Black Sabbath-Volume 2: 1978-1992 (1992)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation & Audio Featurette-Band History (11) Discography
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	47:07 (Case: 72)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Martin Baker
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Tony Iommi Geezer Butler Bill Ward Ronnie James Dio Ian Gillian
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$34.95	Music	Tony Iommi

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.33:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    One of the inherent problems that surfaced when artists of the 1970s tried to make their way in the 1980s that, to some extent, made George Orwell seem even more like a prophet, was that of how you fit artists who espoused the belief in oneself into a decade that promoted the sustenance of a trend at the expense of the individual. In Black Sabbath's case, the simple answer is that you can't, especially not when the original vocalist who imparted such wisdom as "believe in yourself, 'cos no-one else is true" had been fired (or asked to leave), thus alienating fans and critics alike. After Ozzy Osbourne was removed from the band in 1978, the lineup changed so many times that people have been made dizzy trying to keep track of it all, and some of the albums that have been recorded in that time were just terrible.

    The primary focus of The Black Sabbath Story, Volume 2 is all of the jokers who have pitifully tried to fill Ozzy Osbourne's shoes since 1978. To put it quite simply, it is like trying to put an accountant into my position as a writer of reviews - it just doesn't work. In particular, the 1980/1992 lineup that seems to get the most focus, with Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, Vinny Appice on drums, and Ronnie James Dio on vocals, is in my opinion one of the most terrible the band has ever seen. Granted, every member of the band save Tony Iommi has seen terrible replacements at one point or another - Tony Martin cannot carry a tune in a bucket, Bob Daisley only joined the band after being fired by Ozzy, and there have been more drummers than Bill Ward has had heart problems (at least according to the information I've read).

The statement above about the idea of an accountant doing my reviews is purely a joke. I just had to point that out before I get any more emails.

    Geoff Nicholls has played the keyboards since 1979, but while it is very sketchy as to who played the session keyboards before 1976 (it is widely believed that Tony played them on Vol. 4), most fans fondly remember Rick Wakeman's work on the Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage albums, with good reason. More information about Black Sabbath lineups can be found at the Black Sabbath website maintained by Joe Siegler, who continues to maintain it as a fan site despite the fact that it is pretty much the definitive source for all things Sabbath-related. If you have a look at some of the news items on that site, in fact, you will notice that the year in which the two Black Sabbath Story videos were made is 1992 - they were produced mostly as advertising pieces to coincide with the release of the Dehumanizer album, essentially a reunion piece for the Iommi/Butler/Appice/Dio lineup (deja vu, anyone?).

    In case you have any doubts as to which is the superior line-up, by the way, check out the appearances of Ronnie James Dio at such points as 0:45. If the word "poseur" was in the dictionary, this man's picture would be right beside it.

Video

    The Black Sabbath Story, Volume 2 is also presented in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and it is 16x9 enhanced. Again, to slightly misquote Alexei Sayle, I may be stupid-like, but I happen to know for a fact that this documentary was shot in the standard 4:3 ratio of the day, and that none of this footage, some of which is now as old as thirty-two years, was intended to be seen any other way. To say that this is disappointing is an understatement - it is the same stupidity that tries to justify the cropping of widescreen films into 1.33:1 in action, but in reverse. Normally, I would be inclined to say something like "ha ha, tough luck, 'full screen' lovers", but this footage was so clearly not meant to be in a widescreen ratio it's frustrating.

    The (mildly) good news is that this transfer is noticeably sharper and better defined than the previous volume. This is partly due to a serious lack of extras and a much shorter running time, hence there is less need for compression, which supports the theory that the worst content gets the better transfer. Much of what is discussed in this volume is such a who-cares non-event that it makes the release of a Mariah Carey album seem interesting. The shadow detail during the concert footage is very minimal, as is to be expected, but there is no low-level noise.

    The colours in this transfer are generally acceptable, with the interview footage looking functional while the concert footage is smeared and pasty, although no more than the recording methods introduce. No composite artefacts such as dot crawl or cross-colouration were noted.

