The Deep Purple Podcast

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Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

• Deep Dive Podcast Network

Lead up to the Album:

• After leaving Deep Purple which Ritchie referred to as “the monster machine” he said he figured he’d put Rainbow back together.  Ritchie says “it was an easy get out” but that his heart was not into it.
• Ritchie was working at Longview Farm and Ritchie said he was going to fly in a professional lyric writer.  He called Candice and said that before he did that he wanted Candice to put down some lyrics as she traveled up to see him.
• Candice got to 14 verses and gave them to Ritchie and Pat and they circled the ones they liked and put the song together.
• Ritchie and Candice started writing acoustic songs at home for themselves and had no intention to release them.
• Ritchie said that it was so fun because there was no pressure and it was very freeing.
• Pat Regan says that the Blackmore’s Night thing came together when at the end of a day of recording they’d get together and jam.  Regan had a record label and thought to bring them together to do a recording of this with the intention of it being a one off thing.
• Ritchie says in doing this project he was putting together melodies that were similar to what he was doing with Rainbow without being hard rock.  He had a lot of faith that fans would follow it.
• Ritchie saw a band at a castle in Germany playing renaissance music with authentic instruments and he said that’s what he wanted to do. He even asked them if they wanted a guitar player.  Ritchie called it “a fantastic underground world.” He said that playing in front of very large rock crowds wasn’t as meaningful.
• Candice said she never had any real intention to be a singer or in a band but it sort of evolved this way. She was very self-conscious and considered herself a “closet singer.”
• Candice said they met in 1989, Ritchie says they met in 1889.
• The story goes that he met her after a soccer match and told her “you’re a very beautiful girl.” He then sent his roadies to get her information and ask her if she wanted to meet up for a drink at a pub and they talked for hours.
• Ritchie asked her what she could do, because he would always ask people to “give something” of themselves: singing, dancing, juggling, etc.
• Ritchie says that there doesn’t seem to be anyone else “doing what we do. There’s probably a good reason for that.”
• On this album Ritchie was using an Alvarez acoustic and sometimes a Taylor.  “Taylors sound a bit rough in the studio. The amp was a Crate and was picked up via a microphone. I also used an ENGL amp from time to time.

Core Band:

• Band [The Minstrel Hall Consort], Cello – Tom Brown (6)
• Band [The Minstrel Hall Consort], Recorder, Trumpet, French Horn – Gerald Flashman
• Band [The Minstrel Hall Consort], Viola, Violin – Lady Green
• Band, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Drum, Tambourine – Ritchie Blackmore
• Band, Keyboards – Pat Regan
• Band, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Candice Night
• Performer – The Minstrel Hall Consort
• Ian Anderson – flute on “Play, Minstrel, Play”
• Scott Hazell – backing vocals on “Play, Minstrel, Play”

Technical:

• Producer – Pat Regan, Ritchie Blackmore
• Engineer, Mixed By – Pat Regan
  • Produced Kiss, Quiet Riot, Weird Al, Stranger In Us All
• Mastered By – Brad Vance

Album Art & Booklet Review

• Photography By [Inside And Back Cover] – Michael Keel
  • Background is mostly with Blackmore’s Night albums.
• Cover [Art Work] – Johanna Pieterman
  • Also did the artwork for Blackmore’s Night “Ghost of a Rose” album.

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Album Tracks:

