1182. Ozzy Osbourne / Speak of the Devil [Live]. 1982. 4.5/5

The fall and rise of Ozzy Osbourne during the years collating the late 1970’s and early 1980’s is one that we have covered a little already on this podcast. There are amazing accounts out there from former bandmates who have documented not only how difficult Ozzy could be to work with due to his vices, and how difficult his management team could be to work with.
Following on from the “Diary of a Madman” album and subsequent tour, the decision had been made by Ozzy and his management (ok, Sharon) that they would do an album focused purely on the songs of Ozzy’s first band, Black Sabbath. There were reasons stated for wanting to do it, which included that the previous publishing deal had now come to an end, which meant that by recording Sabbath songs all of the writers of those songs (which of course included Ozzy) would then reap the profits. It would also serve as a way of getting out of their current record deal in an easier fashion than writing another one or two albums to do so. What to me has always seemed to be the main reason, however, was that the current lineup of Black Sabbath had announced that they were putting together a live album themselves – without Ozzy on it – and there seems little doubt that this had created some angst for the previous lead singer of that band. And it always felt to me that in deciding to go down this path, especially when the band had just released two critically acclaimed albums that they could build upon, that the ONLY reason for it could be ego, and that Ozzy wanted to prove that he was the original and best.
Whichever way you want to look at the reasoning behind it, the tour and album almost didn’t eventuate anyway. When Ozzy announced to his then bandmates about the idea of playing a tour and releasing a live album of completely Black Sabbath material, the band as one revolted. Guitarist Randy Rhoads and drummer Tommy Aldridge both out and out refused to play on it. Both had already expressed their reluctance to play the Sabbath songs that were in their Ozzy sets, as neither felt as though they had anything in common with the style of music those songs sat in. Bass guitarist Rudy Sarzo, though not so adamant about it all, still stuck with his fellow bandmates. This caused Ozzy to go off in a drunken rage, apparently firing all three, but then the next day not remembering that he had done it. Eventually the three agreed to participate, though it is reported that this contributed heavily to Randy making the decision that he would leave the band once it was completed. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, Randy was killed in the accident of the light plane and the bus he was sleeping in, so we will never know what would have happened in that respect.
In order to move forward, Bernie Torme initially took on the guitaring role, but it was Brad Gillis, who was then working on the debut album for his band Night Ranger – an episode posted just recently on this podcast – who came in to take on the role for this live album, one that was still full of problems as they reached the recording phase.

Just to further complicate just how this album came about, imagine being the band – Sarzo, Aldridge and Gillis – and being asked to get together for rehearsals for the upcoming concerts, but being told that the lead singer wouldn’t be attending. I mean, how would you go about processing that? This is what the band was told, that Ozzy wouldn’t be attending rehearsals. They had five days to learn the songs and get them up to speed for a live recording. Which, they then did, apart from three – Iron Man, Children of the Grave and Paranoid – because they were told that earlier recordings of those songs with Randy on guitar would be used on the album. Ozzy didn’t show up until the soundcheck for the first of two shows being recorded, at The Ritz in New York, a club that held up to 1000 people. And, much like Ozzy, even at this point of his career, he had trouble remembering the lyrics. So, for both sold out performances, Ozzy had a chair at the front of the stage, with a book full of lyrics propped up on it, where he planted himself for most of the gigs, reading the lyrics off the pages. The guitarists also had to locate themselves closer to the drum riser to hear the drums as the monitors usually used were not available. And THEN, when they finally reached the time to play the three songs that were not going to be used for the actual album, the band loosened up and showed less care and precision, because they knew that these songs at least would not appear. That was, of course, until the decision was made to retain the Randy live versions for a possible release down the track (the afore-published episode on the “Tribute” album can be heard in season 2 of this podcast) and the band management indeed decided to use these versions, something that displeased Sarzo, Aldridge and Gillis. It was at this time that both Sarzo, who had been recording the Quiet Riot album “Metal Health” in secret at the time, and Gillis, who had been recording “Dawn Patrol” with Night Ranger, left the Osbourne camp to return to their other bands. The band had also recorded an extra day with no audience, to cover all bases in case of any audio trouble form the two gigs done live. All in all, apart from being quite the ordeal, the story seems almost Spinal Tap-ish in retelling. There is even more expansion of these stories, and to know it all it is worth checking out Rudy Sarzo’s autobiography “Off the Rails”, which really lifts the lid on an epic period of music history.

One of the really amazing parts of the Black Sabbath history was the lack of a truly representative live album. Sure, “Live at Last” was released in 1980, but without the band’s input or real knowledge. This was somewhat rectified with the “Past Lives” release in 2002 that utilised that material and other historical live recordings. There was “Cross Purposes Live” in 1995 with Tony Martin. And the “Reunion” live album in 1998 had all but Bill ward back in the saddle, but it was way beyond their prime.
And then we had “Live Evil” which was released a month after this album, with Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice, doing songs of both Mark I and II of the band. And that is a great live album – look out for that episode a very episodes after this one.
What I guess I’m getting around to is that, at the time, this album was your best bet to hear Ozzy singing all these classic Sabbath songs live on an album, and so even despite the torment behind getting it up and running, I always enjoyed it. I enjoyed the addition of Brad Gillis’s iconic guitar sound on these songs, and both Tommy and Rudy are terrific players. These versions sound great, and Ozzy sounds great if not a little unhinged between songs with his banter.
It wasn’t until four years after this was released that I came across it, and ironically also “Live Evil”, so I did the same thing as fans would have done on its release – compared it to each other. And I don’t really favour one against the other. They both have their charms, they both have their very slight downturns. It may have been a strange move at the time given the burgeoning success of his new material after leaving Black Sabbath, but it didn’t seem to upset the fans. To be honest, the retrospective look back of live material in recent years on the Deluxe Edition re-releases of some of Sabbath’s greatest albums, which have entire live gigs from that time, is a much better showcasing of Black Sabbath the band in their live days. But this album showcases Ozzy and his bandmates at their time, in 1982, and in that respect this album is still a fun listen, and worthy of many singalong moments of these great songs.

