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Black Sabbath, one of the most prominent and influential faces of the 70’s rock topography were, by the decade’s end, a band in disarray. Once the masters of their own reality, the Birmingham four-piece of Tony Iommi (Guitar), Geezer Butler (Bass), Bill Ward (Drums) and Ozzy Osbourne (Vocals), were now battle weary veterans, wearing the deep scars of a near ten year album-tour-album cycle that had left them bereft of any real sense of direction and motivation. The pace of the heavy metal and hard rock scene was now being set by the younger new wave of British heavy metal bands and young upstarts, such as Van Halen invading from the U.S.
Black Sabbath’s previous album, the ironically titled, Never Say Die!, released in September 1978, did little to reclaim lost ground and would transpire to be their final studio recording with their much-loved front-man, who in less than a year, would be unceremoniously sacked for narcotic and alcoholic induced lethargy. To many, the odds on the band continuing in the absence of Osbourne seemed like a wager that no-one in their right mind would take. However, elsewhere in the world another hard rock behemoth was undergoing dramatic changes of equal tumult, the results of which would have a ripple effect upon the world of Black Sabbath with quite dramatic consequences. Ex-Deep Purple guitar maestro Ritchie Blackmore--now impulsive leader of Rainbow--was preparing to re-brand his Anglo-American myth makers into a sleek, chart-troubling troupe of AOR heroes. Ronnie James Dio, Rainbow’s founding lead vocalist whose lion’s roar had taken the band to gold and platinum status soon realised there was to be no place for his Arthurian-lyrical style in this new operation and, like Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne, eventually found himself one band short of a gig. Several phone calls later and a chance meeting in, of all places, the Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, Iommi invited Dio to join the remaining members of Black Sabbath for an impromptu rehearsal. Within fifteen minutes and one brand new song later (that’s "Children Of The Sea", trivia fans), Black Sabbath had their new lead vocalist in situ, Dio had a new gig and all were once more, ready to roll. The resultant album releases over the next few years elevated Black Sabbath once more to a place of highest regard within elite rock circles.
1981’s Mob Rules featured the lineup of Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinnie Appice. This deluxe expanded edition features a bonus disc of live material.
Black Sabbath’s previous album, the ironically titled, Never Say Die!, released in September 1978, did little to reclaim lost ground and would transpire to be their final studio recording with their much-loved front-man, who in less than a year, would be unceremoniously sacked for narcotic and alcoholic induced lethargy. To many, the odds on the band continuing in the absence of Osbourne seemed like a wager that no-one in their right mind would take. However, elsewhere in the world another hard rock behemoth was undergoing dramatic changes of equal tumult, the results of which would have a ripple effect upon the world of Black Sabbath with quite dramatic consequences. Ex-Deep Purple guitar maestro Ritchie Blackmore--now impulsive leader of Rainbow--was preparing to re-brand his Anglo-American myth makers into a sleek, chart-troubling troupe of AOR heroes. Ronnie James Dio, Rainbow’s founding lead vocalist whose lion’s roar had taken the band to gold and platinum status soon realised there was to be no place for his Arthurian-lyrical style in this new operation and, like Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne, eventually found himself one band short of a gig. Several phone calls later and a chance meeting in, of all places, the Rainbow Bar & Grill on Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, Iommi invited Dio to join the remaining members of Black Sabbath for an impromptu rehearsal. Within fifteen minutes and one brand new song later (that’s "Children Of The Sea", trivia fans), Black Sabbath had their new lead vocalist in situ, Dio had a new gig and all were once more, ready to roll. The resultant album releases over the next few years elevated Black Sabbath once more to a place of highest regard within elite rock circles.
1981’s Mob Rules featured the lineup of Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinnie Appice. This deluxe expanded edition features a bonus disc of live material.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Supertzar
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD
Continuing pretty much where Heaven and Hell left off, Mob Rules is wider in scope than its predecessor, has less to prove, and even sees the return of the classic Sabbath curveball (E5150 being this album's Planet Caravan). Turn up the Night is as intense and brutal as Neon Knights; The Sign of the Southern Cross and Falling off the Edge of the World are from the same loud-quiet-loud school as Die Young, Children of the Sea and Heaven and Hell. Ultimately, this album is marginally less satisfying than its predecessor, but still towers over everything any of its perpetrators have done since.