1. Shadow of the Moon (Blackmore, Night)
2. The Clock Ticks On (trad. By Tielman Susato, Blackmore, Night)
   • Composed By [Traditional Composition] – T. Susato*
     1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tielman_Susato
   • Candice says they have a “Blackmorizing Machine” where he hears old songs, puts them through this “machine” and they come out something entirely different.
3. Be Mine Tonight (Blackmore, Night)
4. Play Minstrel Play (trad. By Pierre Attaignant, Blackmore, Night)
   • Backing Vocals – Scott Hazell
   • Only credit is this and a song on Under a Violet Moon
   • Served as guitar tech for Ritchie Blackmore from 1995 through 1997 as well as some background vocals for Rainbow.
   • Guest, Flute – Ian Anderson
   • Songwriter [Traditional Song] – P. Attaingnant*
     1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Attaingnant
   • RB: On this song we played together for the first time. I sent him the tape, and he played his part and sent the tape back. That was it. I’ve admired Ian for a very long time; we’ve known each other for over 25 years.
5. Ocean Gypsy (Renaissance Cover) (Dunford, Thatcher)
   • Written-By – B. Thatcher*, M. Dunford*
   • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Thatcher
   • https://www.discogs.com/artist/571852-Michael-Dunford
   • RB: We did not write that song. That’s a song that was written back in 1975 by another group called Renaissance. We’ve always loved that track. We used to play it around the house just for fun. Most of these songs that are only the LP, CD, we played in the beginning for fun, which is the best way I think of approaching music. It wasn’t hard work. It was very easy to make this CD … because we knew these songs, we played them to our friends, we had good fun playing them. And “Ocean Gypsy” was one of our favourite songs.
   • RB: With Deep Purple every song had to be composed by the band. Just for the credits! Bullshit! You play a song because you like it and not because you have written it yourself.
   • CN: “”Ocean Cypsy was a song that was given to us on a tape by Annie Halslam who used to sing for Renaissance, and Ritchie went to see here with a friend of his one night in a club which she was performing. And he brought home all these little tapes that she had given him, and we played them when we were livin gin Connecticut …. We don’t live there anly more. We were sitting outside one day, just listening to the tpea, and Ocean Gypsy was one song that stitch in my mind. And then we moved, and we packed the tapes, and we didn’t see those tapes for years. And I always remembered Oveam Cyptsey was always in my head. Then one day I just started hummin it around the kitchen and ritchie picked up laying it, and we had to go and find the tape and rummage through all our tapes so we could find out what the words were, and what the rest of the chords were. But that was just one of those haunting melodies that sticks in your head.
6. Minstrel Hall (Instrumental) (Blackmore)
7. Magical World (Trad Wassail, Blackmore, Night)
   • Composed By [Traditional Composition] – Wassail
8. Writing on the Wall (trad. By Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Blackmore, Night)
   • Composed By [Traditional Composition] – P. Tchaikovsky*
   • https://www.discogs.com/artist/999914-Pyotr-Ilyich-Tchaikovsky
   • On this song Ritchie plays a strat.  “I wanted to surprised people at first. First they hear medieval music and suddenly the thing turns into a disco beat.

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For Further Information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Moon
• https://www.discogs.com/release/402644-Blackmores-Night-Shadow-Of-The-Moon
• 25th Anniversary Edition Booklet: https://www.discogs.com/release/26399219-Blackmores-Night-Shadow-Of-The-Moon
• http://www.deep-purple.net/tree/bnight/blackmores-night-1.htm
• http://www.deep-purple.net/DPASmags/dtb50/dtb50.html
• More Black Than Purple Issue 4, May 1997
• More Black Than Purple Issue 5, August 1997
• The Story of Shadow of the Moon DVD

Listener Mail/Comments

• Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover?  We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, or search in your favorite podcatcher! 

How To Support Our Show:

The Deep Purple Podcast is 100% listener supported and ad-free! If you receive value from our show please consider supporting us!

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Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

New Patron/Patron Upgrades:

• Fielding Fowler, 
  • Dear Nate & Jon. I have bad news. I can no longer support the D.P.P at the 6.99 level and Spike and Sugar Tits say they can no longer support the show at the 3.33 level each.
  • The good news is that Spike and Sugar T have agreed to share my former New Nice Price Tier at 6.99. And I will be in my new tier, the “Hughes-O-Ween By 2033” Tier. The only catch is you must produce a Hughes O Ween Episode near Halloween in a year before 2033. You have 10 years, make it happen.
  • When PoT joined Patreon, I hit the $20 Tier, so if I can give those boners $20, I can update and give you knuckleheads $20 from my family too.
  • An additional list of demands may come later, but they will revolve around Pops Mottola taking over the show.
  • Thanks guys!
  • Fielding, Sammi, and Spike.
• Will Porter writes in, subject line “Here’s a duplicate name for ya!”
  • Hi guys,
  • nice as it is to hear my name in the patrons listings twice, you haven’t taken my name off the “Money Lender” tier since I “turned it up to $11”
  • I’d also like access to the spreadsheet if I may. I want to do some fumbling with the tabs of my own.
  • Cheers,
  • Will (PhDDP)

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• The “Hughes-O-Ween by 2033” Tier
  • Fielding Fowler  – PATRON UPGRADE!!

