Black Sabbath Album: “Best of Black Sabbath [Capitol Special Markets]”

I would normally prefer not to get "Best of" or "Greatest" cds cause who's saying these songs are the best? That said I got this cause the Black Sabbath cds from the I.R.S. years are WAY too expensive (as of june 2011) & out-of-print so this will have to do. It's one of these "special market" releases that you'd see in a gas station so there's no liner notes, just the 10 tracks. All tracks are from the Tony Martin era from the "Headless Cross", "TYR", "Cross Purposes" & "Forbidden" cds (Eternal Idol wasn't an I.R.S. label release & isn't represented here). I'd give this a C+, it's nice to have this era of Sabbath in my collection in some capacity.

if you are a fan of black sabbath with or without ozzy then you are ok. here's your chance to sample different songs without ozzy at lead singer. a couple of hits from the headless cross album are really great.

This is a good compilation of the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath which started with Eternal Idol, which btw is not on here because it's not on the IRS record company. So get that and this and you should get a good glimpse of, while not as popular as Ozzy, is a much better vocalist and the sound more acessable. Key tracks are: Headless Cross, When Death Calls, The Sabbath Stones, Devil And Daughter and Valhalla. Though the track listing has two each of the Forbidden album which imo is their weakest album and Cross Purposes. Should've included Anno Mundi, but overall it's a good compilation.

Black Sabbath has been active since 1969. Founded by former Jethro Tull guitarist Tony Iommi and featuring legendary vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, drummer Bill Ward, and bassist Geezer Butler, Sabbath produced some of the best heavy metal (hell, they invented the genre!) music of the 1970s. Osbourne was kicked out of the group in 1979, replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio stayed in the group until 1982, being replaced by Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan for 1983's 'Born Again.' Gillan left, and another Deep Purple alum, Glenn Hughes, took over the vocals for this band. Finally, Tony Martin replaced Hughes on vocals, and this budget collection, a part of the 'Ten Best Series' covers the band's IRS Records years, 1989-1994, with Martin as a vocalist.

It is important to note that by this time, only Iommi remained from the original lineup. Legendary musicians like Cozy Powell and Geoff Nichols are present on these recordings, and both of them do indeed rock. However, Martin is very much an acquired taste. Some of the people I know think his voice is quite bland and generic. I disagree. I am a fan of Martin's, and I think he suited Sabbath very well. The IRS years are certainly not what you would call Black Sabbath's best era, but it did produce some fine tunes.

'The Best of Black Sabbath' (hardly) features 10 tracks recorded during the late 1980s and early 1990s with Martin at the helm. While there are some great songs here like 'Guilty As Hell' and 'Headless Cross,' perhaps my favorite song of the era, 'Call of the Wild' is missing. I think Martin's vocals on that track are absolutely stunning, and Iommi's playing is as perfect as it has ever been. But really, this collection does gather most of the highlights of this time period quite successfully. I certainly can't complain.

Overall, the IRS albums are getting quite expensive and hard to find. Even used here on Amazon, they'll still force you to empty your wallet. So, if you are a casual fan, or someone that wants to hear what Sabbath was up to post-1986, than definitely give 'The Best of Black Sabbath' a purchase. It's cheap, it covers the basics, and it might just whet your appetite until a label like Wounded Bird decides to reissue the albums of this era. The sound is excellent, and the band is as tight as ever.

Buy this if you are a curious Sabbath fan or if you are a fanatical fan that just doesn't want to shell out the money for the IRS albums (which is TOTALLY understandable, because they are quite pricey and they are all admittedly rather inconsistent).

THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING CHOICE I BUY IT TO COMPLETE MY BLACK SABBATH COLLECTION, IS OBVIOUS THAT OZZY AND DIO ( ESPECIALLY DEHUMANIZER) ARE THE BEST SABBATH SINGER ( FORGET IAN GILLAN!)BUT TONY DO A GREAT JOB AND HERE ARE THE BEST SO BUY YOU WONT BE DISAPOITMENT!