| Black Sabbath | Primary Artist |
| Vinny Appice | Drums |
| Geezer Butler | Bass, Bass Guitar |
| Ronnie James Dio | Vocals |
| Tony Iommi | Guitar |
| Geoff Nicholls | Keyboards |
| Billy Ward | Drums |
| Bill Ward | Drums |
| Geoff Nicholls | Keyboards |
| Martin Birch | Producer, Engineer |
| Geezer Butler | Producer |
| Lee DeCarlo | Engineer |
| Ronnie James Dio | Producer |
| Bill Freesh | Engineer |
| Dan Hersch | Remastering |
| Bill Inglot | Remastering |
| Tony Iommi | Producer |
| Mack | Producer, Engineer |
| Wes Benscoter | Illustrations |
| Mike Exeter | Engineer |
| Dave Ling | Liner Notes |
| Masaki Koike | Art Direction |
jedi_nitemare
Posted October 1, 2010
I like Dio, and I like Black Sabbath with Dio. Inside this CD's jewel case is a note saying that Black Sabbath will go by two names: they will be known as Black Sabbath when they are touring with Ozzie, and they will be known as Heaven and Hell when Ozzie isn't with them. I like Sabbath either way. I grew up listening to Black Sabbath while Ozzie was at the helm, and Iron Man and War Pigs remain two of my favorite songs. But when Mob Rules came out, I quickly fell in love with their new sound. I like Dio's stuff too, so Black Sabbath with Dio's vocals is an incredible combination. I am especially into good guitar work, and Tony Iommi really kicks butt on this compilation. It's even more amazing when you consider that Tony can play so well with a prosthetic finger. There is no way I can express how much I admire his ability to overcome his physical disability and become one of the greatest metal gods of all time.
With all of that said, you will find a combination of songs that don't always seem to fit together. Some songs are fast and heavy, some are a bit slower but heavy, and there are a couple songs that just didn't do it for me. That is to be expected from a compilation, and I like it for what it is. This CD is much less expensive than buying an entire collection of Sabbath with Dio, and I can't justify buying other CDs just to get a song or two that I would have preferred to see on this one. If you can afford to buy only one Black Sabbath CD with Dio, this is the one to get. My second choice would probably be Mob Rules.
Editorial Reviews
All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The original lineup of Black Sabbath possesses such a mythic quality that it's easy to overlook how far they slid by the time Ozzy Osbourne up and left the band...or how far they rebounded after they hired Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio as his replacement. Countless compilations over the years have preserved the initial part of the story line -- celebrating the innovations of the first four albums with a near fetishistic quality -- but there has never been a good retrospective concerning the Dio years until Rhino released the aptly titled The Dio Years in early 2007. True, the Dio years didn't last all that long -- the singer joined in 1980 for Heaven & ...