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November 29, 2006
Alan "Fluff" Freeman Dies
 In all my time running this site, I've gotten a lot of fan mail - some of it from Sab fans who have been around since the beginning. If you're one of those fans, then you might find interest in this story. As you may have read, long time popular British Radio DJ Alan Freeman has just died. The BBC has a large story and several relevant links online - go check it out.
If you're asking yourself why I'm covering this here, it's because of the man's nickname. He's generally known as Alan "Fluff" Freeman. Sab fans will recognize the name as a song from the 1973 album "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". I received an email from Geezer Butler this morning saying that this is indeed the connection. Here's what Geezer had to say:
Alan Freeman, the dj who played Paranoid to death until it was a hit, just died, [the track "Fluff" on SBS] was dedicated to him, as his nickname was Fluff.
Those of you who grew up with Freeman and are Sab fans will want to take a minute to remember Fluff, I'm sure. If you have Sabbath Bloody Sabbath handy, get it out, and give the song Fluff a listen. I'm sure Fluff would like that.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 9:56 AM
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November 25, 2006
Roundup of Heaven & Hell stuff
In the last 24 hours, there was a major piece of "news" released by Eddie Trunk. Eddie is a pretty respected rock journalist. He's seen on VH1 Classic, has his own radio show, website, etc, etc, etc. What's cool is that he appears to have access to info that most of us do not, and isn't a "just talk about Paranoid" type of Black Sabbath fan. :)
Anyway, here's a summary of what he talked about on his radio show (thanks to Petoria000 for the summary):
- Its not being called Black Sabbath because it was Tony's decision. He said that because Sabbath was recently entered into the Hall Of Fame, Tony didn't want to confuse anyone whos not familiar with Dio-Sabbath, and go touring with this Ozzy-less lineup. He also said it wouldn't be right to the name Black Sabbath (I'm kinda paraphrasing that last sentence, but it was something like that). The name change has nothing to do with Ozzy or pressure from Sharon Osbourne.
- Tony Iommi owns the name Black Sabbath. No one else has a share in the name. Its him and him alone.
- Black Sabbath: The Dio Years will NOT be a box set. It will be a single disc release containing tracks from Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules, and Dehumanizer. Live Evil was not mentioned.
- Tony, Geezer, and Dio have written three new songs. One is a fast song, one is midtempo, and one is slow. They will be picking two for the release.
- The drummer for this band is still "unknown". Bill was not present at this interview, and was not mentioned during it either. Eddie Trunk speculated it may be Vinny Appice, but nothing is known for sure.
- Tony Iommi wants to start playing LONGER SETS. He told Eddie Trunk he is excited to start touring with this band, and is eager to play shows around two hours long.
- Heaven And Hell will be touring the UK, USA, and Canada. No other countries were mentioned.
- The Dio Years album will be released in February 2007. Heaven And Hell will begin touring soon after.
I want to address this stuff, as I've been innundated by emails since it was first posted (on Eddie's blog and at Blabbermouth).
Of the points above, #1 is mostly old news, although the slant about "confusion" is an odd one. If you REALLY wanted to avoid confusion, then don't use the Black Sabbath name on the album, either.
#2, #4, #5, #6 are all old news. Nothing new there.
#3 is a big one. I had heard rumours that the "box set" was being reduced to two discs (on the order of 2002's "Symptom of the Universe" set. The fact that it's been further reduced to just ONE disc is new. And somewhat troubling. I was under the impression we were getting "Black Box II". Now granted, ANYTHING can change between now and release, but this has been referred to as a "box set" for awhile now. I would hope it remains that way, although the reasons given could be justified, if not agreed with.
#7 is news; not a huge surprise though. I think everyone sort of expected that.
#8 is news, although still a rumour. I haven't heard anything about a release date yet.
Now having said all that, let's examine a few things:
FACT: Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, & Ronnie James Dio have had this press release on their respective websites for a few weeks now.
The highly anticipated reunion of Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward appears to be shaping up and taking a new form. After various promoters have approached their respective management; the guys have started taking all of this very seriously, as they have wanted to reunite for some time now. It looks as if the new shape may be that of Heaven and Hell - that's the moniker that the band is likely to use on their new venture. If all goes well, Heaven and Hell should be hitting the road in early 2007.
