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On Monday morning we awoke to the news that legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with cancer. The news felt like a kick to the stomach. Only weeks ago the four original members of Black Sabbath made the announcement that they would reunite for a world tour, and the release of their first studio album by the original Sabbath since 1978’s Never Say Die!

Iommi has been a mainstay in the rock/metal world since Black Sabbath released their eponymous first release in 1970. The album became the stuff of legend as Sabbath was launched into sudden stardom. They snubbed the hippie, flower-power movement so popular at the time. Iommi has been the backbone of the band throughout the years. At times he was the only original member of the band keeping the Sabbath moniker alive against the wishes of many. Now he’s up against the ultimate foe.

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The internet was abuzz yesterday with rumors about a Black Sabbath reunion. The rumors ran so rampant that “Black Sabbath” was trending first on Yahoo! for a large part of the day.

The Birmingham Mail in England first reported the story. The report claimed that guitarist Tony Iommi and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne had been in contact since June coming up with material for a new album with a tour to follow. Since the initial report, various media outlets including Rolling Stone decided to run with the rumor without getting “official” word.

Iommi posted his denial yesterday on his website. He also apologized to his former band mates for talking to a journalist who decided to take a casual conversation and turn it into fact. Although a reunion wouldn’t be a shock, the sudden news did come as a surprise. Though the report did mention the four original members getting back together, the supposed meetings between Iommi and Osbourne didn’t include bassist and main lyricist Geezer Butler. Any talk of writing sessions would have to include Butler who was the architect of most of the Sabbath catalogue.
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The fact that Ozzy Osbourne is still alive is considered by many to be a miracle. He’s cheated death more times than Wyle E. Coyote. His outrageous behavior and self-inflicted abuse is legendary. His memoir released in 2009 entitled I Am Ozzy tells of a guy who always fell off the cliff but never died.

What’s more miraculous perhaps than his longevity in life is the fact that after being unceremoniously dismissed from Black Sabbath in late ’79, Ozzy got his life together long enough to release his first solo album. The year was 1980; the album, Blizzard of Ozz. It was a groundbreaking hard rock/heavy metal work of art that ushered in the Randy Rhoads era. Ozzy soon followed up this huge release with Diary of a Madman in ’81. Diary is arguably better than Blizzard, but both remain two of the greatest rock releases of all time.

Sony decided to re-release both albums in deluxe re-mastered editions. The results are absolutely fabulous. Thirty years of advances in technology has spruced up both albums to a point of perfection rarely heard in anything released today. One of the main reasons for a re-release was due to the fact that Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager for nearly 30 years, decided to settle a lawsuit by tinkering with history. This move was one of the more ridiculous and horrible decisions made by someone who is known to be ruthless, but very intelligent and who knows the music industry as well as anyone. Her father, the late Don Arden, was Black Sabbath’s manager throughout the ’70s and early ’80s. It was Sharon who chose Ozzy as a reclamation project after his firing from Sabbath. It was her chance to break away from her father and have success on her own. She took a huge gamble and it has paid off larger than anyone could have imagined. However, her decision in 2002 to replace the drum and bass tracks on Ozzy’s first two solo releases and release them as original recordings was music blasphemy!
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Black Sabbath’s Born Again, I dare say, ushered in a new era of heavy metal. This album has been maligned in the press, panned by critics, and parodied in the movie Spinal Tap. But hardcore Black Sabbath fans and future thrash metal bands would recall the album as one that changed the course of metal.

Led by the undeniably talented Ian Gillan, Born Again was the first post-Dio album. The Sabs saw great success with Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, but when Ronnie James Dio left to front his own successful band, it left the three original members of Sabbath in a situation with which they became all too familiar — in search of a vocalist.

How this marriage came to be is the stuff of legend. The story goes that over a few pints at the local pub, an initial conversation turned into Gillan joining Sabbath as they became more and more inebriated. The thought was that this would not be a Sabbath album or tour, but a new super group. However, it was too tempting not to capitalize on the Black Sabbath brand, thus Black Sabbath had its new vocalist.

Gillan didn’t fit the image of a Sabbath vocalist. He didn’t where the appropriate leather that the early to mid eighties metal bands made vogue, and he came much more from a blues vocal background as heard in his solo work, and the work of legendary rockers Deep Purple. The great thing about Born Again is that it provided a sound and style that no one expected. It could be the reason that it was misunderstood. There exist no better anthems than “Trashed,” “Disturbing the Priest,” “Zero the Hero,” “Hot Line,” and “Digital B***h” (a little ditty about Sharon Osbourne).
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Andrea Bocelli performs at the BankAtlantic Center on Feb. 14. (Veda Jo Jenkins / sflimages.com)

Photos: Andrea Bocelli at BankAtlantic Center

I am by no means a classical music or opera expert. That said, I’m a music fan and have an appreciation for those who can do what is impossible for me to fathom. I can’t tell you if Bocelli is as talented as other opera stars, or if his voice stands up to the Pavarottis of the world, but what I can say is that he has a way about him that made a hockey arena become small and intimate.

