• AllMyVinyl #53
• Band: Black Sabbath
• Album Title: Cross Purposes
• Release Date: 31 Jan 1994
• Date purchased: N/A
• Location purchased: From Record Label
• Color of vinyl: black
• Number of discs: 1
• Links: [ Wikipedia | Discogs | My Website | Complete album on Youtube ]

Cross Purposes.  The penultimate studio album of the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath.  It’s one that I loved from the start, one that I continue to love today, and is a gem that I’m glad is getting some rediscovery in modern times.   This album came out very early in 1994, and is to my my favorite of the Martin era.  Oh I like all of them (even Forbidden – the OG version too).  However, this one has one thing that none of the other Martin era albums have.  Geezer Butler.  As much as I like Neil Murray, there’s no denying the bass slot of Black Sabbath belongs to Geezer Butler, so when the Dehumanizer lineup broke up, Tony & Geezer forged onwards (when the talked about Mk I reunion also fell apart), and produced Cross Purposes.

The lineup here is Tony Martin on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, Geoff Nicholls on keyboards, and Bobby Rondinelli on drums.  What I never found out was how they happened upon Bobby to play drums.  As Vinny left to go back to Dio, and Bill Ward wasn’t yet back in the picture, I have to assume Cozy Powell was busy, so we got Bobby Rondinelli.   Nothing against Bobby at all.  Did a fine job.  Just didn’t know how they happened upon him.

I of course went out on Day 1 to buy the album.  Now it was printed on vinyl originally, but if memory serves it wasn’t in the US on vinyl?  I’m not 100% sure on that, but I did buy it on both cassette tape and CD – both of which I still have in 2024.  My OG cassette got damaged, and I had to transplant the actual tape into a Maxell shell.  Anyone from the old days remember doing that shit? :)  The OG CD was when they all still came in jewel cases, so with the release of the new versions of this, I have quite a few copies.  There’s my OG cassette & CD, There’s the 2024 vinyl and CD releases from the LP & CD Anno Domini sets I have, plus there’s the individual vinyl release which is due in about 2-3 weeks from when I’m writing this, so a lot of copies of the album I like a lot, but I’ll be using the black vinyl out of the Anno Domini vinyl box for today’s listen, as this is a vinyl music series after all.  But I thought I’d lay out some notes about the various copies. Full disclosure: I got my copy of Anno Domini comped to me from the record label for my Black Sabbath site (on both CD & vinyl).

As some of you know I spent a long time working for Apogee/3D Realms – the makers of video games based out of Texas.  One of the games I worked on was “Rise of the Triad”, a game recently given a most excellent makeover and re-release.

Anyway, it to me is a damn solid album front to back.  There’s no real skip or weak songs here.  This time, given its Black Sabbath, I’ll be breaking down the tracks.  I also found an image that was posted many a moon ago in a “Ludicrous Edition“. I was one of the mappers for this game, and it was entitled “Cross Purposes”.  In my own words at the time…  “The level was shaped like a cross, and since this album was current when the work was being done, it seemed like a logical name at the time”.

The cover art is also something that I recall getting a tepid response back when it first came out.  It wasn’t exactly BAD, but the image was just kind of “there”.  Fairly quickly, folks noticed that the cover art was already used.  It happened in 1991 when the Scorpions used that for their then single “Send Me An Angel”.  So the question then became why did Sabbath use the same artwork that the Scorpions had done – only three years prior?  At the time Gloria Butler was active in band management, and I asked her some years later if she had any insight into that.  She pointed out that the Scorpions then were on I.R.S. Records as well as Black Sabbath.  While she doesn’t know exactly why, she theorized that someone at the IRS art department just sent that image over to Sabbath as a possibility, and nobody in the Sabbath camp was aware it was already used, so it was approved.  My own thought is it’s just another example of how half assed some of the effort was by I.R.S. in supporting Black Sabbath around this time.  Sigh.

One last fun fact.   Did you know that the working title for this album was “Souled Out”?  Apparently this was divulged by Geezer Butler in an interview where he said the idea was Tony Martin’s.

I saw this tour twice.  Once in Philadelphia (technically Upper Darby) and Dallas.  It’s I think the only time I’ve seen a band on the same tour in multiple different cities like that.   I adored the setlist here, it’s one of my favorites.  That’s because they brought back a few chestnuts that hadn’t been performed live in ages – specifically “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “The Wizard”.  On top of that, in the earlier stages of the show, they had the cojones to drop Iron Man from the setlist.  I mean we all know Iron Man, do we all need to hear it live again?  Probably not, so I applauded that. It was eventually brought back.  I wish there was a good HD recording of this tour live – and not the version from Cross Purposes Live (as Tony Martin was sick at the time).  Hopefully someday.

