Heaven Is The Word
The daughter of Black Sabbath's manager, Don Arden, is sitting in her dad's office while the band is lumbing over it's future. Popular frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, is down on himself and bringing the rest of the guys down with him. Ronnie James Dio had reached the top of the rockslide of success in Rainbow. Just to be told to go down the other side with pop radio and boy falls in love with girl lyrics. Needless to say, he jumped off that hill and forged ahead with the bare beginnings of a solo band. With the help of former Elf bandmates Mickey Soule and Gary Driscoll. That young lady in Arden's office suggested that Tony Iommi take a look at recruiting Ronnie Dio. This young lady is Sharon Arden. (Does her name sound kind of familiar?) Ward recalled that Iommi had brought to him the Rainbow Rising album. Asking what he thought of the singer. Dio was living back in Connecticut with the above-mentioned solo band, planting roots. When a mutual friend hands Tony Iommi the phone number of Dio. Over several days, the two spent hours on the phone talking about a new band. Tony Iommi was up in the air about whether he should leave Sabbath or try to stick it out. Perhaps he and Bill Ward would join the band Dio was forming. After a few weeks, the phone stopped ringing on Ronnie's end. Word got back to him that Tony wanted to try and keep Sabbath afloat as is. So, Ronnie carries on with Gary and Mickey. Moving his solo act to LA for a better writing environment. Iommi was sure that things with Ozzy wasn't going to work out. So Iommi has said that he talked to both Geezer And Bill about working with Ronnie. The two agreed to at least see how it would work. At the famous Rainbow Bar And Grill, Dio is enjoying a few drinks. On the other side of the bar were Sharon and Iommi. Sharon came over and asked if he would like to join them. After talking for a few minutes, he was invited to go back to their Bel Air studio. To have a look at the studio itself. Bill and Geezer were there that night. Quickly, all the instruments were plugged in, and they began playing an early version of Children Of The Sea. Dio was asked by Iommi if he could do anything with it. He said sure and went to the corner for a couple of minutes. So altogether, in less than 30 minutes, Children Of The Sea was crafted. Then the music of Lady Evil was played, which Ronnie also quickly had a melody and lyrics to. Ronnie and Tony sat down again to talk over things. It was put forward that Ozzy wasn't working out and that it was a hard time for the band. Ronnie was upfront about the fact that he didn't come down for a chance to replace Ozzy. And to just be swept away if they continued with Oz. To call him once things were sorted out. The very next day, the phone rings with Tony saying, we fired Ozzy, are you still interested. At this time, Don Arden seriously wanted them to keep Ozzy. Iommi had told him that Ozzy wasn't working out. He wasn't even trying to sing or create. Don came back with the thought, 'Well, could Ronnie write some stuff for Ozzy'.
The Keys To Success
Geoff - middle - top
Geoff Nicholls came to fame through the nearly forgotten band Quartz. The band came 'to the Sabbath' in a number of ways. The first branch came from Albert Chapman, Black Sabbath's tour manager, and Quartz's business manager. Tony Iommi lent his name and skills to producing an album for Quartz. Including a guest vocal from Ozzy. Quartz and Sabbath would increase their friendship while touring together. Quartz didn't last very long, but its music has been a treasure for audio collectors. Also, it needs to be noted that Quartz drummer Malcolm Cope would later be involved with Ozzy's solo band and Black Sabbath's Born Again. As Ozzy leaves Sabbath for the first time in 1977, Geoff begins his direct involvement. He and Tony had become the best of friends, and he was asked to help out during the Dave Walker short version of Sabbath. Later on, he was invited to LA to help with some writing. It was just Ronnie, Tony, and Bill at the time, so Iommi wanted to bring in someone temporary and just help out. Taking a stab at playing the bass for a short time. Tony was happy to keep Geoff around. So, he officially asked Geoff to join full-time. At first, Geoff played some rhythm guitar behind Tony. The band seriously tried to have the two guitarists set up. Both Geoff and Ronnie started to like the sound. The only problem was that next to Tony, any guitar or piece of equipment was hardly equal. Both in sound quality and volume. Having little experience, he quickly took the keyboard slot. Which until 2004, he kept that position.