SPECULATION: Now that press release is the same on all their sites, so it's official. It does mention Bill Ward. Now Bill Ward (whom in the matter of full disclosure I work for and do his site) has not put that announcement on his site. Does that mean he's not in? Don't know - I have asked for clarification from Bill and his people on that, and have not received it. Ronnie, Bill, & Geezer all mention Bill as being in, yet Bill hasn't said so.
RUMOUR: In the last week or so there's been rumours all over the place that Vinny Appice is doing the Heaven & Hell tour, and is laying down the "new" tracks.
FACT: Yet, we can't find any sort of official confirmation of Vinny's participation or Bill's non participation on any of their respective websites, including Vinny's.
SPECULATION: Given there's been no formal announcement of Vinny's participation at this point, and the last official announcement on the matter says Bill was participating, we have to accept THAT as fact until something else is announced. Can it still shake down that way? Of course, but that's not the official word at this time as told to me.
So that leaves us with this:
FACT: There will be some sort of release, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years", which will likely contain two newly recorded tracks written by Tony & Ronnie. The band on these was said to be the Heaven & Hell lineup (although no word on keyboards).
RUMOUR: Bill Ward is out - Vinny Appice is in. We shall see.
RUMOUR: The "box set" has been reduced to a single disc to be released in Feb 2007.
Believe me - I'd love to come to you and say what is really happening. I do not know. Eddie Trunk's story seems fairly believable, and certain parts of it seem good. Some do not. At this point, we have to go with facts, and a lot of the stories surrounding Black Sabbath, "Heaven & Hell", and the new recordings this past week or so have been very talked about rumour, but at this point, that's all they are. Rumour.
When I can get my hands on some official news, believe me, I'll bring it to you.
PERSONAL SPECULATION: If the set does get reduced to a single disc, I hope we eventually DO get a "Black Box II", and that this single disc is a precursor to Black Box II like the "Symptom" set from 2002 was to "Black Box". These albums should get the same kind of sonic upgrade that the original albums did. Rumour was that record company pressure is forcing this to a single disc. Do these people forget how well Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules sold in the early 80's? There's a shitload of Sab fans out there who have been clamoring for a sonic upgrade to these albums, and if we lose that upgrade due to record company pressure, well, then "middle finger" from me.
Do the Dio years justice, and release a proper box set with all the albums upgraded, the Live Evil video included, as well as including all the oddball tracks from this era that are floating around.
On the plus side, a two hour show by the H&H/MR era of Black Sabbath most definitely is something to look forward to! :)
Just don't offer to open for Ozzy again, OK?
Joe Siegler
black-sabbath.com
P.S. Sorry for the ramble here, I just get worked up when I see rumours accepted as fact without any sort of official announcement.
Geezer, Ronnie, & Tony with Eddie Trunk - Nov 2006
Posted by Joe Siegler at 3:56 PM
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November 15, 2006
Some potentially seriously cool news. Oh yeah, and another re-re-re-re-release?
This story has been floating around a bit, and I didn't want to say anything until I checked into it myself. Here's what's been going around:
According to BW&BK sources, Sanctuary UK are putting together a full reissue program on BLACK SABBATH next year starting in March. The first three albums (1970's Black Sabbath, 1970's Paranoid and 1971's Master Of Reality) will be released with bonus tracks.
Now these things have been released many times already on CD. The original Warner prints in the US, the mid 80's NEMS releases (with live tracks from the Live at Last album), the 1996 Castle Remasters, and the finally (in my opinion), the best version, the ones in 2004's Black Box. So it was with some skepticism that I read that we'd get YET ANOTHER release. I run the Sabs' big fan site here. I've bought these several times myself, and there's nothing left to really, is there? Do we need YET ANOTHER release of these albums?
