Seventh Star

Seventh Star was initially supposed to be a Tony Iommi solo album but the record company insisted on releasing it under the famous Black Sabbath banner. It's no surprise that this album doesn't have anything to do with the band's previous doom and heavy metal outputs. This release focuses on adult-oriented rock, blues rock and glam rock in the key of Def Leppard, Dokken and Whitesnake.

Even though this was supposed to be a solo album, singer Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame is the shining star here as he finds the perfect balance between passion and skills and provides every song except for the vapid instrumental tune ''Sphinx (The Guardian)'' with energy and melody. Toni Iommi's guitar play has notable ups and downs. The passionate solo in catchy and powerful opener ''In for the Kill'' works splendidly and so does the bluesy doodling in the playful ''Heart Like a Wheel''. On other occasions such as the fluffy lead single ''No Stranger to Love'' and the concise closing ballad ''In Memory'', his play is however shockingly unspectacular. This release features live keyboarder Geoff NIchols as regular band member for the first time. His play gives the album a dreamy, fluffy and melodic note that clearly aims for commercial appeal. Fans of old date might dislike that direction but one has to admit that the keyboard play is very efficient and on the pulse of its time.

One of the record's biggest flaws is the uninspired rhythm section. The bass guitar play by Dave Spitz is almost inaudible in the production. The drum play by Eric Singer at times sounds like a drum computer, especially in the disappointing title track ''Seventh Star''. This is particularly irritating since both musicians have excellent reputation and performed in numerous excellent rock bands throughout their respective careers. As mentioned earlier, the toothless production clearly aims for commercial success but makes a soft rock record out of a potential hard rock effort. A more dynamic and gritty mastering would have rated the more streamlined tunes up quite a bit.

The remastered deluxe edition includes some rare live material with another singer, relatively unknown but very energetic Ray Gillen, and the band sounds much better on stage than in the studio. The vocals are absolutely outstanding, the guitar play is more domineering, the keyboards sound less straightforward and the rhythm section provides some much-needed energy. Sadly, the quality of those live cuts is extremely poor and sounds as if the concert had been recorded with a potato. That's truly a shame since the band was in great shape back in those days and even the older Black Sabbath tunes work splendidly and sound better than the live cuts with Ian Gillan a few years earlier.

In the end, Black Sabbath's Seventh Star should appeal to blues, glam and hard rock fans but might disappoint doom and heavy metal fans. The album is a commercial product of its time that has a certain nostalgic charm. It has its entertaining values but is also flat and predictable. If you like this type of music, you should rather listen to Bon Jovi. The deluxe edition with seven great live cuts rates this release up despite their poor sound quality. Faithful collectors can pick this obscure release up while everyone else should listen to the unusual material first before taking the risk of purchasing it.