Built Apon A Bass
Shortly after Dio comes into the picture, Geezer Butler has it in his mind to leave. Sitting aside some time to gather his thoughts, lay a lot of his drug use to the wayside, and just some old-fashioned rest time. Geezer would also say that he felt a bit of a severance between himself and Iommi. With his drinking, drugs, and personal issues as part of the cause, but also that once Ronnie came in, Iommi would spend many more hours with Ronnie than him. It seemed that working with Ronnie in any capacity preceded the band. Black Sabbath had become more of an Iommi-Dio project than a band. So Geoff handles the bass until an official bass player can be found. Under his belt, the main bass line of Heaven And Hell came to life. (More on this in a minute.) So here they were: Iommi - Dio - Ward - Nicholls, writing and creating like wildfire. Laying a bold foundation on songs like Lady Evil, Children Of The Sea, and Die Young.
Some heavy decisions were riding up on the band very fast.
Some heavy decisions were riding up on the band very fast.
Who In The Hell?
Everyone involved was throwing around the same thought? What are we going to be called? No one was sold on keeping the Sabbath name. Hence the look at having Geoff as the second guitarist and the other proposed changes. Ronnie and Geoff were voting that the album was filled with strong enough songs for them to breathe without the Sabbath name. Tony Iommi also came around to thinking the same. But Warner Bros. had the insight that the name was still the key to success. From their point of view, a name that is recognized is easier to promote. It was easier to get people's ears to turn to the radio when it announced "Here's the new song from Black Sabbath". The band ends up weighing the pros and cons. It's settled that this will be Black Sabbath due to its ease. Ronnie was happy with keeping the name, and to him, it made sense. When he said it was a fine idea, everyone jumped in full force. The one man who has had problems over the years on the name is Bill Ward. It was always hard to be in Black Sabbath without Ozzy. This will lead to his overall unhappiness and, ultimately, his leaving the band.
Geoff, and even Dio, took turns playing bass in rehearsal form. Now Bill has given Geoff many nice compliments. That he was a nice guy and a good musician. Out of everyone, he was the most sober and was an unsung hero for the band.
It was getting close to time to start looking at going into the studio. When asked if he knew any bass players, Dio had one in mind. He had recently talked to former Rainbow bass player Graig Gruber. It was down to him and Fran Sheehan of the huge 1970s band Boston. Graig inched away from Fran and got the job. But Iommi made no secret that he wasn't 100% sold on the hire. But work carried on with the new blood. What of Graig's work lives on? Well, it's been talked about and argued about over the years. Graig has on several occasions said that Die Young and Heaven And Hell were his bass lines. But Geezer has said that he has a tape of Ozzy singing a bare-bones version of Die Young.
Geoff has always told that when he borrowed the bass run of the Quartz song Mainline Riders. Bill Ward stated from his memory that he was by the pool one day when he heard this simple yet great bass riff. He ran into the house to find Geoff jamming this riff. He sat at his drum kit and began to play along. Tony Iommi came from upstairs with nothing but underpants on. Grabbing his guitar, he said he had the perfect guitar part to go with it. Iommi even backs up the claim that Geoff was on the bass when the song was born.
Geezer later admitted the fact that he heard Gruber's work and knicked a few parts.
Studio Knights
The band and its name are set. The album recording took place at the Criteria Recording Studios in Miami FL. Things had to be moved from LA due to problems with Don Arden. Including all the furniture being repossessed from the studio and living grounds. He came around again with the 'Gotta get Ozzy back' deal. So they had to split from his firm. Signing with Blue Oyster Cult's manager, Sandy Pearlman. It was decided that the best thing to do was to get away from Don's people and all the others who were negative influences. As soon as the band made it down, Hurricane David hit. Their original place was unable to be moved into. Berry Gibb of The BeeGees lent them a house of his for them to stay in. Martin Birch crossed over from Rainbow to produce the album.
Since Geezer left, he was always just a call away. Gruber was said to have been an OK player and would have worked out. But it wasn't the same without Geezer. After hearing the work done so far, here comes Geezer back in. Things picked up like there was no break. Everything felt right, and it shows in the resulting album. A great deal of the bass parts was already done, but they were all wiped out so Geezer could do them. Craig has said that some of the finished album contains his playing.
