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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 -
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 -
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 -
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 9.3 - A beautiful wide, spacious, and clear recording of a band absolutely demolishing it. How much friggin’ better do you want it? I’ve heard major label released live albums that didn’t sound as good as this.
Black Sabbath Stadthalle Offenbach, Germany 1980-06-02 Disc 1 101 Supertzar 102 War Pigs 103 Noen Knights 104 N.I.B. 105 Lonely Is The Word 106 Sweet Leaf 107 Drum Solo 108 Sweet Leaf (Reprise) 109 Children Of The Sea Disc 2 201 Black Sabbath 202 Heaven And Hell 203 Iron Man 204 Guitar Solo 205 Die Young 206 Paranoid 207 Children Of The Grave -
Stereo Soundboard 9.0 - While this show is also featured on another set here, we found an alternate version that seems to have a wider stereo separation, it does make it sound a tad brighter, but there are some trade-offs too, like a touch more hiss but it doesn’t bother so TURN IT UP! Black Sabbath Espace Balard Paris, France 30th September 1983 1. Children Of The Grave 2. Hot Line 3. War Pigs 4. Supernaut 5. Drum Solo 6. Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor 7. Disturbing The Priest 8. Iron Man 9. Guitar Solo 10. Digital Bitch 11. Smoke On The Water 12. Paranoid/Heaven And Hell(reprise) Bonus Tracks Sporthalle, Boblingen, Germany 28th September 1983 13. Black Sabbath 14. Smoke On The Water 15. Paranoid/Heaven And Hell(reprise) Ian Gillan – Vocals Tony Iommi – Guitar Geezer Butler – Bass Bev Bevan – Drums Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards -
Brand New - Sealed Sound quality on all releases on this label is excellent. -
Audience 9.0 - I have to say this is a very good recording if your preference is to really be able to make out the vocals and to hear every nuance of the lead guitar possible. In fact, the sonics tend to favor the upper mid-range and highs, to the extent that I was not enthusiastic about the sound of the snare drum here...but that just shows you how articulate that range is. Is it screechy then? No, it's not that this is chirpy or screechy high at all, but one may want to play with the EQ to bring up more low end maybe...because to my ears that is what it needs. Otherwise, again, this is a VERY clear, articulate (especially upper mid and highs) recording. Black Sabbath Mid-Hudson Civic Center Poughkeepsie,NY. USA 31 May 1989 Disc 1 101. Ave Satani + The Gates of Hell (intro tape) (03:12 min) 102. Headless Cross (06:09 min) 103. Neon Knights (05:27 min) 104. Children of the Sea (06:17 min) 105. Call of the Wild (05:31 min) 106. The Mob Rules (04:03 min) 107. When Death Calls (06:11 min) 108. War Pigs (06:24 min) Disc 2 201. Guitar solo + Die Young (06:45 min) 202. Black Sabbath (08:49 min) 203. Devil and Daughter (04:43 min) 204. Iron Man (04:35 min) 205. Children of the Grave (04:42 min) 206. Encore break (02:01 min) 207. Heaven and Hell (07:39 min) 208. Paranoid + Heaven and Hell (reprise) (04:40 min) Line-up: Tony Iommi (guitars) Tony Martin (vocals) Neil Murray (bass) Geoff Nicholls (RIP) (keyboards, background vocals) Cozy Powell (RIP) (drums) -
Audience 8.5 (discs 1 & 2) FM Broadcast 8.7 - Well this is odd, you have an “in the pit” audience tape that actually delivers a good, fun trip because it is immersive despite not being a full bodied audio like you want – it is definitely worth it for the ride though…but that brings us to the FM broadcast of the show…how is it that I find myself enjoying the audience tape more? Yes the FM is cleaner and all, but it’s very limited and not quite like an AM broadcast but for goodness sake where’s the bass and drums? It’s clearly the Tony and Ian show here – I think someone ought to matrix these together because then you might have something. Black Sabbath Thamembe Arena Reading, UK 1983-08-27 Disc 1 101 Supertzar 102 Children Of The Grave 103 Hot Line 104 War Pigs 105 Born Again 106 Supernaut 107 Drum Solo 108 Rock And Roll Doctor 109 Disturbing The Priest 110 Keep It Warm Disc 2 201 Black Sabbath 202 The Dark 203 Zero The Hero 204 Guitar Solo 205 Digital Bitch 206 Iron Man 207 Smoke On The Water 208 Paranoid Disc 3 301 Hot Line 302 War Pigs 303 Black Sabbath 304 The Dark - Zero The Hero 305 Digital Bitch 306 Iron Man 307 Smoke On The Water 308 Paranoid -
Soundboard 9.0 - Interesting hearing this line up in such clarity, it certainly allows you to make a better judgment on the music, which by the way is pretty damn good. It’s different, in some ways, but it is still very good. My advice is not to go into it thinking you are getting Black Sabbath – rather consider it a Tony Iommi side project, then it makes more sense and will grab you in a better way. Black Sabbath Monsters Of Rock Festival Arena Del Chionso Reggio Emilia, Italy 1992-09-12 1. Computer God 2. Children of the Sea 3. Time Machine 4. War Pigs 5. Master of Insanity/After All (The Dead) 6. Iron Man 7. Heaven and Hell -
Audience 9.3 - I can’t recommend this highly enough – just ferocious playing and great guitar tone emanating from the stage where you have a close up seat and strap in ‘cause this is one heavy duty helping of blistering metal. Must have! Black Sabbath Memorial Stadium Seattle, WA 1980.07.19 Disc 1 101 War Pigs 102 Neon Knights 103 N.I.B. 104 Children Of The Sea 105 Sweet Leaf - Drum Solo 106 Black Sabbath Disc 2 201 Heaven And Hell 202 Iron Man 203 Guitar Solo 204 Die Young 205 Paranoid 206 Children Of The Grave -
The controversial Seventh Star sessions that saw Jeff Fenholt on vocals which was not the best fit for the band, however since he wrote most of the songs it led to an awkward situation and the project was shelved because Tony found someone he wanted to sing those tracks and it wasn't Jeff. Two different covers, choose your favorite or get both! UK import. Digipac SEALED -
The controversial Seventh Star sessions that saw Jeff Fenholt on vocals which was not the best fit for the band, however since he wrote most of the songs it led to an awkward situation and the project was shelved because Tony found someone he wanted to sing those tracks and it wasn't Jeff. Two different covers, choose your favorite or get both! UK import. Digipac SEALED -
Audience 9.0 - A big sound here, and I mean it can be asbig as you want because there's just enough headroom here to add volume without fear of too much of any one thing to take away from other frequencies. It's an even sounding mix, with maybe just a little more emphasis on the massive bass/guitar attack. But even then, you still get all the vocals and drums you need...its a well rounded recording giving you sense of venue as one more benefit that comes with audience recordings.