If you saw any of the promotion at the time Sabbath was on tour, you’ve probably seen the photo below of the band at time (Martin/Rondinelli/Iommi/Ward).  Some time ago I tracked down exactly where this photo was taken, because I thought it looked familiar.  Turns out I was right.  If you see behind Geezer’s head is a sign that says “The Ashby“.  This is an apartment building in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania that is literally next door to the Tower Theatre where the band was playing (and where I saw them).  This photo was taken the same day I saw them on the tour, and then I went and looked.  The Ashby is still there.  I’m assuming Sabbath took the picture there simply because it was literally the next building to the venue they were playing.  Just walked out the back door of the venue’s loading dock, and the apartment building is just a couple of feet away.   I even pinned down the location of the spot using latitude/longitude coordinates.  They are: 39°57’40.4″N 75°15’28.8″W.   You can see what it looks like now on Google Maps here.   Also at that concert I attended, the venue handed out this free newspaper which had an interview with the band, albeit a short one.  I’ve transcribed the interview in an article on my website over here.

One final thing to add on.  If you belonged to the Official Black Sabbath Fan club at the time, when the album came out, they sent out a flyer which included short blurbs about what all the song were actually about.  I’ll be including that.  It’s not long like a single sentence for each, but it seems like a good place to use that.  The original document is available on the Cross Purposes webpage on my site if you’d like to look at the original.

Finally we get to the songs now that I’ve blathered on enough……

I Witness – The album starts off with my favorite kind of track.  A 4:56 fast paced song that starts out right in your face. In that regard it reminds me of “Turn Up the Night” off the Mob Rules album.  Also Tony Martin sings in a lower register than usual at the start of the song.  Not sure if there was a reason behind that, or just the way they thought it should sound, but it is notable in that Martin usually sings higher than he does.  Of course he ends up in his usual register, but it’s’ cool to hear.  It has a fast driving beat that runs through the whole thing, carried by the rhythm section of Butler & Rondinelli.  Iommi’s solo about 3/4 of the way into the song smokes too.  Really great leadoff to the album.

What it’s about:   “This deals with the way in which youngsters today are hounded by religious fanatics.”  Tony Martin expanded on this on his Facebook page in 2021 saying this..  “Essentially this is about a place you want to be to escape the reality of life …. A place you drift in and out of … A place you can not stay …. A place that comforts you but also scares you. … A place that haunts you. …. A dream ….. BUT dreams are un controllable … you can’t MAKE them …. So do you dare submit in case it turns into a night mare. And the nightmare will follow you through your waking hours.”

Cross of Thorns – After the in your face attack of I Witness, we bring the speed down right away.  Cross of Thorns is a slower song. It’s not quite the slow dirge that some of the stuff from the Volume 4 era was, but it’s definitely a slower vibe.  I liked Tony’s vocals here – nice range in the vocals.  It’s a small thing, but I also loved the ‘screech’ that comes from Tony’s guitar IMMEDIATELY before launching into the solo.  I always thought the song was a religious thing, but it turns out that wasn’t the case, because….

What it’s about: “The anger and frustration felt in Ireland by the young people under the pressure of religious intolerance.”  Tony Martin expounded on this also on his Facebook page with the following text (which then led into the lyrics for the song)..  “When i was in Cozy Powell’s Hammer we did a few shows in Ireland. At that time it was still quite separated with border controls. We were met and escorted by the manager of Van Morrison who was helping put on a couple of shows. In a completely throw away conversation i was asking him what it was like to live there under the conditions … he said “Its like carrying a cross of thorns!” ….. That phrase had a real impact on me and it is what inspired the song of the same name. Working on the FEELINGS not the politics of the country of Ireland. I felt it in this way…..”

Psychophobia – Another one of the short fast songs.  At 3:12 – this one gets in and gets is job done and gets out.  Doesn’t overstay its welcome.  I do remember what this one was about before the album came out somehow.  The year before this album came out was the Branch Dividian thing where David Koresh and many of his followers were killed at their compound in Waco TX.  I had just moved to Texas within a year prior to that, so it was a huge story here – as it was in a lot of places, so I liked that Sabbath brought some real world events into their songs.  Now it doesn’t mention them by name – I doubt Sabbath would EVER do that, that’s not their style – never has been.  But to have a real world connection worked for me in this song.   Musically it’s right up my alley in the Neon Knights vein of their catalogue.

