Black Sabbath: Born Again - 40 Years On

Courtesy Warner Records/BMG (non US/Canada)

By The cover art can be obtained from Vertigo / Warner Bros. (US/Canada)., Fair use, Link

 It's been forty years time since Black Sabbath released one of the most distinct and controversial albums, and one of the few without Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, or Tony Martin.  After Dio and Vinny Appices departure in 1982, most of the original lineup sans Osbourne hired Ian Gillan late of Deep Purple and his own band to take over on vocals, but he was from another world than them and to this days, there remains mixed reaction to this album.  Producer Robin Cable Black previously worked with Genesis, Elton John and Queen.  Bev Bevan from fellow Brummies ELO (they shared management with Sabbath then) did drums on tour, and for one track, a misunderstanding on set measurements inspired a famous scene in This is Spin̈al Tap.  After the tour, Gillan was on-again off-again with Purple, while there would be a revolving door of lineups at Sabbath until 1997s Reunion.

The original Ampex master tapes were unavailable for over three decades, but they were found a couple years ago, according to Tony Iommi, and here's hoping that a remaster is available by October for the anniversary on double vinyl and CD from Rhino in North America and BMG for international.  The second disc would be of outtakes and/or live tracks.  We're still waiting for Martins era of the band on IRS Records to be reissued however, and it can take just as long, if not longer, to remix and remaster as it did to record it in the first place, as well as sorting through the red tape as it were.  There had been a deLuxe Edition in 2011, but it was from other tapes, so now the album can be given justice.  The LP can replicate the custom UK labels and sleeve with updated information (the Western Hemisphere had standard ones),  Right now, I'd be lucky to come across the original import LP in the shop again.