Mob Rules - Song By Song

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Continuing with the Dio albums we come to Mob Rules.


First track is Turn Up The Night, another great opener from the boys, it may not quite match Neon Knights but it's not that far behind. A fast rocker with a great riff. To me it seems to have a quite similar vibe to Stand Up and Shout from Dio's solo work.

[Typhon]

Anyone that is going to complain that some songs in 13 are a rehash, sure must admit the rehash here with Turn Up The Night.  They should have titled this tune Neon Knights II. 

[Charger]

And then we move on to the magnum opus of Black Sabbath and one of the greatest albums ever made! This is gonna be a great ride!!


Talk about kick ass album openers Turn Up The Night sure hits that spot! One of Tony's strangest fast riffs combined with Ronnie's shotgun style vocals makes this song a rather unique piece in Sabbath's catalogue.
Ronnie has never since nor before used this vocal technique and understandably so...as he could never truly reproduce that style to perfection live and that's why this song did not make it to the set list part from couple of occations in the very early stages of the Mob Rules tour.
When asked why this wasn't done during the H&H tours Ronnie said this was one of the few songs he just couldn't get right anymore and because of that.

But what a track and what a way to open an album. This has to be the most furious of all Sabbath songs....Trashed is the only one that even comes close.

If Neon Knights is the best album opener of all time this has to be the second best for sure.

[Zzzptm]

Yeah, if you're gonna copy a song, copying Neon Knights is not a bad choice. Then, it's a question of whether or not what was borrowed is "paid back with interest", as composers of the classical era put it when they pinched a theme or two from each other. In this case, yes, the borrowing was worthwhile and does good by the original source. I love how the tss-tss-tss-tss basically is the signal to roll the tanks and we get another ripper to kick things off. It's not as complex as Neon Knights, but nevertheless gets the job done.

10/10, will listen to again.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Next we have Voodoo. To be honest I've always been a little 'meh' about this song. It's not bad by any means but when sat next to the rest of the album it is a weaker effort. BUT, it has started to grow on me... it's only taken 39 years!

[Charger]

Voodoo is another fantastic track on a fantastic album. The groovy riff is among Tony's finest and the vocal melody of Ronnie's is suberb.

But this is again one of those songs that truly came alive in a live setting. Especially the longer version done during the H&H tour of 2007 was amazing.

This was a Geezer song to atleast some extent.

[Zzzptm]

This one and Sign of the Southern Cross I had to learn to get into, because these two ain't Children of the Sea / Lady Evil. These ain't songs for kids playing D&D. And this song, I think, goes very well with the album cover. It's a slow burn tune, another straightforward piece with little thematic variety. It depends on that riff and rhythm line to drive it forward, and it gets across the goal line.

[Typhon]

Now this is a good example of how to use a singer, with a powerful voice like Dio's, in a Black Sabbath song.  With Voodoo, Tony's guitar takes the lead, backed up nicely by Geezer's bass line.  This keeps Ronnie in check, and his powerful voice is used just enough to make the song work.  A fine arrangement for this set of performers.  Thumbs up. 

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Sign of the Southern Cross is the long epic on this album. I've always loved this song and is challenging for the best track on the album (with about 3 oters!). I've always liked it but in the early days I felt it was good but not great a bit like Heaven & Hell (song), but it has grown on me almost like it was ahead of its time. Great atmosphere, time changes mystic lyrics it's got it all!

[Typhon]

Sign Of The Southern Cross is by far the best song on this album.  The true Sabbath style is obvious, and helps put this tune in the epic category.  Great track.

[Charger]

And then we come face to face again with one of those songs that belong to the GREATEST SONGS OF ALL TIME list, the mighty SIGN OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

The soft intro which leads into one of Tony's greatest riffs of all time (which I have on my new phone as the ring tone again) and some amazing wah pedal bass work from Geezer. And those lyrics by Ronnie...these are without a doubt some of his best work. An incredibly powerful song...a true epic.

Best track on the album and most certainly a top 5 Sabbath song of all time and quite possibly a top 5 songs of all time...

[Zzzptm]

I may like the manic riff of Falling Off the Edge of the World more, but Sign of the Southern Cross is absolutely a reason why I consider Mob Rules superior to Heaven and Hell, overall.  We get the D&D content, but with a much harder edge than we had with Lady Evil or Wishing Well.

Everything builds in this song. I especially focus on Dio's well-measured delivery, taking time as he goes from 5 at the start to 10 at the end.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

E5150 is an instrumental (bar a few words at the beginning) which is a little different, the guitar effects are nice. I don't mind it, it's quite atmospheric and I like the way the keyboard runs into Mob Rules. Having said that it's my least favourite track on the album.

[Charger]

E5150 is the greatest concert intro tape of all time but honestly that's where it's chops end.

It's a strange instrumental for sure...for the longest time I thought this was done with keyboards but the main instrument here is bass though.

[Vyn]

It was the height of Mardi Gras. The sun had long since taken refuge beyond the horizon, giving the moon and her cohorts a chance to influence and direct the revelry. Bourbon Street undulated in time with the cacophony from the throngs of celebrants fusing with the zydeco and second line music from the clubs. The dazzling haphazardness of the neon signage, glow sticks, and street lamps did very little to actually illuminate anything.

Needing a break from the action, I ducked down the improbably named E5150 Alley. The walk was pleasant. I started picking up a surreally peaceful vibe when an apparition appeared out of a shadowy corner and knocked my ass out with a baseball bat.

The last thing I remember was seeing the words "The Mob Rules" branded into the wood of that knock-out stick.