Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi discussed the master tapes for the band’s album with Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, saying he wants to give them proper treatment, in an interview with Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk.
Iommi was asked about Black Sabbath’s sole record with Gillan as frontman, ‘Born Again’. He explained that the master tapes had gone missing for a long time before they were eventually found.
“Well, I’d like to look at that,” Iommi said. “It took us a long time to find out where it was because the tapes went missing, and nobody knew where they were. And eventually, they were found in the storage of one of the record companies. So, we managed to get them back and then have them transferred.”
The guitarist added that the tapes are now ready to be examined in detail. “They are waiting to be ripped apart and have a listen, but we haven’t gotten round to doing that yet. I’d definitely like to do that, and see if we can better it, really.”
Iommi explained the reason for his interest in revisiting the album. “Because, initially, that sounded really good, but somehow, when we went away on tour, and the thing went in to be pressed and all the rest of the stuff, it lost the quality of sound for some reason, and none of us know what it was. But yeah, I’d like to have a listen again and see what we could do.”
The comments came as Iommi discussed the ‘Born Again’ album and its production history.
The album was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England and released in September 1983. It became the first and only album the group recorded with Gillan as lead vocalist. The band struggled with the quality from the start, and according to Gillan, bass levels were so high that radio stations could not play the record.
For decades, the multitrack master tapes remained missing, making a full remix impossible. The band wanted to rework the album but had to settle for a simple remaster instead. In July 2021, Iommi confirmed that the original master tapes had finally been located after years of searching through record company storage.
Iommi has now indicated that examining the tapes closely is his next step. The guitarist hopes that a fresh listen to the original recordings will reveal what went wrong during the pressing process and whether the sound quality can be improved for a future release.
