Headless Cross - Song By Song

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Judging by Jacks comment I think we may be in agreement on teh next track Black Moon.

It's a nice mid-tempo rock song, catchy chorus, quite heavy, another great (if short) solo. Actually this might be my 2nd favourite on the album, but that needs some thinking about!

[Jack the Stripper]

Yep Black Moon is undoubtedly my favourite track from the album and one of my favourite Tony Martin songs period. A dirty blues style song that has more in common with Whitesnake than anything Sabbath had ever done but it totally works because it’s just a fantastic song. Has a great stop/start groove to it with a simple but very catchy riff. Love the grittier approach on Martins vocals and the chorus he came up with is so incredibly catchy. I really find the rockier/bluesier/groovier style of music is where Martin really excels as a singer/songwriter and would’ve much preferred more of this style over the cheesy AOR stuff or dark doomier stuff.

All things being fair and equal Black Moon could’ve/should’ve been a hit for Sabbath at the time it came out.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

The album ends with Nightwing. After a run of good songs I find this a let down, the discordant accoustic start irritates me. Lyrics describing how awesome birds are, are a little meh to me (BCCs The Crow, Iced Earth's Raven Wing to name a couple I'm also 'meh' about!). I will say Iommi does some good stuff here which raises the song a bit.

[Jack the Stripper]

Nightwing closes out the album and is a bit mixed for me. It’s a power ballad of sorts with great vocals from Martin and a nice blending of electric and acoustic guitars from Iommi. However I just feel the song fails to really grab me emotionally during the soft acoustic parts and then lift me up when it transitions into the heavy electric parts the way it should. Tony’s solo’s are quite brilliant throughout though and do manage to capture that emotion but I do wish the song didn’t fade out so quickly on the song ending solo. Hearing Tony solo for another minute or so would’ve been a much grander way for it to finish. I also like the way Martins vocals are produced on this track. They are a little more natural sounding and not over-produced with that multi-layering that’s prevalent on much of the other tracks on the album. I would usually have a dig at these type of lyrics as well but I’ve always loved Owls so they shall get a pass.

I think it’s a fairly good track though and a positive way to finish the album but it just fails to connect and take take me to that place that other slow softer album closers like Spiral Architect, Lonely is the Word & Over and Over do.

So summing up Headless Cross. I find a lot of it to be bland with cheesy vocal delivery & lyrics from Martin and at times ventures too much into generic AOR stylings, while other times it tries too hard to bring a dark atmosphere but just doesn’t sound dark sonically.

Album Rating 4/10

Song Rankings
1. Black Moon
2. Devil & Daughter
3. When Death Calls
4. Nightwing
5. The Gates of Hell/Headless Cross
6. Kill in the Spirit World
7. Call of the Wild

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I think I've decided on my order:


1. When Death Calls
2. Black Moon
3. Kill in the Spirit World
4. Call of the Wild
5. The Gates of Hell / Headless Cross
6. Nightwing
7. Devil & Daughter

[Zzzptm]

Coming in after the weekend...

Black Moon - I like the grit in this song, but wish for something other than synths in the keyboard department. Either none of them would have been fine, or something less layer-y and more engaging, like a piano or Hammond. Great Whitesnake song... makes me wonder what a pairing of Iommi and Coverdale would have produced.

Nightwing - there's that jazz player bass guitar sound at the start of the track, really not what I expect in a Sabbath album. I never did get into it and I'm still not getting into it this time around. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Powell's drumming, Martin's singing, and Iommi's solo contrast with the lighter touch from the keyboards, bass, and acoustic guitar. They're just not meshing well enough for me to want to stick around.

[Jack the Stripper]

I was just checking out my Martin era vinyls to see what pressings I have and had totally forgotten my Headless Cross vinyl is still sealed. Looks to be a US club edition.





Shall we move onto TYR Kilo?

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

We shall indeed move onto Tyr. I was waiting for Zs to complete HC (now done), I'll start it later today.

Is the fact that your Headless Cross vinyl is still sealed indicative of your dis-like for the album or is it just that it's worth more un-opened?

[Jack the Stripper]

We shall indeed move onto Tyr. I was waiting for Zs to complete HC (now done), I'll start it later today.

Is the fact that your Headless Cross vinyl is still sealed indicative of your dis-like for the album or is it just that it's worth more un-opened?

n the late 80’s early 90’s when cd’s were becoming all the rage I was buying the same album on both cd and vinyl until I totally gave on up on buying vinyl in about 92/93 due to the cost of buying both and vinyl being an old and tired format I was no longer listening to. So was just a case of not needing to open the vinyl if I had it and was listening to it on CD. In saying that, vinyl in Australia was rarely sold sealed in Record Shops. So Headless Cross was an odd one. My recollection is that I might have picked it up as an import at a record fair back in the day.

Its funny how things have come full circle now. I have totally stopped buying cd’s these days and now only buy vinyl.

[Zzzptm]

Yep, ready for Tyr but looking very much forward to Cross Purposes. Forbidden is gonna be one of those things we have to do...

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Its funny how things have come full circle now. I have totally stopped buying cd’s these days and now only buy vinyl.

I have recently acquired a record player, I'm sure yet how much use it will get.

[Charger]

Since I fell behind on these I'm not gonna mess things up here any further but I will say that the first half of this album is pure gold...brilliant stuff...

The second half is not even close in the same league as the first half.

I'd say Black Moon is the only really good song on the second half.

Overall rating for this one is a tough one as the sides are so uneven...but the songs on the first side are so brilliant and strong based on those alone this needs to get atleast a

* * * ½

rating.