The band was limited on time length for the album. Only 20 minutes per side. Heaven And Hell was shortened quite a bit. That's why the song is far better in live performances. Lyrically, it takes its inspiration from Ronnie James Dio working with Ritchie Blackmore. Die Young was written as a tag to the great line from The Rolling Stones, 'What A Drag It Is Getting Old." Ronnie himself said that was the genesis of the song. Backed with the old concept of living each day to its fullest. In the live set, this was one of the songs in which Iommi could take center stage. A great outlet to get his guitar playing through. And my favorite of this album would be Lonely Is The Word. One song that was the most welcomed addition to the Heaven And Hell of 2007. Two songs from the album that often get buried are Walk Away and Wishing Well. These two are considered to be fillers. Even more so called too pop and straight ahead. But these aren't bad songs, and I don't think they deserve the negativity.
Members of the band have maintained that there are no unused songs from the recording. That didn't make the album. However, from the Geoff Nicholls estate, came a demoed song titled Slap Back. The album was finished and moved over to the Complex in Paris, France. For polishing and a final mix. One last song was written for the album, Neon Knights. Often cited as a cross between Kill The King and Long Live Rock N Roll. Its birth dates back to when they came back from Christmas break. Martin Birch said that they needed one more song to fill the album. A faster-paced song to even out the tempo of the overall album. Much like Paranoid in 1970, Iommi started this riff. Dio and Butler wrote the lyrics and melody rather quickly. The last overall addition to the album was the keyboard-flavored ending of Lonely Of The World.
Martin Birch is often sighted as the main reason why Heaven And Hell and the following album were as good as they were. Tony Iommi, in particular, was happy that he didn't have to be involved. He could just go in and play without worrying about everyone else. And in the past, he would play without someone to listen to the tapes and tell him what was great and what wasn't great. Martin took the stress out, and Iommi had someone to tell him NO!
Since Geezer left, he was always just a call away. Gruber was said to have been an OK player and would have worked out. But it wasn't the same without Geezer. After hearing the work done so far, here comes Geezer back in. Things picked up like there was no break. Everything felt right, and it shows in the resulting album. A great deal of the bass parts was already done, but they were all wiped out so Geezer could do them. Craig has said that some of the finished album contains his playing.
The band was limited on time length for the album. Only 20 minutes per side. Heaven And Hell was shortened quite a bit. That's why the song is far better in live performances. Lyrically, it takes its inspiration from Ronnie James Dio working with Ritchie Blackmore. Die Young was written as a tag to the great line from The Rolling Stones, 'What A Drag It Is Getting Old." Ronnie himself said that was the genesis of the song. Backed with the old concept of living each day to its fullest. In the live set, this was one of the songs in which Iommi could take center stage. A great outlet to get his guitar playing through. And my favorite of this album would be Lonely Is The Word. One song that was the most welcomed addition to the Heaven And Hell of 2007. Two songs from the album that often get buried are Walk Away and Wishing Well. These two are considered to be fillers. Even more so called too pop and straight ahead. But these aren't bad songs, and I don't think they deserve the negativity.
Members of the band have maintained that there are no unused songs from the recording. That didn't make the album. However, from the Geoff Nicholls estate, came a demoed song titled Slap Back. The album was finished and moved over to the Complex in Paris, France. For polishing and a final mix. One last song was written for the album, Neon Knights. Often cited as a cross between Kill The King and Long Live Rock N Roll. Its birth dates back to when they came back from Christmas break. Martin Birch said that they needed one more song to fill the album. A faster-paced song to even out the tempo of the overall album. Much like Paranoid in 1970, Iommi started this riff. Dio and Butler wrote the lyrics and melody rather quickly. The last overall addition to the album was the keyboard-flavored ending of Lonely Of The World.
Martin Birch is often sighted as the main reason why Heaven And Hell and the following album were as good as they were. Tony Iommi, in particular, was happy that he didn't have to be involved. He could just go in and play without worrying about everyone else. And in the past, he would play without someone to listen to the tapes and tell him what was great and what wasn't great. Martin took the stress out, and Iommi had someone to tell him NO!
The album's cover art was a painting by Lynn Curlee titled Smoking Angels. Sabbath's management contacted the artist after some of their work appeared on the cover of Blue Oyster Cult's Agents Of Fortune. He was asked if he had a painting that he thought would work. The painting itself was inspired by a group of female actors during a smoke break between plays. This was one of three ideas shown to the band. Dio said it fit perfectly with the album name. Angels doing bad things - Heaven And Hell.