1181. Whitesnake / Saints & Sinners. 1982. 3.5/5

Whitesnake’s existence in its earliest form, as a blues-based hard rock band that combined half of the end pieces of Deep Purple and the recruitment of other excellent musicians and writers had become better and more popular with each year and album that passed. The core of David Coverdale on vocals with former bandmates Jon Lord on keyboards and Ian Paice on drums, along with Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden on guitars and Neil Murray on bass, formed what became the initial essential group, mixing blues based rhythm with the harder centre that had come from Purple. Each album, even going back now and listening to them in order of their release, shows an improvement in the music and the way the band gels with its writing and performing.
The band’s 4th album “Come an’ Get It” had produced the best reviews the band had received, and the band’s highest album position in the UK, and yet according to the band members they were still making relatively little money from albums and sell-out concerts. This was causing growing dissent within the ranks, such that when the band reconvened to write and record the follow up, tensions within the band was clear. Coverdale had already written much of what eventually became the “Saints & Sinners” album, something that was also a step out of the ordinary from previous band collaborations. The recording began, but before it could be completed, Moody quit the band at the end of 1981. This set off a chain reaction of events, including Coverdale deciding to put the band on hiatus while his daughter was sick. During this hiatus, Coverdale sacked the band’s manager, bought out many of the contracts he was tied to, and eventually decided to let go almost off of the remaining members in Marsden, Paice and Murray, claiming they lacked the enthusiasm needed to keep the band going.
Towards the end of 1982, Coverdale had contacted Moody, and asked him to come back and help him finish the album, which Moody agreed to. In the end most of it had been done, so it just required a few guitar pieces and backing vocals added to have it done, and producer Martin Birch then spent a few weeks putting it all together to complete the procedures. It had been a long hard road, and one where Coverdale was obviously angling to try and get a breakthrough in the US. And while some of the songs here seem skewed with that in mind, the progression from blues rock to hard rock is not as noticeable here as was perhaps thought to be the case when the album was initially released.

In many ways this is a conduit between the way the band had begun, and the way it ended up by the late 1980’s. Given that this was the final album to feature those main six players, the real change towards cracking the US hard rock market probably came on the follow up to this album, “Slide it In”. But this album does progress further down the path on the back of “Come an’ Get It” without totally giving up that blues and in places almost rockabilly style that early Whitesnake had garnered its support. “Rock an’ Roll Angels” is an upbeat blues trip with piano bar keyboards from Lord being a centrepiece. “Bloody Luxury” is in the same vein, it sounds like it is coming straight from an old blues bar, again with two great solo guitar pieces from Moody and Marsden with Lord’s own blues piano set between them. “Dancing Girls” is another catchy song that has Lord dominate the middle of the song in great style, while Moody and Marsden have their moments. There are also atypical Whitesnake songs in the mix, including the opening track “Young Blood” and then the mid-tempo “Victim of Love”. And you can’t go past those titles when it comes to a Whitesnake album, with “Rough an’ Ready” and “Love an’ Affection” and “Rock an’ Roll Angels”. And “Saints an’ Sinners”. All very good songs, don’t get me wrong, with typical Whitesnake hooks in the guitar riffs and Coverdale’s smooth yet biting vocals throughout. “Love an’ Affection” has a call back to Deep Purple days, while the closing title track is a get hard rock song to finish off proceedings in style. But what is it with dropping the ‘d’ in all of the ‘ands’ on the song titles? It’s a bit wanky isn’t it. It does date the album back to that period.
The two obvious standout songs on this album are ones that fans of any generation would know - “Crying in the Rain” and “Here I Go Again”. When the album was released back in 1982, they were the best of what comes here. What makes them unique here is that both were eventually re-recorded for Whitesnake’s 1987 album, with a more updated style that better reflected the style Coverdale wanted at that time in his efforts to break the American market. Comparatively, both versions of both songs hold up, and both versions reflect the time and audience they were written for.

1982 was some time before I began to find bands like Whitesnake. Indeed, like I guess most of my generation, I fell head over heels in love with the band with the 1987 album, it being one of the albums of playlist of that year. From there it was the “Slip of the Tongue” album, and more fanboying over that. Beyond that, I didn’t go back to find and appreciate this album until the 2000’s had arrived. And it’s a shame it took me that long, because the wonderful connections of Moody and Marsden and Murray on guitars in this era is quite spectacular, and I probably would say that it culminates at their best on this album. Which, given the history of the making of the album, ends up being rather strange. Apart from that small concession that all was not harmonious within the group, I have a great affection for the album. Each member plays their part. The guitarists as mentioned sound great. Lord and Paice are as noteworthy as always, and Coverdale’s vocals are sublime. I may not have gotten this album until quite late in the piece, but that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it thoroughly, and the last couple of weeks have only helped me to appreciate it even more.
Whitesnake the band had more rough waters to navigate following this album and its tour, and the maturing of the band’s sound and the morphing of the band’s direction all contributed to that. Which continues to make this album a litmus test of the band’s discography, one that is generally well received by fans of all eras of the band.

1180. Sex Pistols / Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. 1977. 5/5

For the layman in music, the Sex Pistols are a band that these days is shrouded in the mists of time. And given what is more or less seen as outrageous or accepted in music in the current day, the antics of the punk movement in the UK can sometimes be seen to be quite tame in comparison. Even the fact that there is some... gasp... swearing!... in a couple of the songs, barely even rates a mention given what occurs in POP SONGS in the modern age. So a lot of the shock and horror that the Sex Pistols created in their short span in the music scene would barely raise a ripple with the current trends.
Indeed they were a forerunner to so many music trends. Not only were they one of the leading lights in the fast burn of that punk scene, they were also born of an era where on occasions technical musicianship was less important than stage presence, something that fitted the Sex Pistols well given the way the band members started out and how they were drawn together to become the group they were.
To try and make this a history lesson into the birth of the Sex Pistols, and their place in the history of punk music in the UK, would stretch this episode beyond what it has set out to be. The drawing together of the initial quartet of guitarist Steve Jones (who famously is quoted that he taught himself guitar while on methamphetamine to keep his concentration over several days without sleep), drummer Paul Cook, bass guitarist Glen Matlock and lead vocalist John Lydon (better known under his stage pseudonym of Johnny Rotten) through the influence of manager Malcolm McLaren is an interesting story, along with Matlock’s eventual leaving of the band prior to the recording of their debut album even though he had contributed to the writing of most of it, and the recruitment of John Ritchie as his replacement, who is better known as Sid Vicious. Several documentaries exist of course, and a recent dramatization of their career in the six-part series titled “Pistol” is a fun way to follow those early exploits.