This 2010 remaster is a must-have, featuring extras that I personally crawled over hot coals to get over the years - in particular the live version of Die Young that appeared as the b-side to The Mob Rules single and the full Live at Hammersmith CD that I spent a small fortune personally importing on release. All are outstanding - Live at Hammersmith has an energy and edge that I find lacking from Live Evil - as well as a setlist featuring more Dio era material. Die Young, along with final extra The Mob Rules demo, is raw, raucous and unpolished - and is all the more exciting for that. As with Heaven & Hell (Deluxe Edition), the 2010 remaster is quieter than the 2004 Sanctuary release, however this is easily solved by just turning up the volume.
Now all they need to do is unearth recordings of the Heaven and Hell rehearsals featuring Ozzy and I can die a happy man!
This 2010 remaster is a must-have, featuring extras that I personally crawled over hot coals to get over the years - in particular the live version of Die Young that appeared as the b-side to The Mob Rules single and the full Live at Hammersmith CD that I spent a small fortune personally importing on release. All are outstanding - Live at Hammersmith has an energy and edge that I find lacking from Live Evil - as well as a setlist featuring more Dio era material. Die Young, along with final extra The Mob Rules demo, is raw, raucous and unpolished - and is all the more exciting for that. As with Heaven & Hell (Deluxe Edition), the 2010 remaster is quieter than the 2004 Sanctuary release, however this is easily solved by just turning up the volume.
Now all they need to do is unearth recordings of the Heaven and Hell rehearsals featuring Ozzy and I can die a happy man!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By R. Stauber
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
As I already mentioned in my review of the new Deluxe Edition of "Heaven And Hell", this new mastering also retains the dynamic range of the original recording quite nicely (some might complain about it not being loud enough compared to other remasterings, but that is indeed a good thing - just use your volume knob to make it louder).
Compared to the original mastering on the Warner Bros. CD for the US market, this new mastering does not quite sound as good, but it is still a good mastering and the second best available option in my opinion (if you love this album you owe it to yourself to track down an original Warner Bros. US pressing of this CD).
The greatest part of this new Deluxe Edition is the 2nd disc which features the rare Rhino Handmade CD release "Live at Hammersmith" from a few years ago (the concert was recorded around New Year's Eve/Day 1981/1982). This bonus disc is a 1:1 digital clone of that Rhino Handmade release (which is long out of print and quite expensive on the secondary market). Now you can get it for a low price together with a decent mastering of "Mob Rules".
By the way, the mastering of the bonus live disc is also decent and still has some dynamics left. It is in my opinion the best available live recording of Dio era Black Sabbath, both from a performance point of view as well as from a mix/sound quality point of view. I like it better than "Live Evil".
Compared to the original mastering on the Warner Bros. CD for the US market, this new mastering does not quite sound as good, but it is still a good mastering and the second best available option in my opinion (if you love this album you owe it to yourself to track down an original Warner Bros. US pressing of this CD).
The greatest part of this new Deluxe Edition is the 2nd disc which features the rare Rhino Handmade CD release "Live at Hammersmith" from a few years ago (the concert was recorded around New Year's Eve/Day 1981/1982). This bonus disc is a 1:1 digital clone of that Rhino Handmade release (which is long out of print and quite expensive on the secondary market). Now you can get it for a low price together with a decent mastering of "Mob Rules".
By the way, the mastering of the bonus live disc is also decent and still has some dynamics left. It is in my opinion the best available live recording of Dio era Black Sabbath, both from a performance point of view as well as from a mix/sound quality point of view. I like it better than "Live Evil".
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Mr Blackwell
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Unlike the 'Heaven and Hell' deluxe edition,this is a more than worthy reissue of an album that was always in the shadow of its illustrious predecesor.
