For a compilation, this is right up there with the best of them from a sheer flow perspective. The way the disc is sequenced makes every single track feel essential. I highly advise people pick up the studio albums, of course, BUT…if you just want a cursory listen of Sabbath, you cannot go wrong with this one.

Out of all of the discs from the classic Sabbath run this is the one I consistently come back to. Up to this point, it was certainly the most adventurous record they had made, which paired their heavy-handed approach with winding epics and ever-more complex suites which directly addressed the ills surrounding the group. The diabolical "Megalomania" would seem to be the obvious candidate, but "The Writ" is the group at their most visceral - essentially Ozzy's personal attack on the group's former manager who ripped them off. In between, there's more than enough off-tangent craziness to go 'round ("Supertzar", "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"). But don't get it twisted - it's been a few records since they levelled this much power on a studio effort as straight-ahead exercises like "Hole in the Sky" distinctly remind the listener. I unabashedly love this album, but can see why some people won't get its' offbeat charm.

Here marks a point where the group peeked out of their doomy metal hole, took some cues from other music scenes, and became a quasi-art/progressive/metal/pop band – but not for too long, mainly because of extenuating circumstances, like lawsuits, disingenuous management, and eventually, the surrounding malaise of the drugged-out recording industry affecting rock music in the mid-to-late 1970’s. And yes, that is the vague theme of this album – self-loathing, self-hatred, victimization on display, all set to Iommi’s icy guitar licks, but this time with some interesting outliers here and there – some of them work, and some of them do not. It would come to stunning fruition on the next record, though.

One of the most infamous records of all-time. But even among fans of the group, it tends to get knocked down a peg or two, which is understandable – the album was quickly and cheaply recorded, there are next-to-no overdubs, the group is raw in a near-primal sense, driven home by the fact that Osbourne practically croaks his way through the entire experience. Given the general atmosphere of the era, Black Sabbath must have sounded like warmed-over death mixed with painfully awkward teenage angst to the average music listener’s ears – certainly not a good cure for what ails ya. It has a lot more in common with British blues music from the same time period than anything else – it’s just that the group decided to put their own spin on the genre, and then some. But, in its’ own rough-hewn, horribly mutated way, this is as good as any in the classic section of Black Sabbath albums. Certainly, it is the least mature of all of them, but the visceral imagery, the raw, unbridled emotion, and of course, the awkward growing pains – whether they realized they were forging a completely new direction, or just entered puberty – it’s all here, in spades.

Ruby Starr actually came back to the band for this one, and did the backing vocals for the cover of Bob Seger’s “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”. But her appearance – as with the High on the Hog record – is a minor development in the grand scheme of things. The major idea here was a branching out of sorts. I say “of sorts” because the band does it buffet-style – there is a syncopated sex funk track (“Fistful of Love”), there is the “Great Balls of Fire” cover, there are these weird progressive/romantic rock songs towards the end of the album – but no one style the group follows to its’ logical end, for whatever unexplained reason. One of the album’s most exciting tracks, “Rock ‘n’ Roll”, is a fine example of what I described above – the searing guitar solo does not so much end as it just feels clipped off mistakenly. And yes, it does feel really weird to listen to Jim Dandy try to croon like Steve Walsh or Jim Perry on “Storm of Passion”, but the rest of the band heroically keeps the mood appropriately heavy and spooky, so it is not totally awkward.