    MPEG artefacts are also not in this transfer, although they do occasionally border on breaking out during the archival footage, which isn't surprising given their condition. Some of the music videos appear to have been shot on video, as interlacing artefacts are occasionally discernible during a lot of the more recent music. Film-to-video artefacts were more or less absent from the picture. Film artefacts were all over the place during the archival footage, especially the archival footage from 1980 to about 1986.

    No subtitles are recorded on this DVD.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Once again, any serious fan would rightly expect that a Black Sabbath DVD have a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix designed to put the viewer right in the middle of the performances that are presented here, and they get one. Once again, purists have no need to worry, as there is also a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix for those who want to experience the DVD in the same way that the crummy VHS tape was presented.

    Two soundtracks adorn this DVD, both of which are representations of the original English dialogue - a Dolby Digital 2.0, 224 kilobit per second mix, and a Dolby Digital 5.1, 448 kilobit per second mix. I listened primarily to the 5.1 mix, which is noticeably more active than its Volume 1 counterpart, but still not of the standard that Sabbath music (well, the real Sabbath music, anyway) demands. Interestingly, however, the 2.0 soundtrack is the default.

    The dialogue was frequently and mildly muffled, but it can be understood with a little effort. The vocals in the music are clear and easy to understand, while there are no obvious problems with audio sync.

    The music featured in this volume was composed by Tony Iommi, with contributions from Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillian, Tony Martin, Vinny Appice, and Cozy Powell. If you're keen to find out one of the reasons for my anger at people who can't listen past a voice, then simply listen to the music on this DVD and watch one of the featurettes. The vocal styles of Dio, Gillian, and Martin may be different to that of Ozzy Osbourne (and not necessarily better), but it is the actual music here that lets the whole side down. When Ozzy was in the band, they set a whole standard that it took another twelve years after his departure for others to add to. The music here by comparison, is formulaic Top 40 crap.

    The surround channels were used to separate minor amounts of keyboards and other ambient sounds from the rest of the music whenever music videos were displayed. They soon collapsed back into silence during much of the historical concert footage and the interview footage, but their presence is somewhat of an improvement upon the previous volume.

    The subwoofer was also used mildly for the music videos and some of the concert footage.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Again, the video extra here is presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with a choice between Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 audio.

Menu

    The menu is animated, accompanied by Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, and 16x9 enhanced.

Featurette - Band History

    This nineteen minute and fifty-one second featurette shoots itself in the foot right at the beginning by starting with an interview with Hugh Gilmour. Once again, he proves that he doesn't know a thing by getting into a comparison of Ozzy with Dio, and claiming fans left simply because they wanted Ozzy on vocals. No, Hugh, we stopped listening because distorted pop is an insult to everything the real Black Sabbath means to us. The rest of the featurette isn't much better - just some nobody's opinion of the band's history rather than the history itself.

Album Gallery

    Much the same as the Album Gallery on the previous disc, except this one covers the period from 1980 to 1992. Again, there are numerous links to footage within the feature provided where it is relevant.

    While this disc is distributed in other territories by BMG, if I have read the information correctly, meaningful technical information on the Region 1 version is all but impossible to find. If the Region 1 version of this disc can be confirmed to be presented in the proper 1.33:1 aspect ratio, then it is the clear winner, but until then, I suggest buying neither.

    There is a reason why Black Sabbath sunk faster than the Titanic from 1980 onwards while Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most notorious figures in music, and The Black Sabbath Story, Volume 2 shows it very clearly in spite of not intending to. Just check out the number called No Stranger To Love at 14:58 if you don't believe me. Repetitious guitar riffing and a vocalist repeating that he's "no stranger to love" or something about ten million freaking times is an affront to everything that Sabbath was about when they crowded into the studio to record their first album on a budget that would equal lunch money in today's studios.

    The video transfer is acceptable, given the source materials.

    The audio transfer is acceptable, given the source materials.

    The extras are minimal, and the featurette is just utter rubbish.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall