Black Sabbath were formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, and are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. Signing to Philips Records in November 1969, they released their first single, 'Evil Woman', in January 1970, and their debut album, 'Black Sabbath', was released the following month. Though it received a negative critical response, the album was a commercial success, leading to a follow-up record, 'Paranoid', later that year. The band's popularity grew, and by 1973's 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', critics were starting to respond favourably. This album, along with its predecessor 'Vol. 4' in 1972, and its successors 'Sabotage' in 1975, 'Technical Ecstasy' in 1976 and 'Never Say Die!' in 1978, saw the band explore more experimental and progressive styles. Osbourne's excessive substance abuse led to his firing in 1979, and he was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who recorded three albums with the band before he too left, and was replaced by former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. 'Born Again' was released in 1983, and the following year the band split up, with Iommi assembling a new version of the group the following year. For the next twelve years, the band endured many personnel changes that included vocalists Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin, as well as several drummers and bassists. In 1991, Iommi reunited with Butler, Dio and Carmen Appice to record 'Dehumanizer' in 1992, though Dio and Appice had both departed again by the end of the year.
After the release of 'Forbidden' in 1995, which was Black Sabbath's last studio album for eighteen years, the band went on a one-year hiatus until the original line-up reunited in 1997. They released a live album, 'Reunion', the following year, and continued to tour sporadically until 2005, most of which saw them headline Osbourne's annual festival tour Ozzfest. The band went on hiatus in 2006, and in 2007 a compilation CD of material recorded by Black Sabbath during vocalist Ronnie James Dio's tenure in the band was released, which saw the band reunite and record three new tracks for inclusion on it. After the recording was completed, the members decided to tour under the name 'Heaven & Hell', so that the working partnership between Iommi and Dio on the three new songs would not be wasted, and they recorded 'The Devil You Know' album in 2009 before disbanding after Dio's death in the following year. The original line-up of Black Sabbath reunited once again in 2011, though Ward departed prior to the recording of their final studio album and 19th overall, '13'. This collection includes contributions from most of the vocalists who sang with the band, and includes b-sides, outtakes, demos, bonus tracks, and those three Dio recordings from 2007, giving a complete over-view of the history of the band. Although Ozzy only appears on one track here, he was part of the classic early line-up, and so I've used his image on the cover, which was my favourite picture of them that I found.
Track listing
01 Weevil Woman '71 (outtake of Crow cover 1971)
02 Slapback (demo 1979)
03 The Fallen ('Born Again' outtake 1983)
04 Stonehenge (extended b-side of 'Trashed' 7" vinyl 1983)
05 Black Moon (b-side of 'The Shining' 12" vinyl 1987)
06 Some Kind Of Woman (b-side of 'The Shining' 12" vinyl 1987)
07 Cloak And Dagger (bonus track from picture disc of 'Headless Cross' 1989)
08 Bad Blood (outtake from 'Dehumanizer' 1992)
09 What's The Use (bonus track from Japanese edition of 'Cross Purposes' 1993)
10 Loser Gets It All (bonus track from Japanese edition of 'Forbidden' 1995)
11 The Devil Cried (new recording from 'Black Sabbath - The Dio Years' 2007)
12 Ear In The Wall (new recording from 'Black Sabbath - The Dio Years' 2007)
13 Shadow Of The Wind (new recording from 'Black Sabbath - The Dio Years' 2007)