The band had already signed and been sacked by two record companies before Richard Branson came along and signed them up to his Virgin label, and the Sex Pistols had matured from a band that played cover versions of songs to writing and playing their own material. The band had recorded the single “Anarchy in the UK” for EMI in late 1976, but due to several controversies they were dropped by the label in early 1977 and not long after Matlock left the band. This left “Anarchy in the UK” as the only song on which Matlock played on the album, though its inclusion on “Never Mind the Bollocks” was not in line with what the band wanted. They had wanted all new songs on the album, and the songs they had released as singles - “Anarchy in the UK”, along with “God save the Queen” and “Pretty Vacant” - to be left off. Virgin and McLaren were having none of that, which, in retrospect was the smart move, as they are arguably the best songs on the album, and certainly the best known.
At the time, the Sex Pistols were reviewed and marketed as being ‘out there’ on stage, with crazy antics and sometimes incomprehensible musicianship, certainly in the case of when Sid Vicious joined the band as he was reported as being almost completely useless on the bass guitar. And that leads to the two things that make this album so interesting even in the modern day. Because, when the band was recording this album, Malcolm McLaren was given the task of making up excuses to keep Vicious unaware that the recording was occurring, and also then keeping him away from the studio, as the three other members of the band recorded the album on their own. There are two songs where Vicious has played the bass, on the songs “Bodies” and “God save the Queen”. However, those pieces were also tracked by Steve Jones on bass, and eventually Vicious’s bass was turned down so far in the mix that it is basically not heard at all. For the remainder of the tracks, Jones recorded the bass guitar, to make the songs sound listenable.
And that’s one of the main points about this album that doesn’t usually get mentioned. The music is not all over the place, out of time or unlistenable. The lyrics are not shouted of screamed or unintelligible. In fact, Jones and Cook are actually pretty awesome together, with drums and bass forming a great rhythm section, and Jones’s guitar chugging along perfectly, setting a terrific platform for each song. It is exactly what the Sex Pistols brought to the table in regards to their legacy to music. It is stripped back, basic power chords, tight 3-4 minute songs with catchy choruses and lyrics that create topical songs in an era where the times needed a push back. Chris Thomas and Bill Price as producers have done a sterling job on this album and in getting a great sound out of the band that, 45 years later, still stands up again everything that has come since this was recorded.

This album has always been one that the industry has held up as the main source of the UK punk scene, but is rarely referenced in recent years. Given the way modern punk affiliated bands have gone about their work, many of the songs here are felt to be tame in comparison. The songs that created such controversy at the time, such as “Anarchy in the UK” and “God save the Queen” are referenced as being simplified musically, and with lyrics that aren’t fiery enough to create the mayhem needed in the modern day. And there is little doubt, and I can’t say this from first hand experience, that this recorded version of their songs are quite different from the way they played them live in the clubs of those days, in front of rabid fans who had taken them to their hearts. They haven’t been stonewashed of their impact, but the producers have made sure that everything comes at you at the same level. Is this a good thing in regards to putting the band’s imprint on vinyl to share with the world? Obviously, to get the full impact, a live recording of the band performing their material would have been the ideal way to follow up this album. Of course, that didn’t happen.
Like most people of my generation through the 1980’s, I knew the main songs from this album. I even played a couple of them in my first band, no doubt to please one or two members who thought we were being the rebellious types at the time. “Anarchy in the UK” has been covered so many times over the years by all manner of bands that it has probably lost its sheen and meaning of the day. But other songs still come across as they must have in the day, such as “Liar” and “Submission” and “Pretty Vacant”, and there is still lots of fun in listening to “Holidays in the Sun” and “Bodies” and “God save the Queen”. Like I said, I think the album itself still holds itself up amazingly well in the modern age. And perhaps that is because it was the one and only that the band produced, with first John Lydon moving on during their tour of the US, and Sid Vicious overdosing a year later. In many ways it is probably this album’s saving grace, as there is nothing to compare it with after this. The band always seemed to be on borrowed time before they imploded, and while a second album may well have been bigger than this in sales and content, the fact that it is a standalone volume still makes it a unique experience to listen to. I’ve had it on constant rotation over the last six weeks, as well as having watched the mini-series on their lives, and it still has the power of its convictions.

1179. AC/DC / Live. 1992. 5/5

Live albums. They are an artform. Generally you wouldn’t think you could stuff them up, but when they are done well they are a pleasure to listen to. Prior to this album’s release, AC/DC’s only officially released live album was “If You Want Blood You’ve Got It” from back in 1978, with Bon Scott on vocals and recorded on the “Powerage” tour. It has an eclectic song selection that often annoys younger listeners even today, because it doesn’t contain what they necessarily believe are the ‘hits’ of the band from the time. That’s what actually makes it a really good live album. But I’m not here to talk about that album.
In the years since AC/DC had continued to write and record solid hard rock albums, coming up with occasional radio hits, but generally building their audience worldwide. When they finally toured Australia in 1988 after a long absence, they sold out shows throughout the country. Songs such as “Who Made Who” and “Heatseeker” had been popular hits, and on the back of “The Razor’s Edge” album, which had brought the big selling number one “Thunderstruck”, the band made the decision to record some shows around the world in order to release their second official live album. The double CD version of the album has songs recorded from eight different shows in six different venues, all put together from the setlist played over the length of that worldwide tour. And while some discussion can always be had over what was played and what was left off, what you can’t complain about is the quality of the performances of the songs they did perform.

When it comes to live albums, as I have said multiple times on other episodes of this podcast, you should get the best of the best, and therefore rate almost any live album full marks. You always have to play the ‘greatest hits’, which is difficult for a band with the longevity and success that AC/DC has enjoyed. There are often just too many to choose from. And you also have to play songs off the latest album, because after all that’s what you are touring to promote. So the balancing act is always a tenuous one.
Even all these years later, the set list is fun and still listenable. The songs from “The Razor’s Edge” are still worthy, with “Thunderstruck” starting off the album in excellent fashion, and is followed up throughout by plenty of other tracks from the album, “Are You Ready?”, “Fire Your Guns”, Money Talks” and the title track. Which is what you expect from a band on tour. Then you have the recent singles that had done well on the charts such that everyone knew the songs, such as the classic “Who Made Who” which really shot them back to the top after a period in the doldrums, and “Heatseeker” and “That’s the Way I Wanna Rock and Roll” from the “Blow up Your Video” album. So for the fan who had just come upon the band in those late 1980’s years, there is plenty here for them to enjoy.
Beyond that you delver back into the Bon Scott era with those legendary tracks, ones such as “Sin City”, “Jailbreak”, “The Jack” and “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, before the second disc includes great songs like “High Voltage”, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “Let There Be Rock”, “Highway to Hell” and “TNT”. It’s a gluttony of that great era of the band. And finally we have the early Brian Johnson era where the band was able to revitalise following Bon’s passing, with the songs “Shoot to Thrill”, “Back in Black”, “Hells Bells” and “You Shook Me All NIght Long” from the “Back in Black” album, and the concert and album closer, the legendary “For Those About to Rock, We Salute You”. As you can see, there’s a lot to fit in to two discs and over two hours of live music.

