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Newcastle Audience 8.7 - A fairly bombastic recording that insists you pay attention to it. Thundering, massive, and thankfully listenable. It's not winning any awards for clarity, but it makes up for a lot of that with a representative recording of what you probably heard from the front row at this show. That leads me to say that while you would think there should be distortion, you can't really tell, but yes there just a bit of saturation deep in the bowels somewhere but I don't find it disturbing because it's low enough that you don't focus too much there. London Audience 8.6 - Dropping down one notch here, but there actually might be more mid-upper mid clarity with this recording. I think overall, this recording is a little less forceful, and there is no distortion at all on this. My ears rate this slightly below the Newcastle not because it is inferior quality, but because it is not quite as ballsy, and the trade-off is you have to give up a but of the balls in order to achieve more clarity, but sometimes ballsy is not a bad thing if it isn't too muddy. Black Sabbath Newcastle City Hall Newcastle, UK 1982-01-06 Disc 1 101 Introduction - E5150 102 Neon Knights 103 N.I.B. 104 Children Of The Sea 105 Country Girl 106 Black Sabbath 107 War Pigs 108 Slipping Away 109 Vinnie Appice Drum Solo 110 Iron Man Disc 2 201 The Mob Rules 202 Heaven And Hell 203 Paranoid - Heaven And Hell (Reprise) 204 Children Of The Grave Hammersmith Odeon London, UK 1982-01-03 205 Introduction - E5150 206 Neon Knights 207 Country Girl 208 Slipping Away 209 The Mob Rules -
Audience 8.7 - An excellent 8.7 too! First off let me just say how blown away I am to find a long lost 1978 recording previously un-circulated and in such great shape! Wow man, this is a fantastic find. The sound is pretty beefy for what sounds like an old tape deck, normally you'd expect something either thin as hell or muddy as crap but it's neither. It lacks a little clarity, but it's maybe near the drums and I can tell you guitar sounds clear (maybe a little thin but bass is pretty solid so it picks up the guitar sound a bit) and Ozzy is situated in the middle and can be heard pretty well. A solid tape that will fit nicely in with your collection.
BLACK SABBATH City Hall Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England 1978-05-21DISC 11. SUPERTZAR 2. SYMPTOM OF THE UNIVERSE 3. WAR PIGS 4. SNOWBLIND 5. NEVER SAY DIE 6. BLACK SABBATH 7. DIRTY WOMENDISC 21. ROCK-N-ROLL DOCTOR 2. GUITAR SOLO 3. ELECTRIC FUNERAL 4. HAND OF DOOM 5. NIB 6. FAIRIES WEAR BOOTS 7. CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE 8. PARANOID 9. IRON MAN -
Audience 8.7 - A new re-mastering has taken what was once a very muddy recording and breathed significant new life into it. I mean, if ever there was a time to be collecting it is right now. So while it still might be considered as an average audience recording, the fact is that there is much more in this tape than what was once believed and which is why it flew under the Sabbath collector radar. But it's actually pretty good, I can only be a little critical if I analyze what is happening at the lower end here, not much definition and guitar blends into the bass somewhat and provide a volume backdrop that is "dark" and foreboding but not a mess either. I think people should give this re-mastered version a chance, I did and I am very glad I did. Black Sabbath 1971-01-18 City Hall Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK 01. Paranoid 02. N.I.B. 03. War Pigs 04. Into The Void 05. Iron Man 06. Black Sabbath 07. After Forever 08. Wicked World 09. Guitar Solo 10. Wicked World (Reprise) 11. Fairies Wear Boots 12. Paranoid -
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Audience 8.4-8.6 - This gets a double rating because I found that it seemed to become better as it went, and really had its best moments during songs or parts that were not full on max volume. Now that being said, the mic that taper used (probably a condenser mic built into his deck) could not accurately reproduce the sound it was picking up in the hall to the tape itself – but because there was level adjust (I am guessing auto level), it never distorted. So what you get is a crowded sounding tape during most of the performance when the music is at full tilt (it’s Black Sabbath so yeah, it’s mostly full tilt), but during parts where the music is more sparse (like during Black Sabbath, or the solos, especially the drum solo) you can hear what the recorder was capable of because it is way much better. In fact I praise the drum sounds, super massive and that’s why I loved Black Sabbath on this tape in particular because it’s frighteningly dense and scary sounding here. This show can be appreciated for the inclusion of songs like Gypsy, All Moving Parts, and Rock and Roll Doctor which are audible enough that you can thank this taper. I’d not heard of this tape before so I assume it’s new to circulation, and personally speaking I am glad it exists and I feel it offers something worthwhile. Black Sabbath Madison Square Garden New York City, NY. 1976-12-06 Disc 1 1. -intro 2. -Symptom Of The Universe 3. -Snowblind 4. -All Moving Parts (Stand Still) 5. -War Pigs 6. -Gypsy 7. -Black Sabbath Disc 2 1. -Dirty Women 2. -Drum Solo 3. -Guitar Solo 4. -Rock And Roll Doctor 5. -Guitar Solo (reprise) 6. -Electric Funeral 7. -Iron Man 8. -Children Of The Grave 9. -Supernaut intro - Paranoid -
