Black Sabbath: The Tony Martin Years

Left to right: Neil Murray (bass), Tony Martin (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar) & Cozy Powell (drums). One of the more stable line-ups from Tony Martin’s time in Black Sabbath. This line-up (with Geoff Nichols on keyboards) is featured on 1990’s ‘Tyr’ and 1995’s ‘Forbidden’.

During the very lean years of Black Sabbath (the late ’80s up through the late ’90s), there was one singer that Tony Iommi could rely on most when reunions, or talk of reunions, with Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio would inevitably fall through. That man’s name is Tony Martin. There’s a surprising number of official (and unofficial) lead singers for Black Sabbath. Obviously, you can put Ozzy and Dio at the top, but I would rank Tony Martin at #3. While you can say Tony Martin lacked the star power and onstage charisma of Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio, you cannot deny his abilities as a singer. In a band that can boast having rock vocal legends Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, and Glenn Hughes as singers, Tony Martin can hold his own in the vocal department. He is easily one of my favorite vocalists of all time and he still sounds great to this day.

Black Sabbath has been the subject of countless compilations and box sets and those sets will either focus on the band’s years with Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie Jame Dio. For a while, Black Sabbath albums were getting deluxe edition reissues. So far, all of the Tony Martin releases, only The Eternal Idol has received the deluxe treatment. Tony Iommi stated years ago he intends to get all of the Martin albums reissued, but who knows how much of a priority that is. Iommi said in the past that he would like to remix Forbidden, while Martin has stated in recent years he would like to re-record the entire album and add new lyrics. It would be very cool to see that actually happen (or to see any project from the two Tonys happen).

But, with not much from the Tony Martin era happening for the moment, I’ve decided to put together my own “best of” compilation called Black Sabbath: The Tony Martin Years.

Black Sabbath – The Tony Martin Years
Universal Music Group

1. The Shining (The Eternal Idol)
2. Hard Life to Love (The Eternal Idol)
3. Glory Ride (The Eternal Idol)
4. Born to Lose (The Eternal Idol)
5. Lost Forever (The Eternal Idol)
6. Headless Cross (Headless Cross)
7. Devil & Daughter (Headless Cross)
8. When Death Calls (Headless Cross)
9. Kill in the Spirit World (Headless Cross)
10. Call of the Wild (Headless Cross)
11. Anno Mundi (Tyr)
12. Jerusalem (Tyr)
13. Feels Good to Me (Tyr)
14. Heaven In Black (Tyr)
15. I Witness (Cross Purposes)
16. Cross of Thorns (Cross Purposes)
17. Immaculate Deception (Cross Purposes)
18. Dying for Love (Cross Purposes)
19. What’s the Use? (Cross Purposes)
20. Can’t Get Close Enough (Forbidden)
21. I Won’t Cry for You (Forbidden)
22. Forbidden (Forbidden)
23. Kiss of Death (Forbidden)

If you’ve never given the Tony Martin albums a chance, I can’t recommend them enough. I first got heavy into this era about 10 years ago, and I still listen to all of these albums to this day.

The Keep featuring KISS members Peter Criss & Mark St. John and Black Sabbath’s Dave Donato

The Keep: Michael Norton, Peter Criss, Mark St. John and… um, David Donato..? Michael McDonald?

Peter Criss/The Keep [demos]
Recorded: 1989-1990

1. Love For Sale
2. Between The Lines
3. Do You Know What I Mean
4. (Been A) Long Time
5. All Night Long

Band:
David Donato – Lead Vocals
Mark St. John – Guitar
Michael Norton – Bass
Peter Criss – Drums; Lead Vocals (“Do You Know What I Mean” only)

Producer: Peter Criss

Formed sometime in 1989, the Keep is a very interesting project that never got far off the ground beyond a series of demos and one live performance in May of ’90 at a Guitar Center store in California. The group is notable for including Peter Criss (original KISS drummer), Mark St. John (short-lived KISS guitarist), and David Donato (short-lived Black Sabbath vocalist…. so short-lived he never made it past the demo stage with the band). The bassist was Michael Norton, the brother of Mark St. John. The trio of St. John/Donato/Norton previously played together in the band White Tiger and had released an album in 1986.

The odd thing is that I’ve seen conflicting reports on who sang on these demos and was the band’s singer in general. Some websites list a Michael McDonald as the original vocalist for this group, while other sites say that David Donato used the alias of “Michael McDonald”. There is no doubt that David Donato was in the band, but it’s unclear to me who Michael McDonald was.

