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April 28, 2004
Tony Iommi Interview
Tony goes mainstream, eh? Being interviewed by CNN. :) Yesterday after I posted my update, several folks sent me a link to an interview with Tony Iommi on CNN. Here's a few highlights:
Q: I guess for most people, what defines the early Black Sabbath sound is your guitar and Ozzy Osbourne's vocals. Over 30 years, you have some ups and downs. How are things now ... do you and Ozzy still speak?
IOMMI: Oh yes. We get on fine. But we've had our ups and downs. Actually, we had them at school -- 'cause he went to the same school as me. We went to Birchfield Road School and he was a year younger than me. And I couldn't stand him. He used to mix with these other kids and he was a real pain ... Every time you saw him you used to give him clip 'round the ear. It was ironic how we ended up in the same band.
Q: Henry Rollins has said he thinks that the environment in Birmingham [England] explains Black Sabbath, the blue-collar feel that informed the music. Do you think that's true, or was it just that the sound reflected your own personalities?
IOMMI: I think it's quite right. It's a big part of where we come from. ... It was either being in a gang or being in a band. I was rough. To be in a band ... I think a lot of the aggression came out in that ... instead of going out and beating the other gang up, you know.
Check out the full interview over at the CNN website here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:03 PM
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April 27, 2004
Tony Iommi Update
This report out today at Blabbermouth details some goings on with Tony Iommi, his first solo album, his new one, and... aw, I'll just shut up now - you read it. :)
BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi is currently working on the material for a new solo album, tentatively due sometime in 2005. Unlike his last solo offering, 2000's "Iommi", which boasted a different singer on each of the album's 10 cuts, the forthcoming effort will feature only one vocalist on the entire CD. Asked in a pre-taped phone interview on the "Friday Night Rocks" show on New York's Q104.3 Friday night (April 23) if he knows who the singer on his upcoming solo album will be, Iommi said, "I do… almost. (laughs) I can't say yet, because I haven't finalized it. But I'm pretty sure now. Yeah, it's difficult… I mean, I loved having 10 singers on the last album, but the problem is, if you wanna go out on the road with it, it makes such a problem, because to get everybody in one place at one time is very, very hard. We did have things planned for the last album, but of course, the SABBATH tour came up, so I had to sort of put aside what I'd got planned and we'd done the SABBATH tour, which was great. But unfortunately, some of the solo stuff went by the wayside. But it would have been nice to have done a few shows with that — with all the people [that were involved in making the album]."
With regards to whether there are any plans for BLACK SABBATH to release a new studio album or do some more touring together, Iommi said, "We did write some new material [for a possible new studio album a few years ago] and then it came to a stop. And I think it was at this point when [Ozzy started] doing all the MTV stuff and what-not, so it's very hard to say what's gonna happen with that or what we're gonna do. We never sort of make too many plans these days 'cause they usually go pear-shaped. But at the moment, for me, I'm just carrying on doing my solo stuff when I get back to England."
If I find out anything on my own about this situation, I'll update, of course. Thanks to Blabbermouth.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:05 PM
Black Box is out!
Black Box is out, folks, go get it! As was said before, it's a US/Canada only release. If you want it outside these areas, you're going to have to import it. Rhino tells me there are no plans for it to be sold elsewhere.
You can get more info on Black Box here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 6:05 PM
Tony Martin's Whole Lotta Metal
 Tony Martin is doing a stage tour of the UK - the project is called "Whole Lotta Metal". Here's some info on it from a press release:
For the first time ever you can hear all of the songs that shaped the way rock music has evolved today. From the raw power and unforgettable riffs of LED ZEPPELIN to the huge anthems of WHITESNAKE and BON JOVI, Whole Lotta Metal will have you headbangin’ in the aisles from start to finish. Featuring some of the UK's finest musicians, three Unbelievable singers and a breathtaking sound and light show, this is the most powerful rock show since the hey day of MONSTERS OF ROCK in the 80's and early 90's. In this modern era of processed, manufactured pop, WHOLE LOTTA METAL will remind you what it was really like to experience a live rock concert.