Comes Success
On April 25, 1980, comes Heaven And Hell, and what a welcome breath of metal air! Sabbath had to make this album work to prove that the band wasn't Ozzy's backup, Black Rainbow, or any other of the joking names. And it had to, at the end of the day, make money. Warner Bros. weren't 100% behind the album. The eyes were not on the band or their music. So, its success was a bit of a surprise. In fact, the people at the label were prepared to drop the band and keep their reputations clean. That was until the reorders came to the distribution centers. The bond between the guys was a big part of the music's greatness and their working relationship. It was them against the label and even part of the fan base. Fans who were worried about how the band would do without Oz were delighted at the album. Even quieted some of the 'Only Ozzy' bases that raised up in great numbers. It was part of a series of albums released in 1980-1981 that marked the death of disco. Along with Ozzy, AC/DC, Rainbow, Whitesnake, and Judas Priest. They all released albums that had huge sales.
Live Light
On April 17th, East Germany began the first test of how the concert world would treat the new line-up. These German gigs were a perfect pass/fail for the rest of the tour. Leading up to the ultimate prize, which was a money-making tour in North America. For this tour, some Ozzy-era classics, such as Sweet Leaf and NIB, were welcomed returns to the set. Alongside the long-standing themes like War Pigs, Paranoid, Black Sabbath, and Ironman. From the album would come songs that would stay in every Dio-fronted concert of the band. Neon Knights, Children Of The Sea, Heaven And Hell, and Die Young. Lonely Is The Word was played at a few concerts. Never to be seen again until 2007. Everyone was thrilled by the grade they got from the fans. With Girlschool as their opening act, the band thundered through the UK. The height of the dates might very well be the back to back shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England. These shows were recorded for future use. By the time they reached the USA, the album had nearly reached platinum status. Perhaps the biggest USA date was the Summer Blowout event. A day filled with Molly Hatchet, Journey, and Black Sabbath.
Doesn't Fit The Bill
Bill At A Happier Time
Bill Ward has made no secret that times were bad for him. Loss of his parents, his band wasn't the same, and the drink was his best friend. Bill had decided to leave the band after a show in Kansas. Even telling the band he wanted out. They talked him into not dropping out. Which he does hang on for a few more days. After a stop in Denver, Colorado, Bill packed his bags and left for good. Left before any member could talk him out of it. The following gig in Salt Lake City, Utah, was met with up-to-the last-minute talks with Bill that went nowhere. The band's gear was set up in the hope that he would show up. The promoter was so ticked off that he threatened everyone, saying none of them could leave the town. Once Bill had gotten sober, his real true feelings came out. From the late 1980s onward, he was asked many times about his departure. At the time he left, it was said to the public that he had to leave over the death of his mother. And that is true, but not the whole story. Bill did agree to move on past Ozzy, but he has stated that he was dishonest in that decision.
Over the years, Bill has crossed the line where either he volunteered to or it was left up to him to tell Ozzy that he was fired. By all accounts, Bill worked great musically, but the energy and enthusiasm were lacking. I think the best line that Bill used to describe his time during the HAH album was that when he listens to it now, he doesn't remember playing and recording a lot of the tracks. His memory was filled with Tony having to give him music cues because he was so lost behind the kit.
Well, it's time to find the next drummer. A task no harder on anyone than Tony Iommi. Bill had been behind him since the mid-60s. Cozy Powell was the first one approached. But he declined, reasoning that he was busy at that moment. In retrospect, it wouldn't have worked with Cozy and Ronnie. That fact would be proven in 1991. The band was given some tapes of various drummers to search through. Vinny Appice was on a tape heard by both Ronnie and Tony. Without a ton of thought, the two agreed he was good for the job. Vinny wasn't a huge fan of the band. He didn't even own a Sabbath record. and on top of that, they didn't have long to rehearse. A huge concert in Hawaii was on their minds. First off, his kit was a fourth of the size of Bill's. It was an eye sore, to say the least. It's time for the concert, and Vinny has his cheat music sheets taped in front of him. Of course, it rains, making them unreadable. So Vinny really did have to learn under fire. Vinny wasn't just a kid from the street. Having played for John Lennon and Rick Derringer. To Vinny, his number one challenge was understanding what Geezer and Tony were saying. Having been around very few British people before.
Over the years, Bill has crossed the line where either he volunteered to or it was left up to him to tell Ozzy that he was fired. By all accounts, Bill worked great musically, but the energy and enthusiasm were lacking. I think the best line that Bill used to describe his time during the HAH album was that when he listens to it now, he doesn't remember playing and recording a lot of the tracks. His memory was filled with Tony having to give him music cues because he was so lost behind the kit.
