A week or so ago, the new 2 CD "The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978: Symptom of the Universe" package was released. When I first heard about it, my thought was "Big deal - yet another packaging of the same old Iron Man / Paranoid / War Pigs collection - who needs that?" BOY WAS I WRONG.

Normally I don't like packages like this, because it strikes me as an attempt to get folks to just buy the same songs again. However, this time it's most definitely worth it. This isn't just a standard repackage. This set does have the songs that we know well, but these are a new remastering of the songs. This has nothing to do with the 1996 Castle Communications remaster of the albums from 1970-1987. These are NEW remasters taken from the original Warner Bros Master tapes (indeed, this bears the Warner Bros logo as well as the Rhino one). In fact, I was informed this week that the 96 Castle remasters were not "authorized" by the band - it was one of those record label things. It's not like they're illegal or something, but not a "band sponsored" item.

Anyway, the fidelity on these is quite quite spectacular. I've been listening to Sabbath since 1981, so I'm familiar with the songs, and I have to say, I've heard some bits on here that I've never heard before. They're quite astonishing. I'm not normally one to recommend a package such as this, but I can wholeheartedly recommend this package - even if you own the Castle remasters. Also, while I've not been given any formal information stating as such, one can speculate that since the songs have been remastered again from the Warner masters, you have to wonder if a reissue of the albums themselves are on the books? I don't have any info that says they will, but if so, I'll be sure to pass it on. If the studio albums are remastered and re-released again in the same method that this is, it might very well be worth it to pick 'em up again!

And that's just the songs. The packaging itself is quite good, too. There's two individual sleeves for each CD, as well as a booklet. This isn't standard jewel case packaging. And this thing is loaded, and I mean LOADED, and I mean loaded with pictures I have never seen before. I've been involved with Sabbath as a fan for a long time, and I've read numerous interviews, and seen tons of photos. Now, I do not claim to know everything about Sabbath - I'm not that foolish or naieve. However, over time, you tend to hear the same stories, and see the same promo photos. I have to say - about 90% of the photos in here I have never seen before. Some are quite QUITE awesome.

I have to say, I cannot speak more highly about this package. I got mine free as a comp from the record label (I run black-sabbath.com) as part of the group that I'm giving away next week in a contest, but even if I didn't, I would happily buy this - it's quite good. If you want to buy it yourself, click on the cover art here with the story. Major kudos to all involved in putting this together - and let's hope the apply the same quality treatment to the Ozzy era studio albums should they too be remastered and re-released!

Joe Siegler
www.black-sabbath.com

It is only natural with the newfound interest in Ozzy Osbourne due to his popular reality based television show that Rhino decided to release this newly remastered 2 cd Black Sabbath anthology of Ozzy's work (1970-78) in time for Halloween. "Symptom Of The Universe" betters the long time domestic retrospective "We Sold Our Soul For Rock And Roll" by 15 additional tracks. All 14 tracks on that release appear on "Symptom Of The Universe" in remastered form. The only rarity is the song "Evil Woman" a non-lp single issued during the time period of their first album but it has been available on various import anthologies for years.

Black Sabbath was one of the original bands who started the genre of heavy metal. Their music was slow and grungy with sledgehammer riffs. Ozzy became somewhat of a folk hero due to his legendary unpredictable on and offstage antics. His charisma provided a focal point for the band even if guitarist Tony Iommi was the real leader and bassist Geezer Butler provided the majority of the lyrics. Radio favorites like "Paranoid", "Iron Man" and "Children Of The Grave" remain in Ozzy's solo set lists to this day. The best part of the set is rediscovering the lost favorites of old like "The Wizard", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Sweet Leaf", "Supernaut", "Sabbra Cadabra" and "Hole In The Sky". The band were never flashy in the current sense but their bludgeoning style won them many fans. While never critical darlings, they have proven to be highly influential. They were one the first bands to capitalize on a demonic/occult image. This image influenced many later bands such as Venom, Slayer, Mercyful Fate and a host of other foreign Black Metal bands. This is evident in songs like "Black Sabbath", "N.I.B.", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" to name a few.

While the song selections are good for the most part, a number of worthwhile songs like "Behind The Wall of Sleep", "Electric Funeral", "Hand Of Doom", "Cornucopia" and "Killing Yourself To Live" among others were omitted in favor of weaker songs near the end of the second disk. Each disk however, contains over 75 minutes of playing time so the set is a relatively good value. Hopefully Rhino will remaster their individual disks and augment them with unissued material. Until then enjoy this welcome set of a classic pioneering metal band!

Me being born in 1986, I missed out on alot of the music that came out back in the early days. I was never a big Ozzy fan, until I heard "Bark at the Moon" on a videogame soundtrack...I thought I'd check out some of his CD's then I came across Black Sabbath. I heard of the band as being Ozzys first real band, so I figured I'd check it out and I thought the best way to do that would be to buy this package right here. When I listened all the way through I had noticed some songs that I heard before and not only was I blown away by them, but by the whole CD.

