Black Sabbath - Greatest Hits 1970-1978

Somewhere in every good music fan's basement is a worn-out copy of either the vinyl, eight-track, or cassette of Black Sabbath's We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll. The 1976 compilation captured the darkest and beefiest moments from the Ozzy years and served as a right of passage for millions of aspiring musicians, burnouts, pastor's kids, and closet miscreants. Rhino's 16-track Greatest Hits 1970-1978 anthology only trumps the single-disc We Sold Our Soul CD by two songs, but it offers superior sound and features at least a few cuts from 1976's Technical Ecstasy and 1978's Never Say Die!, the band's last two pre-millennium Ozzy records. All of the faves are here ("Paranoid," "War Pigs," "Iron Man"), as well as fan classics like "Hole in the Sky" and "Supernaut," but there is enough material missing to call it a sampler rather than a "best of." Fans who are unwilling to shell out the extra money for Sanctuary's superior two-disc Sabbath collection from 2005 will find this sparse yet solid overview to be a useful "CliffsNotes" rendering of the birth of heavy metal. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide

Name Credits Barry Plummer Photography Barry Sheffield Engineer Bill Inglot Remastering Bill Ward Percussion, Drums Billy Ward Drums, Group Member, Percussion Black Sabbath Producer, Compilation Producer Bob Gruen Photography Brian Humphries Engineer Colin Caldwell Engineer Dan Hersch Remastering Dave "DW" Harris Engineer Don Kaye Liner Notes Dorothy Stefanski Editorial Supervision Ernest Chapman Management Fin Costello Photography Geezer Butler Bass, Guitar (Bass), Group Member Gerald Woodruffe Keyboards, Arranger Hugh Brown Art Direction Julie Vlasak Design, Art Direction Lisa Liese Product Manager Mike Butcher Engineer, Audio Production, Producer Mike Slarve Management Ozzy Osbourne Harmonica, Vocals, Group Member Patrick Meehan Producer, Audio Production Ralph Baker Management Richard Upper Photography Robert Ellis Photography Robin Black Mixing, Engineer Rodger Bain Audio Production Roger Bain Producer Ross Halfin Cover Photo, Photography Sharon Osbourne Management, Executive Producer Steve Woolard Discographical Annotation Tom (Colonel) Allom Engineer Tony Iommi Mixing, Group Member, Guitar Vic Smith Engineer