So you obviously can’t argue with that track list for a double live album, can you? And the performances are top notch. The whole band is at the top of their game. Chris Slade, who had arrived on drums on this album following Simon Wright moving on to Dio, is terrific, and added a new dimension to these songs with his presence. And what can you say about Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, Brian Johnson and Angus Young that hasn’t bee said before? They were at about their peak at this point in time, riding high on renewed success and still of an age where Angus could get away with the schoolboy uniform.
Is there a bone to pick? Perhaps a small one. “Flick of the Switch” and “Fly on the Wall” don’t have a song representing those albums here, and perhaps finding space for just one off each would have given this a collection a complete feel. It’s a small thing, but one worth mentioning.
I got this album on the day of its release 30 years ago, and played it a damn lot at that time. I had also been fortunate enough to have seen this tour when it hit Sydney, from the second row of the gig, which as just amazing. Great times and great memories. And that’s what this album offers. Great memories of one of the great hard rock bands of all time, playing their all time greats at the peak of their powers. For a live album, it’s pretty hard to stuff that up. And I can guarantee you that that isn’t the case here. This is a top shelf live album experience.

1178. Joe Satriani / Surfing With the Alien. 1987. 4.5/5

Sometimes I’m not sure what is Joe Satriani’s greatest claim to fame – the fact that he was a guitar teacher and instructor to some of the great guitarists of the last 30–odd years, or his own work in the music he has produced. There is an apocryphal story that he decided to take up playing the guitar at the age of 14, when he heard the news of Jimi Hendrix’s death. Whether true or not, he eventually went on to study and teach in Berkeley California. When it came to students that graduated from his classes, you’d have to say that they have gone on to reasonably bright careers, players such as Steve Vai, Rick Hunolt, Alex Skolnick and Kirk Hammett, just to name a few.
His first album was released in 1985, titled “Not of This Earth”, which tickled the fancy of those in the industry and made some noise in album sales around the world. For his follow up, he again went with drum machine to program all of the drums, except for one song, “Satch Boogie”, where the drums were played by Jeff Campitelli. Also, according to an interview with Satriani in 2017, the only solo that was worked out before beforehand was on “Crushing Day”. The cover art too has its roots in the Marvel Universe, depicting the Silver Surfer in all his glory. I guess if you are going to be a guitar nerd, you may as well be a comic nerd as well.

I still adore the first half of this album to this day. While people try to categorise this into several different genres, in the long run it is a guitar geeks album, and people who love almost any type of music genre can find something to love. My mother-in-law for instance has always been a fan of the quieter, more introspective track “Always with Me, Always with You”, and often played it on the public radio station she used to do a shift on. The lovers of hard rock and metal will tend to side more with tracks such as “Ice 9” and “Crushing Day”, especially in the parts that could be described as the solo breaks, if that is possible on an instrumental track. The title track and opening track “Surfing with the Alien” sets the album off on the right foot in an up-tempo freelance guitar hyperactivity. And “Satch Boogie” has Joe showing all the tricks he has learned over the years.
There are more tricks up the sleeve in the second half of the album, which remains terrific. “Echo” especially is good because we get to hear the bass doing some funky stuff without the focus being taken away by the guitars. Indeed, all of the tracks in this second half of the album have a much different style from the first half, showcasing the various skills that Satriani has. It isn’t as raucous as those first half a dozen tracks but they are enjoyable all the same, because of the magic that Joe has to offer.

I have no recollection when I first heard this album, nor when I first got a copy of it myself. As my own copy, sitting here in front of me as we speak, is the CD version, I can hazard a guess that I didn’t buy this until about 1990. I can dimly recall having this taped on one side of a C90 cassette, and if memory serves it was with Gary Moore’s “Wild Frontier” on the other side, which could well have dated this as not too long after it was released, but having gone through my extensive collection of cassette tapes prior to this episode I couldn’t find it, so it was either lost in time or destroyed by one of my old car’s cassette decks.
My earliest memories that survive of actually listening to this album is of the early days of the band I played in back in those days, and trying to convince our lead guitarist that playing the solo in “Crushing Day” would be a piece of piss, and that he should learn it so that we could play the song live. Being a drummer that only plays basic beats sometimes has its advantages. The playing it live part never eventuated.
This is still a great album to listen to today. The high velocity and energy in the first half of the album pumps you up, and the serenity of the back half allows you to cool off again. I can put it on at any time and enjoy it. I have been fortunate enough to see Joe live a couple of times, the first being on the tour for his next album after this, “Flying in a Blue Dream”, with the brilliant Jonathan Mover on drums and Stu Hamm on bass, so it was a spectacular concert indeed. And when indeed they played “Crushing Day” live, our protestations to Shane to learn the solo to that song started all over again.

1177. Black Sabbath / Volume 4. 1972. 4/5

If you go back to those first three Black Sabbath albums, it is still amazing to hear just how awesome they are, how brilliant the song writing is, and how amazing the playing from those four musicians is. Sure, there is some quirkiness about a few of the songs, especially I guess from the self-titled debut album when they were still coming out of the hippy happy late 1960’s period. But from that had come songs that as influential today as they were when they were released - “Black Sabbath”, “N.I.B”, “War Pigs”, “Iron Man”, “Paranoid”, “Sweet Leaf”, “Children of the Grave” - and practically every other song. All three are outstanding albums, fuelled by alcohol and marijuana.
Following the end of the tour to promote “Master of Reality”, the band headed back into the studio in the US to start the process of coming up with their fourth album. By this time however, their tastes had changed, and cocaine had come onto the scene. Both Ozzy and Tony in their autobiographies describe how speaker boxes full of the white powder were delivered daily to the studio as the band worked. Is it any wonder that the blizzard of white found its way into the lyrics of several songs recorded for the album.
Was it a deliberate ploy to make any significant changes to the style that the band employed in their music for this album? No one really seems capable of making a wholehearted answer of ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to that question. There is of course still plenty of the aggressive style in their music on some of the tracks that eventually made the final cut for “Volume 4”. But there is also little doubt that there is a little more experimentation in the track list. And for some people, myself included, it feels as though it was a bridge too far, or at least too quickly. Tony Iommi himself was quoted as saying in 1975 that the album "was such a complete change – we felt we had jumped an album, really ... We had tried to go too far."
Having said all of that, is the album really that much different from what had come before it? The first thing that I have to say is that this is still a great Sabbath album, don’t be fooled into thinking it isn’t. But it is different, and the songs are different, and that could be for several reasons. It could be that the band wanted to head in a slightly reformed direction with their music. It could be, as has been suggested in several forums, that it was the change in drugs that the band were using at the time that created these musical changes. And others believe it was just the next step in the generation of the music.