Apple Podcasts Reviews:

• Knut from Hell, Norway – 5 Stars!
• Highly recommended!
• If you are in favour of enjoyable rock anecdotes, this podcast wil be the seasoning that Purple-infects your brain. Even connoisseurs of the DP family can be impressed by the research that these gentlemen present in the presentation interesting analyses of the various tunes and themes. The Deep Purple Podcast maintains a standard worthy of the best band in the world. 5/5 Rock On! Knut from Hell, Norway

Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

• Deep Dive Podcast Network

Lead up to the Album:

• Previous album was “Trilogy” which seems to get more critical acclaim.  The Johansson brothers were on that as well with singer Mark Boals.
• He got into a bad car accident leading up to recording this album. He describes the accident in ana interview here:https://metalheadzone.com/yngwie-malmsteen-recalls-his-horrible-car-crash/
  • “My car crash of 1987 was a horrible thing. But worse things happened to me at the same time. First, I had that car accident. Then my mother died. Then I was ripped off for all my money. It was just a horrible time, you know? But when you’ve been struck down that hard, you either come back stronger – or you don’t. If you put an obstacle in front of me, I will crush it, and I will go forward. I am impossible to stop. I cannot be stopped.”

Core Band:

• Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley (tracks: 1, 2, 8, 9), Yngwie J. Malmsteen* (tracks: 3 to 7, 10 to 12)
• Drums – Anders Johansson
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Johansson_(trumslagare)
  • Swedish drummer and percussionist. Son of jazz pianist Jan Johansson, brother of Jens Johansson.
  • In bands Silver Mountain and Hammerfall.
• Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Yngwie J. Malmsteen*
  • https://www.yngwiemalmsteen.com/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yngwie_Malmsteen
  • Previously in band Alcatrazz.
  • Born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck. At age 12, he took his mother’s maiden name Malmsten as his surname, then slightly changed it to Malmsteen and altered his third given name Yngve to “Yngwie”.
• Keyboards [All] – Jens Johansson
  • http://www.panix.com/~jens/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Johansson
  • Swedish pianist.
  • Was in jazz fusion band Slem and also Silver Mountain.
  • Currently in the Finnish power metal band Stradovarius and in Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.
• Vocals – Joe Lynn Turner

Technical:

