Tony Iommi to release Eighth Star Album

Monday morning here brings some very welcome news, and something that when I found out about it came as a shock, as I was not expecting this to actually happen, tell you the truth. I got word that Tony Iommi intends on releasing what's commonly known as the "Eighth Star bootleg". This material was recorded back in 1996 for what was then to be a Tony Iommi's first official solo album. It was later abandoned for what eventually did become Tony's first official solo album, "Iommi".

The album featured former Deep Purple & Black Sabbath singer Glenn Hughes on vocals and bass, former Sabbath & Ozzy and current Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey, and former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland on drums. I've heard the album, and I have to say it shows that Iommi can play more than just Black Sabbath riffs. There's some great bluesy stuff here, some awesome vocals from Glenn Hughes, and some good heavy stuff, too. Here's some facts about the release of the album.

• Tony will be going in and mixing the album with the intent of releasing it later this year
  
• No details yet as to a precise release date, other than "later this year"
  
• No details as to the final track listing or track order
  
• No details yet as to what form the release will take (Internet download, a CD, etc)
  
• The sound of the existing bootleg will be crap compared to the final, finished album. :)
  
• No details as to what the actual name of the album will be upon release (8th Star is a bootleg name).
  
• The image shown here will not be the final cover art, as it is a bootleg image.
  

The reason for the track listing comment is that there's one song on the existing bootleg that Tony isn't even on at all! This is a wonderful development, and over the years I've been wishing that Tony would release this album, as I've personally thought it was a wonderful album, and for it never to see the light of day is a crime. Properly cleaned up, I'm sure this album will be widely accepted by Iomi & Sabbath fans everywhere!

Once I get more details on the release, bet your ass I'll pass them on. :) If you want to read more about the existing 8th Star bootleg, you can visit Alexander Rack's bootleg database page for it here.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:45 PM

Old Quartz Album to be Re-Released

In another entry in the lost recordings department comes the news that the old first Quartz album in early 2004. Quartz is notable because it was the band that Geoff Nicholls was in before he hooked up with Tonu Iommi & Black Sabbath. The album was produced by Tony Iommi, and also features longtime friend of Tony's Brian May (Queen's guitarist), as well as Ozzy Osbourne. If you want to read more about this release, check out this news story over at Blabbermouth.

Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:45 AM

Winners of Book Trivia Contest

I'm sorry for the delay in posting the winners of my contests back in November. Lots of delays with the holidays and all that. Here's the winning answers:

1. Q: What was the original name of the song "Seventh Star"? (The song, not the album)
A: Star of India

2. Bob Daisley & Eric Singer were the rhythm section on the Eternal Idol album. What other band did these two play in together?
A: The answer I was looking for was The Gary Moore Band. A few people said Bill Ward's first album, but they didn't play together. A few people also suggested "Stream", but I don't know of that connection, so I wasn't looking for it.

3. Q: How many different members of Rainbow also played in Black Sabbath and who are they?
A: Five. Ronnie James Dio, Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley, Bobby Rondinelli, & Don Airey. Some said Craig Cruber, but I'm not counting that, as he doesn't actually play, and was never really a member in the first place.

4. Q: Which Black Sabbath song was co-written by Eddie Van Halen?
A: Evil Eye from the Cross Purposes Album.

5. Q: Black Sabbath was well known for covering Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water on the Born Again tour. They also played another cover song a few times on that tour. What was it? (It was NOT ELO's "Evil Woman" as legend goes).
A: "Apache" by the Shadows.

The names of the three winners are:

* Bill Spies (Thornton, CO USA)
* Dylan Lieberman (Oakleigh, Victoria Australia)
* Travis Gerbig (Belleville, Ontario Canada)

Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:49 PM