Let’s go about this album two ways. Firstly, just put it on and listen to it from start to finish. Conclusions? Another great Black Sabbath album. Like the albums that came before it, the great songs are broken up by little musical interludes that aren’t really songs but are labelled as such. And some of those make you wonder “uhhh... why?”. But by the end of the album, you’ve heard great vocals, great riffs, great drumming, and you leave happy.
OK. So that’s the easy version. Here’s another version.
The album opens with “Wheels of Confusion”, a song that goes through three different phases from start to finish. It could almost be three different songs put together, or at least three different sections that eventually were melded into place. Bill Ward’s drum bashing through the middle of the song is amazing. Those drummers from that era – John Bonham from Led Zeppelin, Keith Moon from The Who, and Bill Ward, never left any skins left on the shells. How their sticks survived at times in beyond belief. The mood is fantastic and is a great opening to the album. This is followed by “Tomorrow’s Dream” which continues in the same instance, with a great riff from Tony and amazing complementing bass riff from Geezer.
“Changes” is the immediate first change to what is going on. The song is all through piano and keyboard, and Ozzy singing over the top. It isn’t a ballad as such, but a piano based thought piece. Apparently, the story goes that there was a piano at the home that the band were writing and recording this album, so Tony taught himself how to play the piano while he was there, and then came up with the chords that make this song. I mean, really, it must suck to be talented, right? That’s an amazing thing to do, to just teach yourself an instrument, and then come up with the chords that produce a song that is such an amazing piece of Black Sabbath history, because it is so different. Fantastic lyrics written by Geezer as well, and Ozzy sings it perfectly. Amazing.
“FX” is a waste of space. I mean, what is it doing here? It fills in one minute and 39 seconds on the album, and more or less just acts as a go between, from the quiet serenity of “Changes” to the smash ‘em and crash ‘em that returns with “Supernaut”. Surely there was a better way to do this. Probably just by not adding it. Tony has said in the years since that he agrees with this sentiment. Anyway.
Yes, then “Supernaut” crashes back in with Tony’s brilliant riff and Bill just smashing away on the drums, along with his own solo piece in the middle of the song. This has always been a great song, and sonically here it is brilliant. Tony’s guitar sound is perfect, surprisingly fitting in to close out the first side of the album excellently.
Side Two opens with the amazing “Snowblind”, a song that remains one of my favourite all time Black Sabbath tracks. No prizes for guessing what the lyrics are about, but everything about this song for me is a work of art. Bill’s drumming, Tony’s iconic riffing, the three different main riffs that make up the song are just outstanding. Geezer’s bass guitar, following its own path separate from the guitar but somehow drawing the whole piece together, and Ozzy’s great vocals, able to move between the manic and the serene. It’s a great song, a triumph. “Snowblind” was also the title the band wanted to use for the album, but the record company shied away from it. For some reason...
The rest of side two is still great, but it is a different level to what has come before it. “Cornucopia” and “St Vitus Dance” change things up a bit again. “Laguna Sunrise” is Tony’s instrumental piece, apparently written after waking up and watching the sunrise over Laguna Beach where they were writing and recording. And “Under the Sun” completes the album in a jaunty vision of what has come before it.

You may well have already guessed that I had a hard time getting into this album when I first got it. Unlike the first three albums, which are full of songs that everyone knows, “Volume 4” has relatively few songs that well known to the average fan, and that along with the change in out and out heavy songs at the time that I got the album threw me a curveball. It was also at a time when my real music focus was on the ‘modern’ heavy metal that was coming out in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, and at the time that didn’t fit my listening profile.
Over the years that of course changed, and the more I heard “Volume 4” out of the mix of these other bands, the more it grew on me. And much like the band themselves went on to suggest, it is an album that perhaps came too early in their career to be completely understood. And in retrospect, given the changes that came on the albums later in the 70’s decade, this is much less of a change than came then.
In recent years, this album has become a regular one that I pull out to listen to, much to my surprise. During the covid lockdown weeks and months I actually listened to the whole Black Sabbath discography, and went about ranking all of the albums in order (my order of course, which disappointed many people, and brought back the argument over what constituted a ‘real’ Black Sabbath album – but more of that down the track on a future episode). During that period, I ranked this at number 9 overall, which I think is probably still reasonable. It is far better than some of the later albums that came with different members, but isn’t quite at the level that ranks it as one of the greatest. But what I remembered during that period, and have again over the last few weeks, is what a solid and joyful album it is to listen to. “FX” is a mistake, but Black Sabbath didn’t make many of those in these years.
On its release, this album reached number 1 in Australia, the only country it did so. And last year it received a Super Deluxe release with demo versions and a brilliant concert as recorded at the time, which I spoke about recently on the episode reviewing their “Past Lives” album. All of this makes for a great Sabbath album, one that still stands the test of time, 50 years on. In fact, you will scarcely be able to believe that this ground breaking album and its amazing tracks can possibly be 50 years old.

1176. Alice Cooper / Raise Your Fist and Yell. 1987. 4/5

In recent times, as you have to do with bands and artists that have been around for centuries and release albums every two years like clockwork, I have done a lot of podcast episodes on Alice Cooper albums. There has been “Schools Out”, there has been “Zipper Catches Skin”, and others around the times. It does mean that sometimes it feels as though I am repeating myself, so if that also feels like the case to you, then please accept my apologies. On that very recent episode reviewing “Zipper Catches Skin”, I mentioned the difficult times that Alice had been going through in regards to his creative vision, along with his drug and alcohol addiction that was at that time dominating his life. That episode was right in the middle of that crisis, and the downward spiral his music was taking as a result. An episode from Season 1 of this podcast, for his “Constrictor” album, then explained his comeback. Having fought and beaten his addictions, he teamed up with guitarist composer Kane Roberts, and rediscovered the magic that got him back in the game. Following that album and the successful tour that promoted it, it was time come up with a follow up album, one that could build on the goodwill that that album had been able to inspire, and to once again find that quintessential “Alice Cooper” trademark. The same main trio that had recorded “Constrictor” returned for this new album – Alice himself, Kane Roberts on guitar and co-composer of the album, and young bass guitarist Kip Winger.
This album came out within 12 months of “Constructor”, another reminder of how often bands would release albums back in the 1980’s. Building on the themes that had been prevalent on that album, “Raise Your Fist and Yell” has songs that are based and themed around the slasher film genre that was prevalent in the b-grade movie cinemas at the time. They are upbeat, and again mixed with anthemic cries in the lyrics along with the horror themes of those B-grade movies we all watched during that decade, all drawn together by great guitar riffs and hard hitting drums that probably allowed this album to not be as goofy as its twin preceding album, but continue along that line of Alice moving from his 70’s shlock to the early 80’s new wave to the late 80’s hard rock and hair metal genre with remarkable adaptability.

Alice’s albums often have an anthem to kick them off, to get the listener into the right mood immediately. Think “School’s Out” or “Teenage Frankenstein”. Nothing changes here with the brilliant “Freedom”, which invokes the album title within its lyrics. Its challenge to the rock censorship movement at the time is obvious throughout. There is a great quote from Alice at the time, which I’ll read here in full. “I think somebody had to say something back to these people. They start out with the premise that kids in America are too stupid to know what they’re listening to, and that’s really wrong. They say bands are trying to manipulate teenage minds — but kids know they’ve been manipulated all their lives by lots of things, including teachers, the media, their own parents and especially television. So we just have fun with it. Alice Cooper does not preach violence or devil worship, but he DOES make fun of just about everything.” True words. There is more of this on “Give the Radio Back”, another battle cry from the kids to their authoritative overlords. Alice goes straight to the heart of the matter as he sees it for the kids, just like he did in 1972 and 1982. Add to this queue “Step on You” and you have the songs, both lyrically and musically, that have been staples of Alice Cooper’s reign for that almost 20 year period when this was released. Alice and Kane still get it from their main audience’s view, and they are anthemic. They complete side one with “Not that Kind of Love”, a theme that was pursued more on the next Alice Cooper album.
Around these songs are the tracks that are like those B grade horror films I mentioned earlier. Robert Englund (perhaps better known as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street) makes a guest appearance on “Lock Me Up” to help sell its title. “Prince of Darkness” leaves little doubt as to the subject matter, though it apparently appeared very briefly in the John Carpenter movie of the same name on someone’s Walkman. Seems that this was a movie that passed me by without seeing it. The album then concludes with the continuing schlock horror theme with “Time to Kill”, “Chop, Chop, Chop”, “Gail” and “Roses on White Lace”, all which deliver perfectly with the lyrical visuality and great riffing from both Roberts and Winger, delivering the joy of the material in perfect unison throughout. Alice best explains it again when he was quoted as saying “This is the highest energy music I’ve ever done. I think it’s because I’m experiencing that kind of energy physically. I’m in a hundred times better shape than I ever was — that has to do with wanting to tour and be competitive. Mentally, of course, I’m sicker than I’ve ever been…”

This album initially came my way courtesy of my heavy music dealer from high school, who seemed to be able to give me just what I needed without even knowing. And, given how much I had loved “Constrictor” (you can relive that episode from Season 1 to discover that) I never doubted that I would also love this album. In fact, if my memory still retains most of its ability, I had this recorded on one side of a C90 cassette, and Motley Crue’s “Theatre of Pain” on the other side. However, such was my love of this album, and my general ambivalence with “Theatre of Pain”, that I destroyed this tape eventually in the cassette player of my white Toyota Corolla from playing it all the way through, and then hurriedly rewinding it to listen to it again. This hastened my purchasing of it on CD, which I did from Redback Records in Wollongong on a day out.
So yes, I have always loved this album since I first heard it. The teen anthems all worked on me given I was still in my late teens when it was released and for a couple of years afterwards. It was a feeling of slight disappointment when I first saw Alice Cooper live on the Trash tour that they didn’t play anything off this album. Indeed, apart from “Roses on White Lace” on the most recent Alice tour – another one I was fortunate enough to see, along with taking my whole family – no songs have been on the live setlist from this album since that time. Which is a shame, because there are a lot of cracking songs here, all of which would work beautifully in the live environment. All of the songs are short and sharp, and the album doesn’t overstay its welcome. It’s also a shame that this was the final album that had Kane Roberts and Kip Winger playing on, but beyond this time Alice began in a similar direction but with a huge leap in personnel involved. He co-wrote and played on “Bed of Nails” on the “Trash” album but that was where his involvement with Alice concluded – until just a few short weeks ago when he re-joined the live band to replace Nita Strauss. Roberts has stated publicly he would love to do another album with Alice. Having bathed in the glory of this album over the past few weeks, we can only hope that comes to fruition. His contribution to leading Alice Cooper’s resurgence through the mid-1980's should never be overlooked.
Most fans of Alice Cooper, when asked for their favourite albums, rarely list this or its predecessor in their best five Alice Cooper albums. The early classics, or the chart toppers that followed this album are generally where the popular vote goes. For me this is easily one of the best five Alice Cooper albums ever released. I would have difficulty in ranking them in order in that top five – if pushed it would come down to either “Hey Stoopid” or “Constrictor” - but this is one of the best. And if you don’t agree, then you haven’t listened to this album enough. So pull it off the racks now, and get it spinning!