In my research for this album, I get the impression that the Keep was more or less a partnership between Peter Criss & Mark St. John, and the demos were initially shopped simply as ‘Peter Criss’. I’m not sure at which point the band decided to rename themselves as The Keep. Reactions to the Peter Criss/Keep demos were not positive and they were not able to score a record deal. This lead to Mark St. John leaving the band in frustration in early 1991 while his brother stayed on with Peter Criss and they formed an early version of the band ‘Criss’ with Phil Naro coming in on vocals.

So now that that little history lesson is out of the way, and taking into account that these are only demos, how does the music of the Keep sound? Well, it was definitely in keeping with the times with St. John’s flashy guitar playing (which drew the ire of Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley when he was briefly in KISS and helped in his exit from the band). “Been A Long Time” is the flashiest track on this album and is unmistakably Mark St. John and gives off that Animalize vibe. “Between The Lines” is my favorite track of the bunch though.

Despite the hair metal tendencies, the old school influences of Peter Criss couldn’t help but slip in with a cover of Lee Michaels’ 1971 hit “Do You Know What I Mean”. Sure, it’s a a slick ’80s metal version of the song, but I think it’s pretty easy to guess who wanted to record this breezy classic rock & pop song.

I’m always down for some glammed up ’80s heavy metal, so it’s a shame this quasi-super group never took off. You’d think someone would have wanted to sign the original KISS drummer along with a KISS guitarist and someone who could lay claim to being the lead singer for Black Sabbath (even if it was only for about six months in 1984/1985 and they never released any material)!

Oh well, The Keep remains an interesting footnote in history for fans of KISS.

Halloween Mood Music, Volume 3

I’m still talking about music that I love to listen to in the build towards Halloween to keep me in the spirit!

Check out Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Black Sabbath

Much like with Alice Cooper, it can’t be the Halloween season without listening to some Black Sabbath. Most people think of Ozzy Osbourne when it comes to Black Sabbath, but I don’t. In fact, that’s my least favorite era of Black Sabbath.

During Ronnie James Dio’s tenure the band started to go in a more overt direction when it came to embracing the “evil” look and lyrics of heavy metal. Yet, it is Born Again (with Ian Gillan on vocals) that is the ugliest, heaviest, angriest, and most evil sounding record the band ever recorded. Lyrically, Headless Cross is filled with tons of Halloween-worthy lyrics with songs about bats, devils, evil spirits, full moons, etc.

Soundtracks

Of course, horror movie soundtracks are obviously an easy go-to for creepy and spooky music! If you put on soundtracks from Suspiria, Phantasm, and the Romero zombie movies, prepare to truly freak yourself out.

Various Artists – Live and Heavy [Review]

Various Artists – Live and Heavy
1981, NEMS Records

1. Deep Purple – “Smoke on the Water”
2. Nazareth – “Razamanaz”
3. Motorhead – “White Line Fever”
4. Def Leppard – “Rocks Off”
5. Rainbow – “All Night Long”
6. Status Quo – “Roll Over Lay Down”
7. Whitesnake – “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”
8. UFO – “Lights Out in London”
9. Gillan – “Unchain Your Brain”
10. Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”

What a brutal album cover that totally screams “heavy metal”. I picked this one up on vinyl in great condition for only $1 at a local flea market annex shop called Fort Walton Beach Vintage Records. Live and Heavy is a compilation put out by the British label NEMS that, unsurprisingly, features live tracks by UK rock bands. Had this been released a year or two later, I’m sure it would’ve been full of NWOBHM bands but instead we get bands that are more closely associated with ’70s hard rock and heavy metal.

This compilation has a killer line-up: Gillan-era Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, UFO (“Lights Out” is titled “Lights Out in London” on this release), Ozzy-era Black Sabbath, Motorhead… some of the very best heavy rock bands England has to offer. Even Def Leppard makes an appearance. Pretty good deal for such a new and young band (at the time) to get a track compiled with a number of other legendary bands.

Had this been a compilation of studio tracks, I probably would’ve passed. I’m not big on live album but for a collection of live cuts from these specific bands, I figured it was worth a buck.

The inner sleeve lists the various dates and venues these tracks were recorded. Always good to have that info. I was afraid this was going to be a super low-budget compilation that wouldn’t even bother.

