For the past decade, it’s felt as if Black Sabbath have ignored their post-Ozzy legacy. Although the first six albums with Osbourne will always represent their most career defining work, there’s no getting around the fact that 1980’s ‘Heaven & Hell’ and the following year’s ‘Mob Rules’ – both recorded with vocal powerhouse Ronnie James Dio – are often cited among fan favourites.
Both albums were issued as 2CD deluxe editions back in 2010, but have been out of print for some time. A reissue of those sets would have been welcomed, but two new editions – release date 5/3/21 – offer the bulk of that material with some.variation.
The original 2CD ‘Heaven & Hell’ included a couple of live b-sides, a mono 7″ edit and a handful of live cuts from a show in Hertford. The good news is that All those bonus have been re-employed, along with selected tracks from a show at Hammersmith Odeon. Those who own the 2010 edition will not need a CD upgrade. Vinyl fans will have the option of a double LP set featuring the original album plus a second LP containing tracks 1-7 from the bonus CD.
The 2010 ‘Mob Rules’ added a second disc of live cuts from Hammersmith. The newly released edition includes selected tracks from that show (there are eight of the fourteen Hammersmith tracks scattered across the two new editions), but the big draw is the inclusion of a previously unreleased live show from Portland. As with ‘Heaven & Hell’, a 2LP edition will be available featuring the original album plus a second LP featuring selected bonus tracks (CD1, tracks 10-16; CD2, track 11).
The full contents of the CD new deluxe editions can be explored below.
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13. “Children Of The Grave”
** previously unreleased