I must own up to mixed feelings when I knew I was going to review this album. Firstly there’s Tony Iommi: rock icon, metal riff master. Then there is Glenn Hughes; the mega talented, seemingly demonised singer who specialises in rock of the soul/funk persuasion. On paper it didn’t look too promising. 

But the fact is these two are old buddies and before going any further it would also be wise to be aware of the fact that this isn’t (or was never intended to be) a Black Sabbath album – as has been reported elsewhere. Indeed it is the seemingly informal aspect of this recording that is its main strength as both Hughes and Iommi turn in performances that roll back the years to some of their finer moments in rock. You could argue that away from the pressures of their ‘day jobs’ they’ve relaxed and come up with a cracker. 

The album opens with ‘Gone’, and a monster riff from our Tone that will please every Sabbath fan across the land. From the off Hughes proves he is no mug either, wrapping his tonsils around the ultra heavy riff as only he can. It’s all good stuff so it seems curious that this CD originated back in 1996. It seems that the reason for the delay is that the recording was bootlegged back in the late ‘90’s. Which still tends to suggest that it was lying on the shelf, so to speak, waiting for something to happen. Anyway, Iommi, after revisiting the sessions, finally decided the climate was right to release this album properly. And I’m glad that he did.  

Track two, ‘From Another World’ is a song that wouldn’t be out of place on Sabbath’s seminal Heaven and Hell album (with Dio) a couple of decades ago. But thankfully there’s no sign of any dungeons & dragons, hence it doesn’t sound dated. And it’s nice to hear Tone fetch the acoustic guitar out of its box for a change. ‘Don’t Tell Me’ follows and it is arguably the most typical Hughes’ song on the album. ‘Don’t Drag the River’ has radio appeal – despite the title – and also features an atypical Hughes bit of warbling. 

However what turns this album from a good one into an excellent one are the remaining four songs. Here, at last, the two contrasting styles meet in the middle and the result’s are quite wonderful. ‘Fine’ is a corker of a number, with Glenn Hughes at his emotive best. (Ably supported by a more subtle Iommi than we’ve heard for many a year.) Then there is my personal fave ‘Time is the Healer’. It starts with a familiar sounding riff from Iommi but then builds into some incredible vocal gymnastics from Hughes. This is one heck of a heavy song. 

The pace lifts for ‘I’m Not the Same Man’ and you are left wondering just how an album this good could simply lie there collecting dust all these years. There’s some nice ‘Purple’ inspired organ on this track to complement some fine musicianship all-round. The final track is a slow number and yet again is of a quality that could easily have come off Heaven & Hell or Hughes’ brilliant Hughes/Thrall album from about the same time period. 

So there you have it. A quite unexpected album, and one that I think will surprise a lot of people. However it’s not perfect. There are some fairly obvious fade outs – suggesting the source of the material; which of course date’s back to another decade. Plus you only get eight tracks. But thankfully on this occasion, quality far outweighs quantity. 

Summing up, if you are looking for top musicianship, superlative vocals, and like your Rock of the classic variety then you really should give this album a try. 

Let us know your views on 'The DEP Sessions'

Track List

Gone
From Another World
Don't You Tell Me
Don't Drag the River
Fine
Time Is the Healer
I'm Not the Same Man
It Falls Through Me

Line  Up

Glenn Hughes - Vocals/Bass
Tony Iommi - Guitars
Geoff Nicholls - Bass
Jimmy Copley- Drums