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March 27, 2004
Ozzy's Missing Albums
Every once in awhile I get asked what the deal is with Ozzy Osbourne's 1986 album "The Ultimate Sin" is. When Ozzy remastered his albums for the first time in 1995, this album was part of the remastering sessions. However, when the second round came in April of 2002, "The Ultimate Sin" was deleted from Ozzy's product line. If you look at the 2003 Greatest Hits collection "The Essential Ozzy Osbourne", there are no songs from TUS. I've asked a few times the question of Ozzy's office why it was deleted (as were a few others, like Speak/Talk of the Devil & Just Say Ozzy), and I got a polite "no comment".
Given that I can't get an official statement on the matter, we're all left to our own devices to guess. The most popular story is that Ozzy didn't much care for the album (he's said as much in a few interviews), and that's probably why it was deleted. I've heard other rumours that it's a similar kind of royalty issue with band members on the album similar to what caused the Daisley/Kerslake problems on the first two Ozzy albums. If that were true, it would account for the deleting of Just Say Ozzy as well, because of the track Shot in the Dark appearing on both of them. Now keep in mind, these are just rumours I've heard and personal speculation on my part - I do NOT pretend that it's the truth. But to be honest, when no explanation is ever given for something, people are going to be left to make their own opinions. These rumours could be totally wrong, and if they are, I have no problem with that. But if they are wrong, I am left to wonder what the real reason is, then? An official explanation would help clear this issue up. If I've missed something (which is also always possible), someone please let me know what it is.
Anyway, since early 2002, The Ultimate Sin album has been generally unavailable, due to the fact that it's not made anymore, and unless you find a store with a copy that's been sitting around for a couple of years, you're not going to find it (legally) unless you pick it up at a second hand CD store. Not too long ago I was putzing around the Apple iTunes store, and decided to see what music was up there by Sabbath related bands. Much to my surprise I found that Ozzy's The Ultimate Sin, Just Say Ozzy, & Speak of the Devil were listed there. I inquired to see if the albums were now being produced again, and got told no. I was also told that they were unaware that the albums were on iTunes and that they were going to "look into it".
Well, as of now, they're still there. If you were wanting to obtain these albums, I suggest that you head over to iTunes and buy them. Below are direct links to the albums in the iTunes store. If you have iTunes installed already, just click on them, and iTunes will launch and you'll be taken to that album. If you don't have iTunes, you can download it by clicking on the graphic below.
UPDATE: Ozzy's other live album "Live and Loud" was also part of the "2002 Purge", but that album is not on iTunes.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:26 PM
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March 23, 2004
Tony & Ozzy to be on Rockline
Rockline, the nationally (in the US anyway) syndicated radio programme will feature Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi. They will be on the March 31st edition of the programme. The live show begins at 11:30PM Eastern Time, and you can call in to the show with questions by phoning 800-344-7625 (during the show - NOT NOW).
Further details, and a listing of what radio stations carry Rockline can be gotten at their website: http://www.rocklineradio.com.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:29 PM
Dio Update
A couple of updates about Dio. First is the news that former Dio/Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson is back in Dio replacing long time Dio bassist Jimmy Bain, who left to form his own band; leaving for a "career decision" (whatever that means).
The other news is that a new Dio DVD is out today. It's called "Sacred Heart - The DVD". This is concert footage from Philadelphia back on the Intermission tour in the mid 80's. What's cool about that is that I was at this show, and I'm in the video (although you can't tell that). Anyway, it was one of my favourite live concerts of all time. Visit my DVD page for further details on this DVD you should be picking up. It's good, and it's cheap. Once I get my copy in, I'll have a review of it.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 6:29 PM
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March 10, 2004
Future of Black Sabbath?
Recently I've been swamped and haven't had a chance to update like I would. I have a ton of stuff to get through, and when I get backlogged, I don't generally report on "old" news that happened, but this one is one I think I should. It's a remark Bill Ward made back in early February. In it he talks about the new Sabbath album that was worked on in 2001. Here's what he has to say about it..
BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward recently gave an interview to the U.K.'s Rhythm magazine in which he discussed the group's early years, his musical upbringing and SABBATH's current status. Asked if there are any plans to make another BLACK SABBATH album, Ward said, "That would be nice. I'd like to. We certainly have enough material. At my house here, I have nearly 60 cassettes of new SABBATH songs we've worked on. It's just stuff we churned out. [Guitarist] Tony [Iommi] and [bassist] Geezer [Butler] have the same amount of tapes. Tony comes up with these riffs, and like we always did, I tried some melody ideas, took them back to Tony, he would come back to me with ideas, same with Geezer. We'd be sending things back and forth. We just share ideas and that makes the songs work, like always. I just love it. I love them all and working with them is so easy. You just have to listen to Tony, see where he's going, and he inspires so much. So we'd like to do another SABBATH album, but Ozzy's [been] on tour. Geezer's in the U.K. Tony is working on projects. We just have to just get together in the same room."
I don't have any info on what's going on with a new Sabbath album. I'm convinced one will happen, but I don't know when.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:32 PM
Minor Black Box Update
Was going through an update I got from Rhino about the Black Box cover art, and it has some clarification as to how the box set will actually look. here's what they told me.
This is a printable-version of the cover (i.e. the white graphics). Those graphics and the title of the box, which is super-deluxe, will be printed with a black shiny varnish. The black obviously wouldn't show up in print, so we've provided this version so fans can see the essence of the cover.
For those of you who haven't seen the cover art, visit the Black Box page here on this site and you can see it.
http://www.black-sabbath.com/discog/blackbox.html
Posted by Joe Siegler at 7:32 PM
Bob Daisley Update
Was going through some backlogged information I had, and discovered I had a few Bob Daisley updates to let people know about. First up is that Bob has recorded bass tracks for a new Gary Moore album. Joining Bob & Gary was Darrin Mooney from the band "Primal Scream".
Something else of interest to Sab/Ozzy fans is the other project Bob is involved in. The name of the band is "Living Loud", and the album name they have recorded is entitled "Relentless". Of more interest to folks I'm sure will be who is in the band, and what tracks are on the album. The band is Bob Daisley (bass), Steve Morse (Guitar), Lee Kerslake (Drums), Don Airey (Keyboards), & Jimmy Barnes (Vocals). The track listing is:
* Last Chance.
* I Don't know.
* Every Moment a Lifetime.
* Crazy Train.
* In the Name of God.
* Flying High Again.
* Pushed Me Too Hard.
* Mr. Crowley.
* Tonight.
* Walk Away.
* Over the Mountain.
I think some of those will look familiar to folks. :) More details on the release of these projects as I hear about them.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 5:32 PM
Dio for America
This site appears to be a joke. I asked Tapio Kiehanen about it, and he didn't know anything either, so I'm conlduing it's a joke. Still, you should check it out. It appears to be a site to get Ronnie James Dio elected president of the United States. :) Click on the image here to check it out.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:32 PM
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March 9, 2004
Bill Ward's Dark Half Hour Released!
This morning Bill Ward released a track from his forthcoming solo album "Beyond Aston" over at his website. The track name is "The Dark Half Hour". Here's a message from Bill about the release...
Hello everyone,
It's been an extremely busy beginning of the New Year, and I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy, and rockin' 2004. We've been hard at work in the studio completing mixes for "Beyond Aston," and I wanted to share one of the new songs with you now. The song is titled "The Dark Half Hour," and it's about sexuality and sexual shams in part. This version is a close master mix, and therefore, will be different than the final master that will end up on the album. This version will only be available here as a free download. I hope you like the song.
I would also like to thank everyone who purchased a copy of "Straws" over the past few months to help raise money for several deserving charities. For those of you who have e-mailed to ask if you may still purchase a copy "Straws" -- yes, the CDs are still available via the web site. I greatly appreciate all your generosity and your support of this project.
Hope you enjoy "The Dark Half Hour" and look for more information on "Beyond Aston."
-- Bill Ward
If you want to download the song, you can do so with this link. You can also visit the Beyond Aston page on this site, or you can visit his site at http://www.billward.com.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:37 PM
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