Black Sabbath - Black Box

Haha! If it's what I think it is, it was well deserved and given. :-)

That said, you get four clips on a bonus DVD which I believe were never released on DVD before -- basically early live footage (the link above shows the contents of "Disc 9" which is the DVD.) It isn't a full DVD's worth, granted. I don't have a DVD player, so I can't tell you what it's like, although i have seen one of those Beat Club clips on a friend's old VHS tape, and it was quite mesmerizing.

If you think you can get good money for selling back the first eight Sabbath CDs you now have, and put the credit towards this thing, I would say take the risk and go fer it, especially if you can afford it, and Sabbath is one of your first loves.

This thing is quite a beauty. The liner notes, while not a full biography per se, are also good (ignoring some of the dumber quote captions). The layout and design and subtle watermarks of the symbols inside the liner notes (contained inside the rather heavy black velvet DVD case) make great icing for this thing. The CDs are in digipak form, retaining the original front and back album art faithfully from the original album versions, but no inserts. Liner notes are provided either opposite the front fold or underneath the clear tray. Each CD itself is pretty much black, and you have to look at an angle to see which album it is. (Of course, they are digipaks, so the edges kinda wear out quickly if you pull them in and out often -- which is complaint number one about digipaks... much like the recent round of AC/DC reissues)

Anyway, that's as much as I can tell you about the box set details. Hope that helps.

All comments about the thing upthread are accurate. It sounds incredible, the packaging is fantastic (fancy but not so fancy that it defeats the purpose of being a CD storage system), and, well, you need it, because it sounds so incredibly superior to the still-in-print mid-80s CDs of the individual albums.

Supposing they do reissue those albums with the new remasterings individually, the cost of getting these four brand new will be only slightly cheaper than getting the box set anyway... (think something roughly under $20 each times 4 = roughly $80.. vs. something that's roughly $90 that's eight albums and bonus DVD ep, in a black velvet case with some neat liner notes, etc.) Whichever of the two you choose is worth more... is up to you.

If you've waited this long to get these records, you're probably not a completist hound, but judging by your excellent commentary there are a couple other releases you might dig.

* Bobby Harrison - Funkist, which is a brawny white soul record with Iommi playing guitar on 5-6 tracks. Ian Paice on drums. Mainly interesting to hear that SG doomaxe cutting so naturally through a lot of Tom Jones-ish grunting.

* Necromandus - Orexis of Death, a Birmingham band from the early '70s whose lp was never released by Vertigo. It's out now, though. Almost every song sounds like "Looking for Today," and not surprisingly Iommi was producing this record while working on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. So I tend to credit them with the folk-psych influence. They temporarily became the original Blizzard of Ozz band during an unsuccessful attempt by Ozzy in the mid-70s to break from Sabbath.

When and if you ever recover, there's a new Judas Priest box set to consider, too.

IAN

To further clarify a couple of things I said above:

I was a little disappointed, though not surprised and somewhat understanding anyway, that groups like Funkadelic were not mentioned alongside Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, when the latter essay when into a piece about "heaviness" in music at the time... in fact, they weren't mentioned at all. Maggot Brain almost rivals Master Of Reality for excruciatingly loud moments in rock for '71, surely. Moreover, Black Sabbath started slowly but surely experimenting with soul elements right around Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and possibly more subtely beforehand. But anyway...

I didn't mean to accuse Chris Welch and Brian Ives (the two essay writers for the '70-72 and '73-'78 periods, respectively) of musical heresy for not mentioning Funkadelic. It's entirely possible both guys were well aware of the group and perhaps attempted to fit in the band in the angle of their pieces, but somehow just couldn't do it, given the constraints they had, whether it was time, words, or context. And I certianly wasn't trying to say that Maggot Brain was exploring the same sonic plains as Master Of Reality or what have you, even if they shared the same volume level. I was just expressing slight disappointment in the relative lack of discussion of soul elements that existed in those Black Sabbath records that got a mere nod if even that, and Funkadelic was the example/harness that first came to my mind. I'm happy with the liner notes as they are now, and I was just making a fantasy wish list for "future editions" of those liner notes. That's all.

On a side note, I've never read any official Black Sabbath biography (and having listened to Black Box, I'm really geared up for recommendations.. thank you in advance. ;) ), and always wondered if Sabbath and Funkadelic ever crossed paths -- or if not, if they were aware of each other, and appreciated each other, since both bands' strongest years (1970 to 1978) of music began and ended at almost the same times. (Haha, in fact, I think I'm going to attempt to commission Funkadelic to release a box set in this exact style! The color scheme might have to be a little more varied though, for obvious reasons.)