The one's I had heard before(but only once or twice, and never really liked them since I was really young when I heard them) was "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man", "N.I.B.", and "Sabbra Caddabra".(that was on the album "Garage Inc. by Metallica) These songs were amazing, and blew me away right off the bat...then when I got around to the rest of the CD I was so happy that I spent the [money] on this gem. "Snowblind", "Changes", "Supernaut", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Symptom of the Universe", "Black Sabbath", "The Wizard", and "Children of the Grave" are just a few of the many great songs...they rank up there as some of the best songs I've ever heard.

Another thing to mention is the packaging, and the booklet that comes with it. This isn't your normal cheap CD Jewel Case...a nice cardboard outside, with pictures of the band, and a flip top on both cases. The booklet kept me interested as well, I sat there for a good thirty minutes or so reading through the whole thing; it has some very good information in it.

If your a rock fan interested in what started(or was there in the beginning) the genre, then go with this collection, you will not be dissapointed!

Early Black Sabbath defined hard rock. For me, this is the single most comprehensive release of the band that started the movement of noise pollution we children of the 1970's called 'heavy metal' (at a decent price). In the days with Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi, Ward and Butler pushed the envelope of creativity and experimentation - conjuring up images of wizards, the macabre, and all that is black ('doom & gloom'). The remastered digitial sound is crisp and well done.

WHAT YOU GET: 29 songs on two discs - approximately 152 minutes. A 48-page booklet with tons of pictures and history of the band... complete with songs, minutes, and what songs came from which albums. Disc 1 contains 13 songs from the years 1970-1971. Disc 2 contains 16 songs from the years 1972-78. Sabbath released 8 albums in this time frame and they are all represented here on "Symptom Of The Universe".

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Black Sabbath (1970: 4 songs), Paranoid (1970: 4 songs + 1 British release only track), Master Of Reality (1971: 5 songs), Vol. 4 (1972: 5 songs), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973: 3 songs), Sabotage (1975: 3 songs, including title track for this 2-cd set), Technical Ecstasy (1976: 2 songs), Never Say Die (1978: 2 songs).

WHAT YOU DON'T GET: Black Sabbath was alive and well after Ozzy's departure. Other singers filling the void included Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin. Most were good, especially the Dio and Martin albums with Sabbath, but none were as good or ground-breaking as the original 4 featuring Ozzy. None of these post-Ozzy singers appear on this release - hence the name "Symptom Of The Universe: The Original Black Sabbath" (hmmm, maybe another 2-cd set from Rhino - featuring all the other lead singers besides Ozzy). A few songs are missing that would have been nice ("Hand Of Doom", "Wicked World", "Killing Yourself To Live", "Electric Funeral"). Overall though, I think the song choices Rhino made here are excellent. It is a worthy successor for my old "We Sold Our Souls..." compilation that featured only 14 total tracks (through 1975) and the original analog (sound) recordings. A definite upgrade and so many great songs all in one package - thank you Rhino in 2002 (5 stars).

Black Sabbath's Symptom of the Universe is clearly Sabbath's best compilation CD and would be suitable for all fans unwilling or unable to buy all of Sabbath's CDs individually.

Among its strong points:

The sound quality of the recently remastered songs is vastly superior to earlier versions. For that reason alone, even fans who already own the individual albums may want to consider this compilation CD, although it is my understanding that the individual albums will become available in remastered versions in 2004.

Both CDs are packed full of songs, meaning the set delivers around 150 minutes of music, making the $29 price tag a better bargain than it might at first appear.

The set emphasizes the first three albums, which are my personal favorites. I am especially happy that the set includes The Warning, which at 14 minutes in length, could have been left off in favor of two or three lesser songs. To me, The Warning is Sabbath's magnum opus and is a necessary component of any CD set that purports to include Sabbath's greatest work. The set includes all of the necessary songs from the first three albums, although I would have enjoyed the addition of Hand Of Doom and Solitude as well (but you can't have everything!).

The book that is included with this set is very well done and adds a lot to the overall value of this set. It includes a lengthy band history and many photographs.

Minor gripes:

Fans will always argue over song selection on a "best of" compilation, but it is a virtually undisputed fact that Laguna Sunrise from Vol. 4 and Fluff from Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath are close to the worst tracks from those two respective albums. It would have been better to have included missing gems like Wheels of Confusion, A National Acrobat, Killing Yourself To Live, or Spiral Architect instead.

While the song order is basically chronological (songs are grouped together by album), the songs are not arranged in the same order in which they appeared on each album, and I would have preferred that they were. I also would have liked to see After Forever included on Disc One with all the other songs from Master of Reality, even if that meant moving Evil Woman to Disc Two (or not including that song at all).

The above are truly minor gripes. Overall, Symptom of the Universe is extremely well done, and I highly recommend it.