Since The Second Disc began, we've seen more than a bit of Black Sabbath reissues and remasters, all of them confined to the United Kingdom, where the band's catalogue is distributed by Universal Music Group's Sanctuary Records (Warner Bros. handles it in the U.S.). The latest British-only set has been announced, and it's a doozy.
A new box, The Ozzy Years: Complete Albums Box Set, will make its way to U.K. record shops on November 15. It has exactly what it says: nine remastered Sabbath albums with Ozzy Osbourne as the lead vocalist (including the compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'N' Roll), along with the usual extra goodies (in this case, three radio documentaries of as-yet-undetermined origins, a 100-page booklet, a set of guitar picks and a poster). All of it is stored in one of the most delightfully unique box sets in recent memory - a large, black cross.
Now, this isn't the first time such an undertaking has been released; Rhino did a Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 in 2004 compiling all the Ozzy-era LPs (minus the compilation) and adding a DVD. And this set isn't much more thorough, as you might have guessed; none of the albums include the deluxe edition bonus discs that have been released in Europe between last year and this year (including outtakes discs for Black Sabbath (1970) and Master of Reality (1971) and the quadrophonic mix of Paranoid (1970) available on a DVD with the deluxe edition).
If you're a collector who can see past those flaws, though, you'll definitely want to click the link from a few paragraphs back. Skeptics can be further decisive after seeing the rundown after the jump.
Black Sabbath, The Ozzy Years: Complete Albums Box Set (Sanctuary/Universal (U.K.), 2010)
Disc 1: Black Sabbath (Vertigo, 1970)
- Black Sabbath
- The Wizard
- Behind the Wall of Sleep
- N.I.B.
- Evil Woman
- Sleeping Village
- Warning
Disc 2: Paranoid (Vertigo, 1970)
- War Pigs
- Paranoid
- Planet Caravan
- Iron Man
- Electric Funeral
- Hand of Doom
- Rat Salad
- Fairies Wear Boots
Disc 3: Master of Reality (Vertigo, 1971)
- Sweet Leaf
- After Forever
- Embryo
- Children of the Grave
- Orchid
- Lord of this World
- Solitude
- Into the Void
Disc 4: Black Sabbath Vol. 4 (Vertigo, 1972)
- Wheels of Confusion (including The Straightener)
- Tomorrow's Dream
- Changes
- FX
- Supernaut
- Snowblind
- Cornucopia
- Laguna Sunrise
- St. Vitus Dance
- Under the Sun/Every Day Comes and Goes
Disc 5: Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Vertigo, 1973)
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- A National Acrobat
- Fluff
- Sabba Cadabra
- Killing Yourself to Live
- Who Are You?
- Looking for Today
- Spiral Architect
Disc 6: Sabotage (NEMS, 1975)
- Hole in the Sky
- Don't Start (Too Late)
- Symptom of the Universe
- Megalomania
- The Thrill of It All
- Supertzar
- Am I Going Insane (Radio)
- The Writ
Note: Some pressings, including reissues, have a short bonus track called "Blow on a Jug." It's unknown if it will be included on this set.
Disc 7: Technical Ecstasy (Vertigo, 1976)
- Back Street Kids
- You Won't Change Me
- It's Alright
- Gypsy
- All Moving Parts (Stand Still)
- Rock 'n' Roll Doctor
- She's Gone
- Dirty Women
Disc 8: Never Say Die! (Vertigo, 1978)
- Never Say Die
- Johnny Blade
- Junior's Eyes
- A Hard Road
- Shock Wave
- Air Dance
- Over to You
- Breakout
- Swinging the Chain
Discs 9 and 10: We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'N' Roll (NEMS, 1975)
- Black Sabbath
- The Wizard
- Warning
- Paranoid
- War Pigs
- Iron Man
- Wicked World
- Tomorrow's Dream
- Fairies Wear Boots
- Changes
- Sweet Leaf
- Children of the Grave
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- Am I Going Insane (Radio)
- Laguna Sunrise
- Snowblind
- N.I.B.
All tracks can be found on the above albums except Disc 1, Track 7, which was a B-side to "Evil Woman" and a replacement for "Evil Woman" on the U.S. version of Black Sabbath.
Disc 11: Bonus material (three radio documentaries)
Bill B says
No thanks. Love Sabbath but I am tired of re-buying the same repackaged albums again and again. If they were remastered in sacd or bluray format I'd be all over it no matter how costly.