Having never heard the latter four records as much, I have to say that Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is a GREAT album, and "Looking For Today" is probably my favorite song by them now. You can tell the Yes/Rush influences might have started to creep in a bit, which worked really on this record. (Rick Wakemen was the first outside guest on a Sabbath record, and it was on this record)

OK, I have no idea if Rush or Yes really influenced Sabbath for this record or not. And I only mention Yes purely for the Wakeman cameo. I'm not necessarily saying Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is Sabbath's best record (In fact, I have a hard time choosing which of the first five records is is their best, though Master Of Reality is the best candidate for me, right this second.), but I did want to stress that Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was certainly an achievement and change in paradigm for the band, as far as musical arrangements go. It's not as heavy as the previous four, but certain outshined the first four in other ways. It's really too bad all the drug use and ego inflation eventually wore the band out in the years to follow, as they were on a roll even beyond their most recognized canon of albums.

Anyway, anyone want to confirm or deny that this CD box has a mix so remarkable that I should throw my albums in the garbage? I mean, they're in pretty good shape...

The dude who runs the black-sabbath.com fansite has said they're the best mix he's ever heard, and you'd figure he would be one to know.

Thanks, GG.

Ah well, I'm not trading in my vinyl. Certainly not my swirl self-titled, anyway.

Steve Case, go fuck yourself!!

God, I love my local classic rock station. On the weekends, anyway.

???

Now that I finally own this thing, I have to agree -- it's simply one of the most beautifully designed boxes ever. The book's a treat and the inspired idea to reproduce only black and white photos of the band gives the whole thing more of a timeless sense -- I don't think I've seen a more non-seventies visual representation of a band from that decade. Ozzy himself had this weird beauty to him at so many points when he was young.

Everything from Live At Last is now on Disc One of Past Lives. All the stuff on Disc Two of Past Lives was previously unreleased.

I have all of the discs already (except Sabotage, which I only have on LP and think is rather overrated anyway) and I don't mind admitting I don't have the ear or the stereo to notice anything other than drastic changes when it comes to remastering, so I just borrowed my dad's box set for the extra stuff.

FWIW, the sequence / tracklist of the first album has always confused me, and continues to! I thought to myself, "Finally! All the lyrics, in order, with their titles. We can finally sort this out." But no! Can anyone tell me why the lyrics to "Warning" are not printed??! For years I just thought it was part of "Sleeping Village..."

If you're fuckin' mathematic, walk the walk.

(Also keep in mind Castle's, *cough*, "great" track record with The Fall's "remastering". Granted, it's not the label's issue, I know... but if Castle were once great and reliable -- THAT, they are no longer.)

* the other things were an amiri baraka poetry book and the perry robinson book but i'm most psyched about Past Lives, natch

There is a period of time when Ozzy decided to do LSD every day for a year (or was it 2 years?) just to see what would happen. During this time, he wrote the lyrics to Sabotage.

"I am something of a madman. I can do nothing in moderation. If it's booze, I drink the place dry. If it's drugs, I take everything and then scrape the carpet for little crumbs. I took LSD every day for years — I was spending about $1000 a week on drugs. I OD'd about a dozen times." -- Ozzy

(maybe it was several years?)

Long ago, I had heard his "everday" experiment began after Paranoid and ended just before Never Say Die and that part of the reason Ozzy wanted to leave Black Sabbath was because it had become too gloomy for him. (Probably singing about his crazy thoughts all the time or Geezer's gloomy stuff?). It's interesting that Never Say Die was such a positive album. I wonder if the band was desperately trying to hang onto Ozzy or what.

What do the liner notes say about these rumors and conjecture of mine?

Any word on those rumors? It's been like what 10 minutes already since I axed the question. Jeez.

I thought Black Sabbath was desperately trying to rid itself of Ozzy. I think the story is they'd hired Dave Walker as a replacement and he had done all the vocals for Never Say Die but they didn't sound right so at the last minute they got Ozzy back in for it.

Anyway, it's good Ozzy was brought back into sing on Never Say Die, an album I like a lot. I have a hard time imagining Dave Walker singing those tunes and I would bet fans would have revolted.

I have a feeling Ozzy hasn't gone out of his way to take credit for anything... he probably can barely remember and he just doesn't seem to be the sort to give a shit (unlike the McCartney-Lennon controversy, for instance).

When Ozzy sounds really passionate, I just assume he wrote it. Or at least I'd like to think he did. LSD every day certainly goes well with some of those Sabotage lyrics.

As for his solo stuff, the lyrics for his most famous songs (Crazy Train, Suicide Solution, Bark at the Moon) were written by Bob Daisley.

Okay, so I found this used for $50 and couldn't resist. First thought is, why the hell did I not listen to everyone upthread and elsewhere who said the sound was leaps and bounds better than the crap discs they've been peddling since forever? It's glorious. Finished the first album and am now onto Paranoid, and "Planet Caravan" is taking me places.

anyone heard both this box and the recent self titled / paranoid / masters remasters? how do they compare?

