The Eternal Idol

The Eternal Idol
Studio album by Black Sabbath
Released 1 November 1987
Recorded 1986–1987 at Air Studios, Montserrat & Battery Studios, London
Genre Heavy metal
Length 42:42
Label Vertigo, Warner Bros. (US/Canada)
Producer Jeff Glixman, Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, Chris Tsangarides
Black Sabbath chronology
Seventh Star
(1986)		 The Eternal Idol
(1987)		 Headless Cross
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone [2]

The Eternal Idol is the thirteenth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in December 1987. It is the first of several Black Sabbath albums to feature longtime vocalist Tony Martin. It spent six weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at 168.[3] It was also the last full album of new material by Black Sabbath to be released by Warner Bros. Records (in North America).

Contents

Album information

The album cover was intended to feature a picture of an Auguste Rodin sculpture from 1889 also called "The Eternal Idol". However, the album cover actually features two naked models covered in paint and positioned to resemble the piece of art because permission to photograph the actual sculpture could not be secured. Despite the sleeve credits, all bass parts were completed by Bob Daisley, and Eric Singer completed all drum parts. The percussion credit to Bev Bevan relates to a few cymbal overdubs on "Scarlet Pimpernel".[4]

The album was originally to be recorded with vocalist Ray Gillen, who quit the band shortly after the initial sessions on Montserrat with producer Jeff Glixman. Martin was hired and reconstructed the vocals shortly before production ended. Most tracks were written by Tony Iommi and bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley (although the vinyl version states that all songs were written by Iommi[5]), although some lyrics were subsequently modified by Geoff Nicholls and Tony Martin after he joined the band.

There is a 3 minute and fifteen second studio outtake titled "Some Kind of Woman", which was written by Tony Martin shortly after joining the band. It was offered as a B-side to "The Shining" single and an early version of "Black Moon", which was released on Headless Cross, was released as a B-Side to the "Eternal Idol" single.

The album was re-released on November 1, 2010 in Europe in a 2-disc expanded set. Bonus content includes the aforementioned B-sides "Some Kind of Woman" and "Black Moon" on disc 1, while disc 2 contains the session for the album recorded with Ray Gillen on vocals.[6][7]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "The Shining" – 6:00
  2. "Ancient Warrior" – 5:28
  3. "Hard Life to Love" – 5:00
  4. "Glory Ride" – 4:49

Side two

  1. "Born to Lose" – 3:43
  2. "Nightmare" – 5:19
  3. "Scarlet Pimpernel" (instrumental)– 2:05
  4. "Lost Forever" – 4:03
  5. "Eternal Idol" – 6:33

2010 Deluxe Edition Disc 1 Bonus Tracks

  1. "Black Moon" (Single B-side)
  2. "Some Kind of Woman" (Single B-side)

2010 Deluxe Edition Disc 2

This is the album session recorded with Ray Gillen performing vocals for the songs

  1. "Glory Ride"
  2. "Born to Lose"
  3. "Lost Forever"
  4. "Eternal Idol"
  5. "The Shining"
  6. "Hard Life to Love"
  7. "Nightmare"
  8. "Ancient Warrior"

Personnel

Release history

Region Date Label
United Kingdom 1 November 1987 Vertigo Records
United States 8 December 1987 Warner Bros. Records
Canada 1987 Warner Bros. Records
United Kingdom April 1996 Castle Communications
United Kingdom 25 October 2004 Sanctuary Records

References

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "The Eternal Idol - Black Sabbath". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r2012. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 
  2. ^ "Black Sabbath: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music". Rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/black-sabbath/albumguide. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 
  3. ^ "The Eternal Idol album info". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/black-sabbath/the-eternal-idol/2670. Retrieved 3 August 2011. 
  4. ^ 'Black sabbath- Never Say Die'; Gary Sharpe-Young 2003 chapter 10.
  5. ^ "Discogs link". Discogs.com. http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1787997. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 
  6. ^ "Black Sabbath News". Black-sabbath.com. http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/index.html. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 
  7. ^ Siegler, Joe (2010-09-15). "Black-Sabbath.com, Ray Gillen Eternal Idol to be released - FOR REAL!". Black-sabbath.com. http://www.black-sabbath.com/news/2010/09/ray_gillen_eternal_idol_to_be_released.html. Retrieved 2011-08-02. 

External links

Book: Black Sabbath
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.
Black Sabbath
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Unofficial albums
Singles
and other songs
Videos
Related articles
  • Book:Black Sabbath
  • Category:Black Sabbath
  • Portal:Heavy metal