BLACK SABBATH Mayflower Theatre Southampton, UK 6th September 1992 Disc 1 1. E5150 2. The Mob Rules 3. Computer God 4. Children of the Sea 5. Time Machine 6. War Pigs 7. I 8. Die Young 9. Guitar Solo 10. Black Sabbath Disc 2 1. Master of Insanity 2. After All (The Dead) 3. Drum Solo 4. Iron Man 5. Heaven and Hell 6. Neon Knights Ronnie James Dio - Vocal Tony Iommi - Guitar Geezer Butler - Bass Vinny Appice - Drums Geoff Nicholls - Keyboards -
Audience 8.7 All shows appear to have been recorded by the same taper who was diligent to show up to all the Sabbath shows in his town three years in a row. I am impressed with his effort, you can tell he's not an amateur and but for the fact he's not using pro equipment, he most certainly would otherwise have gotten a stellar result. As it is, it's fine but not winning any dynamics awards. What it does deliver is consistent, strong, error-free recordings that you can relax into, and let yourself adjust to what is there because it's certainly not that bad. I started listening to these shows in order to rate them and ended up just letting them play because it's cool to hear this great line-up playing in a far away place away from the glitz and glamour of the metropolis, year-after-year-after-year, and yet deliver a performance no different from one they might have done at, say, Radio City Music Hall or Madison Square Garden.
Black Sabbath Cornwall Coliseum St. Austell, UK June 24, 1980,Feb. 2, 1981 & Jan. 14, 1982 Disc 1 St. Austell, UK June 24, 1980 1. Intro 2. War Pigs 3. Neon Knights 4. N.I.B. 5. Lonely Is The Word 6. Sweet Leaf 7. Children of the Sea 8. Black Sabbath 9. Heaven and Hell Disc 2 10. Iron Man 11. Guitar Solo 12. Die Young 13. Paranoid 14. Children of the Grave St. Austell Feb. 2, 1981 15. Supertzar 16. War Pigs 17. Neon Knights 18. N.I.B. 19. Children of the Sea 20. Lady Evil Disc 3 21. Black Sabbath 22. Heaven and Hell 23. Iron Man 24. Guitar Solo 25. Die Young 26. Paranoid 27. Children Of The Grave St. Austell, UK. 1982 28. E5150 (Intro) 29. Neon Knights 30. N.I.B. Disc 4 31. Children Of The Sea 32. Country Girl 33. Black Sabbath 34. War Pigs 35. Slippin' Away 36. Drum Solo 37. Iron Man 38. Mob Rules 39. Heaven And Hell 40. Paranoid 41. Children Of The Grave -
Sunrise, Fl. 1992 Audience 9.1 - A really nice and bright recording. It’s not as full on the low end but it’s there, everything is pretty clear and it is a pretty spacious, atmospheric tape. Groningen 1992 Audience 9.2 - This tape is bright, good balance, and a realistic live atmosphere. Black Sabbath 1992-07-24 & 09-17 Disc 1 Sunrise Musical Theater Sunrise, Florida 1992-07-24 101 Soundcheck (Vinny Appice) - Intro 102 E5150 103 The Mob Rules 104 Computer God 105 Children Of The Sea 106 Time Machine 107 War Pigs 108 I 109 Die Young 110 Guitar Solo - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 111 Black Sabbath Disc 2 201 TV Crimes 202 Master Of Insanity 203 After All (The Dead) 204 Drum Solo 205 Iron Man 206 Heaven And Hell 207 Neon Knights 208 Paranoid - Heaven And Hell (Reprise) Disc 3 Evenementenhal Groningen, Netherlands 1992-09-17 301 E5150 302 The Mob Rules 303 Computer God 304 Children Of The Sea 305 Time Machine 306 War Pigs 307 I 308 Die Young Disc 4 401 Guitar Solo - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath 402 Black Sabbath 403 Master Of Insanity 404 After All (The Dead) 405 Drum Solo 406 Iron Man 407 Heaven And Hell 408 Neon Knights 409 Paranoid - Heaven And Hell (Reprise)