• Producer [Produced By] – Jeff “Björn” Glixman*, Yngwie J. Malmsteen*
• Engineer – Jeff Glixman
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Glixman
  • Produced Kansas, Kiss Paul Stanley solo album, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath’s “Seventh Star” album, 
• Engineer [@ House Of Music] – John Rollo
  • Worked at Konk studio.
  • Worked on production for Bonnie Tyler, Joe Cocker.
• Executive-Producer – Jim Lewis
  • http://www.notc.com/Content/Spotlights/1987/PolyGram_A-R-4-87.pdf
  • JIM LEWIS, VP of A&R Jim has been a member of the PolyGram A&R staff since early 1n 1986. He is responsible for signing established acts such as The Moody Blues and Emerson, Lake And Powell; as well as newcomers Yngwie J. Malmsteen and TNT. Prior to working in A&R, he worked for six years as V.P. of Marketing and International Repertoire where he worked with PolyGram International originating acts such as Def Leppard, Tears For Fears, ABC, Big Country, Bananarama and many more. J im began his musical career playing in bands and major orchestras in the Metropolitan area. He 1s a graduate of the Jullliard School and holds an MBA 1n Marketing from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.
  • Signed Bon Jovi, Prior to working in A&R worked on acts like Def Leppard and Tears for Fears.
• Mixed By [@ Bearsville Studios, Assisted By] – George Cowan
  • http://www.georgecowan.me/
  • Chief Engineer at Bearsville Studios.
• Mixed By [@ Bearsville Studios] – Mike Barbiero*
  • Produced the soundtrack for “Serpico” in 1973.
• Mixed By [@ Bearsville Studios] – Steve Thompson
  • https://www.stevethompsonproductions.com/
  • Worked with Madonna, Whitney Houston (“I Wanna Dance With Somebody”), as well as many other clients including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, John Lennon, and The Rolling Stones.
• Management – Larry Mazer
  • Manager of Cinderella and The Steve Morse Band. Also worked with Kiss on the “Revenge” album.
• Management [Agency Representative] – Phil Ernst
  • Booking agent for Cinderella, Molly Hatchet.
• Management [Agency] – ICM (2), Phil Ernst
• Management [Associate] – Roni Jane Feldman
  • Also worked with Cinderella.
• Management [Business Management] – Bruce Kolbrenner
  • Worked with Bon Jovi.
• Recorded By [@ Cherokee Studios, Assisted By], Mixed By [@ Cherokee Studios, Assisted By] – Scott Gordon
  • Founded Triad Music which does scores for films and TV.

Album Art & Booklet Review

• Art Direction – Michael Bays
  • Graphic designer who worked with a number of artists in the late 80s including James Brown, Bar-Kays, Kurtis Blow.
• Art Direction – Pat Drosins*
  • Art director who worked with Tony! Toni! Tone! And Gorky Park.
• Photography By – Mark “Weissguy” Weiss*
  • http://markweissgallery.com/
  • https://www.weissguygallery.com/
  • Did visual work for many bands including Twisted Sister, W.A.S.P., Dio, Ratt, Dokken, Ozzy, and many more.
• Design – Chris Thompson (18)
  • Worked with may of the same people as Michael Bays and Pat Drosins.

Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons:

• The $7.77 KeepItWarmRat Tier
  • Michael Vader
• The $6.99 “New Nice Price” Tier
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• The Episode $6.66 Tier
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• The $6.65 “Almost Evil” Tier
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• $5.99 The “Nice Price” Tier
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• The 60 Kroner “Scandinavian Nights” Tier
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• $5 “Money Lender” Tier
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  • Kev Roberts
  • Percival Frequency
  • Scott Zerns
  • Cynthia Dube
  • Raff Kaff
  • Richard Fusey

Album Tracks:

All lyrics are written by Joe Lynn Turner; all music is composed by Yngwie Malmsteen.

1. Rising Force
2. Hold On
3. Heaven Tonight
   • Single release
4. Dreaming (Tell Me)
5. Bite the Bullet (instrumenttal)
6. Riot in the Dungeons
   • B-side to Heaven Tonight

1. Deja Vu
2. Crystal Ball
3. Now Is The Time
4. Faster than the Speed of Light
5. Krakatau (instrumental)
6. Memories (instrumental)

Thanks To Our Foundation Level Patrons:

• The £3 “The Aromatic Feed” Tier
  • Simon Ford
• The $3.33 Half Way to Evil Tier
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• $3 “Nobody’s Perfect” Tier
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  • Mark Roback
  • Duncan Leask
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  • Flight of the Rat Bat Blue Light
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  • Runar Simonsen –
  • JJ Stannard
  • Ruinous Inadequacies
  • John Miceli
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• The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
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  • Hank the Tank
  • Private Eyes
  • Ashen Lionel
  • Blackmore’s Tights

Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet

Reception and Charts:

• Overall this was Yngwie’s best charting album reaching #7 in the Swedish charts, and #40 in the US charts, #19 in Japan and #27 in the UK. Later albums would chart much better in Japan but he never reached these heights again in the US or UK charts.