Tony isn't the only singer, the other two are Carl Sentance & Matt Moreton. The other folks in the band are Andy Shortland (Guitar), Rich Lymn (Bass), Simon Wright (Keyboards - this isn't the Dio drummer, it's another chap), Karl Smalley (Drums), Dave Bishop (Guitar/Vocals). If you'd like to read more about the folks in the band, download this zip file. It contains a Microsoft Word document which has biography information on all these guys (this is the exact file sent to me by Tony Martin). It also contains tour dates, and some other information about the tour. I'm not over on that side of the pond; if I was, I'd check it out.
You can get more information on this tour from the official site at http://www.wholelottametal.com/.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:05 PM
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April 26, 2004
More on Black Box
The response to my review of the Black Box package on Friday has been outstanding. My web traffic has shot up almost 100% over the weekend (as if it wasn't high enough already). I want to thank all who sent in feedback on it. I do have a few other things to point out.
1) There is a single out there from the Black Box package. It's got Paranoid & Iron Man on it. It's from the recordings for the Black Box set, so if you want to pick up a copy of this to give the new recordings a listen, it's probably not a bad idea, as I'm told it's going for $2.99 on CD. I have a couple of pictures of it below if you want to take a look and see what it looks like. I personally have not seen one with my own eyes in the stores; I had someone send me the one I have. I'm told it's in Best Buy and WalMart stores here in the US, but I've not personally seen it. Other than that I have no specific information.
2) If you are planning buying this, please consider ordering it through Amazon.com via this link. The reason is that I get a small cut of the sale through Amazon.com, and any small bit helps to keep the site going. That's not necessary, of course, but it would be helpful. ;)
Once it hits the streets tomorrow, I'd be curious to see what other folks who buy it think of the remastering work. If you're not already on it, sign up for my newsletter, and drop the newsletter an email with your review of Black Box. Thanks.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:13 PM
Main Page Poll
Over the weekend, I noticed that the poll on the main page got stuck. You couldn't vote in it. The data files on the server got locked, and in "unsticking" them, I had to end the poll. I've put up a new one, so go give it a vote. The results of the stuck poll as they were were put in the poll archives page. In the future, if you notice the poll stuck like that again where you can't vote, drop me an email and let me know about it. Thanks.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 7:13 PM
Bill Ward Interview
Today I was wading through the couple of hundred emails I have stacked up, and someone had sent me a link to a totally badass interview with Bill Ward. I can't remember if I posted this link before, so if I did, excuse me for that. Either way, it's an awesome interview, and you should check it out here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 5:13 PM
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April 23, 2004
Black Box Review
 Got a surprise delivery today handed to me at work from Airborne Express. It's my copy of the Black Box set. The final release version. Many moons ago I got copies of the CD's from someone at Rhino so I could check out the new recordings, but now I have the final release set which you'll be able to buy in a store come next week.
This Tuesday brings the release of the Black Sabbath box set "Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978". What is it? It's a 9 disc collection (8 audio CD's, one DVD) comprising all the of the songs the original Black Sabbath released from 1970-1978, which is considered by a lot of music fans to be some of the most dominating and creative albums ever released by anyone ever.
I know a lot of people are going "What? Another Box set?" Well, let's examine that.
A little background. In the United States Black Sabbath's record label was Warner Brothers from 1970-1987. When CD's started showing up in the 80's as a commercial product, Sabbath's Warner Brothers albums were put out on CD (well, most of them - but that's the non Ozzy stuff, a story for another time). As the format was new, it was great! Folks loved them. I loved them. There were also some CD releases by Castle Communications in Europe, with some extra live tracks on them (which were taken from the Live at Last unofficial album). In 1996, Castle Communications released their own remasters. These releases had a few minor problems (a 1 second sound dropout in the song Fairies Wear Boots is the most notable). These remasters were "remastered" from an unknown source, and while they were sonically better than what was out before, I always felt that a definitive version was to come, from the Warner originals. In 2002 we got a glimpse of that with the 2CD set "Symptom of the Universe". That was a remaster from the Warner original source. And it never sounded better. It was tantalizing thinking what a full set of Black Sabbath albums would sound like completely remastered like they deserved to be.
