Mob Rules: Deluxe Edition [Original recording remastered, Import]

Many fans of Black Sabbath, and possibly the band members themselves, must have thought that Ozzy's departing the band would have ruined them for sure. Obviously, many fans instantly rejected the incarnations the band that lacked Ozzy. But those fans of the band who had open minds quickly discovered that Ronnie James Dio was a great vocalist, and that he was every bit as talented as Ozzy was - a point he beautifully demonstrated in his last band, Rainbow, and on his first album with Sabbath, Heaven And Hell. For the second album with Dio, drummer Bill Ward left the band. He was replaced by new drummer Vinnie Appice (brother of the legendary Carmine Appice, of Vanilla Fudge and Cactus fame.) How does the band's second effort with Dio, Mob Rules, measure up? Read on and find out.

Is Mob Rules as good as Heaven And Hell? Not in my eyes, although there are many fans of the band that would beg to differ. I think that this is an EXCELLENT album, but Heaven And Hell is a masterpiece of unparalleled quality. Still, Mob Rules is no slouch in the quality department. Turn Up The Night is the kind of fast-paced hard rock you'd expect Ronnie James Dio to shell out. In all his years of music, Dio has proven that he can do songs like this better than just about everyone else out there. He'd continue to prove this point tirelessly in his solo career, which was just around the corner. Another excellent rocker present is Voodoo, on which Tony Iommi shells out some damn fine riffs - but would you expect anything less from this guy? But, by far, the masterpiece of this album is the lengthy and melodic Sign Of The Southern Cross. With their reputation as the "first real metal band", it's not surprising that fans overlook the stuff that isn't as heavy. And that's a real shame. I pity the people that overlook this stuff; it's some of the band's best material. And, of course, who could overlook the awesome title track? The title track on a Sabbath album is, more often than not, one of its best tracks of all, and on Mob Rules, there's no exception to the rule. You may be wondering why I only gave the album four stars instead of five. The answer is simple. Some of the songs just fall below Sabbath's usual standard. For example, E5150 is just weird electronic stuff - WAY out of character for Sabbath. Likewise, the last few tracks on the album, while good, aren't up to the quality of some of the masterpieces the band has released over the years. In the end this is a solid album, though.

THE TEXT IN THIS PARAGRAPH REFERS EXCLUSIVELY TO THE WARNER BROS. AMERICAN REISSUE OF THE ALBUM. Warner Bros. did a fine job remastering and rereleasing the Black Sabbath catalogue, as did they several other artists. Unfortunately, they didn't really do anything outside of improving the sound quality. You don't get expanded liner notes, interviews, bonus tracks, or anything. It's kind of a disappointment, but it doesn't change my views on the album itself.

No, Mob Rules isn't as good as Heaven And Hell. But, of course, what is? Through and through, though, this is a solid album. Following its release, the band would release a live album entitled Live Evil, but a dispute over its mixing would lead to Ronnie James Dio and Vinnie Appice leaving the band to start up Dio's solo band. Drummer Bill Ward would return, and the band would recruit new vocalist Ian Gillan of Deep Purple fame. Should you buy Mob Rules? For lack of a better word, yes.