Well, it's time to find the next drummer. A task no harder on anyone than Tony Iommi. Bill had been behind him since the mid-60s. Cozy Powell was the first one approached. But he declined, reasoning that he was busy at that moment. In retrospect, it wouldn't have worked with Cozy and Ronnie. That fact would be proven in 1991. The band was given some tapes of various drummers to search through. Vinny Appice was on a tape heard by both Ronnie and Tony. Without a ton of thought, the two agreed he was good for the job. Vinny wasn't a huge fan of the band. He didn't even own a Sabbath record. and on top of that, they didn't have long to rehearse. A huge concert in Hawaii was on their minds. First off, his kit was a fourth of the size of Bill's. It was an eye sore, to say the least. It's time for the concert, and Vinny has his cheat music sheets taped in front of him. Of course, it rains, making them unreadable. So Vinny really did have to learn under fire. Vinny wasn't just a kid from the street. Having played for John Lennon and Rick Derringer. To Vinny, his number one challenge was understanding what Geezer and Tony were saying. Having been around very few British people before.
Even the crew guys for Sabbath got the short end. Having to cram on one bus while the BOC guys had two or even three on some dates.When Sabbath would end the show there would be a lengthy turn over. As BOC's giant Godzilla head would take up to an hour to be took off stage. The best thing to come of this tour is the split concert film Black And Blue. Filmed on 10-17-1980 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY. This was filmed along with Blue Oyster Cult for what use to be 'After Midnight' specials at drive in movie theaters. Also it had a very limited BETA/VHS release.
The Cross That Could Have Been
Crafted for the tour was this cross with fireworks and light. Set to go off during the song HAH. Well one night in New York Dio carried on with his stage banter telling the crowd to watch the cross. Concentrate and fell the power of the cross. Instead of the bright powerful explosion there was a sparkle and a brashed disappointment to follow.
Things went smoothly for awhile in the band. Until Milwaukee on October the 10th when Dio introduced the next song. But he then realized that Geezer didn't play the bass intro to NIB. Looked over and Geezer wasn't in his spot. On the audience tape you can hear a thud which by most accounts was Geezer hitting the floor. That turned out to not be true. What really happen was that a fan threw a cross at Geezer. It bounced off his guitar and hit him in the face. As a roadie came out to help Geezer a bottle came onstage and hit the roadie in the head. Knocking him out and unto the floor. Dio then tells the crowd that the stage is not a trash can. Tells the crowd tough shit as the band walks off stage. After a few moments a full scale riot continues. Chairs and everything came flying through the air. A lot of it damaging the equipment. The full police force arrived but it took awhile to get everything under control.
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Hammersmith & HellFour concerts were booked at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England. In the video to the left Dio explains how they blow a hole in the famous venue. Most importantly this is where the band recorded what some consider the best live example of Dio/Sabbath ever. Released for the the first time during the Heaven And Hell band reform. Limited to 5,000 copies first hand. Titled Live At Hammersmith it sold out the first day. Later to be released as the bonus disc on the 2011 Mob Rules Deluxe Edition released. |
Another bump on the tour comes in Japan. 5 gigs were planned for Tokyo. Tony Iommi had stopped to eat at a pick you own fish style restaurant. At the soundcheck before the fifth show he came down with food poisoning. Before leaving Japan Geezer had too much to drink one night and decide to pick a fight. Instead of a living person he picked a wall. Well the wall won. Geezer hurt his hand. Leading to cut the Australia tour short. Geezer explains his hand injury here. |
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Warner Bros records were floored by
the success of Heaven And Hell. So naturally they wanted to resign the band to a new contract. Dio himself was also signed to a solo deal. Which will come into play later. The start of the next album has different point of views. Iommi and Geoff Nicholls afterwards expressed that Dio wanted things to go more his way on the follow up album. At various points in time all the guys have said that the one for all bond that |