"When Ozzy sounds really passionate, I just assume he wrote it. Or at least I'd like to think he did."

That guy was kidding, right?

I am curious about the newest remasters because I thought the Castle editions sounded great for the the most part. (There is a bit of tape damage on the first album...)

Count me as another one who got the Castle box (on ebay) then the Black Box. I'll probably get these deluxe things if they come out in the US. This confirms that I am an idiot.

Castle ones are a little funny. Things I am used to hearing in one channel come out in the other one. Example: some of the percussion in "Tommorow's Dream" is in the wrong speaker. Strange.

i have an Earmark vinyl pressing of Master of Reality that sounds f-in amazing

I saw the remastered deluxe versions of the first two albums at my local store yesterday, but at $28 a pop I just can't justify it. I'm slightly interested to hear whether or not they used the Black Box mastering or something new. It's shameful that the single discs are still the same masters they cut in the 80s.

The Black Box versions sound completely incredible; I can't imagine needing an upgrade from them. I haven't compared them with the Castle remastered ones-- my only comparison is the standard US CDs.

war pigs from paris 1970, with different lyrics in the last verse!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqy4DTHGqg&feature=fvw

that last verse is pretty much the same as the demo version (or radio session?) of war pigs called walpurgis.

ah okay never heard walpurgis

warpigisnacht

It's shameful that the single discs are still the same masters they cut in the 80s

Is this true? What about all of the remasters that came out last year, such as this (to give one example):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Reality-Black-Sabbath/dp/B00022TPT8/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1257968563&sr=8-7

Are these not actually remastered? I ask as these are all going really cheap and I'm thinking of picking a few of the later albums up.

It does indeed seem that only the old 80s CDs are available in the USA. But we Europeans can buy the single-disc 2008 remasters for about $6 a pop. Strange.

No clue - they weren't released stateside.

-x-post

At those prices, you could order a few CDs from the UK and still get a decent deal. I mean, £4.98 = a mere $8.25 per CD

just ordered this w/ some xmas gift cards! :D only $50 at barnesandnoble.com fyi.

nice-- i pulled this box out a couple months ago for a start-to-finish listen, it's about 90% killer material imo

yeah, looking forward to it. i have everything up to masters of reality, but mostly in non-remastered format.

Holy crap. Wish I had gotten a $50 gift card for B&N instead of Amazon.

I see there is a new "Cross Box" out. Same material, a few more extras (12 discs instead of 9), different packaging. Oh, and about twice the price....

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mkp3cKieL._SS400_.jpg

Deluxe 13 CD box set containing all nine Ozzy-era Sabbath albums in mini LP sleeves plus three radio documentaries, a guitar pick set and poster, all housed in a Black Cross box with 100 page exclusive Illustrated discography featuring rare covers from throughout the world. Includes the albums Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master Of Reality, Volume 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy, Never Say Die and We Sold Our Souls

So what's on the extra discs?

3 radio documentaries, it would seem.

Why the hell would the cross-shaped box include We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll? It's a best-of.

Can't wait for the eventual Who box set that's nothing but their compilations.

"The best of the best of teh best"

This is fun.
http://www.invisibleoranges.com/2010/12/black-sabbath-live-in-paris-1970-dvd/

sweet -- thanks!

I just got the 8 albums bare bones 'black box' reissue and god I wish I had paid the $100 for the full thing when it was in print. this smokes!!!

I can't believe how massive this sounds in comparison to my orig discs

I got it too. So glad I did. I only had a few of these on older CD versions, the ones that Amazon sells for $5-8. I'd never even heard Sabotage before. That album is so great.

lol it does make the out-of-tuneness of the guitar on the main riff of "Snowblind" more pronounced though. as a musician even tho 'it's rock 'n roll' that always distracts me

is it a lot cheaper now or something? I have mp3s of the black box and yeah the difference in sound quality is game changing. Some of the most important remasters ever in terms of the benefit accrued to the musical effect

They put out a budget box set of the 8 CDs (not the DVD), same remasters as the Black Box. I got it for $40 Canadian.

I got $50 US

god listening to the remastered "N.I.B." reminds me of why I hated the fucking terrible remake Ozzy did w/ Primus in 1999. Such a densely packed track with atmosphere, and Ozzy's off-key warbling actually adds a bit of spookiness to the track.

whereas the remake = Ozzy's nasal vox autotuned to hell (and doubled an octave lower), blandly produced, played like a goddamn bar cover band.

Been listening to discs from this (we got one in at work) and some of the ones that previously sounded shitty on my CD copies (Sabotage, Master of Reality) sound much better while the ones that sounded fine before (Paranoid most noticeably) sound like they just kept pushing the treble up until the cymbals dominated everything.