This is a good pick-up for fans of hard rock from the 1970s and early 1980s.

Highlights: “Smoke on the Water”, “All Night Long”, “Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”, “Lights Out in London”

Black Sabbath – 13 [Review]

Black Sabbath – 13 [Best Buy Deluxe Edition]
2013, Republic Records

Disc 1
1. “End of the Beginning” 8:05
2. “God Is Dead?” 8:52
3. “Loner” 4:59
4. “Zeitgeist” 4:37
5. “Age of Reason” 7:01
6. “Live Forever” 4:46
7. “Damaged Soul” 7:51
8. “Dear Father”

Disc 2
1. “Methademic” 5:57
2. “Peace of Mind” 3:40
3. “Pariah” 5:34
4. “Naïveté in Black”

Band:
Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals, Harmonica
Tony Iommi – Guitar
Geezer Butler – Bass

Additional Musicians:
Brad Wilk – Drums

Produced by Rick Rubin

I won’t get into all of the stats and figures but it’s been a long time since these guys have played on an album together as Black Sabbath. It’s just a shame they couldn’t work out something with Bill Ward in order to do a TRUE reunion album/tour.

Still, this is a very important time in the band’s history. Though I’m not an Ozzy fan, I can still agree that this is a monumental occasion, so I’ll give my thoughts track-by-track:

• “End of the Beginning” – This one starts off like something from The Devil You Know with a heavy, slow and doomy vibe. It picks up later in the song but at 8 minutes, it’s not how I would’ve chosen to kick off the album.
• “God Is Dead?” – I can’t hear some of the guitar parts in this song without thinking of Weezer’s “Undone – The Sweater Song”. I can’t be the only one that hears that, can I? We’re now only two tracks into the album but sitting 17 minutes! Again, I question the track listing. Decent song but like most of the world, my socks weren’t knocked off when I heard this.
• “Loner” – Finally the speed is picking up a bit and look — this song is only 5 minutes long! We even get an “Alright now!” from Ozzy.
• “Zeitgeist” – Essentially this is “Planet Caravan, Part II”. If you had told me this was either a Pink Floyd song or recorded by Sabbath in the mid-70s, I’d believe you. It’s a good song but I’m a bit disappointed they basically tried to recreate something they’d previously written. Seems a bit lazy to me. But hey, they aren’t the first band to ever do that.
• “Age of Reason” – Love the drums here (sorry, Bill!). One of the first songs from this album that grabbed me immediately.
• “Live Forever” – Another much-need slightly more up-tempo number.
• “Damaged Soul” – Ugh. Another 8 minute track. Fuzzy 1970s stoner vibe. Another track that really sounds like something the band recorded “back in the day”.
• “Dear Father” – Probably feeling this song the least of all on the album.

That finishes up the proper album, now onto the deluxe edition tracks:

• “Methademic” – Shame this one was relegated to being on the deluxe edition!
• “Peace of Mind” – I know ’70s Sabbath when I hear it. This is it.
• “Pariah” – Another good rocker. Has a cool melodic opening.
• “Naïveté in Black” – Exclusive to the Best Buy edition of the deluxe album. The fastest song out of both discs. Why didn’t they write more songs like these? Kinda reminds me of modern day Metallica.

Disc 2 is very strong. The songs are a bit faster and much shorter. Disc 1 has its moments but it’s just too slow and time-consuming for its own good. Surely we could’ve swapped out “God Is Dead?”, “Damaged Soul”, and/or “Dear Father” for any of these four tracks! It’s a strange choice for them to include so many slow and plodding 7-9 minute epics on the album when they had some very good 4-5 minute rockers being released as bonus content.

13 is going over well with the Ozzy fans and I can see why. It’s definitely got that old-school Sabbath vibe to it that should be pleasing to those that prefer the band’s Ozzy years. Being someone who isn’t an Ozzy fan, I can admit that this is certainly a good album, possibly will make my Top 10 for the year, but I don’t think it’s great and it’s probably not something I’ll ever listen to much again. I can’t imagine thinking, “Man, I really need to hear that 9 minute song Black Sabbath wrote back in 2013!”

Highlights: “The End of the Beginning”, “Loner”, “Zeitgeist”, “Age of Reason”, “Live Forever”, “Methademic”, “Peace of Mind”, “Pariah”, “Naïveté in Black”

http://www.blacksabbath.com
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Buy the album at Amazon.com