What it’s about: “Extreme cults can easily influence and mislead impressionable kids in today’s society.”

Virtual Death – HELLO GEEZER BUTLER!  This starts off with just the bass riff.  This one really is kind of like the slower dirge songs Sabbath was known for in the 70’s.  Nice throwback feel there.  I love the feel to this.  I’m finding it hard to expound on this, because it kind of starts at that slow dirge level of song and pretty much stays there.  Fully believe this song has the sound it does because it’s Geezer manning the bass strings.  Even if any of the other bassists in Sabbath’s recorded history played this song, it wouldn’t have the same feel.  There’s nothing quite like a Black Sabbath song with a fat bottom end anchored by Mr. Butler – and this is one of them.

What it’s about: “If you’re not careful, you can get lost in a confused of mind.” (their wording, not my typo)

Immaculate Deception – To this point, the Cross Purposes album is a back and forth of fast/slow – fast/slow.  So when we get to song 5 it’s kind of a mid tempo one.  It’s actually a nice balance of styles.  As much as I like the fast songs, if the entire album was like that, it would be a danger of everything running into each other.  Immaculate is kind of the middle somewhere.  It’s got bits of both styles here. It also has one of my all time favorite things – the good old time change.  This one contains one my favorite solos by Tony Iommi on the album.  It sounds great.  It sounds very Tony. I mean of course it would, he’s playing it.  But if you’ve listened to enough Sabbath, you know Tony’s style, and this one doesn’t deviate (solo wise) from what he’s known for.  Works great for me.

What it’s about: “A tale of religious deception.” (Not a very long explanation, but hey.  They also got the song title wrong – they spelled it “Immaculate Conception”, not deception”.

Dying For Love – If Black Sabbath was ever going to do something could be classified as a power ballad, this would be it.  Now it’s not what you could consider a traditional power ballad.  But it is a slower song with a punch to it – not at dirge level, but a slower track.  This was another one where the meaning of it was well known at the time, not one we had to dig for.  But musically I adored this song. It has such a fluid feel to the entire thing.  It’s kind of hard to quantify in words completely, but it extends to Martin’s vocal delivery, and ESPECIALLY to Iommi’s solo.  It’s a kind of song that when I listen to it I kind of drift off and just lose myself in the music.  Yeah, OK, I know what the song is about, but the lyrics are less important to me, I just love all of this. If I still got high, this would be a tune that would be enhanced by that no doubt.  haha.  While this was never performed live, Sabbath did use the song as an outro when shows on this tour were over.  I distantly recall hearing it on tape as I was leaving the venue.

What it’s about: “The pain felt by ordinary people in war torn Yugoslavia.”  A short explanation, but not a ton of detail is needed here.

Back to Eden – Odd that the sticker that was on the 1994 CD I bought included this song as one of the two songs singled out, when it wasn’t even a single.  This was one of my favorite riffs of Tony’s that runs through the song.  It’s not super complicated, and it’s not too simplistic.  Just kind of in the middle somewhere from Mr. Riffage.  As the song goes, it stays pretty consistent in its execution.  No real time changes, which isn’t bad – it kind of starts at the one level, and stays there the entire song.  This is another solo I really enjoy, it reminds me a bit of the solo from Dying for Love, in that ‘s got a great fluid feel to it. In fact I bet you if you take an isolated track of Tony’s guitar solo from this and played it for someone saying it’s a Black Sabbath song, I bet you most people wouldn’t bring up this song as knowing where it came from.  A fairly under the radar song in the overall catalog.

What it’s about: “Is it too idealistic to hope that we can return to a simpler, more altruistic time when peace was the norm?”

The Hand that Rocks The Cradle – The one song from the album that got a music video made for it.  That is embedded below on my page – Tony’s Youtube channel just THIS WEEK released a new HD version of the video, so the timing of the release is perfect for my writing of this page.  I always felt the song was severely overlooked.  I mean in the mid 90’s most people had checked out of Black Sabbath, and the one song that was probably the most accessible of anything on this album (this one) went unknown by most people.  Even the video was a super rarity on MTV and other places you could see music videos in the States (Friday Night Videos anyone?”)   Loved this song – I’m sounding like a bit of a broken record in using that phrase, but I’m, not lying.   Song has a great hook, and one I wished got more attention.  In listening to this on vinyl today and coupling it with the video, I come away with the same opinion.  Fucking great track.  The band is on fire here.

