Mob Rules (Deluxe Edition)

ブラック・サバスの10thアルバム、リマスター・デラックス・エディション!
2010年にリリースされたリマスター・デラックス・エディション・シリーズ!
前作『ヘブン&ヘル』のヒットを受けて発表された10thアルバム。(1981年作品)。『ヘヴン&ヘル』に伴うツアーの途中でバンド創設メンバーでドラマーのビル・ワードが脱退。新ドラマーにヴィニー・アピスを迎え制作した初のアルバム。
全英12位/全米29位
代表曲「悪魔の掟」、「ヴードゥーの呪い」、「Turn Up TheNight」収録
・2009年リマスター音源
・ボーナストラック収録
・ボーナスディスクには81年12月～82年1月に英ロンドン・ハマースミス・オデオンで行われたライヴ音源全を収録

前作、“Heaven And Hell”の成功をまぐれ当たりという人達を黙らせ、バンドに暗く横たわるOzzy Osbourneの影を払拭した作品。本Deluxe Editionは、Disc1には1981年の“The Mob Rules Tour”で収録された‘Die Young’のライヴ・ヴァージョン、“Heavy Metal”というコミック･ブック掲載の短編ファンタジー集をアニメーション化した映画の為に書き下ろされたというアルバム・タイトル･トラック、‘Mob Rules’の貴重なオルタナティヴ・ヴァージョンを収録。デラックス観音開きデジパック仕様。16ページのブックレットにはアルバムに関する包括的なライナー・ノート、数多くの貴重な未発表写真とアルバムに関連する記念の品々をブックレットに掲載。

After a steady decline in both inspiration, mental stability, and commercial appeal throughout the second half of the 70s, metal icons Black Sabbath were reborn with 1980s Heaven and Hell. The album would be their first with new vocalist Ronnie James Dio, whose passionate, controlled wail broke new ground for the band and helped drive a comeback. 1981s Mob Rules was a quick follow-up to Heaven and Hell, continuing the momentum of that records energy as well as its shift away from dark metal to more commercial hard rock. Tony Iommis signature guitar playing takes on new forms throughout the album, with Zeppelin-esque riffing on Slipping Away, slithering bluesy rock playing on Voodoo, and a strikingly different approach to soloing, shifting from the laser-focused slow burn of early Sabbath albums to a more frenetic, technically showy style on some tracks. Speedy album opener Turn Up the Night is one of the more spirited and pop-friendly moments of any Sabbath record, with a hooky and melodic chorus and Iommi running through fast-paced leads and trills that were no doubt taking notes from Eddie Van Halen, who was perhaps the most celebrated guitarist in the world in 1981. Mob Rules delved more into experimentation with keyboards and synthesizers, with auxiliary player Geoff Nicholls adding cinematic synth bedding to the epic churn of The Sign of the Southern Cross and spacy atmosphere to Falling Off the Edge of the World, among other synth contributions. New drummer Vinny Appice replaced original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward, pushing the sound even further from the bands original sludgy approach. These changes, along with Dios fantasy-based lyrics and a red-lined mix by producer Martin Birch put Mob Rules closer in line with the emerging New Wave of British Heavy Metal than the druggy devil-worshiping doom metal Black Sabbath first built their name on. While it was a solid album, Mob Rules might have followed the template established on Heaven and Hell a little too closely. The pacing and flow of the record was almost identical to its predecessor, from the chuggy opener of Turn Up the Night mirroring Heaven and Hells Neon Nights straight through to final track Over and Over feeling like a continuation of Lonely Is the Word, the searching, midtempo finale of the previous album. It didnt sell quite as well as Heaven and Hell, and Dio and Appice left the band soon afterward, (though Dios relationship with Sabbath would be complex and sprawling) leaving Black Sabbath to reconfigure throughout the 80s with mixed results. Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell work well as each others companion pieces, making the first round of Dio-fronted Sabbath material a bright spot surrounded by relatively grim efforts on either side. ~ Fred Thomas

1981s Mob Rules was the second Black Sabbath album to feature vertically challenged singer Ronnie James Dio, whose powerful pipes and Dungeons and Dragons lyrics initially seemed like the perfect replacement for the recently departed and wildly popular Ozzy Osbourne. In fact, all the ingredients which had made their first outing, Heaven and Hell, so successful are re-utilized on this album, including legendary metal producer Martin Birch (Deep Purple, Whitesnake, etc.) and supporting keyboard player Geoff Nichols. And while it lacks some of its predecessors inspired songwriting, Mob Rules was given a much punchier, in-your-face mix by Birch, who seemed re-energized after his work on New Wave of British Heavy Metal upstarts Iron Maidens Killers album. Essentially, Mob Rules is a magnificent record, with the only serious problem being the sequencing of the material, which mirrors Heaven and Hells almost to a tee. In that light, one cant help but compare otherwise compelling tracks like Turn Up the Night and Voodoo to their more impressive Heaven and Hell counterparts, Neon Knights and Children of the Sea. That streak is soon snapped, first by the unbelievably heavy seven-minute epic The Sign of the Southern Cross, which delivers one of the albums best moments, then its segue into an unconventional synthesizer-driven instrumental (E5150) and the appearance of the roaring title track. Side two is less consistent, hiding the awesome Falling off the Edge of the World (perhaps the most overlooked secret gem to come from the Dio lineup) amongst rather average tracks like Slipping Away and Over and Over. Over the next year, the wheels fell off for Black Sabbath, and Dios exit marked Mob Rules as the last widely respected studio release of the bands storied career. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia