Product Description

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No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: BLACK SABBATH
Title: WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK 'N'
Street Release Date: 08/09/1988
Domestic
Genre: HEAVY METAL

Track Listing

1. Black Sabbath
2. Wizard
3. Paranoid
4. War Pigs
5. Iron Man
6. Tomorrow's Dream
7. Fairies Wear Boots
8. Changes
9. Sweet Leaf
10. Children of the Grave
11. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
12. Am I Going Insane (Radio) [Edit]
13. Snowblind
14. N.I.B.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11982 in Music
• Brand: BLACK SABBATH
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
An excellent introduction for one of the bands that set the standard for heavy metal. We Sold Our Soul for Rock & Roll features the original lineup of Black Sabbath, including Ozzy Osbourne on vocals; the songs are selected from the band's recordings up through 1975. The album features several classic songs, several of which are still on rock radio play lists: "Paranoid," "War Pigs," "Iron Man," and the ballad "Changes." There's also the humorous "Fairies Wear Boots," the vaguely psychedelic "Am I Going Insane," and the dark, macabre "Black Sabbath" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath." Most Sabbath fans will already have the albums from which the songs on this collection are taken. However, for the listener new to Sabbath, it's the perfect place to start. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

A Classic Collection of the Roots of Metal
I'm not sure what originally attracted me to the vinyl album in the first place. I was a little nervous because I was not a Black Sabbath fan, and wasn't sure what I was going to get. However, a friend of mine had recommended the group to me and I thought, why not?

From the moment "Black Sabbath" began to play, I was hooked. The heavy bass, the drums, a full heavy sound, and yet so sparse, was outstanding. Looking back when I bought this on vinyl, I was into The Moody Blues and King Crimson, which we now recognize as progressive rock, and listening to Black Sabbath, I see some of the elements I liked so much in progressive rock.

While I still have the vinyl album, I had to have the CD because of its portability. The only regret I have is that two songs were dropped from the dual album set, "Warning" and the awesome, uncharacteristically acoustic, "Laguna Sunrise". I miss both of these and will have to buy the CDs from whence they came.

If you are a hard-core Black Sabbath fan, then there is probably no point in you owning this CD unless you just have to have everything they ever recorded. Or perhaps, as another reviewer noted, you were looking for something to play at a party that is a Sabbath mix. On the flip side, if you are a casual Black Sabbath fan, then this could really be a good CD for you. However, Black Sabbath is like many great groups in that a "best of" collection really catches only a fragment of the quality of their music. This group is an album group, and not really a collection group.

There is no point in reviewing the individual songs. I like every one. They are fun, full of bass, heavy lead guitar riffs, and drums that beat into and out of the songs to give a flavor that is hard to believe from typically three instruments. There are whimsical songs ("Fairies Wear Boots", "Am I Going Insane") that are just plain fun. Songs of warning ("War Pigs", "Iron Man"), and even a ballad ("Changes"). If you have wondered about the roots of metal, look no more, you've pretty much found the tap root. Sit back, crank up the bass, and enjoy.

Essential For Any Metal Fan
Here's where metal all began. Doom, Black metal, Death metal...so many genres began with Sabbath. We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N' Roll is very good place to start a Sabbath collection. Features all their more well known songs such as Paranoid, Iron Man, Changes...etc. A little disappointed that some of the songs that were just as good but not as popular were left out. Also no songs from the Dio era of Sabbath, I admit that that's not such a big deal though since they only had one good album with him. Again, a great place to start but I would recommend getting the actual albums too. Every Sabbath album is meant to be taken as a whole and, while the songs sound good apart from each other, your missing part of the experience if you just hear one or two songs of a particular album. It's been more than 30 years since Sabbath started and they are still one of the best. Very few have ever been able to match the ambiance, art and effect Sabbath achieved. Their material is as powerful in 2004 as it was 1970.

much of classic sabbath
'We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll' was my first introduction to Black Sabbath, and it remained my sole Sabbath record for quite some time.

As a greatest hits compilation from Black Sabbath's classic first six albums, it is an extremely well-chosen collection of what represents most of what early Sabbath had to offer. For hard-core fans, you should get all six early albums separately and in their entirety. But for those wanting an excellent introduction to the band, it's hard to think of more worthy selections than the ones here to put on a single CD.

A disproportionate number of cuts are from 'Paranoid', Sabbath's second (and best, in my opinion) record. In fact, if I could take only one classic Sabbath record to a desert island, 'Paranoid' would be it. But if I could take 'We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'N' Roll', I'd take it over any of the single LP's in a heartbeat.

Hey, a CD is only 74 minutes long, so as controversial as it is, some great music from the first six records just had to be left off. Sadly, what isn't here include: 'Supernaut', 'Supertzar', 'Wicked World', 'Hole in the Sky', 'Symptom of the Universe' and 'Megalomania'. Of these, 'Megalomania' might be the biggest omission, but it's also a long song and including it would have meant not including possibly two of the great ones that were included. NOTE: the original double-lp set included the cuts, 'Laguna Sunrise' and 'Warning'. Due to the 74min capacity of a single compact disc, these cuts were omitted from the CD version. Regrettable, but these were probably the cuts I would have eliminated if given the choice.

In summary, 'We Sold our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll' is an extremely well-chosen collection of classic Sabbath from the early 70's. It includes much if not most of their best work in a very accessible single-CD format. It's also an excellent introduction to the band.