What it’s about: “The horrific story of nurse Beverly Allit, responsible for the deaths of a number of children.”  I had never heard of her before this, but if you want read on that, check out her Wikipedia page, which gives an overview.  She’ stilll alive as of the writing of this page, and there’s been some talk of her possibly getting parole after this time. Read this story from August 2024 about her if you want an update.

Cardinal Sin – This is one I love the lyrics for more than the music.  The music is good too, but I latched onto the lyrics here more…  “How are your dreams, do they claw at your sleep making darkness a place you despise. Where is the god that once was your strength. Are you sure he was there from the start? ”  I also liked how the title of the sound sounded phonetically.  “Sin Cardinal Sin”.  It just rolls off the tongue for me.

What it’s about (if you couldn’t tell): “There are those religious leaders who preach one thing whilst practicing another.”

Evil Eye – This one is known more for what happened behind the scenes than the song itself.  This is the one where Eddie Van Halen was in the studio when this was being recorded.  I’ve heard varying stories over the years that EVH co-wrote the song, that he was just there in the studio when it was recorded but just as a witness. I’ve also heard he recorded for it, and have heard that he’s both ON the final version, and that there’s a version of him in the vaults that is unreleased.  The problem is I’ve never once heard a definitive story of what EVH actually DID here.  Much in the same way I don’t think Craig Gruber is on the final version of Die Young, I don’t think EVH was on the final version of Evil Eye on the album.  But he was definitely in the studio.  As for the song itself, it’s probably not my favorite on the album overall, but it is a decent closer.  I do remember thinking when the album was new that it sounded like something that Ronnie James Dio would have sung.  It does have a nice bass run about 3/4 of the way through  which reminds me a bit of the same kind of thing that Geezer did on TV Crimes off of Dehumanizer.

What it’s about: “In today’s society, nobody is safe from unwelcome intrusion into their private lives.”

What’s the Use – That brings us to the “bonus track”.  What’s the Use was originally the Japanese CD bonus track.  It annoyed the hell out of me that it was left off the album as to me, it’s the best thing on the album.  It’s 3:04 of smoking hot fire.  It has always been my favorite lost song in the catalog.  I’d play it for people who had never heard this before and “BANG” – they love it.  It’s peak “short fast Sabbath song” for me.  You can also hear Geoff Nicholls in the song a bit too – not in your face, and it’s mixed towards the back, but then keys never were in the forefront with Sabbath anyway.   Tony’s solo – the overall fast frenetic pace of the song is absolute perfection to me.  IT ends in a crescendo with Martin’s vocals way up high with the guitar just smashing your ears to close it out the album.  I’ve included a Youtube link for this below if you’ve never heard it.  The one thing that sucks is that it wasn’t included on the 2024 vinyl re-pressings, it’s only on the CD, they didn’t print it on vinyl copies of Cross Purposes.  DAMN.  One stupid quirk to this – I always thought the song name was “What’s the Use?” (with a question mark) until relatively recently when I actually looked back at the actual material from 1994 – no question mark.  Funny how the mind plays tricks on you as I assumed it was always there.

What it’s about: There was no listing for this track as it wasn’t released in any US domestic format until 2024.

One last thing I couldn’t pass up – Bobby Rondinelli didn’t fully survive to the end of the tour.  The last few gigs on the tour were played in South America at various festivals, and Bobby was off the tour at that point.  To fill commitments the band brought back Bill Ward for these final shows – Which meant that the lineup was Martin / Iommi / Ward / Butler – That was 3/4 of the OG lineup, and that it didn’t continue past this was a shame.  It was supposed to, but Butler and Iommi blew part over issues relative to the 1994 NIB Tribute album (hello GZR “Giving Up the Ghost” track).  It amused me as someone who knows the complete history of Black Sabbath to see Geezer Butler & Bill Ward play songs like Headless Cross.  :)

To sum up this far longer article than I anticipated writing… Overall, I like Side 2 more than Side 1 for this album, and I like Side 1 a bunch.  It’s the same feel I have for Dio’s “Dream Evil” album.  I LOVE Side 2 of that.   It’s great front to back, and I’m super glad a song like “What’s The Use” is finally available to a wider audience.  If you’re reading this on my blog, I’ve included QUITE a few embedded youtube videos (one of which includes sound check footage from one of the shows with Ward).

It’s a fucking killer album, and if you don’t know it after all this time, you really owe yourself to check it out.  It’s my favorite of the Tony Martin albums for sure.