Disco de Black Sabbath: “Heaven and Hell [Deluxe Edition]”

I have to say, I could not have been more shocked at the sudden and tragic death of Ronnie James Dio. I hadn't even heard that he'd been sick, and getting this surprising news when the equally unexpected death of Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele had still barely sunk in, it was overwhelming to say the least. We have truly lost a legendary artist, the void of which will certainly never be filled. I was lucky enough to see Dio live a few years ago (opening for Iron Maiden, no less), and he is still by far one of the best live singers I've ever seen. Even in his sixties, he hadn't lost an ounce of his tremendous vocal power, and for such a diminutive fellow, his stage presence was beyond huge. It greatly saddens me that no one will ever experience such a thing again.

So, that said, if you've never heard Dio's fantastic debut with Black Sabbath, "Heaven and Hell", buying this album is a great way to honor his memory. Coming along at a turbulent period for the band, Dio breathed new life into a band that was struggling hard to find life after the departure of Ozzy Osbourne. They definitely struck gold here.

For its short length, this is just a dynamo of an album. From blistering speed metal like "Die Young" and "Neon Knights", to the catchy rock of "Wishing Well" and "Walk Away", to the epic title track, it never misses a step. It reaches a perfect conclusion with what is one of my all-time favorite Sabbath songs of their entire career, "Lonely Is the Word". Tony Iommi shines with one of his most underrated performances, churning out huge riffs and spacious bluesy solos. And of course, Dio's vocal performance is beyond stunning. I listened to this today, the first time since hearing this news, and the emotional impact of this song had never hit me so hard. As those final notes faded out, I myself couldn't help but feel a bit lonelier knowing this amazing talent is no longer with us.

Thank you Dio, for all the great music and all the great times. You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten.

First - I am a devoted fan of the Dio-era Sabbath stuff. When I learned that the Heaven and Hell title was going to get the "Deluxe Edition" treatment I was overjoyed. The remaster job sounds great (not that it needed much improvement!) so, Here's my beef with the project: I was disappointed with the content of the bonus cd. Of the 7 tracks there are 2 "live" Heaven and Hell, and 2 "live" Children of the Sea, both sub-par recordings. When the "Deluxe Editions" started appearing a couple or three years ago, it was a ggreat idea - classic albums being given the special treatment, the remaster job, the bonus material - but somewhere along the way the labels started thinking "just grab a bunch of anything you can find and throw it on a second disc - they're buying these Deluxe Editions like crazy!" So what should be put on the bonus disc, you might ask? Songs that were recorded during the session and not used for the album, alternate versions with different arrangements or different lyrics or lead solos (The Alice Cooper box set offers a LOT of this, and so do the Roger Glover remixes of the Deep Purple Anniversary editions of Machine Head, Fireball, and In Rock - TOTALLY worth it). The bonus material for "Eternal Idol" was awesome: the original session with Ray Gillen singing before Tony Martin replaced him and re-recorded the vocals, as was "Seventh Star": bonus disc was a live show with Ray Gillen singing before abruptly leaving the band. THAT's good collectible stuff. The labels are getting lazy and just churning stuff out there to turn a quick buck because the earlier Deluxe endeavors went over so good. I'm afraid that is what happened here with one of the greatest albums of the genre. I have this Deluxe Edition and am glad i do, but only because it is the Dio-fronted Black Sabbath masterpiece known as Heaven and Hell. And it was a masterpiece BEFORE the Deluxe Edition. Get with the program record labels... we WON'T keep buying your expensive mediocrity. Wanna do something we can appreciate? Release the Hammersmith Odeon show in it's entirety....THAT would be impressive and worthy of RJD and his memory!

This is by far the best-sounding version of Heaven & Hell on CD. Andy Pearce did a great job remastering these (and most other Deluxe Editions), preserving the full dynamic range (resulting in a CD that is quieter by today's steroid-sound standards, so use your volume control if you want loud!!) and achieving nice, smooth sound. Excellent job!

This is the best available, folks. All other versions including Rhino, Castle, and original WB sound far worse than this one. If you don't like this one, tough, because there will probably not be a better one, so deal with it. Buy it. You won't send it back.

The 2nd disc that is live sounds terrible. It sounds like a 2 track bootleg. Boy was I disappointed.