Now the only thing that's really left are some of the oddball demo and "unreleased" recordings from around 1970 or so. I'm talking about the tracks "When I Came Down", "The Rebel", "A Song for Jim", and things like that. Now as far as I can tell, these were done for then manager Jim Simpson, and weren't really intended for release on an album. But they were recorded. My point in mentioning this stuff is because these are about he only oddball/unreleased tracks from back then. Sure, there's the studio alternate takes kind of thing, but in terms of "songs that haven't been heard before", I'm not aware of much else. For years and years, the Sabs have made off comments like "We don't have copies anymore", or "They're crap" or something like that. The impression I've gotten is that they're not interested in releasing these old things.
So I decided to write to Tony Iommi's people myself to see what the deal is with this "Sanctuary UK re-release of the first three albums". This is what they told me back...
We can confirm that the whole Sabbath catalogue is under review right now from Ozzy through to Tony Martin and vaults are being scoured for any extra material.
Now THAT is very promising (and seriously long overdue) news. Ozzy THROUGH Tony Martin. Not just the Ozzy era - huzzah! I know there's a lot of oddball and unreleased stuff from the non Ozzy eras, so I'll be VERY interested to see what they come up with.
Now let me say this before you get too excited. It took quite awhile from the first announcement of Black Box till it's release. It's taken awhile since we first heard of the "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" Box set (aka Black Box 2 - my name). It still isn't out. So I wouldn't hold your breath expecting it will be out "soon". But this is promising news, because historically, the impression I've gotten is that Tony was never fond of this kind of stuff.
/me crosses his fingers for really odd stuff turning up.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 5:29 PM
Vinny Appice Interview
Here's a link you might want to check out. It's a 20 minute video interview (done on Sep 22nd) with Vinny Appice where he talks about a ton of musicians he's worked with, and tells several stories. Some of the names he hits on are John Lennon, Elton John, Ronnie Dio, Black Sabbath, Rick Derringer, Carmine Appice, Ozzy, how to pronounce his last name, and whole bunch of Sabbath related stuff.
This interview is done by Denise Ames of The Rustam Report. You can visit the Rustam Report website here.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 2:16 PM
Albums that Should have Changed the World
This is a bit down the road, but I thought I'd run this, especially as I haven't updated in awhile. The two chapters spoken about are no longer on his site, as the three week period for them has expired. But I do want to make people aware of the book which is called "Albums that (Should've) Changed the World."
Press Release:
Exclusive interviews with both Bill Ward and Eric Singer are now available online at www.myspace.com/gaustenbooks. Music writer Joel Gausten conducted the interviews as part of his upcoming book, titled "Albums that (Should've) Changed the World." The book includes on extensive chapter on Bill Ward's 1990 solo album, Ward One: Along the Way.
"The story behind the creation of Ward One: Along the Way is perhaps one of most striking narratives in music history," says Gausten. "Ward, who escaped his humble beginnings in Birmingham, England to achieve global fame in the 1970s as the original drummer in Black Sabbath, found himself entering the 1980s in a haze of mental illness, drug abuse and financial devastation. Upon leaving Black Sabbath following the firing of singer (and best friend) Ozzy Osbourne, Ward found himself addicted and panhandling. Following a series of suicide attempts, Ward committed himself to getting sober. Over the course of five years, he overcame his tremendous personal obstacles while assembling an extraordinary cast of musicians (including Eric Singer, Ozzy and Bob Daisley) for his first solo album. Sadly, Ward may never be seen (or heard) as anything more than the drummer in Black Sabbath, and the music world at large has yet to embrace all that the man has to offer."
Additionally, www.myspace.com/gaustenbooks currently offers an exclusive interview with former BLACK SABBATH/current KISS drummer Eric Singer regarding his years in Black Sabbath.
Some of the topics Singer discusses in the online interview include former Black Sabbath vocalist Ray Gillen, the creation of what eventually became 1987's Seventh Star and Singer's approach to interpreting early Black Sabbath material. The interview also provides Singer's take on rumored one-time Sabbath singer, Jeff Fenholt.
"When I sent out a request to Eric's camp regarding the Bill Ward book chapter, Eric very quickly and enthusiastically responded," says Gausten. " In addition to covering Eric's work on Ward One: Along The Way, our conversation inevitably led to Eric's years in Black Sabbath. Since Eric's words offer insight into a unique time in Sabbath's evolution, I decided to isolate the band-related portion of our talk and post on my site as a stand-alone interview."