Soundboard 9.4 - A biting and aggressive sounding recording that really works great for the 1994 version of Black Sabbath. I personally enjoy rediscovering this band because after Mob Rules I kind of lost track of their career. Black Sabbath The Sting New Britain, CT 1994-02-08 Disc 1 101 -Supertzar 102 -Time Machine 103 -Children Of The Grave 104 -Children Of The Sea 105 -I Witness 106 -The Mob Rules 107 -Into The Void 108 -Psychophobia 109 -Black Sabbath Disc 2 201 -Neon Knights 202 -Immaculate Deception 203 -The Wizard 204 -Cross Of Thorns 205 -Symptom Of The Universe 206 -Headless Cross 207 -Paranoid Hammersmith Odeon London, UK 1994-04-13 208 Iron Man 209 Sabbath Bloody Sabbath -
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Disc 1,2 - Audience 8.6 - Nagoya (live) ~ Disc 3 - Studio Quality 9.2 - Forbidden Demos 1995 (Killer!) -
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Audience 8.7 - A bright tape, not so much depth of sound but certainly clear, and crunchy, with a prominent guitar that fills most of the space here. Give it five minutes and you will be having a good time and appreciating this line up because it is quite good…and so was the Dehumanizer album. A good time for the band, a good batch of new songs and a band that is totally gelled with each other. BLACK SABBATH Star Plaza Theater Merrillville IN. October 28th 1992 First Generation Analog THE BAND Tony Iommi guitar Geezer Butler bass Ronnie James Dio vocals Vinny Appice drums Geoff Nicholls keyboards Disc 1 1 -E5150 2 -Mob Rules 3 -Computer God 4 -Children Of The Sea 5 -Time Machine 6 -War Pigs 7 -I 8 -Die Young 9 -Guitar Solo Disc 2 10 -Black Sabbath 11 -Master Of Insanity 12 -After All (The Dead) 13 -Drum Solo 14 -Iron Man 15 -Heaven And Hell 16 -Neon Knights 17 -Paranoid -
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Studio Quality 9.8 - The single greatest new Black Sabbath artifact brought to light since When I came Down and The Rebel were found. Stunning, insightful, historic. MUST HAVE of the highest order! Black Sabbath Children Of The Grave The 1971 Master Of Reality Recording Sessions Island Studios February 7-15 and April 6-13 1971 1. Tony Coughing Intro 2. Sweet Leaf Take 1 3. Sweet Leaf Take 5 4. FX Loop 1 5. After Forever Take 1 6. Embryo Take 4 7. Children Of The Grave Take 2 8. Children Of The Grave Take 3 9. Orchid (Studio Outtake) 10. Lord Of This World Take 1 11. Solitude Take 2 12. Into The Void Take 1 13. Sweet Leaf Take 4 14. After Forever Instrumental 15. Weevil Woman Take 1 16. Children Of The Grave Take 1 17. In The Graveyard (The Haunting) 18. Spanish Sid Take 1 19. Spanish Sid Take 2 20. Spanish Sid Take 3 21. FX Loop 2 -
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Black Sabbath Los Angeles 1980 Audience 8.9 - This is a much welcomed recording of perhaps the best post Ozzy era of Black Sabbath. 1980 was an interesting year, Ozzy making classic “solo” albums with his new band and Sabbath beginning a new era with a new singer in Ronnie James Dio and neither the worse for it. This is a great show, in great quality. Black Sabbath Vienna 1980 Audience 8.3 -Unfortunately this recording suffers from many ailments, mainly in the range and dynamics, but what it does offer is a previously uncirculated (and complete) show from Sabbath in Europe during the very crucial 1980 tour with Dio as new front man. This is what I get from this show- Dio is very committed to bringing the audience in to the spectacle…the performance is killer in every respect. The sound quality is not trash, but I want Dio more clear than this because he is really on his game this night. I think this tape belongs in this set because it doesn’t have to be the centerpiece of the set, it offers the collector a new tape of a complete show from 1980 and that is enough for me. BLACK SABBATH Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA July 26th 1980 THE BAND Tony Iommi Guitar Ronnie James Dio Vocals Geezer Butler Bass Bill Ward Drums Geoff Nicholls Keyboards Disc 1 1 -Intro 2 -War Pigs 3 -Neon Knights 4 -N.I.B. 5 -Black Sabbath 6 -Heaven And Hell 7 -Iron Man 8 -Guitar Solo with Jam - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Jam - Orchid 9 -Die Young 10 -Paranoid Disc 2 Sophiensale Vienna, Austria April 24th 1980 1 -Supertzar 2 -War Pigs 3 -Neon Knights 4 -N.I.B. 5 -Children of the Sea 6 -Sweet Leaf 7 -Bill Ward solo 8 -Sweet Leaf(reprise) 9 -Lonely is the Word Disc 3 10 -Black Sabbath 11 -Heaven and Hell 12 -Iron Man 13 -Tony Iommi solo 14 -Die Young 15 -Paranoid 16 -Children of the Grave -
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Audience 9.2 - Startling realism, where it’s as if Tony is playing right in your living room. Should be in every self-respecting Sabbath fan’s collection. Black Sabbath Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA September 7, 1975 Disc 1 01 Killing Yourself To Live 02 Hole In The Sky 03 Snowblind 04 Symptom Of The Universe 05 War Pigs 06 Megalomania 07 Sabbra Cadabra Jam 08 Sometimes I'm Happy Jam Disc 2 09 Supernaut 10 Iron Man 11 Orchid 12 Rock 'N' Roll Doctor Jam 13 Black Sabbath 14 Spiral Architect 15 Embryo 16 Children Of The Grave 17 Paranoid