1175. Armored Saint / Raising Fear. 1987. 3.5/5

From their beginnings back in Los Angeles in 1982, Armored Saint had been in and around those bands that became such household names through the course of the 1980’s. Played with them, drank with them, and generally went along the journey with them. It’s interesting that, at different times and under different circumstances in those years leading up to this album, both leader singer John Bush and bass guitarist Joey Vera had been asked to consider becoming a part of Metallica, but both refused as they wanted to remain with their own band. That says something not only for the closeness of the band but in their belief in themselves.
The band's first two albums, “March of the Saint” and “Delirious Nomad”, were well regarded in the industry and did enough sales wise to raise the profile of the band, but it is fair to say that they were really in the second tier when it came to the coverage the band received compared to their contemporaries in the heavy and thrash metal genre during the mid-1980's.
Along with Bush and Vera, Armored Saint’s first formation included Dave Pritchard on lead guitar and brothers Phil and Gonzo Sandoval on rhythm guitar and drums respectively. However, by the time it came to write and record this album, Phil had left the group, and the album was recorded as a four piece, with Pritchard playing all the guitars.
The most noticeable thing about this album is the production and recording. It is noticeable that not only do the songs feel more structured, they are recorded better and have a bit more oomph in the production than the first two albums received. I mean, everyone who knows “March of the Saint” would agree that it would be amazing if it had been recorded a few years later with better production techniques. And while it improves even more come the next album, it still sets this album up as a better prospect in a time when so many of the great albums of the 80s metal scene were released.

Straight up, John Bush takes centre stage and dominates the opening of the album. And as much as I love Phil’s guitaring on the first two albums, I have to admit that Dave really lets rip in great style on this album. It’s interesting that this is the case, with Dave setting up those licks that he also plays off. It is especially noticeable in the opening, self-titled track. It’s a great song, and lights up the album from the outset.
“Saturday Night Special” is a cover of the Lynard Skynard song, a much more upbeat version than the original. Why does it appear on this album? I don’t really know. Maybe the band just loved the song and decided they wanted to do their own version. It’s interesting listening to it because, although it is a good version, it is noticeable that through the verses of the song the guitars don’t really take control and have great pieces like the other songs on the album do – you know, the ones the band actually wrote! No matter, it still sounds great.
“Isolation” is the standing-out-like-thumb track on the album. It mixes up the general style of song that Armored Saint had done to this point of their career, a slower more introspective track, though with the vocals continuing with their loud and powerful cry rather than silently backing off into a power ballad. It also has a great solo from Pritchard in the second half which ignites it beyond what it could have been. It’s an interesting song, one that does defying being catalogued. It is bookended by two great faster tracks. Both “Out on a Limb” and the excellent “Chemical Euphoria” drive the album back to the rafters.
The second side opens up with the excellent “Frozen Will / Legacy” with Dave’s guitaring again a highlight. “Human Vulture” has some great spots from Bush and Vera, with “Book of Blood” and “Terror” continuing on the frenzy. Closing track “Underdogs” is a beauty, screaming along with fire and brimstone from Bush on vocals and Pritchard on guitar, bringing the album to its conclusion in a pleasing fashion.

I had heard very little of Armored Saint until well into the 1990’s, again through a combination of their albums not being easily sought at the time in Australia, and the fact that none of my friend group listened to them or had any of their albums either. So it wasn’t until John Bush joined Anthrax, and came out with the amazing “Sound of White Noise” album that I thought “I wonder where the hell this bloke came from?”, and I eventually went out to track some material down. And as it turned out, this was the first album that I managed to get a hold of, so I know it pretty well. And of course it was a matter of then slowly building up to the other albums. When it came to putting this album on my playlist to listen to again to record this podcast episode, it jumped out of the speakers at me. It grabbed me again from the outset, and my initial reaction was ‘wow, why haven’t I listened to this in a while!’ And like I’ve said before, this is one of the reasons I do this podcast, in order to rediscover great albums that I may not have played in years. So after a good solid three weeks of going around and around, this has been a great catch up. There is so much to like here, and I think that I rate it higher now than I have in the past. It’s not an out and out classic that demands your attention as one of the best ever released, but it does provide all the things necessary to make a really good album.
It also acts as a tribute to Dave Pritchard, as it was his final album. Following the tour Dave was diagnosed with leukemia, and he passed away the following year while the follow up album “Symbol of Salvation” was being written. His guitaring on this album is some of my favourite from the band, and it is fitting that it is memorable because of how good it is and not just because of his passing.

1174. Gamma Ray / Somewhere Out in Space. 1997. 5/5

By the later years of the 1990’s, Gamma Ray had firmly ensconced themselves as one of the leaders of the power metal movement throughout Europe, through constant touring and a developing strength in the material that they were writing and recording as each album came out. It had also come with a constant shift in band members, with each album having a different set of players in the group. Band founder, former Helloween co-founder Kai Hansen had been the mainstay, though even his role had changed. Initially just playing as a guitarist, he had returned to the dual role of guitarist and lead singer for the band’s previous album “Land of the Free”, the album that cemented them as one of the greats of the genre. It brought back wonderful memories of the early Helloween albums where he had filled the same role. Alongside him was Dirk Schlachter, who had been the second guitarist for the band through those years. Dirk however had always been more fond of the bass guitar, and on the previous album the plan had been for him to return to that instrument, and have the bass guitarist Jan Rubach swap on to guitar, but Jan had changed his mind and not wanted to change. After the recording of “Land of the Free” both he and drummer Thomas Nack left Gamma Ray to return to their previous band. This allowed Dirk to move onto his preferred bass guitar, and they brough in the smiling assassin Henjo Richter to play as the second guitarist. Following the tour, Dan Zimmermann was recruited to play on drums. This was the foursome that went on to record “Somewhere Out in Space”, and they remained unchanged as a group for the next 15 years.
Following on the full concept album that “Land of the Free” had been, “Somewhere Out in Space” is a themed album rather than a concept story line. The majority of the songs on this album concentrate on the theme of outer space, but without a common thread throughout. It allowed the album to be full of songs that are strong on their own without them having to blend into the next. It also has writing contributions from all four members, allowing it to be a complete band compilation rather than having Kai doing the majority of the writing and it being like a solo album. The fact that the songs still combine so well with both the theme of the album and the musical flow is the perfect attribution as to why this form of the band blended together so well and then remained together for such a length of time.

