Black Sabbath "Seventh Star" 1986(orig) 2010(deluxe edition) ***

Black Sabbath's "Seventh Star" was never one of my top choices but I just had to get the Deluxe Edition, since it's a bit of a curiosity, sporting the two vocalists with the shortest career in Sabbath: Glenn Hughes and Ray Gillen (And don't remind me of the Ian Gillan period: I have that monstrosity, too). To be fair, neither "Seventh Star" nor "Born Again" are quite as bad as they're supposed to be. They're rejected by Sabbath fans because they simply aren't what Sabbath's supposed to sound like. Seen as standalone heavy metal CD's they have their (limited) merits. "Seventh Star" was actually never supposed to be released under the "Black Sabbath" moniker. It was supposed to be Tony Iommi's solo debut. The "Born Again" tour fiasco had left everybody with a bitter taste in their mouth. Ian Gillan left to join the reformed Deep Purple and Sabbath cornerstone and main lyricist Geezer Butler also quit the sinking ship. Iommi had some tunes ready that he thought didn't fit Sabbath and set about recording them for a solo album. He recruited old associate Geoff Nichols and a couple of Lita Ford's band members and started seeking an appropriate singer. The initial idea of using several different guest singers fell through but he hit it off very well with former Purple Glenn Hughes. Hughes was at the time a cocaine addict and had just been sacked from the Gary Moore Band for that reason. Iommi decided to give him a second chance and Glenn sang his heart out on this album, committing one great performance after another. Iommi is, of course, a legendary guitarist and his riffing and soloing in this album is beyond reproach. Unfortunately the material isn't first class. Not bad either, but mostly run-of-the-mill 80's Heavy Metal. The record company refused to release it as a solo album and it eventually circulated as "Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi" and a photo of the mustachio'd guitarist on the cover. It starts off well with "In For The Kill", a hard rocking number with fast metallic riffs where Hughes proves his vocal ability beyond doubt. Ballad "No Stranger To Love" is a curious choice for a single since it's as un-Sabbath-etic as possible. It actually sounds like a Whitesnake ballad and features a soulful performance by Hughes (Remember how he and Coverdale were Deep Purple's vocal Dynamic Duo?). "Turn To Stone" is another good metal number, ditto with "Danger Zone". "Sphinx" is just the introduction to the "Seventh Star", an epic song that cries "Ronnie James Dio". Glenn does his best but he's out of character. The bluesey "Heart Like A Wheel" and "In Memory" suit him much better. "Angry Heart" is another hard rocker but to tell you the truth, like other songs in this album, it reminds me more of late period Rainbow than Black Sabbath. The Deluxe Edition adds the single mix of "No Stranger To Love" and a whole live performance from 1986. Meanwhile Hughes had managed to waste a second chance to be in one of the world's top rock bands. The album had proved commercially successful but his behavior and performance was so appalling that halfway through the tour he was replaced with complete unknown Ray Gillen. It's him we hear in the bonus disc and, although the recording quality is rather bad, he proves to be a worthy successor, handling material from the Hughes, Dio and Ozzy eras with ease. An amazing feat, considering he had virtually no time to prepare himself. Notwithstanding, pretty soon he was also history, to be replaced with Tony Martin, then Dio for the second time, only for the circle to close with Ozzy back at the mic. This album should satisfy friends of 1980's metal and just about nobody else. To the curious Sabbath fan I'd suggest to get The Deluxe Edition to get an idea of the scarcely heard Ray Gillen line-up: Not bad at all, I assure you...

*** for  In For The Kill, No Stranger To Love, Turn To Stone, Seventh Star, Danger Zone, No Stranger To Love (Alt. version)

** for Sphinx (The Guardian), Heart Like A Wheel, Angry Heart, In Memory

Live Album: (for performance, not sound) *** for Danger Zone. War Pigs, Die Young, Neon Knights, Paranoid

** for Mob Rules, Seventh Star, Black Sabbath, N.I.B