Reviews:

• Steve Huey from AllMusic
• https://www.allmusic.com/album/odyssey-mw0000651948
• Odyssey is a more subdued, polished collection seemingly designed for mainstream radio airplay. Vocalist Joe Lynn Turner gives the set a smooth, professional feel, and Yngwie Malmsteen’s playing is more mellow, due partly to the fact that he was still recovering from his near-fatal car accident when the album was recorded. However, all of this works to the detriment of the music: the mellowness of Malmsteen’s guitar work makes him sound constrained and passionless, and the album shows little difference in approach from his previous output, lending credence to critics’ charges that Malmsteen plays with mindless technique at the expense of substance, fire, and emotion.
• Kerrang review by Mick Wall:

For Further Information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey_(Yngwie_Malmsteen_album)
• https://www.discogs.com/release/1242071-Yngwie-J-Malmsteens-Rising-Force-Odyssey
• https://www.allmusic.com/album/odyssey-mw0000651948
• https://metalheadzone.com/yngwie-malmsteen-recalls-his-horrible-car-crash/

Listener Mail/Comments

• Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover?  We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, or search in your favorite podcatcher! 

How To Support Our Show:

The Deep Purple Podcast is 100% listener supported and ad-free! If you receive value from our show please consider supporting us!

• Support Our Show

• Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts
• Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store!
• Become a Patron on Patreon
• Donate on Paypal (Donate one time or click “make this a monthly donation” box)
• Donate to $DPPOD Using Cash App
• Support Us on Ko-fi

Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

Our Guest This Week:

• This week we are joined by Ry of Sabbath Blood Podcast.
• Check out his podcast “Sabbath Bloody Podcast” Here: https://twitter.com/sabbathbloodypc
• https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/sabbath-bloody-podcast/id1344032555?ign-mpt=uo%3D4&mt=2
• Check out Ry’s original episode on this album here: X: Mob Rules

Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:

• The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
  • Ovais Naqvi
  • Purple Maniac
• The £15 “”Fifteen Squid” Tier
  • Alan “Ain’t Too Proud To” Begg
• The £10 “Good Doctor” Tier
  • Dr. Jill Breis
  • Dr. Mike Kattan
• The Turn it up to $11 Tier
  • Clay Wombacher
  • Frank Theilgaard-Mortensen
  • Mikkel Steen
  • Will Porter
• $10 “Some One Came” Tier
  • Ryan M
  • Jeff Breis
  • Victor Campos
  • “Better Call” Saul Evans

Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

• Deep Dive Podcast Network

Lead up to the Album:

• Bill Ward felt strongly that Sabbath without Ozzy wasn’t Sabbath.
• While he like Dio and Gillan personally he just couldn’t see himself in the band, even though he would briefly return to record his only sober record with the group, “Born Again.”
• Vinny Appice’s first album was with Rick Derringer’s Derringer band. He had also played with John Lennon.
• Dio says they chose Appice because he had a similar style to Bill Ward.
• With Appice in the band Dio said: “We had Vinny and Tony and myself and Geezer – three Italians and Geezer Butler! In fact, Geezer used to call us Geezer and the Italians!”
• Iommi says Heaven and Hell had been partially written prior to Dio joining and on this album there was a bit more collaboration with Iommi and Dio working songs out together.
• Heaven and Hell had been their last record for their deal with Warner Bros.  As it was the last it didn’t get great promotion until it started selling well.
• Dio describes Geezer as being a very negative person and that this writing process for this album was difficult.  He says Geezer hated America and just wanted to be at home in England.
• Geezer said in interviews that Ronnie assumed a lot of the credit for Heaven and Hell’s success.  Geezer perceived it as Ronnie coming in and saving Black Sabbath.
• Geezer said a tension grew between him and Tony and Dio and Appice and they’d go into the studio separately.
• Dio had been bothered that the whole band was credited on the previous album where it was he and Tony who wrote it.
• This time it was credited to everyone by Appice.  He said he didn’t care even though a lot of the songs came out in jams because he was just happy to be in Black Sabbath.
• They bought a mixing board thinking they could save some money by recording at Tony’s house in LA.
• They ended up deciding that wouldn’t work and recorded most of the album at The Record Plant.
• They began recording at Tittenhurst (John Lennon’s home) and Dio recalls bumping into David Coverdale there because they were just finishing up recording there.  They recorded E5150 and the movie version of “The Mob Rules” there.
• Dio said they learned of John Lennon’s death on thei flight over to England.  Dio was slated to stay in John Lennon’s room and he didn’t want to stay in there because he was scared.