The upcoming book also features exclusive interviews with past/present members of Aerosmith, Prong, Danzig, Thin Lizzy, Samhain, Misfits, Killing Joke, Plasmatics, Ramones and many others.
Joel Gausten is the former managing editor of LINER NOTES Magazine. A longtime musician, he has worked with a number of artists including Pigface and Electric Frankenstein. "Albums that (Should've) Changed the World" is slated for an August 2007 release.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 11:54 AM
Black Sabbath Resurrection
What the heck is this? Does anyone know? I've been getting emails off and on for awhile now asking me what this is, and to be honest, I have no idea. I even went so far as to email Tony Iommi's people and ask them. Here's what I said:
http://www.blacksabbathresurrection.com/
I have to admit, I still don't know what the heck this is even after looking around the site! I'm way confused. Or maybe I need some sleep.
Anyone know exactly what the heck this thing is?
UPDATE: I got a few emails back about this. One linked me here, and the other one had some text that will be in the extended section of this entry. Either way, it seems like a clothing line based around Black Sabbath. But since Tony Iommi's people didn't seem to know anything about it, I still wonder about it.
PRESS RELEASE ABOUT RESURRECTION:
BLACK SABBATH Resurrected! - Nov. 14, 2006
The true history, art and commerce of the legendary heavy metal band BLACK SABBATH will finally be disclosed at the premiere of "Black Sabbath Resurrection", a dark post-Apocalyptic world sparked by the music of the legendary band.
Opening Friday, November 17, 2006 at 181 N. Martel, Los Angeles, "Black Sabbath Resurrection" is a highly unique collaboration of music, storytelling, and fashion inspired by a singular event in the history of BLACK SABBATH.
The opening night reception promises to bring together a mix of VIPs and celebrities and invited guests. Beginning Monday, November 19, the "Black Sabbath Resurrection" showcase will be open to the public from Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This is the true story..... On January 24, 1972 — BLACK SABBATH were performing in their hometown, at the Birmingham Town Hall venue — unknowingly on the brink of an earth-scorching fracture in space-time. At 0 hours, 29 minutes, 43 seconds into the show, as they ripped into the opening bars of "Iron Man", it happened... And with it, all recorded history of that night was cut off…
"Black Sabbath Resurrection" is a mind-blowing chronicle of that event and the mystery that has continued to surround it, birthed from the music of BLACK SABBATH.
That story will finally be told through video montage on display at 181 Martel. Through early 2007 181 Martell will be transformed into "Black Sabbath Resurrection" surrounded by the music of BLACK SABBATH and renowned graffiti artist Axis. Simultaneously, a band retrospective at the connected Naked Gallery/Boutique will showcase vintage posters and other archival band items (with limited run reproductions of photographs available for purchase).
The BSR exhibit will also offer other an eclectic mix of limited edition for-sale items including the BSR jewelry collection (Instruments of Death), athletic shoes (Chuck Taylors from Converse), high-tech sunglasses (Dita) and denim jeans (Anachronorm), plus the showcasing of a unique leather jacket collection designed by Maya Yogev. In addition, the locale's Lone Ones shop will exhibit its limited edition for-sale high-end "Black Sabbath Resurrection" jewelry line. Most of the items are seen in or have been inspired by the "Black Sabbath Resurrection" story.
"BLACK SABBATH is the defining force and catalyst for heavy metal. Through BSR the band's stamp now encompasss the world of fashion, art and media," says Dell Furano, CEO of Signatures Network.
"Black Sabbath Resurrection" was created by BLACK SABBATH in collaboration with Romanberg Heritage Collections (Darren Romanelli and John Stalberg) in partnership with Signatures Network. "We wanted to pay tribute to one of the most iconic rock bands of all time," says Romanelli, "and also create products that capture the authenticity and impact of the band that will attract both a new generation and long-time fans."
Signatures Network has enjoyed a decades-long relationship with the BLACK SABBATH. For "Black Sabbath Resurrection", Signatures and Romanberg worked closely with BLACK SABBATH in gathering stories, relics, and ideas for the project.
Posted by Joe Siegler at 10:38 AM
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