Published on Apr 21, 2002
1997 proved to be the year when an event happened that Black
Sabbath fans thought they’d never see. For the first time since
Ozzy Osbourne left the band in 1978, the original lineup –
Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer
Bill Ward – were recording and touring together.
Okay, let’s put this review on “pause” for a moment. Long-time
readers are probably now expecting me to write something like, ”
Reunion proves they shouldn’t have bothered.” C’mon, admit
it, you’re expecting me to take more cheap shots than Mike Tyson
during a heavyweight fight.
Sorry, it ain’t gonna happen. Fact is, I’ve been a huge Black
Sabbath fan – at least of the original line-up – since I first
bought a copy of
Paranoid when I was about 14 years old. I’ve thought for a
while that Iommi should have called it a day with Black Sabbath
over a decade ago, before the band slid into self-parody with such
albums as
Born Again and
The Eternal Idol.
Reunion shows how much magic there was in that original
line-up – and while this is by no means a perfect live album, it
does bring Black Sabbath back into the spotlight for all the right
reasons. It also makes me wonder what would have happened if all
parties had swallowed their collective prides even a few years
prior and tried their hand at reuniting.
It’s almost a given that for this show – recorded in December
1997 in Birmingham, England – Iommi and crew would focus solely on
songs recorded while Osbourne was a member of Black Sabbath. What
isn’t a given are some of the surprises that Black Sabbath
pulls from their capes – who would have bet that their reunion set
would include such numbers as “Spiral Architect,” “Into the Void”
and “Dirty Women”?
Sadly, these are the tracks that show some of the weaknesses of
Black Sabbath circa 1997. “Spiral Architect” simply needs the
elaborate instrumentation that the
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath version had to really sell it;
without the orchestral pieces, this song sounds a bit naked. As for
“Into The Void,” it sometimes feels like the whole group is going
through the motions on this one. Add into this Osbourne bringing
his madman persona onto the stage, and it sometimes feels like a
carnival sideshow. I lost count of how many times Osbourne screams
at the crowd to make some noise, and he uses the word “fuck” more
often in a two-hour concert than I do in a week… and I use salty
language much like Emeril Lagasse uses Essence.
But lest you think that
Reunion is a second-rate production, Iommi and crew show
from almost the get-go why they became such a phenomenal band in
the ’70s. Opening their set with “War Pigs,” the whole band eagerly
devours this song (despite Ward speeding up the tempo a bit at the
start and Osbourne going out of tune briefly), as does the crowd.
Just hearing these four musicians tackling a song which defined
Black Sabbath for me, and lovingly taking it on, shows me that
there is still a lot of magic left in Black Sabbath.
Likewise, tracks such as “Snowblind,” “N.I.B.” and “Orchid /
Lord Of This World” are solid arguments as to why Black Sabbath was
so popular in their day, and why this particular lineup should stay
together. Despite nearly 20 years of other singers trying in vain
to fill his shoes, make no mistake about it, Osbourne
is the voice of Black Sabbath. There is still nothing like
hearing Butler banging out his rhythms on the bass, or listening to
Ward go nuts behind the drum kit. And Iommi? Frankly, his playing
hasn’t sounded better; it’s almost as if he rediscovered something
about his approach to the guitar by getting back together with his
mates.
Yet one has to wonder how much better Black Sabbath would have
sounded, say, in 1985, had this reunion taken place. I understand
that Osbourne probably can’t hit the high notes at age 50 like he
could when he was 30, but I do miss the higher-pitched vocals on
“Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”. Without them, it’s almost like a major
support beam has been yanked from the song. Oh, it’s still good to
hear the band take it on, but it’s just not the same.
Reunion also features two new studio tracks from Black
Sabbath – and all I can say about these is, nice try. I’ll write
“Psycho Man” and “Selling My Soul” off to mere rustiness on the
band’s part, since they both plod along a bit too much and don’t
have much in the way of excitement in them (despite the closing
frenzied tempo on “Psycho Man” – the whole song should have been
like that). I hate to say it, but other bands take on the
gloom-and-doom aspect so well, it seems like Black Sabbath is
chasing them a bit here. One has to hope that the long-promised
studio album from Black Sabbath will erase these doubts.
Reunion proves that Iommi, Osbourne, Butler and Ward were a
force that could not be stopped in the world of hard rock, and
their power is almost as strong today as it was in Sabbath’s glory
days. Despite a few wrinkles on this one, it’s still a disc that is
well worth your time.