Emerald
Sabbath – Ninth Star (A Tribute To Black Sabbath)
This
is a tale of how an Irish Nuclear Construction Safety Inspector brought 10 ex
members of Black Sabbath together along with The English Chamber Choir, AND a
string quartet! All I can say is, Irish Nuclear Construction Safety Inspectors
must get paid a shit load of money. After all, if you fuck up in a Nuclear
Power plant it really is curtains.
The
man is Michael Suilleabhain from West Cork, and he has been a fan of Black
Sabbath since 1983, and has seen them a grand total of 82 times with every line
up except with Ray Gillen. Well everyone needs a hobby!
The
10 ex-members are Adam Wakeman, Bev Bevan, Neil Murray, Terry Chimes, Laurence
Cottle, Ron Keel, Vinny Appice, Dave Walker, Bobby Rondinelli, Tony Martin,
along with Rudy Sarzo. If Sabbaths management don’t even recognize Dio, this
group who kept Black Sabbath afloat when Iommi was the only original left, have
no chance of recognition, so its good to see someone recognizing the Iommi years.
The man has a passion for classical music and he wanted to bring both of them
together, and for that he must be applauded.
In
2015 Adam Wakeman was the first to contribute to the project, with keyboards on
‘Changes’ and it snowballed into this final product. He decided to re-record
Black Sabbath tracks and instrumentals with as many ex-members as possible. A
lot of the artists played on the originals, and unless you are a Sabbath
fanatic, then you wouldn’t even know of all the changes that took place in the
mid to late eighties.
After
a couple of listens, I think you do have to be of the made of the same stuff as
Suilleabhain. Because I don’t see more mainstream rock fans picking this up. To
give him full credit, on the instrumental tracks like ‘Embryo’ ‘Stonehenge’ and
‘Fluff’, the music is given added depth from the string quartet, and ‘Fluff’ in
particular is a joy to listen to here.
The songs he has picked, in general definitely benefit from a classical
and metal approach. In my opinion ‘more strings’ have never failed me when it
comes to rock classics, re-recorded classics, or a live gig with a backing
orchestra (i.e. Stargazer, Deep Purple, Alter Bridge, Metallica etc., etc.,).
I
was (still am) a fan of 80s outfit Keel. The three songs on offer here; one
each from Ozzy (Hole In The Sky), Gillan (Trashed), and Dio (Die Young) do not
get any great benefit from Ron Keel’s vocals. Yes, I get it that he was in the
band, but it would have been betting bringing in vocalists like Mike Mills
(Toehider, for Gillan), and Anders
Engberg (Sorcerer, for Dio). Ozzy is the awkward one to find a doppelganger for
as there really is only one Ozzy! ‘Die Young’ musically is note for note, but
when Keel kicks in it’s all strained and, well, painful. Lets face it, who can follow Ian Gillan. In
fact, Keel gives it (Trashed) a good enough of a go, but it still left me wanting.
‘Hole In The Sky’ is no different.
I
have to say that I am a big fan of tribute albums and covers. For me it needs
to be either true to the original, or mixed up completely giving the song a new
lease of life. I’ve heard enough since 1978 to form an honest opinion.
Dave
Walker certainly holds his own for the Technical Ecstasy ballad ‘She’s Gone’,
and this one is definitely worth a listen. Glenn Hughes isn’t called the ‘Voice
Of Rock’ for no reason. Tony Martin who recorded a couple of fab Sabbath albums
in ‘Headless Cross’ and ‘The Eternal Idol’ takes over from Hughes, and proves
he can still cut the mustard. This is where they slipped up. Lee Small would
have nailed this fucker 100%, then they could have re-recorded a Martin classic
such as ‘The Shining’ in a different style, still utilizing Martin’s considerable
chops.
‘Changes’
sees Suilleabhain take over vocal duties, and is left short of the original.
The best track on the album by far, the fantastic ‘Supertzar’, and the choral
English Chamber Choir ramp it up to eleven and give the original more than a
run for its money.
For
energy and enthusiasm I have to give full marks to Suilleabhain. However, a better
choice of vocals and a couple of different songs could have taken this up a
notch or three. If you’re not exactly an existing fan of Black Sabbath, there’s
nothing really here for you. As a die hard fan, its definitely worth exploring.
Score
6.5/10
Review by Chesy
1.
Embryo
Adam
Wakeman – Keyboards
Bev
Bevan – Drums
Laurence
Cottle – Bass
Anneka
Sutcliffe – Violin
Sarah
Tobias – Flute/Clarinet
2.
Die Young
Ron
Keel – Vocals
Vinnie
Appice – Drums
Rudy
Sarzo – Bass
DC
Cothern – Guitar
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
Ellen
Morgan – Keyboards
3.
Fluff
Sarah
Tobias – Flute/Clarinet
Ardeton
String Quartet
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
4.
Trashed
Ron
Keel – Vocals
Vinnie
Appice – Drums
Bev
Bevan – Percussion
Laurence
Cottle – Bass
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
5.
Stonehenge
Adam
Wakeman – keyboards
Laurence
Cottle – Bass
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
Sarah
Tobias – Flute
6.
She’s Gone
Dave
walker – Vocals
Bill
Dwyer – Guitars
Neil
Murray – Bass
Chris
Cundy – Keyboards
Steve
Owers – Drums
Ardeton
String Quasrtet
Lisa
Ljungberg – Backing Vocals
7.
In For The Kill
Tony
Martin – Vocals
Laurence
Cottle – Bass
Bobby
Rondinelli – Drums
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
Adam
Wakeman – Keyboards
8.
Orchid
Neil
Murray – Bass
Sarah
Tobias – Flute/Clarinet
Ardeton
String Quartet
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
9.
Hole In The Sky
Ron
Keel – Vocals
Bobby
Rondinelli – Drums
Laurence
Cottle – Bass
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
10.
Changes
Michael
Suilleabhain – Vocals
Adam
Wakeman – Keyboards
Laurence
Cottle – bass
Bev
Bevan – Percussion
Queenie
May – Backing Vocals
Anneka
Sutcliffe – Violin
Sarah
Tobias – Flute/Clarinet
11.
Supertzar
English
Chamber Choir
Adam
Wakeman – Keyboards
Terry
Chimes – Drums
Laurence
Cottle – Bass
Pete
Rinaldi – Guitar
Skaila
Kang – Harp
Elen
Morgan - Glockenspiel
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