Black Sabbath Mob Rules

Black Sabbath 'Mob Rules' (Vertigo, 1981)

Black Sabbath fans seem to fall into two groups; those who are Ozzy era and those who are Dio era. I suppose there is a third group; those who love both eras. I fall into another group; the one that loves the Tony 'The Cat' Martin era.

In 1990 I was skating at the Mound and I recognised a face I had seen many times fronting Sabbath on the Power Hour. Tony 'The Cat' Martin, the voice of 'The Headless Cross', was right there in front of me. He was bedecked in traditional rock black, accompanied by fetching peroxide classic 'Rock Chick' and they were videoing the scene of the Mound, Princes Street and the Castle.

Brilliant; my first opportunity to meet a proper rock star, I skated up and asked if he was indeed 'The Cat' which he confirmed and then he asked me if I was going to see Sabbath that weekend to which I replied in the affirmative. Unfortunately, that was a fib, but I still cherish that first brush with metal fame.

To tell the truth, apart from Anthrax, Faith No More and Sacred Reich covering Sabbath I was pretty much unaware of their output. Sabbath were seen as has beens, the old guard who us cool Death Metals types would never listen to. How little we knew.....

I am a firm fan of the classic Ozzy era releases, namely the first six albums. It doesn't matter what Ozzy has done since and how much they try to tarnish their reputation with unseemly fallouts with Bill Ward, the first six albums are untouchable and the foundation of every genre of heavy music which I love.

From experience it seems that it's the first Sabbath that you hear that hooks you and reel s you in. As a result I know a lot of people who are a few years older than me who were into 'Heaven and Hell' (1980) and 'Mob Rules' (1981) because they were contemporary and to them Dio was the man because Ozzy was perceived as having gone soft.

I was slow to come to Sabbath, not truly succumbing until Pringle indoctrinated me in 1999 and it was Ozzy's caterwaul which won me over, but Ronnie James Dio is a master of the metal vocal and his incredible pipes offer Sabbath something that Ozzy never could.

'Mob Rules' was Dio's second and last 80s album with Sabbath after the snowblinded band had ousted the even more addled Ozzy, and the first to feature Vinny Appice on drums after Bill Ward had left on the previous tour for 'Heaven and Hell'.

In 2001 I saw Dio at the Playhouse supporting Alice Cooper. I remember getting constantly tutted at by the 'bus pass in our leathers' couple who were next to us. The sheer audacity of going to the bar at a rock gig, can you imagine! He was on majestic form, which was made all the more impressive by the fact that he was about five foot tall and nearly one hundred years old. He delivered songs of rainbows and wizards with panache whilst constantly flashing the devil horns. The now popular culture signal for all that is cool and evil was more or less invented by the wee man who was only repeating the 'evil eye' gesture he had seen his grandmother use when telling tales of the old country. Italy in case you hadn't guessed.

He was a superb frontman, who seemed a genuinely nice person and was an all round rock god. He took the Dio name after a Mafia mobster (his real name was Padavona), he sang in bands since the 50's (Ronnie and the Red Capes released their debut 7" in 1958!), his voice is one of the most recognisable in rock, there's a street named after him in Cortland, New York, Rock Festivals name stages after him, he was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame and there's a statue of him erected in Bulgaria. You get the picture; the guy's a legend.

A great regret was never getting to see Heaven and Hell, the version of Black Sabbath that toured playing only Dio era material. Unfortunately, he succumbed to stomach cancer two months before I was due to see the band opening for Iron Maiden. The outpourings of genuine grief from across the spectrum of the musical world brought home how well regarded he was and I consoled myself with the memory of having seen him perform 'Holy Diver' in the company of Pringle, Yates and Falgun all beaming from ear to ear.

'Mob Rules' features some excellent performances from the whole band. Tony Iommi seems free from the doom shackles he created during the Ozzy era and is soloing left, right and center. Dio also performs excellently, particularly on 'The Sign of the Southern Cross'.

The issue I have with the LP is that it really sounds very 80s. Whereas the classic Ozzy era is timeless and could have been released at any point in the last forty odd years, 'Mob Rules' is definitely of its time. The band are moving with the times, but leaving their magic behind, perhaps encouraged by Martin Birch who although an incredible operator in the studio, brings a feel of Deep Purple and Whitesnake to the proceedings. With Birch on production duties and Dio on vocals it's also hard to ignore Rainbow comparisons.

Classic metal performers do not deliver a classic in this case.

Strangely I own two copies of this LP!

Peace