of Sabbath's finest moments. Truly heavy riff (which Guns 'n Roses would later "appropriate" for "Paradise City") and, in my opinion, Tony Iommi's finest-ever guitar solo. However, I haven't any idea what the lyrics are supposed to be about. Geezer's bass effects really punch here.
"Digital Bitch" - More solo-Gillan meets Sabbath. Lyrically atypical for Sabbath but a good song nonetheless.
"Born Again" - A truly creepy song. I have fond memories of listening to this on an early-spring night in 1984 while driving in the fog with two of my buds in my old Plymouth Volare.
"Hot Line" - The most Deep Purple-ish song on the album. The solo is even Blackmore-ish.
"Keep It Warm" - The album's weak moment. The song itself isn't bad, but lyrically is beyond the pale for Sabbath, unless one were to compare it to "She's Gone" or "Sabbra Cadabra".
The Gillan era, of course, did not last beyond this tour. Bill Ward slipped back into alcoholism and was replaced on tour by ex-ELO drummer Bev Bevan.
Gillan calls himself "the worst singer Sabbath ever had". That's a bit harsh, but I do have a bootleg live tape from this tour and he did not fit in onstage at all. On the old stuff he mostly flubbed the lyrics ("Heaven and Hell" was almost unintelligible) and Bevan was clearly uncomfortable with music this heavy. However, they did close the gigs with an energetic rendition of "Smoke On The Water" (which apparently incensed Ritchie Blackmore).
This tour will always be associated with the oversized Stonehenge stage props, which of course went on to inspire a big part of the film "This Is Spinal Tap".
After this album and tour, Sabbath truly went on hiatus for several years. Geezer left, Ward was back in hospital, Gillan rejoined Deep Purple and Tony Iommi was more noted for his relationship with Lita Ford than his musical output (rumours were also rife of a reunion of the original lineup after their appearance at Live Aid in 1985).
The album's not perfect, but it is good. Give it a listen with an open mind and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated Sabbath Classic, January 5, 2006
With "Heaven and Hell" (1980) and its follow-up "Mob Rules," (1981) the mighty Black Sabbath accomplished the impossible by proving that there was life after Ozzy. After going into commercial and critical decline in the late 70s, vocalist Ronnie James Dio brought the band back to its former glory, revitalizing the band and adding a new chapter to the legendary band's career. But alas, the newly energized second incarnation was not meant to last. In '82 Dio and Sabbath drummer Vinnie Appice (who played on "Mob Rules") left the band after a dispute on the mixing and mastering of "Live Evil" (1982). After the split Ronnie James Dio and Appice formed the highly successful Dio, while founding Sabbath members' Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Bulter(bass) were left with the task of rebuilding Sabbath once again.
To fill the shoes of Ozzy and Dio, vocalist Ian Gillian made perfect sense and seemed like an ideal match. With such albums as "Fireball" (1970) and "Machine Head" (1972) under his belt, the (then) former Deep Purple frontman certainly had the background and credentials to front Sabbath. Although Sabbath and Deep Purple were rivals in their coinciding heyday, their similarities outnumbered their differences as they were both responsible for some of the decade's best rock. With Gillian at the helm and original drummer Bill Ward back behind the kit, Sabbath released their eleventh studio album, the aptly titled "Born Again" in the summer of '83.
The third incarnation of Sabbath is not a radical departure from the sound of the Ozzy or Dio years. With Tony Iommi's heavy, gloomy riffs and bluesy solos over Ward and Butler's solid rhythm section, "Born Again" certainly sounds like a Black Sabbath album. Gillian, however, definitely adds his signature to the band. While Ozzy and Dio certainly have different styles, both singers have a straight-forward delivery and their lyrics deal with similar themes; God, the occult, afterlife, etc. Gillian's satanic screams and more down-to-earth lyrics concerning hangovers ("trashed") and misogyny ("Digital Bitch") offered a change of pace to the band. Guest Keyboardist Geoff Nicolas peppers the album with synthesizers, giving an 80s touch to the sound of the album. While Nicolas had been present since "Heaven and Hell," with "Born Again," his presence is more apparent.
"Born Again," opens strong with the thundering "Trashed," which sounds like a cross between "Neon Knights" and "Paranoid." The bizarre, eerie instrumental "Stonehenge," acts as a buffer to the sinister, off-beat, mid-tempo "Disturbing the Priest." Butler's pounding bass over Nicolas dark synthesizers works well here. With its obvious religious theme, "Disturbing the Priest" is probably the most typical Sabbath-like song on the album. "The Dark," another off-beat eerie instrumental acts as the perfect lead-in to the highly, highly underrated Sabbath classic "Zero the Hero," which has the same riff as Guns N' Roses "Paradise City." The almost-anthem-like "Digital Bitch" is no less catchy, with its infectious hook and sing-along-chorus. The album slows down considerably for the epic title track "Born Again," which is dark and harrowing and shows Tony Iommi at his bluesy best. "Hot Line" sounds a bit like Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," and while not the album's strongest cut, is still pretty good. The melodic, hard-rocking "Keep it Warm" is effective and makes for a good closer.
While "Born Again" fared better than Sabbath's later-day Ozzy albums, it still underperformed, failing to go gold as its immediate predecessor "Mob Rules" had. The Gillian line-up of Sabbath proved to be short-lived as the band broke-up shortly thereafter, reforming a few years later with an entirely different lineup, featuring Deep Purple's Glen Hughes and later Tony Martin. After his tenure with Sabbath, Gillian would once again front Deep Purple, starting with their "Perfect Strangers" (1984) reunion album.
Upon its release, one of the major criticisms of the album was its mix. Ian Gillian himself says that he "puked" when he first heard the album. The 1996 edition, however, is a big improvement over the original release, and the sound has been cleared up considerably. And while most critics have panned "Born Again" since its release, over time it has attained a cult following. This is one album that I feel most critics are really wrong on. The album is well paced, has killer hooks and groves, melody, Gillian's unique brand of humor, and, well, just plain rocks. "Born Again," in this fan's opinion ranks among both Sabbath and Gillian's finest work. If you are a fan of Sabbath, Deep Purple/Gillian or old-school rock in general, due yourself a favor and give "Born Again" a listen.
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