BLACK SABBATH: More Remastered Deluxe Expanded-Edition Reissues Detailed

Universal Music has set a November 1 U.K. release date for the deluxe-edition reissues of the BLACK SABBATH albums "Seventh Star", "The Eternal Idol", "Live At Last" and "Past Lives".

After the departure of BLACK SABBATH's third vocalist Ian Gillan following the "Born Again" album (released in 1983) the band effectively split up and the remaining members embarked upon their own solo ventures. However, pressure from record companies and management would dictate the name BLACK SABBATH should forge-ahead and even though guitarist Tony Iommi would by now be the sole remaining original member, his unmistakable musicality and signature guitar sound would prove more than sufficient to keep the heart of BLACK SABBATH alive and beating deep into the 1980s and beyond.

"Seventh Star" (originally released in 1986) saw Iommi recruiting the skills of Dave "The Beast" Spitz and drummer Eric Singer (later of KISS) and for the first time the position of a keyboardist became a visible credit and long-serving back-room operator Geoff Nicholls was finally brought to the foreground as an official member. However, it would be the position of lead vocalist that would have the greatest impact upon the new SABBATH sound and the appointment of ex-TRAPEZE and DEEP PURPLE bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes set interest and expectations high. "Seventh Star" would be somewhat of a departure from what was expected from the BLACK SABBATH name, and the songs on "Seventh Star" are more blues inclined and in the case of the single release, "No Stranger To Love", an altogether more AOR- and radio-friendly breeze is adopted.

This remastered deluxe expanded edition of the album adds the U.S. remix of the "No Stranger To Love" single and also for the very first time on CD, a live performance from London's Hammersmith Odeon in June '86 which features then-unknown American singer Ray Gillen who was brought-in to complete the tour following the departure of Glenn Hughes due to illness.

"The Eternal Idol" (BLACK SABBATH's thirteenth studio album released in 1987) was an altogether harder-sounding record and brought back an "edge" that had been missing from "Seventh Star". Although the album was originally recorded with unknown American singer Ray Gillen, by the time it came to the album release Tony Martin had joined the band and subsequently replaced all the vocal work for the final album.

"The Eternal Idol" remastered deluxe expanded edition adds two single B-sides from "The Shining" — "Black Moon" and "Some Kind Of Woman" — while the second disc brings to CD for the very first time the complete album session originally recorded by the late Ray Gillen.

"Seventh Star" remastered deluxe expanded edition:

Disc One (Original Album):

01. In For The Kill
02. No Stranger To Love
03. Turn To Stone
04. Sphinx (The Guardian)
05. Seventh Star
06. Danger Zone
07. Heart Like A Wheel
08. Angry Heart
09. In Memory...

Bonus Tracks:

10. No Stranger To Love (single remix)

Disc Two (Live At Hammersmith Odeon, London, England - June 2, 1986):

01. Mob Rules
02. Danger Zone
03. War Pigs
04. Seventh Star
05. Die Young
06. Black Sabbath
07. N.I.B.
08. Neon Knights
09. Paranoid

"The Eternal Idol" remastered deluxe expanded edition:

Disc One (Original Album):

01. The Shining
02. Ancient Warrior
03. Hard Life To Love
04. Glory Ride
05. Born To Lose
06. Nightmare
07. Scarlet Pimpernel
08. Lost Forever
09. Eternal Idol

Bonus Tracks:

10. Black Moon (single B-side)
11. Some Kind Of Woman (single B-side)

Disc Two ("The Eternal Idol" – Ray Gillen Session):

01. Glory Ride
02. Born To Lose
03. Lost Forever
04. Eternal Idol
05. The Shining
06. Hard Life To Love
07. Nightmare
08. Ancient Warrior

Although controversial in nature due to being released without permission or sanction by the band at the time, "Live At Last" (originally released in July 1980),was regardless, a landmark release for BLACK SABBATH, it being their first proper live album to feature Ozzy Osbourne on vocals (despite the fact that he had parted company with the band two years earlier). Reaching Top 5 in the U.K. chart, the tracks were recorded on the "Vol. 4" tour some seven years prior in 1973 and specifically from shows performed in Manchester and London. From the opening salvo of "Tomorrow's Dream" through "Sweet Leaf", "Killing Yourself To Live" and "Snowblind", right up to the finale of "War Pigs", the mammoth "Wicked World" (with snippets of "Into The Void" and "Supernaut") and the inevitable closer, "Paranoid", this is the original BLACK SABBATH lineup in ferocious form — and when it's this good, there was no-one better!

Captured between 1970 and 1975, the recordings on "Past Lives" show a band moving along the fast track like a runaway train. Opening disc one, with "Tomorrow's Dream", this live collection is both bombastic and unrelenting. In some respects, BLACK SABBATH classics like "Sweet Leaf", "Children Of The Grave", "War Pigs" and "Paranoid" sound even more haunting and powerful on this set because of the transcendent live energy that pervades these songs. Bill Ward has occasionally referred to a "fifth member" joining them on stage, a non-literal suggestion denoting the sheer power and energy of the four Sabs on stage together. Tracks 1-5 were recorded at the Hard Rock in Manchester on March 11, 1973 while tracks 6-9 were recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London on March 16, 1973. Disc two expands the more familiar and available performances on disc one, with further compelling live versions of tracks recorded in Paris at the Olympia Theatre in December 1970 and Asbury Park Convention Hall, New Jersey during August of 1975

"Live At Last" remastered deluxe edition:

01. Tomorrow's Dream
02. Sweet Leaf
03. Killing Yourself To Live
04. Cornucopia
05. Snowblind
06. Children Of The Grave
07. War Pigs
08. Wicked World
09. Paranoid

"Past Lives" remastered deluxe expanded edition:

Disc One:

01. Tomorrow's Dream
02. Sweet Leaf
03. Killing Yourself To Live
04. Cornucopia
05. Snowblind
06. Children of the Grave
07. War Pigs
08. Wicked World
09. Paranoid

Disc Two:

01. Hand of Doom
02. Hole in the Sky
03. Symptom of the Universe
04. Megalomania
05. Iron Man
06. Black Sabbath
07. N.I.B.
08. Behind The Wall Of Sleep
09. Fairies Wear Boots