Listening Post: Purple Sabbath - Black Sabbath - Mob Rules

Black Sabbath – Mob Rules – 1981

I don't love Mob Rules the way I do Heaven and Hell but it's still terrific. It's as though Iommi was challenging himself in the contest of Sabbath vs Ozzy because he's in terrific form and Butler raises the stakes over the less than perfect Daisley on Ozzy's album.
Somehow Dio is kept in check, mystically speaking. Perhaps that's why he would leave after this record.
There are no surprises, just solid playing, strong writing, and exciting interplay between the band. Perhaps taking a cue from the classical offerings of Rhodes and recalling the best experimentation of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the band comes up with their own neo-classical influenced epic, “The Sign of the Southern Cross” which never devolves into parody, though it easily could have, even with that trippy coda “E5150” which follows.
A song like “Slipping Away” shows the band embracing a more accessible sound while not losing their hard core sludge roots.
All in all, Mob Rules is a worthy follow up to Heaven and Hell.

Grade: A
Aside: Mob Rules, Turn up the Night
BlindSide: The Sign of the Southern Cross,
DownSide: Voodoo