THE BEST OF BLACK SABBATH

This "Sabbath" compilation is really fantastic. Just look at the tracklist of this first CD ! Almost all of their first three albums is there although I do not consider "Evil Woman", "Planet Caravan" and definitely not the super short "Embryo" as ones of their best songs. Maybe "Orchid" (to highlight Iommi's guitar skills in another style and genre - acoustic) as well as "After Forever" (from "MOR") would be more appropriate but these are small details.

Second CD also covers extensively their next three albums. No less than ten songs are taken from "Volume Four", "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" and "Sabotage". Which only leaves six spots for a brief overview of their albums between "Technical Exstasy" through "Born Again". It is somewhat reductive but those albums were not essential as their earlier work could be.

But with such a back catalogue, "Sabbath" could have released a triple CD with no problem and propose songs from their later days. Even if inferior, it would have been a very good option for the fans less interested in this period to get a cheaper overview through the means of an extended compilation.

Anyway, this is the compilation you need if you want to check out most of the bands great songs. It is not so easy to get, but there is a well-known on-line shop in which you can get it for about eight ?. A definite winner for this price. Four stars.

This turn of the century compilation is one of the best Sabbath compilations around when it comes to the relation between price, quality and content. What we have here is a presentation of Black Sabbath between 1970 and 1983, featuring at least one song from each one of the eleven studio albums the band put out during that period, showcasing three different singers - the highlight, however, is inevitably Ozzy Osbourne, featured in 27 out of 32 tracks present on this compilation. Ronnie James Dio appears on two, and Ian Gillan on one.

Tracks are displayed chronologically and respecting original album order - so we have five tracks from 1969's Black Sabbath, six from 1970's Paranoid, five from 1971's Master of Reality, three from 1972's Vol. 4, three from 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, four from 1975's Sabotage, Evil Woman from 1976's Technical Ecstasy, two from 1978's Never Say Die, the title track from 1980's Heaven & Hell, Turn Up the Night from 1981's Mab Rules and Zero The Hero from 1983's Born Again.

All in all, a pretty good showcase of the band's finest moments, with generous amounts of early material. The sound quality is quite good, clear, but nothing mind-blowing - you will have play it loud to get full enjoyment out of it. Packaging and artwork are quite nice and fitting with the Sabbath aura, while the booklet features an insightful 10-page history of the band by Hugh Gilmour. Overall, an excellent introduction to Black Sabbath but, like any compilation, nothing that can really surpass owning the original albums.