Reviewing this it seems funny to me that in the course of two sentences Tony says he's "in the process of remixing" and "about to start pulling that apart and remix it". Both of those can't be true. I don't understand why it would take much time at all to remix an album. Especially given that you've had over 20 years to know what you don't like about the way it was mixed the first time.
LOL, true, and I didn't notice! Maybe he is doing other things (recording?) too. And he probably wants to do it right this time, without any notable deficiencies.
Ozzy's bummed because he'll no longer have the "Nyah nyah nyah, Black Sabbath! Look at me being all successful!" angle to play. He couldn't buy/steal the name away from them and now he can't even compete with them because they're history. That's why he was bummed about the last tour.
Nice photo. Tony Martin with Sabbath made some great music. Forbidden has a lot of listenable material, a very misaligned album in my opinion.
Both the Tonys looking pretty good/healthy. Haven't really followed Tony Martin since the Cage, which I liked. (Cage II not as much). I suspect he's lost range (probably noticeable going back to Cross Purposes, though he was still quite good live through 1995), but I bet he can still bring it live, and especially in the studio. His appearance prompts the obvious question: why? He's not really needed for the remix. I wouldn't think they need him to redo anything, nor be in person to review the mix. This suggests maybe three options. In any addition to Forbidden remixed perhaps: 1. Putting together a "Tony Martin Years" album, along with 1-3 new tracks; 2. Tony is working on a new IOMMI album with guests; 3. The two Tonys are collaborating on a new album. #1 seems the most likely but I'm not sure how they'd reconcile the different labels, or whether there's even a market for it. Perhaps a fourth option is discussing the packaging to any future IRS re-releases. Aside: while Forbidden is my least favorite, a proper remix (with Tony on "illusion of power," inclusion of "loser gets it all") could easily overtake Cross Purposes. There's a good album there.
Love those Cage albums. Dario Mollo is a sick guitarist! Also love the Voodoo Hill albums that Dario plays with Glenn Hughes singing. Love his sound and quite reminiscent of Blackmore. Another Italian guitarist that caught my interest that Martin also worked with was this dude Aldo Giuntini and his Giuntini Projects. Only listened to one of the albums and I did like what I heard at the time. Must check out his other albums.
Giuntini Project II (1999) with Tony Martin was pretty good. He also worked with Misha Calvin for Evolution (1993), though I actually preferred Ian Parry's vocals on that one.
Yeah! Saw that in a shop in the U.K. on vacation and I was like SOLD!! I do not believe it was out in America, at least I had not seen it any place. The sound is rather too reminiscent of Emerson, Lake and Powell (i.e. "you guys couldn't afford better?) but the title track still blows me away.
I bought Headless Cross and TYR at Borders back in the day that Borders existed. I believe they are domestic CDs, but I will have to double check.
Oh surely, but Headless I had not seen at that time. Probably it was released shortly after; I was just excited to see it, and when the first WHOMP hit on the title track I was like "Oh Yeah!!"
I think they DO need him for the remix...many of those vocals sound like scratch tracks to me. Very unfinished, so the chance for Tony to punch some of those up?
In my understanding, both Headless Cross and TYR were released both in Europe and America: Black Sabbath - Headless Cross Black Sabbath - Tyr I am glad they finally met, I really thought Tony I. would do Forbidden entirely without Tony M. I hope this meeting does really mean Tony M. will participate in some way or other. As for Illusion of Power, I agree the demo with Tony Martin singing solo should be included - but as a bonus track, not as a replacement for the originally released version with Ice-T. I find the song with Ice-T pretty cool, plus it would show a huge lack of respect towards him to remove him from the album. As for the question why and how Tony Martin might get involved, don't forget that the Forbidden remix COULD/MIGHT be the start of a larger project that has been on hold for years: Tony Martin IRS Era Deluxe Editions – Black Sabbath Online If we're lucky, maybe they'll record a few new tracks. Or maybe they're just talking about which old live tracks or studio demos should be included. Since both 13 and The Devil you Know were both ridiculously overcompressed, I am really worried that the same could happen with the Forbidden remix.
OK, after 252 people expressed their wishes regarding some or other future Tony+Tony collaboration on Tony Martin's Facebook account, Tony M. wrote the following reply: "I REALLY can't see a re union of that line up happening!!! … Tony is very content where he is and not likely to set up a new band and tour it!!! … I still remain hopeful that we can do something!! And I await the opportunity as much as you all do. But thank you for all your positive thoughts and comments." Doesn't sound to me like any actual collaboration is planned. It's puzzling: Tony does not explicitly rule out e.g. working together on the Martin years Deluxe releases or recording a few new tracks, but if they were actually considering that, I am quite sure he would have mentioned it in his posts. Maybe Tony I. set up this meeting primarily to tell Tony M. that he isn't interested in collaborating in any way, but at the same time wants to be on friendly terms with him? Musically, that would be rather bad news for me, but socially, it would be a huge improvement over earlier situations where 'the phone simply stopped ringing'.
Well, Vapor Trails remixed has a lot of songs that don't sound much like the original (guitar solos added, effectively), so I would say remixing typically gives the artist lots of latitude in recasting their vision. As you do, I happen to like the song as-is, but don't feel it's appropriate for a remix if the purpose of the project is to present the band's original work/intention which was presumably Tony's original vocal take. As to insults, I think the bigger insult is a dying record company directing a legendary band to incorporate some trendy artists against the band's wishes (both reasons for why the band wanted to quickly move on from the label). Ultimately, this rests on Tony Iommi's shoulders, and I don't knock him if he wants to right past wrongs.
I disagree for at least three reasons: 1) the rough demo mixes floating about do sound heavy, inspired, and well, Black-Sabbathy; 2) there are at least four quality songs on Forbidden, most of which came off exceedingly well in concert ("Rusty Angels" and "Kiss of Death" spring to mind here); and 3) the opportunity to add one of their better b-sides, "Loser Gets It All", is a significant addition to an otherwise uneven album. Will the remix make the album a classic? Probably not. But it would likely be far truer to the Black Sabbath name, truer to Iommi's original vision, and a significantly better album.
If they don't get around to deluxe'ing Headless Cross and the other Martin albums after this I'm gonna be pissed.
I haven't heard any of that, so i'll just take your word for it. It's been a long time since I've listened to it, but perhaps the amount of mediocrity surrounding the couple of good tracks sort of deadened the impact of those songs for me. Iommi is so good at...being Tony Iommi that inevitably a couple of decent things are going to come out of anything he does but I stand by my belief that the album, as a whole, was a largely uninspired affair done in much part to help fulfill their IRS contract. (Whether Tony Martin or any other members knew that is another question). I like the Martin era, but this one still is a significant step down from Headless Cross, Cross Purposes, or even Tyr, no matter how it's mixed. I'll certainly give it a stream if it ever comes out though, just out of morbid curiosity.
Wait hold on, theres 2 mixes of Tyr?! Hell if there was ever an album Id lobby for a remix of its that one - its like standinf in a concrete cavern with your ear placed inside the snare drum! Shame, cuz its a pretty great album otherwise!
No, there aren't two mixes of Tyr. I just want the album reissued. It's been OOP for awhile, AFAIK. That was just a clunky way for me to word it.
Wow, of the million things wrong with Forbidden, the mix ranks pretty low. Unless of course there's a way to remix it that will make the songs become good.