made HAH so good was gone. I've discovered several interviews of Geoff Nicholls speaking on the change in song writing. Giving the demonstration that on HAH Ronnie would work the vocal melodies but would welcome help from Geoff or even Geezer Butler. This time around he wanted them all to be wrote by himself only. With remarks by Dio that Geezer was looking harder at his lyrics. Becoming more vocal on what he thought. Often moaning that he didn't like them. Unlike HAH Warner Bros records were more involved overall. Wanting the band to make them the same amount if not more money. So they also had a hand in this album not starting so great. Vinny Appice out of all was the new main ingredient. Often driving Iommi crazy in rehearsals. With different fills than what Iommi was use to. (Editor's note : Seems to me that he was just looked at as the guy to keep the beat. I don't think he ever was gave a chance to have his say. Like Bill Ward did or Cozy Powell did later).( Appice later said that lot of The Devil You Know was drum machine because the band wanted such basic drumming.) The band at first recorded the tracks for Mob Rules at John Lennon’s house at Tittenhurst on London Road in Sunningdale, Ascot. The Lennon house sessions Iommi has said many times that he liked the sound of these recordings better than the ones done later for the album. The band re-recorded the album back in the USA. |
Sabbath and it's management had the bright idea of buying a studio. To make things cheaper, inturn more money in their pockets. Also they could have total control. Warner Bros at this time was behind a film known as Heavy Metal. So they asked the band to record a song for the movie and soundtrack. So the version on the soundtrack comes from this second go. Geoff Nicholls also provided a huge amount of the underscore music and special effects noises. This studio idea didn't work out like planned. It sounded like crap and was room constrained. The band had even paid the money to have a new sound desk be installed. After moving out of the studio two roadies were sent back to retrieve this new equipment. As they were coming out the police arrested them. The studio had called them saying the place was getting robbed. The final session for Mob Rules began June 1981 at the Record Plant in L.A. with Martin Birch again producing. This third version was completely re-record as Birch refused to mix any music recorded without him. The cover art is a somewhat altered version of artist Greg Hildebrandt's painting titled Dream One. Painted in 1971 and if you look at the bottom of the art you can see Ozzy. Hildebrandt has many times denied the brush strokes. But you can look at the album and make up your own mind.
One question that Mob Rules answered was this - How do up follow up a masterpiece that revives a band and shoots them right back into stardom. Even with some of the tensions rising no one can realistically argue that Mob Rules wasn't the perfect follow up. The only negative criticism that I can see a point to (But I don't agree with) is that it follows the blueprint scale of HAH too much. I mean so what if it does. It reached number 29 on the U.S. charts. It sales to this day in great numbers. What more could you ask for in an album. (And also makes money for everyone.) The title track remained a main stay in most Sabbath concerts sans the Ozzy reunion. Perhaps one of the more underrated songs in the Sabbath catalog is the closer track Over And Over. Slow and emotion filled that is the brother of Lonely Is The Word. Over And Over is another track which is a Iommi outlet and a showcase for the range of Dio's voice. Doomy and chantering with enough skill and melodic to make it a stand out track. Easy to the ear for even the faintest of rock fans. You can find a pretty big amount of fans that do perfer this over the HAH album. If your looking for one word to describe the album here are a few for you : Heavy, Masterpiece, Bombastic, Gritty, and Dark. Iommi reached another height on the solos and just his over sound on this album. One track to the mind Of Dio that suffered was Voodoo. Remarking that the song coud have been much better if done during the atmosphere of HAH. The Sign Of The Southern Cross was wrote to mirror the song Heaven And Hell. Long and filled with layers of music. Lyrics were based loosely on the group of stars visable in Australia. And as you can figure the star figure is call The Southern Cross. Geezer was able to use his new bass petal toys. Inserting those cosmic underlying sounds. And Vinny's finest hour was this song in my mind. Slipping Away is a track that could have easily been used as a center piece for band introductions and solos. The one song that is split 50/50 on reviews is Country Girl. A riff that Geezer thought Ronnie just wasted on silly lyrics. Tony was very unsure about it at the time. When talking to Ronnie about it all Tony will say is it didn't go well. Fallen Off The Edge Of The World carries on the violent yet graceful riffs and vocals as Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Symptom Of The Universe, and later on Shaking Off The Chains. Another welcomed surprise in the 2007 reform. .
One question that Mob Rules answered was this - How do up follow up a masterpiece that revives a band and shoots them right back into stardom. Even with some of the tensions rising no one can realistically argue that Mob Rules wasn't the perfect follow up. The only negative criticism that I can see a point to (But I don't agree with) is that it follows the blueprint scale of HAH too much. I mean so what if it does. It reached number 29 on the U.S. charts. It sales to this day in great numbers. What more could you ask for in an album. (And also makes money for everyone.) The title track remained a main stay in most Sabbath concerts sans the Ozzy reunion. Perhaps one of the more underrated songs in the Sabbath catalog is the closer track Over And Over. Slow and emotion filled that is the brother of Lonely Is The Word. Over And Over is another track which is a Iommi outlet and a showcase for the range of Dio's voice. Doomy and chantering with enough skill and melodic to make it a stand out track. Easy to the ear for even the faintest of rock fans. You can find a pretty big amount of fans that do perfer this over the HAH album. If your looking for one word to describe the album here are a few for you : Heavy, Masterpiece, Bombastic, Gritty, and Dark. Iommi reached another height on the solos and just his over sound on this album. One track to the mind Of Dio that suffered was Voodoo. Remarking that the song coud have been much better if done during the atmosphere of HAH. The Sign Of The Southern Cross was wrote to mirror the song Heaven And Hell. Long and filled with layers of music. Lyrics were based loosely on the group of stars visable in Australia. And as you can figure the star figure is call The Southern Cross. Geezer was able to use his new bass petal toys. Inserting those cosmic underlying sounds. And Vinny's finest hour was this song in my mind. Slipping Away is a track that could have easily been used as a center piece for band introductions and solos. The one song that is split 50/50 on reviews is Country Girl. A riff that Geezer thought Ronnie just wasted on silly lyrics. Tony was very unsure about it at the time. When talking to Ronnie about it all Tony will say is it didn't go well. Fallen Off The Edge Of The World carries on the violent yet graceful riffs and vocals as Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Symptom Of The Universe, and later on Shaking Off The Chains. Another welcomed surprise in the 2007 reform. .
Turn Up The Concert
Dio rares back and belts out.
November of 1981 the band unleashed the new world tour. Playing the Ozzy era classics, Almost half of the HAH album and nearly all of the Mob Rules Album. Debut performances of songs Country Girl, Turn Up The Night, Voodoo, Slipping Away, Falling Off The Edge Of The World, and The Mob Rules. TUTN and FOTEOTW would be dropped from the set. So the early Canadian shows provide us with these rare tracks. AS before the shows were huge sellers. The new album was selling well and the fans shared the same energy as the album before. There was on some people's minds the heated match between them and the Osbourne camp. It wouldn't be money, fans, managers, or even a studio album that would set it ablaze. But a simple live album vs live album scenario. That would not just two entities going at it but three.
August 31 of 1982 Hoffman Estates would be the final stop on the tour. After leaving the road behind it was time to produce the band's first live album. Compiled from tapes at their shows in Texas and Washington. If they were having some tensions in that band, this live album process would widened it. Point of views and everything has changed and reverted back many times over the years. so it's kinda hard to but into a proper perspective of what exactly happened. When the guys are in the band together the story goes one way. But when they are split up it tends to change. During the mixing of the album Iommi and Geezer were hit with rumors that Dio and Vinny had sneaked into the studio late at night to make the drums and vocals higher. Every time Iommi would come into the studio everything from the day before would be messed up. Iommi asked the engineer what was going on. He one day broke down and said that when Iommi wasn't there both Ronnie and Vinny would sneak back into the studio. Turn their parts up and turning everyone else down. Dio always would counter that point of view by saying that he and Vinny would show up at the time the band was set to come in. The two would sit there awhile and the other two wouldn't show up. So he and Vinny would start to work on the album. Rather than sitting on their asses. It went on for about a week until Dio received a phone call from Geezer. With the message that Iommi was to produce the album on his own. That things weren't working out. Dio simply asked if this means he is no longer needed in the band. Geezer answered, well yea, I guess so. When Geoff Nicholls is ever asked on the details he closely follows Iommi's POV. But when the questions come up during the Dehumanizer or Heaven And Hell reunions everyone just says that the engineer was telling tall tales amongst his personal drinking problems. But regardless it was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Hard to believe within 3 years the band went through everything it could. And like a flash it was gone. In the end Dio has always stated that the band didn't every try to cheat him of money. The business affairs of the break up was as professional and friendly as it could be. Dio had a solo deal, Vinny Appice, and money to fall back on. What might have been a oversight or outright stab is leaving James out of Dio's album credits. But like the saying goes Gone But Not Forgotten. And this sure wasn't the end for Dio and Black Sabbath.