Bocelli became known to me in the mid to late 1990’s when an uncle of mine became a big fan of his. My uncle was like a second dad to me. We were very close. He died of cancer at the age of 48 in 1997. One of the memories I how much he loved Bocelli and his music. It soothed him and gave him peace of mind as he struggled with his health. For that reason, I became a supporter. Bocelli was able to give my uncle what no doctor or treatment could.

Bocelli was accompanied by a large orchestra and choir. Of course the theme of this Valentine’s Day evening was love. The show was a mix of opera and some of the pop songs for which Bocelli is known. One of the encores was perhaps his most popular song, “Con Te Partiro” or better known in translation as “Time to Say Goodbye.” It truly is a beautiful song especially when Bocelli’s female counterpart on the song is soprano Ana Maria Martinez, a woman with a voice that is nothing short of incredible. Bocelli also enlisted the voice of Heather Headley, a Trinidadian-born R&B and Soul singer who handled the non-opera Bocelli standards. Both women were terrific in their own right. The show was well put together with video screens and an inviting stage set up. As Bocelli sang, MTV-like videos played in accordance with the song.

As usual, the night belonged to Bocelli. His legions of followers adore him and the people at the BAC treated him like royalty.

Howard Stern announced earlier this week that he'd be staying with Sirius-XM Radio. (Bryan Bedder / Getty Images)

Back in October, I wondered about the future of Howard Stern. Yesterday on his Sirius XM Satellite Radio show, Stern shared the news that his fans have been waiting for: he’s decided to renew his deal with Sirius for another five years. The terms of the contract weren’t discussed, but needless to say Howard spoke about the deal in his typical style.

For the sake of “good radio”, he dragged out the announcement for about 30 minutes before finally revealing the good news to his fans and co-workers. Much of the last couple of months has been spent speculating what he would do and how it would affect the rest of his staff; some of that staff has been with Stern for 30 years. He would make it known that he worried about certain staff members because they were basically useless and couldn’t find another job. This made for some great comedy in the past few months. However, Stern’s loyalty can’t be questioned, and in fact part of his thinking process did take into account his employees. In the end, he maintained that he couldn’t imagine “not doing this” anymore.
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Jimi Hendrix died too young for him to have the opportunity to “sell out” or for his music to grow old and tired. You have to wonder as to what may have been if he lived past 27. You can’t rank any of Hendrix’s studio LPs with anything but the highest possible regard. They are groundbreaking beyond anything before or since, and laid the foundation for anyone who picked up an electric guitar thereafter.

Valleys of Neptune is a collection of unreleased tracks and alternate versions. The title track is something that has been longed for by Hendrix fans and music purists. The song is fine in itself, but the genius of the release is the production. The sound is incredible for recordings that are 40-45 years old. It’s intimate and in your face.
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On Nov. 2, Sanctuary UK re-released two “lost” Black Sabbath albums from 1986 and ’87. I say lost because Tony Iommi was the only original member of Black Sabbath on either album, and they didn’t exactly sell like gangbusters, especially when you take into account that anything that had Black Sabbath in the name would sell on name alone.

Seventh Star was actually supposed to be a Tony Iommi solo effort until record company pressure decided to put it out under the Sabbath name. Iommi took plenty of grief for the move. To add insult to injury, the album was labeled Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi, which to this day remains one of the most ridiculously boneheaded decisions in rock history. This led to much mocking in the music press.

Eternal Idol was released a year later. The recording and production of that album, along with its numerous contributors made for great soap opera material as musicians, vocalists, and venues were in flux as the album got closer to its release.
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Greg Fitzsimmons (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

More: Directions, nearby dining

At The Improv in West Palm Beach, Greg Fitzsimmons did his best to engage an enthusiastic Thursday night crowd. He used the opportunity to try out new material to see what might work for the weekend. It was actually fun to be part of the experiment. He came complete with little pieces of paper in his pocket which he pulled out when he was ready to put his material to the test. Most of it worked, while some fell flat to his own admission.

Fitzsimmons is a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show. Stern gave him his own show on Sirius XM channel 101 which he continues to host. He is a very intelligent guy who can trade quick-witted barbs with anyone, but who also doesn’t shy away from getting down and dirty about bodily functions, and especially sex. Sex is always the great stand-by. Fitzsimmons is also an accomplished comedy writer. He wrote for Ellen DeGeneres, which garnered him four Daytime Emmy Awards. He’s performed on all of the late-night programs, and continues to host a variety of specials. On November 9 he’ll be releasing his first book Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons.
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Artist: Iron Maiden

Album: The Final Frontier (Sony Legacy)

Our spin: No, this is not Iron Maiden’s final album as the title may indicate. It’s simply a continuation of the sci-fi interests of main lyricist and bassist Steve Harris. The band puts together a string of epic songs with master musicianship and the powerful voice of Bruce Dickinson.

The Final Frontier is Maiden’s 15th studio album and reminds us how great these guys are together. Except for a couple of misguided releases in the mid ’90s, the band has been a model of consistency. Their songs more resemble arrangements as they continue to use all of the weapons in their arsenal; three guitarists and a stampeding rhythm section. Bruce Dickinson sounds great as he’s ratcheted down the more operatic style he exhibited in the ’80s.
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