We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll

We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll is a compilation album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, originally released in January 1976 in the UK^[1] and 3 February 1976 in the US.

We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
Compilation album by Black Sabbath
Released	January 1976
Recorded	1969–1975
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	90:35
Label	Warner Bros. (US/Canada) Vertigo/Nems (Europe)
Producer	Rodger Bain, Mike Butcher, Patrick Meehan, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath compilations chronology
We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1976) The Collection (1992)

Album information

When Black Sabbath signed with NEMS, the label which would release their 1975 album Sabotage in the UK, NEMS acquired the band's back catalogue and wasted little time compiling this release. Authorized without the band's awareness by their previous manager, Patrick Meehan, the band would make no money whatsoever from the release.^{[citation needed]} Although the band had six studio albums to its name at this point, this compilation drew heavily on the first four albums: this would also be a feature of most of the Osbourne-era compilations later released.

The original UK gatefold album, with a matte finish, featured a woman in a coffin holding what looks like a tin foil cross. Additionally, the original record retained Geezer Butler's bass solo before "N.I.B.", but this would be edited from later issues. Some US copies of the LP do not actually include "Wicked World" on the label or on the record itself, though it does appear on the cover. In the UK, "Wicked World" had been only a B-side and was relatively obscure.

Despite the album being an official release, Iommi has been quoted as saying that the first time the band knew of it was when asked to autograph copies which fans presented after concerts.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	(C)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

It was certified Silver in the UK by the BPI on 1 October 1976.^[5] In the US the RIAA certified the album as Gold on 7 February 1980, Platinum on 13 May 1986 and 2x Multi-Platinum (generally known as 'Double Platinum' outside the offices of the RIAA) on 16 March 2000.^[6]

Track listing

^[7][8]

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
1.	"Black Sabbath"		1970 ~ Black Sabbath	6:20
2.	"The Wizard"		1970 ~ Black Sabbath	4:22
3.	"Warning"	Aynsley Dunbar Alex Dmochowski Victor Hickling John Moorshead	1970 ~ Black Sabbath	10:30

All tracks are written by Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, except where noted

Side B

No.	Title	Original release	Length
4.	"Paranoid"	1970 ~ Paranoid	2:45
5.	"War Pigs"	1970 ~ Paranoid	7:55
6.	"Iron Man"	1970 ~ Paranoid	5:47
7.	"Wicked World"	1970 ~ [Non album B Side single]	4:35

Side C

No.	Title	Original release	Length
8.	"Tomorrow's Dream"	1972 ~ Vol. 4	3:06
9.	"Fairies Wear Boots"	1970 ~ Paranoid	6:07
10.	"Changes"	1972 ~ Vol. 4	4:41
11.	"Sweet Leaf"	1971 ~ Master of Reality	5:02
12.	"Children of the Grave"	1971 ~ Master of Reality	5:15

Side D

No.	Title	Original release	Length
13.	"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"	1973 ~ Sabbath Bloody Sabbath	5:43
14.	"Am I Going Insane (Radio)"	1975 ~ Sabotage	4:20
15.	"Laguna Sunrise"	1972 ~ Vol. 4	2:49
16.	"Snowblind"	1972 ~ Vol. 4	5:25
17.	"N.I.B."	1970 ~ Black Sabbath	5:51

Personnel

• Ozzy Osbourne – lead vocals, harmonica
• Tony Iommi – guitar, piano and Mellotron on "Changes", synthesizer on "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"
• Geezer Butler – bass, Mellotron on "Changes"
• Bill Ward – drums, percussion

Charts

Chart (1976)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9]	40
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10]	21
UK Albums (OCC)[11]	35
US Billboard 200[12]	48

Chart (1998–1999)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[13]	33
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[14]	15

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15]	Gold	100,000‡
United States (RIAA)[16]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United Kingdom	January 1976	NEMS
United States	3 February 1976	Warner Bros. Records
Canada	1976	Warner Bros. Records
United Kingdom	1996	Castle Communications
United Kingdom	2004	Sanctuary Records

References

1. "January LP Guide" (PDF). Music Week. 10 January 1976. p. 20. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
2. AllMusic Review
3. Robert Christgau Review
4. "Rolling Stone Album Guide". Archived from the original on 6 March 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
5. "BPI certified awards". Archived from the original on 28 March 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
6. "RIAA Gold & Platinum Database". Retrieved 8 February 2009.
7. "Black Sabbath Official Discography". blacksabbath.com. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
8. "We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'n' Roll Review - Allmusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4121a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
10. "Swedishcharts.com – Black Sabbath – We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
12. "Black Sabbath Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
13. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
14. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
15. "British album certifications – Black Sabbath – We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
16. "American album certifications – Black Sabbath – We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1975) album review by Steve Huey, credits & releases at AllMusic
• Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1975) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
• Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1975) album credits & user reviews at ProgArchives.com
• Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1975) album to be listened as stream at Spotify.com