Search - Iommi, Glenn Hughes :: 1996 Dep Sessions

Absolutely brilliant music - if you miss this, it's a crime

Joseph M. Siegler | Garland, TX USA | 11/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Back in 1996, Tony Iommi was trying to put together some solo material after deciding to take a break from Black Sabbath in 1995. The album he recorded was with an old friend, Glenn Hughes, who had previously been on a psuedo-Black Sabbath album "Seventh Star". Seventh Star was OK, but it didn't feel like a Black Sabbath record - it wasn't supposed to be, it was supposed to be Tony's first solo album, but record company pressure forced it to be Black Sabbath. Well, 11 years after Seventh Star, Tony & Glenn got together to write some more material. They recorded it with Dave Holland & Don Airey, and then it got shelved. It turned up a year or so later as a bootleg named "Eighth Star". I've had that bootleg for then, and to me, it was better than the already released "Iommi" album, as it showed that Tony can do more than just Black Sabbath.



So early in 2004 I find out that Tony has finally decided to dust off the old 8th Star material and properly clean it up and finally release it. This was a great moment for me, as I so much loved the material. In addition to that, there was one track that was not on the original bootleg version, so we'd get a "new" track as well. The songs on here are of a uniformly high quality. There isn't one clunker here - it's brilliant from start to end. If you have ever been a fan of Black Sabbath, you should like this. Glenn Hughes fans should also like this as well.



There were a few minor changes from the bootleg version - the track "Don't you Tell Me" had it's main riff appear on the song "Black Oblivion" on Iommi's 2000 record. It's apperance here has the riff altered slightly, so it's not directly the same. Additionally, some of the vocals have additional lyrics on "I'm Not The Same Man", and there is the aforementioned extra track. Additionally, these aren't the original drum tracks - the original drummer (Dave Holland) was removed in favor of Jimmy Copley, but it's nothing like the bastardization that Ozzy did to his first two albums - the new drums here sound more or less the same as the original to me.



This album is brilliant folks - you will really enjoy it. The best part of this is that in late 2004, Tony & Glenn have said they're working on another album to be released in 2005 - I can't wait - if it's half as good as this, it'll be spectacular!"

The 8th Star... revisited

L Salisbury | Maryland United States | 09/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This has been availible as an under-the-table item for years as "Eigth Star" (which is a better title). Those bootleg CDs (usually 3rd generation copies) gave you not-yet complete recordings in their unmixed, unedited forms. Not too impressive. Now, this "legal" CD proves that these 1996 recordings are REAL songs!Overall, you get a blusier version of Sabbath's "Seventh Star" while Hughes' blue-eyed soul vocals give this album a nice 70s feel. To be honest, this would probably appeal more to fans of Deep Purple (Mk.3) than fans of Sabbath. An excellent purchase, though, especially for those with an "8th Star" CD-R.

(I should also point out that Dave Holland's original drum tracks have been completely erassed in favor of drummer Jimmy Copley.)"

This partnership should continue!

S. McCall | High Point, NC United States | 09/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Eleven years after the "Seventh Star" cd, Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes pick up where they left off with a very impressive collection of songs that I'm very glad to say has now seen the light of day. I've played this four times through already just having bought it two days ago if that tells you anything. Although a Sabbathy-sounding effort from a production standpoint along with some of Geoff Nichols' keyboard work & Iommi's guitar sound, the actual songs aren't like Sabbath. To me, this shows another dimension of Iommi's great riff-making talent; able to construct a great hard-rock cd without being limited to the classic Sabbath sound that's expected of him. This disc is primarily a showcase for the main players & Mr. Hughes is in excellent form on all tracks, particularly the very soulful deliveries of "Gone" & "Fine". Every track is very catchy with "I'm Not The Same Man" being the hardest rockin'. This was recorded in '96 & I would love to hear further collaboration from these two legends of hard rock in the very near future. I think they're really on to something here! The Wolf"