Disc 1 : The original album remastered,Fantastic album with several tracks that easily held their own with the previous album,namely the title track,the magnificent 'Voodoo' and the best,IMHO,track they recorded 'Sign Of The Southern Cross'.As with the other reissue,i cannot tell any major difference from previous remaster,other than the decrease in volume.Two bonus tracks added are an unremarkable 'die young' from the Mob Rules 12' single and a superb version of 'Mob Rules' which is arguably better than that which appeared on the final album.
Disc 2 : the dogs dangly bits,the long craved 'Live At Hammersmith' from 1981 14 superb,heavy Sabbath moments,which are generally superior to those found on 'Live Evil' which sadly had the life sucked out of them when it was (over) produced,this is Sabbath the way they were meant to be heard,that it includes several tracks that never made 'Live Evil' is all the better,I would imagine those that paid over the odds for the Rhino ltd edition set may be a tad aggrieved.
Packaging : as mentioned in other review,basic,nothing spectacular.
Disc 1 : The original album remastered,Fantastic album with several tracks that easily held their own with the previous album,namely the title track,the magnificent 'Voodoo' and the best,IMHO,track they recorded 'Sign Of The Southern Cross'.As with the other reissue,i cannot tell any major difference from previous remaster,other than the decrease in volume.Two bonus tracks added are an unremarkable 'die young' from the Mob Rules 12' single and a superb version of 'Mob Rules' which is arguably better than that which appeared on the final album.
Disc 2 : the dogs dangly bits,the long craved 'Live At Hammersmith' from 1981 14 superb,heavy Sabbath moments,which are generally superior to those found on 'Live Evil' which sadly had the life sucked out of them when it was (over) produced,this is Sabbath the way they were meant to be heard,that it includes several tracks that never made 'Live Evil' is all the better,I would imagine those that paid over the odds for the Rhino ltd edition set may be a tad aggrieved.
Packaging : as mentioned in other review,basic,nothing spectacular.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mob Rules
Bought for my daughters birthday. She loves this and can not believe the online price paid. Very good value to keep a daughter happy.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. D. Sewell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great album
One of Black Sabbaths top 3 albums. With Ozzie gone and Ronnie James Dio in they had a lot of pressure to succeed. They maintain the Sabbath sound with new rhythm and melody. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Murray
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Different Beast
Sabbath with Dio is an entirely different beast to Sabbath with Ozzy. If I had to choose, I would choose Sabbath with Ozzy. Yet the first 2 Sabbath/Dio albums are awesome too. Read more
Published 17 months ago by CLINT McGAVIN
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely essential
In my Sabbath chronology, "Mob Rules" ranks amongst the very best of the Brummie band, being second only to its predecessor, the majestic "Heaven And Hell. Read more
Published on 17 May 2011 by Uncle Gabby
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
A blast from the past for me.....my LP is buried somewhere.
A fantastic hard rock album with some great effects (as always superb guitar, bass and drums - even with a... Read more
A fantastic hard rock album with some great effects (as always superb guitar, bass and drums - even with a... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2010 by Strider
5.0 out of 5 stars
Black Sabbath Reborn!
First of all, please ignore the 1 Star reviews for this album. In saying this isn't a Black Sabbath Album without Ozzy, its like saying everything from 'Back In Black' wasn't an... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2010 by Dean P. Hackett
5.0 out of 5 stars
Snap, crackle pop Vol 1
The trawl through my collection continues. This is probably my favourite Dio Sabbath album. Worth the price just for Mob rules. Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2010 by Mr. Carl Jackson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mob Justice!
While not as acclaimed as their previous storming effort, Mob Rules is still a superb example of Dio-era Black Sabbath and is probably their last truly good album until The... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2010 by ratmonkey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deluxe Edition A Must Have For Two Reasons...
The Deluxe Edition of Mob Rules is a, "Must Have," for two reasons. The first reason would be the (demo) Heavy Metal Soundtrack version of the title track. Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2010 by Erik Rupp
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sabbath rules!
I didn't like it when it first came out!BUT now, I would say that it is one of the sabbathest BLACK SABBATH albums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!It bears the roots of LIVE EVIL! Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2010 by Papoonet
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