The Best of Black Sabbath

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The Best of Black Sabbath
Best of BS.jpg
Greatest hits album by
Black Sabbath
Released2000
Recorded1970-1983
Genre Heavy metal, blues rock
Length158:24
Label Sanctuary Records
Castle Communications/Metal-Is
Producer Various
Black Sabbath compilations chronology
The Sabbath Stones
(1996)		The Best of Black Sabbath
(2000)		 Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]

The Best of Black Sabbath is a double CD compilation album by Black Sabbath released in 2000 on the Sanctuary Records label. Its 32 songs are presented chronologically from the band's first 11 albums, spanning the years 1970 to 1983. Black Sabbath's classic six-album run, from 1970s debut Black Sabbath through 1975's Sabotage is celebrated with three to six songs from each album. Original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's subsequent final two albums with the band, 1976's Technical Ecstasy and 1978's Never Say Die! , are represented by one and two songs, respectively. Replacement Ronnie James Dio's early 80's stint fronting the band on two albums is acknowledged with the title track of 1980's Heaven and Hell and a track from 1981's The Mob Rules . The compilation closes with a song from 1983's attempted rebirth, Born Again , former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's sole album with the band. The Best of Black Sabbath does not include any later material with vocalists Glenn Hughes (1986's Seventh Star ), Tony Martin (1986–96) or the returning Dio (1992's Dehumanizer ).

Contents

As this compilation album is released by a record label not associated with Black Sabbath or their management, it is not considered an official Black Sabbath release, and isn't in their official catalogue. There have been roughly half a dozen compilations released throughout Black Sabbath's career titled The Best of Black Sabbath. None of them are official band releases.

Track listing

All songs were written by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, and Bill Ward except where noted.

Disc One
No.TitleLength
1."Black Sabbath"6:19
2."The Wizard"4:23
3."N.I.B."6:05
4."Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games with Me)" (Dick Wagner, Dick Wiegand, Larry Wiegand)3:20
5."Wicked World"4:45
6."War Pigs"7:56
7."Paranoid"2:49
8."Planet Caravan"4:26
9."Iron Man"5:56
10."Electric Funeral"4:47
11."Fairies Wear Boots"6:13
12."Sweet Leaf"5:04
13."Embryo (Iommi)"0:28
14."Children of the Grave"5:15
15."Lord of This World"5:26
16."Into the Void"6:10

Tracks 1–5 are from Black Sabbath (1970); 6–11 are from Paranoid (1970); and 12–16 are from Master of Reality (1971)

Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Tomorrow's Dream"3:08
2."Supernaut"4:43
3."Snowblind"5:27
4."Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"5:44
5."Killing Yourself to Live"5:38
6."Spiral Architect"5:31
7."Hole in the Sky"3:59
8."Don't Start (Too Late)"0:47
9."Symptom of the Universe"6:30
10."Am I Going Insane (Radio)"4:17
11."Dirty Women"7:09
12."Never Say Die"3:49
13."A Hard Road"6:03
14."Heaven and Hell" (Ronnie James Dio, Butler, Ward, Iommi)6:53
15."Turn Up the Night" (Dio, Butler, Iommi)3:40
16."The Dark/Zero the Hero" (Edited version; Ian Gillan, Butler, Ward, Iommi)5:44

Tracks 1–3 are from Vol. 4 (1972); track 4–6 are from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973); 7–10 are from Sabotage (1975); 11 is from Technical Ecstasy (1976); 12 & 13 from Never Say Die! (1978); 14 is from Heaven and Hell (1980), 15 from Mob Rules (1981); and 16 from Born Again (1983)

Album cover

The album cover features in the foreground four water-filled stone-hewn graves, dating back to the 11th century. The location is St Peter's Church, Heysham, Lancashire, North West England, overlooking Morecambe Bay. [2] In the background the sun is setting, so apparently it is at dusk. It has a "The Best of Black Sabbath" title which appears in a Greek style font. On the back of the booklet (which contains extensive liner notes, penned by Hugh Gilmour, and credits) there is a silhouette of Geezer Butler playing in the moonlight.

