Black Sabbath Deluxe Editions January 22, 2016

Thanks man,I appreciate it.

 

Actually, IMO there is no better source for the debut than the Australian Fontana pressing. I have a mint copy and it's simply incredible. I've heard the Australian Fontana actually pre-dates the UK swirl by a few months. That it was the official first release of the debut, before anywhere else.

 

Does that mean it was the only Black Sabbath ever released in the 1960's?

 

Sab must be the most reissued band ever by this point.

 

I believe the first single released on the Fontana label holds that honour. Actually what I was told, and details are sketchy at best, is that the debut on Fontana came out in Jan and the U.K. followed a month later. Some say it was December but I can't find the exact date. It is widely understood that Sabbath was signed to Fontana before Vertigo.

Anyways the Fontana album sounds so life like, as if the band were playing in your living room. Not an easy album to find, especially in playable condition.

 

not even close

 

As I no longer have the Castle '86 discs, are these deluxe 2016 WB releases for the debut album, Paranoid and MoR the best red book options?

Thanks in advance as the community is always extremely helpful when providing info.

 

Going to tonight's show, can't wait!

 

Yep, but grab those '86 Castles if you see them again.

 

Being a huge fan of Black Sabbath, I'm in the process of updating my collection with some of the recent remasters:

Black Sabbath - 2016 remaster
Paranoid - 2016 remaster
MOR - 2009 remaster
Vol. 4 - 2009 remaster
SBS - US Warner release circa 1988 -1990
Sabotage - US Warner " "
Technical Ecstasy - US Warner " "
Never Say Die - 96 Castle remaster
Heaven and Hell - Deluxe Edition
Mob Rules - getting the Deluxe Edition (not happy with the 2008 Rhino)
Live Evil - 96 Castle remaster ( I have the original US Warner, but it sounds terrible for some reason.) I wanted the music on one disc, with a bit more power behind it.

Thoughts?

 

Good list but I would get:

Mob Rules: original WB CD from the 80's
SBS: 1st press of the castle communications disc...very very nice sounding
Never say die: Is that choice better than the standard US WB original CD? I have an original UK vinyl pressing of that on the Vertigo label so I didn't need to look any further than that, sounds great.

 

If I recall, Live Evil from Castle has a weird edit on NIB at the start...

 

All the spoken intros by Dio were cut to fit everything on a single CD. Horrid decision.

 

For SBS, I prefer the 2009 which I ripped to wav, corrected the channels, and then burned to a CD-R

 

What about the 1-disc German Vertigo disc?

 

"War Pigs" was omitted on that edition.

 

I had the standard WB CD, but to me, the Castle remaster sounds better. The 1990 release seems a bit flat.

 

I also own most of the standard Warner Brothers CD releases for the Black Sabbath titles - the exception being Mob Rules (unfortunately). In any case, I've found that especially the earlier releases such as Black Sabbath, Paranoid, MOR, Volume 4 have a 'muddy' sludge like quality to them. I'm assuming that's the norm given the era and the equipment used to record the material. Would it be fair to say that these discs most closely resemble the first US green label pressings? If not, what would you recommend?

 

Here's an interesting article... scroll down a bit to see a video of a "Wicked World" Fontana 45 being played. It seems to have a much richer, warmer sound than say, "Wicked World" on the deluxe edition. Also, I noticed a bit of a drop out in the cymbals at the beginning of the song on the deluxe edition which isn't evident here.

Black Sabbath - The Lost Acetates and Early Recordings »

 

My Australian Fontana label pressing for the debut, is the best I have ever heard. It's simply incredible.

 

Are your referring to the 2009 or the 2016 Deluxe Edition?

 

Most of the Warner CD sounds strangely EQ'd and a bit screechy and bright. And most sound nothing like the original US Warner green label LPs.

 

I agree. The original Warner CD are horrible. Harsh and offensive in the high end with the A to D technology being used in the mastering at the time, in its infancy. That and the second generation work tape (LP mixes) used for these discs gave me an ice cream headache when I played them. They have come a long way since. Why listen to those original WB or Castle/NEMS titles when you can get SHM-CD (all available) or SHM- SACD's (most Ozzy era released) that all sound spectacular and then pick up the deluxe editions for the post Ozzy titles.

 

I find the SHM CDs to be completely pointless. All are sourced from the UK CD releases.

But I agree about most of the SHM-SACDs. MoR. Vol. 4 and SBS are all sensational.

 

Agreed--SHM-SACDs are the way to go. I just wish they'd release Sabotage on SHM-SACD.