What's this have to do with previously released box sets like "The Ozzy Years" or "The Ten Commandments" or any other number of releases? Well, none of them were "Official Band sponsored items". Black Box is the first box set released under the guidance of the band itself, and wasn't something put together by a record label person. That's one of the beefs I have with all those "other" releases - it confuses the average fan into thinking "Sabbath is just out for the cash, with all these releases", when Sabbath themselves didn't have anything to do with the vast majority of these things.
MAKE NO MISTAKE. Black Box is by far the most definitive version of the original eight albums Black Sabbath has released. PERIOD.
The albums themselves have an unbelievable sound quality never heard in these recordings before. It's not like we have new songs here - these are after all the same songs released before. But they've never been heard like this before. I cannot stress how great these discs sound. I've been listening to Black Sabbath since 1981. I know these songs extremely well - EXTREMELY well. So much so that the slightest change is noticeable. Well, the sound range here is far more powerful than I've ever heard it before. Ever put in an old CD in your player, and it sounds flat, and a newer one you put in has a really rich, vibrant range? That's the kind of thing I'm talking about here. In addition to the songs just sounding more powerful and cleaner, individual instruments are more noticeable here. There's tons of places where I've heard drum fills by Bill Ward that I've never heard before. It's very cool finding new bits in songs you've heard God knows how many times over the years. Most of the more noticeable stuff for me is Bill, although there's new things noticeable on the other instruments, too.
I could go into a specific list of new items here, but there's just too many of them. Just understand that on Black Box, I've heard things in these songs I've never noticed before. Coupled with the fact that it's got a sonic power that I can't recall the songs having before make this by far the version to get - even if you already own these albums.
That brings me to another point. The notion that Black Sabbath is just "out for money" by releasing this set without a ton of extras. In running my Black Sabbath site at www.black-sabbath.com I see a lot of feedback on various things, and ever since Black Box was originally announced ages ago, the #1 thing I think I've heard is something along the lines of "Where are the rarities? Where are The Rebel, and Song for Jim? What kind of cheap ass set is this without the extras?" No, they're not here. In fact, the only "oddity" songs on this set are "Evil Woman" from the first album, and "Blow on a Jug" from Sabotage. In fact Blow on a Jug isn't listed anywhere - it's just tacked on the back end of the Writ. Which it's always been - BOAJ has never been it's own listed track ever (it wasn't on all releases of that album). Anyway, if you're looking to buy this based on the recent trend of other box sets to include rare songs and things like that, you WILL be disappointed. But if you're interested in how the songs SOUND, then my god, this is for you.
And that's just the music. There's other stuff here, too. The ninth disc is a DVD which contains what's known as the "Beat Club footage", which comprises four songs. The four songs are "Iron Man", "Paranoid, "Black Sabbath", and the rather loose cover of "Blue Suede Shoes". This footage (well, not Blue Suede Shows) is also used on MTV as "videos" and the like, most of this stuff won't be new to most people, but it's nice to have it here. It does appear to be a bit cleaner than the VHS release of this stuff that happened some time ago. Blue Suede Shoes in particular looks a lot better, since it's not subject to the "blue screen visual effect blurs" the other three songs have. Might have been nice to have a formal DVD video release of the Paris 1970 bootleg. Now *THAT* would have been badass. ;)
The packaging itself is rather Black. I'm reminded of the bit from Spinal Tap when they were going "How much more black can it be?" :) I say that because the box itself is Black, and the writing on the box is also black, so it's not terribly visible when viewed straight on. When you first take it out of the shrink wrap plastic, there's a piece of paper on there so folks can see what's on it without opening it up. That paper is not connected to anything, and isn't part of the actual box. Inside the box are two smaller boxes, each containing four CD's. Each of those four CD's are the 8 individual Sabbath studio albums with Ozzy. Each is in it's own digipak style packaging - it's not jewel case packaging. On the front and back sides of the individual CD cases are the original front and back cover art that appeared on the albums as they were released ages ago. Inside the digpaks are art that I believe appeared on the original print vinyl sleeves as released originally. So much so that albums that had lyrics on their original vinyl sleeves are reproduced here, too (much to small to read without hurting your eyes). I haven't seen a vinyl print of Sabotage in ages, and it was funny to see the guys backsides again like that. :) The CD's themselves have the same kind of "black on black" print that the exterior of the box has. The logos on the individual CD's match the lettering used on the original artwork for the albums, a nice touch - it's not standard lettering across all of them. Overall, nice packaging of the albums - no complaints here.
Anyway, the biggest "new" item would be the booklet. It's a 77 page hardcover booklet, which is covered in black velvet. Let me say this. When you pick up, don't have your hands dirty. It looks like it'll pick up dirt pretty easily. It's got a very nice feeling in your hands. It's got no writing or lettering on the outside, save for that Sabbath flying angel logo we've seen many times before. There's a few portions to the book. First is a piece called "Lords of this World" by Chris Welch. The second is "A Hard Road" by Brian Ives. Finally there's a "Sabbath Timeline" which has dates for various events, releases, and whatnot in the history of the band. There's also lyrics for all eight albums. Finally, some "official" lyrics. This should put to rest some long standing debates over some Sab lyrics. The booklet has some nice stories that I haven't heard before, as well as some photos I've seen before, and a lot I haven't. There's much goodness in here. Oh, BTW, the bonus DVD is in a sleeve attached to the inside back cover of the booklet. It was hard to get out without putting my fingers on the disc itself, which is something I try never to do. That's my only complaint - the DVD is hard to get out of the sleeve easily.
That's about it for this set. I have to say, even if you own all these albums (and who doesn't), it's worth picking up. As I said before, these albums have never sounded better, both from a sonic clarity standpoint, to hearing things in the songs I've never heard before - you cannot go wrong here. This is a wonderful package, both from the looks to the sounds, to the booklet. Get it. Your ears will thank you.
I just hope we don't have to wait for "Black Box Part 2: The Non Ozzy Years". :)
You can view some pictures of the packaging over at my Black Box page. You can also read Blabbermouth's review of Black Box here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:17 PM
Rudy Sarzo Joins Dio
The incestuous relationship between the various "Black Sabbath solo bands" continues with the news that former Ozzy bassist Rudy Sarzo has joined Dio. Here's a blurb from the official Dio site..
"We're proud to welcome new bassist Rudy Sarzo to the Dio family. Rudy is known for his work in Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, and most recently toured with Yngwie Malmsteen. Rudy joins the band in time for Dio's European tour, which begins July 16th in Moscow."
I always liked Rudy, although I would have wished he was on the album. That would make another band that Rudy joins but isn't on the album (Ozzy with Diary of a Madman, and Whitesnake's ST 87 album). I'll catch Dio again when he tours the states - I've seen Dio the band probably more times than any other artist live. It's always a great show.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 7:17 PM
Sacred Heart DVD Winners
 Today I have the results of the recent Dio DVD giveaway. Here goes with the questions and the answers.
1) Which of these was the main stage prop on Dio's Sacred Heart Tour?
a) Two suit of armor wearing warriors
b) Special drum riser
c) A laser eyed, smoke belching dragon
d) 6 inch high Stonehenge prop
The answer is C. The name of the dragon was "Murray", although I wasn't looking for that as my answer. In fact, I had forgotten that until someone sent it in as part of their submission.
2) What was the first Dio song released with Craig Goldie on guitar?
The answer is "Time to Burn", which appeared on 1986's Intermission EP. It was a studio track, and the rest of the songs on there were live with Vivian Campbell on guitar from shows recorded from the tour after the release of the Sacred Heart album.
3) How many Dio albums/EPs has Craig Goldie been on as a guitarist?
The answer is 3. I didn't ask for names, but they are Intermission, Dream Evil, & Magica. He's also going to be on the next one to be released later this year (no name yet), nor do I count the two Greatest hits albums Diamonds, & The Very Beast Of.
4) What other "alledged" former Black Sabbath singer has Craig Goldie played with outside of Dio?
That would be Jeff Fenholt.
5) Where was Craig Goldie born?
La Mesa, California.
The five winners of the DVD are:
1. Dave Kuntz (Covington, WA)
2. Carl Koski (DePere, WI)
3. Bill Spies (Thornton, CO)
4. David Martin (Tonawanda, NY)
5. James Paicopolos (Dartmouth, MA)
Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:17 PM
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April 2, 2004
Rockline, Ozzfest 2004, Sabbath
The other night, Rockline held an interview with Tony Iommi & Ozzy Osbourne. A variety of topics was discussed from the forthcoming Black Box, to Ozzfest 2004, to "When I Came Down", and more. I didn't get to hear the interview unfortunately, but Rob Dwyer of sabbathlive.com did. With Rob's permission, I'm going to copy his site's news story on the interview. Thanks Rob.
For those of you who missed last night's ROCKLINE interview with Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne, here's a synopsis of what was said and played! Pardon me for my paraphrasing here, but I’ll at least give you the jist of what was said during the program on Wednesday night.
ROCKLINE is a U.S. based radio program that gives listeners the opportunity to call in with their questions for that evening's guest. Last night was ROCKLINE'S 23rd anniversary show! Ozzy and Tony joined host Bob Coburn in ROCKLINE's new home in Los Angeles.
The big question hanging in the air this week has been whether Black Sabbath will reunite for the upcoming OZZFEST 2004 tour. Bob Coburn did his best to keep bringing this subject up throughout the program. Ozzy and Tony did confirm that they were currently in negotiations for this, but could not elaborate. Ozzy said that he had learned his lesson about saying anything too soon and didn't want to wind up with Sharon's fist in his eye! One caller asked Ozzy the difference between a solo gig and a Sabbath show. The question prompted Bob to ask Ozzy if he'd ever do his solo material with Sabbath, to which he emphatically replied "No!"
There were many plugs for the upcoming release of the BLACK BOX, which is still on target for an April 27th release. Several songs from the new box set were played on the show, including "Paranoid", "Sweet Leaf", "N.I.B." and "Sabbra Cadabra". Samples from "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)", "Tomorrow's Dream" and "Solitude" were used for transitions. Bob Coburn praised the design of the new box set, commenting that it is fitting for a band of their stature. Ozzy and Tony also seemed quite pleased with how the BLACK BOX turned out and acknowledged that the tracks had in deed been re-mastered.
The bonus DVD included in the BLACK BOX was mentioned a couple of times, once by a caller. Iommi confirmed that all of the tracks are from THE BEAT CLUB, but noted that "Blue Suede Shoes" had been taped during a "camera check and sound check". Sabbath had not intended to perform that song for the program. Iommi added that the shows producers may have actually thought that "Blue Suede Shoes" was a Sabbath number! Tony also noted: "Everyone assumed we used Orange amps after that (show)."
Jack Blades (last week's ROCKLINE guest) left a pre-recorded question for Tony. He asked if Tony was going to have his own reality show (like THE OSBOURNES) called 'Joe From Birmingham' or something of that sort. Tony laughed and said no, because it would be too boring and last for only five minutes. This was followed by a discussion about Ozzy having to constantly live with MTV camera focused on him. Surprisingly, Ozzy said that he actually missed them when they were gone, since the crew had become an extended family of sorts to the Osbournes.
A few 'internet celebrities' also managed to get in a few questions. Joe D'Agostino got to ask Tony and Ozzy about the origin of "When I Came Down", "The Rebel" and "Song For Jim". Joe has been trying to get a straight answer on this one for a while and this time Tony offered a bit more background. Apparently, most of these songs had been recorded to humor their manager (Jim Simpson) who wanted them to play these songs Norman Haines had written, but the band wasn't really keen on them. Ozzy didn't remember much about recording that particular song, but told an earlier caller that there were NO Earth demos. Technically, he may be correct, since I've now determined that these demos were recorded AFTER the name change to Black Sabbath (August 1969).
Scott Lifshine tells me that he was able to get in a question about Cal Jam, but I didn't get to hear this. I was listening via an Internet feed from KSAN-FM and the commercials were often extended much longer, thus joining Rockline already well in progress after a few breaks.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:24 PM
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