Under Wheels of Confusion explained

Under Wheels of Confusion is a 1996 compilation album from Black Sabbath. The album covers the years 1970–1987 (specifically, every album from Black Sabbath to The Eternal Idol). It is a four-disc set.

Track listing

Disc One

1. "Black Sabbath"
2. "The Wizard"
3. "N.I.B."
4. "Evil Woman"
5. "Wicked World"
6. "War Pigs"
7. "Paranoid"
8. "Iron Man"
9. "Planet Caravan"
10. "Hand of Doom"
11. "Sweet Leaf"
12. "After Forever"
13. "Children of the Grave"

Disc Two

1. "Into the Void"
2. "Lord of This World"
3. "Orchid"
4. "Supernaut"
5. "Tomorrow's Dream"
6. "Wheels of Confusion"
7. "Changes"
8. "Snowblind"
9. "Laguna Sunrise"
10. "Cornucopia" (live)
11. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
12. "Killing Yourself To Live"
13. "Hole in the Sky"
14. "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"

Disc Three

1. "The Writ"
2. "Symptom of the Universe"
3. "Dirty Women"
4. "Back Street Kids"
5. "Rock 'N' Roll Doctor"
6. "She's Gone"
7. "A Hard Road"
8. "Never Say Die"
9. "Neon Knights"
10. "Heaven and Hell"
11. "Die Young"
12. "Lonely is the Word"

Disc Four

1. "Turn Up the Night"
2. "The Sign of the Southern Cross"
3. "Falling Off the Edge of the World"
4. "The Mob Rules" (live)
5. "Voodoo" (live)
6. "Digital Bitch"
7. "Trashed"
8. "Hot Line"
9. "In for the Kill"
10. "Seventh Star"
11. "Heart Like a Wheel"
12. "The Shining"
13. "Eternal Idol"

Reception

Stephen Erlewine from AllMusic called the it "an unwieldy four-disc, 52-track box set". He also opined that it "dipped considerably in quality during the second half of the set, when Ozzy Osbourne left the group and was replaced by Ronnie James Dio ... and even though all of the stone-cold classics are here, as are all of Dio's best tracks, Sabbath remains best appreciated through their original albums, which capture the essence of the metal giants much better than this box".^[1]

British musician Andy Gill said this is "the one you've been waiting for ... four CDs, 52 tracks, Miltonesque biography, Pete Frame family tree, graveyard graphics, heavy-duty cardboard box - definitive evidence that if the Devil has the best tunes, then Birmingham has the bludgeoning riffs ... executed with pizzazz and facility by the spawn of Beelzebub".^[2]

References

Sources for track listing

• 1-1 to 1-5 from LP "Black Sabbath" (February 1970) [Vertigo VO 6 / 847 903 VTY].
• 1-6 to 1-10 from LP "Paranoid" (September 1970) [Vertigo 6360 011].
• 1-11 to 2-3 from LP "Master Of Reality" (August 1971) [Vertigo 6360 050].
• 2-4 to 2-9 from LP "Black Sabbath Vol 4" (September 1972) [Vertigo 6360 071].
• 2-10 from LP "Live at Last" (June 1980) [NEMS BS 001].
• 2-11 to 2-12 from LP "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (October 1973) [WWA Records WWA 005].
• 2-13 to 3-2 from LP "Sabotage" (September 1975) [NEMS 9119 001].
• 3-3 to 3-6 from LP "Technical Ecstasy" (October 1976) [Vertigo 9102 750].
• 3-7 to 3-8 from LP "Never Say Die!" (October 1978) [Vertigo 9102 751].
• 3-9 to 3-12 from LP "Heaven And Hell" (April 1980) [Vertigo 9102 752].
• 4-1 to 4-3 from LP "Mob Rules" (November 1981) [Vertigo 6302 119].
• 4-4 to 4-5 from 2-LP "Live Evil" (January 1983) [Vertigo SAB 10 / Phonogram 6650 009]. The US edition was issued in December 1982 [Warner Bros. Records 1 23742].
• 4-6 to 4-8 from LP "Born Again" (September 1983) [Vertigo VERL 8 / 814 271 1].
• 4-9 to 4-11 from LP / CD "Seventh Star" (February 1986) [Vertigo VERH 29 / 826 704 1] & [Vertigo 826 704 2] credited to Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi.
• 4-12 to 4-13 from LP / CD "The Eternal Idol" (November 1987) [Vertigo VERH 51 / 832 708 1] & [Vertigo 832 708 2].

Notes and References

1. Web site: Erlewine . Stephen Thomas . Under Wheels of Confusion: 1970-1987 - Black Sabbath. AllMusic . en.
2. News: Gill . Andy . In retro-heaven; It's that time of year when stockings start crying out for good things to fill them. And what better than a box set, the aural feast? . . 6 December 1996 . 10.