Core Band:

• Bass – Geezer Butler
• Drums – Vinny Appice
  • Previously played with Derringer.
• Guitar – Tony Iommi
• Keyboards [All Keyboards By] – Geoff Nicholls
• Vocals – Ronnie James Dio

Technical:

• Producer [Produced By], Engineer [Engineered By] – Martin Birch
  • The promotional material for the album refers to Martin Birch as “the fifth Sab.”
• Technician [Personal Technicians To Black Sabbath] – Ian Ferguson
  • Previously worked as an engineer on Deep Purple’s “Made in Japan” and Rainbow’s “Down to Earth.”
• Technician [Personal Technicians To Black Sabbath] – Les Martin
  • Previously worked with Black Sabbath on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” “Sabotage” “Never Say Die” “Technical Ecstasy.”
• Technician [Personal Technicians To Black Sabbath] – Michael Howse
  • Only credits are Mob Rules and Live Evil.
• Technician [Personal Technicians To Black Sabbath] – Peter Resty*
  • Worked with Black Sabbath and Manowar.
• Engineer [First Assistant Engineer] – Eddie DeLena
  • Previously worked with Ronnie Wood.
  • Went on to work with Tom Petty, Devo, Twisted Sister, Chicago, Queen.
• Engineer [Second Assistant Engineer] – Angelo Arcuri
  • Went on to work with Dio.

Album Art & Booklet Review

• Art Direction – Richard Seireeni
  • Did album covers for Diana Ross, Kansas, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Chaka Kahn.
• Artwork [Art], Coordinator [Album Coordination] – Paul Clark (9)
  • Also did artwork for Live Evil. Went on to work with Steve Hacket. Listed as “management” on Born Again.
• Illustration – Greg Hildebrandt
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Hildebrandt
  • He and his brother Tim worked together known as “The Brothers Hildebrandt” and worked on sci-fi and fantasy artwork together.
  • Also did artwork for Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
  • The brothers may be best known for their “Style B” poster for the UK release of “Star Wars.”

• Rumor is that the words “Kill Ozzy” are written underneath by the artist’s signature on the painting.
• In reality the painting had been done in 1971 entitled “Dream 1: The Crucifiers” and was licensed by Black Sabbath.
• One label rep claimed that Black Sabbath had requested this be added to the painting but there doesn’t seem to be anything to back this up.
• The painting’s original title was “Mob Dream.”
• The canvas stretched out in the center was supposed to be the stretched skin of a person with the face left intact.

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Album Tracks:

All songs were written by Robbie James Dio, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler. All lyrics were written by Ronnie James Dio.

Side One:

1. Turn Up the Night
   • Ronnie said he was never a fan of this song and that it was just “all right.”
   • It was issued as a single with the B-Side “Lonely Is The Night” and made it to #37 in the British charts.
   • The song starts off the comparisons many make to “Heaven and Hell” with people saying it’s just a weaker version of “Neon Knights.”
2. Voodoo
   • Ronnie said he always really liked this song.
   • The band only played it a few times live.
3. The Sign of the Southern Cross
   • Ronnie said he named this after a song he used to play when he played Trumpet called “The Southern Cross.”
4. E5150 (instrumental)
   • They would use this to open concerts during the tour.
   • 5, 1, and 50 in Roman numerals spell “VIL” so they put an E in front of it.
   • Ronnie said this one was written for the Heavy Metal movie along with “The Mob Rules.”
   • This was the beginning of “The Mob Rules” where evil forces were trying to attack the city.
   • Dio said it was supposed to be a backing track and intro for The Mob Rules.
   • Dio said they used a Taurus pedal and different effects and it’s the only thing on the album that’s from a different recording session.
5. The Mob Rules
   • They had recorded this song for the “Heavy Metal” soundtrack but recorded it again for the album. They felt the one they’d recorded for the movie was a bit of rush job as they’d just come back from tour.
   • The title notably adds “the” to the album title.
   • It was used in the soundtrack for “Heavy Metal.”
   • It was written before they had the album.
   • It’s a song Dio continued to do.
   • This song was recorded at John Lennon’s house.
   • They chose this song to do for the film. Dio said when they saw the original cut of the film it was like a porn movie and they had to edit it back to avoid getting a XXX rating.
   • The single didn’t chart in the US but reached #46 in the UK.