Personnel

1969-1979 Disc One tracks 1-16; Disc Two tracks 1-13

The albums that this line-up is featured on are Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy, and Never Say Die!.

1980 Disc Two track 14

The album that this line-up is featured on is Heaven and Hell.

1981-1982 Disc Two track 15

The album that this line-up is featured on is Mob Rules.

1983-1984 Disc Two track 16

The album that this line-up is featured on is Born Again.

Charts

Chart (2000)Peak
position
Finnish Albums Chart [3] 13

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [4] Platinum70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [5] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Sabbath</span> British heavy metal band

Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes following Osbourne's departure in 1979 and Iommi is the only constant member throughout their history.

<i>Paranoid</i> (album) 1970 album by Black Sabbath

Paranoid is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in September 1970 through Vertigo Records in England and Warner Bros. Records in the US. The album contains several of the band's signature songs, including "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and the title track, which was the band's only Top 20 hit, reaching number 4 in the UK charts.

<i>Never Say Die!</i> 1978 album by Black Sabbath

Never Say Die! is the eighth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in September 1978. It was the last studio album with the band's original lineup and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne until the 2013 album 13. It was certified Gold in the U.S on 7 November 1997 and as of November 2011 has sold 133,000 copies in the United States since the SoundScan era. The album received mixed reviews, with critics calling it "unbalanced" and insisting its energy was scattered in too many directions.

<i>Dehumanizer</i> 1992 album by Black Sabbath

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geezer Butler</span> English bassist

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<i>Sabotage</i> (Black Sabbath album) 1975 album by Black Sabbath

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<i>Mob Rules</i> (album) 1981 album by Black Sabbath

Mob Rules is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1981. It followed 1980's Heaven and Hell, and was the second album to feature lead singer Ronnie James Dio and the first with drummer Vinny Appice. Neither musician would appear on a Black Sabbath studio album again until the 1992 album Dehumanizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Ward (musician)</span> English drummer

William Thomas Ward is an English drummer. He was a co-founder and the original drummer for the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Ward helped found Black Sabbath in 1969 alongside bandmates Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi (guitarist) and Geezer Butler (bass).

<i>Heaven and Hell</i> (Black Sabbath album) 1980 album by Black Sabbath

Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released on 25 April 1980. It is the first Black Sabbath album to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in 1979.

<i>Technical Ecstasy</i> 1976 album by Black Sabbath

Technical Ecstasy is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and released on 25 September 1976 by Vertigo Records. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and number 51 on the US Billboard 200 Album chart, later being certified Gold by the RIAA in 1997.

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<i>Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978</i> 2004 box set by Black Sabbath

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Heaven & Hell was a British-American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010. The band was a collaboration between Black Sabbath founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler and former Black Sabbath and Dio members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice. The band's name was taken from the title of the first Black Sabbath album to feature Dio after the band's original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979.

<i>Black Sabbath: The Dio Years</i> 2007 compilation album by Black Sabbath / Heaven & Hell

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<i>The Collection</i> (Black Sabbath album) 1992 compilation album by Black Sabbath

The Collection is a compilation album released by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath in 1992. The album was released on the label Castle, who released two CD versions of this album in the UK, both with the same cover art and songs. The album includes greatest songs of Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne prior to his dismissal in 1979, from the eponymous album to Never Say Die!. The album has 15 tracks, two from Black Sabbath, two from Paranoid, one from Master of Reality, two from Black Sabbath Vol. 4, two from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, two from Sabotage, two from Technical Ecstasy and two from Never Say Die!.

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ "St Patrick’s Chapel ruins, Heysham: The mythical Lancashire ruins with a heavenly view" – Country Life , 17 March 2021
  3. ↑ Suomen virallinen lista
  4. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "British album certifications – Black Sabbath – The Best of Black Sabbath". British Phonographic Industry.
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