Side Two:

1. Country Girl
   • Dio mentioned that everyone liked this track except for Bill Ward.
   • Dio wrote it for Wendy at The Record Plant in New York.
   • Iommi said he brought up that he didn’t think the lyrics really went with the sound of the song but they ended up keeping it.
2. Slipping Away
   • Dio says they wrote this one in England at Goldrock Road where they ended up mixing the album.
   • He says they wrote it very quickly, Geezer liked it, and Tony suggested making it a little funkier.
3. Falling Off the Edge of the World
   • The title was inspired by a song written by George Young and Harry Vanda with the same title.  Dio said he always liked the title.
4. Over and Over

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Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet

Reception and Charts:

• Made it to #12 in the UK album charts and #29 in the Billboard top 200.

Reviews:

• AllMusic – 4 / 5
  • https://www.allmusic.com/album/mob-rules-mw0000194116
  • 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 1980’s 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. 1981’s Mob Rules was a quick follow-up to Heaven and Hell, continuing the momentum of that record’s energy as well as its shift away from dark metal to more commercial hard rock. Tony Iommi‘s 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 band’s original sludgy approach. These changes, along with Dio‘s 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 Hell‘s “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 didn’t sell quite as well as Heaven and Hell, and Dio and Appice left the band soon afterward, (though Dio‘s 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 other’s companion pieces, making the first round of Dio-fronted Sabbath material a bright spot surrounded by relatively grim efforts on either side.
• Classic Rock – 4 /5
  • https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/album-of-the-week-club-black-sabbath-mob-rules
• Martin Popoff 10/10
  • In “The Collector’s Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2, The Eighties”
• Rolling Stone – 1/5
  • https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/mob-rules-255457
  • BY J.D. CONSIDINE/
  • AFTER 1980’S HARDER and faster Heaven and Hell, there was reason to believe that singer Ronnie James Dio might pull Black Sabbath off the heavy-metal scrapheap. Didn’t happen. Mob Rules finds the band as dull-witted and flatulent as ever.
  • It isn’t easy to figure out exactly who deserves the blame for this sludgefest. Dio’s lyrics are insipid and clichéd, but since the vocals are usually buried in the mix, that’s only a minor annoyance. His bass rumbling like an overloaded truck, Geezer Butler is busy, busy, busy. But not quite as busy as guitarist Tony Iommi, who uses the album as an opportunity to demonstrate how swiftly he can play. (In case you’re wondering, he’s quicker than Mark Farner, not as quick as Johnny Ramone.) As for the new kid on the block, drummer Vinnie Appice, his thumping is so leaden and uninspired you have to listen twice to notice him.
  • The reason that Mob Rules is terrible is teamwork — not just thinking up lame riffs and dumb lyrics but also performing them as poorly as possible.

For Further Information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mob_Rules_(album)
• https://www.discogs.com/release/380418-Black-Sabbath-Mob-Rules
• https://www.black-sabbath.com/discography/blacksabbath/mobrules/
• Born Again! Black Sabbath in the Eighties and Nineties by Martin Popoff
• Ronnie James Dio: A biography of a heavy metal Icon by James Curl
• Rainbow in the Dark: The Autobiography by Ronnie James Dio
• https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/mob-rules-255457/

Listener Mail/Comments

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