From the outset, the album announces itself as going along the same path that Gamma Ray had trodden along with their previous album. It’s a nice intro for both Dirk and Dan to have the bass and drums open the album with their own start to the first song, before crashing into the opening riff, a way of announcing their place in the band. Dan’s amazing double kick is evident from the start, something that not only drives this album but those following for the next decade or so. “Beyond the Black Hole” is a brilliant opening track, full of wonderful riffs and solos and great singalong lyrics about searching deep space for what may lie beyond, that set the album off on the right foot. “Men, Martians & Machines” follows on in perfect fashion, even utilising those five tones at the start of the song that are synonymous with the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and the absurd soaring scream from Kai to remind everyone he can still do so with the best of them. It’s another song that flies along at great pace, utilising the best that Gamma Ray has always offered, that wonderful combination of the rise of power metal and the speed metal that Kai also pioneered back in his early Helloween days. “No Stranger (Another Day in Life)” is a song that Kai initially wrote for Michael Kiske, his former bandmate in Helloween, to use on his then solo album. Kiske, as was his fashion at the time, having basically turned his back on the metal scene, said that the song was ‘too heavy’ for him to use and so he rejected it. This just allowed Kai to use it here, and it fits in perfectly with the album theme and style.
The title track is a ripper, and has become a mainstay of the live set in the years since this album was released. The song is the band’s tribute to the science fiction series ‘Star Trek’. But it’s the amazing riffs and soaring vocals here that are the winner. The dual solos through the middle of the song are just exquisite, and the amazing end to the song is up there with the best moments of the band, with the power and the emotionally charged ending... it is just superb. This is followed by the Henjo Richter written “The Guardians of Mankind”, another great song driven along by Dan’s double kick drumming. I love how, lyrically, this song is not as positive about the outcome of the human race, that it openly questions just what we are doing, and that the Guardians of the human race are losing their faith and their battle against evil. Another excellent song with the guitars through the middle just beautifully in synch.
“The Landing” and “Valley of the Kings”, which tells the story of the arrival of aliens on earth thousands of years ago and how the inhabitants felt about them, became the single released from the album, one that did well in the European markets. It has the simplified song pieces that is almost a lesson in how to write a single 101, while retaining the integrity of the music about it. These first six songs on the album are the absolute strength of the band, and show all facets of what makes this band so brilliantly marvellous in every respect.
“Pray” is Dirk’s tome piece that also looks at the desolate stage of the human race, about the loss of hope of saving humans from extinction. “The Winged Horse” is Henjo’s song that is based around mythology more than space, of his magician and titular winged white horse being the opposite forces of good and evil. Following Dan’s drum solo’s song “Cosmic Chaos”, Dirk’s “Lost in the Future” then chimes in to again sell both sides of any argument that travelling through time is a clever place to be.
“Watcher in the Sky” is a song that Kai wrote and played on for the band Iron Savior with his mate Piet Sielck, an album that was reviewed here on this podcast just a couple of months ago in Season 2. As the Iron Savior project was a concept piece about science fiction and space, and this album is also themed that way, it isn’t a surprise that Kai chose to have it on this album as well. This is the same version, with Kai, Piet and Thomas Staunch playing on it, and not the Gamma Ray members. The album then concludes with the instrumental intro of “Rising Star” than segues into Dirk’s “Shine On”, a terrific song to bring the album to its natural end. It follows the same theory that “Valley of the Kings” does, that extraterrestrial life visited Earth long before and planted the seeds of mankind. There is also the obligatory ‘bonus track’ that CDs had become fashionable at this time, with the band doing a ripping version of Uriah Heep’s “Return to Fantasy”.
It would be easy to suggest that the first half of the album sounds much stronger and more brilliant, with faster paced songs and greater emphasis on the guitars, because it contains songs mostly written by Kai Hansen, while Dirk and Henjo produced almost all of the material in the second half. Personally I see it as different rather than a pervading sense of brilliance. Is it noticeable that the styes of the songs are different with the writers involved, but doesn’t make them any less Gamma Ray than any others.

I can be very easily upfront in admitting that I am a massive fan of Gamma Ray, and the chances of you hearing me say anything bad about any of their albums would be as close to zero as you could possibly imagine. And this album is no different. I was on this as soon as it was released, having played “Land of the Free” to death over the previous two years. Like most new albums, I always felt as though I was going to expect too much of this album, and be disappointed as a result. All of that went out the window within about thirty seconds of the opening track beginning. It stayed in my stereo at home in one of the five CD slots for a year. The cassette copy for the car went around and around for months. When I went to England for a month the following year I took five CDs with me to listen to on the trip. This was one of those CDs. When I was getting back into drumming and needed practice on the double kick, this was the album I TRIED to drum along to. 1997 was a lean year for the metal that I loved and listened to. Alternative albums, yes. But the old bands I listened to had changed or died off, and I was still a late convert to the newer forms of metal that were coming out of the US. So I guess I grabbed on to this for dear life, as it was familiar, and as it turns out, one of my all time favourite bands, so it all worked out ok.
When it comes to Gamma Ray, I think “Land of the Free” is still the absolute benchmark. Beyond that, there are up to six albums that sit on the rung that is just so very slightly below that, and “Somewhere Out in Space” is definitely one of those. The high voltage speed and energy that come from tracks like “Beyond the Black Hole”, “Men, Martians & Machines”, “Somewhere Out in Space” and “Valley of the Kings” in particular makes it an album that provides everything that Gamma Ray can offer. And the musicianship is second to none, with each member providing their own brilliance. And when you see them perform live, as I was so fortunate enough to do back in 2006 at the Gaelic Club in Sydney, you understand just how good they are.

1173. Black Sabbath / Past Lives. 2002. 5/5

Live albums. Yes, I’ve spoken about them before, and if you know this podcast at all, you know that my opinion is that live albums should always rank as top marks, because they should almost always contain the best songs of the band, in their perfect environment. Of course, that is not always the case despite what I think.
This compilation was released in 2002, and I’m not sure whether it was an afterthought or not. During Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward’s time with the band through the 1970’s, Black Sabbath hadn’t released an official live album, which seemed like an oversight. As it turned out, it wasn’t until the band had recruited new singer Ronnie James Dio that a live album of those years appeared. Titled “Live at Last”, and despite its success, the album was released without the permission or knowledge of the band. The album was, however, released legally by the band's former manager Patrick Meehan who owned the rights to the recording. The first official live album from Black Sabbath was 1982’s “Live Evil”, and album that will be reviewed later in Season 3. Then, in 1998, the original foursome got back together for a tour and released the live album “Reunion” to wide acclaim. So, was there a reason that this album needed to be released? By the time 2002 rolled around, it appeared that any pretence that Black Sabbath would ever record another album had gone, and that they were just playing their annual gig at Ozzfest. Was it just for nostalgia? An attempt to keep the band in the limelight in the modern day by releasing recordings from the past? Or was it just an excuse for the band to say, “okay well, we accept that ‘Live at Last’ existed, but now we are going to release it on our own terms”? I don’t know the answer, but I know that as a fan of the band I still found a way to procure a copy, just to satisfy my own interest in what they had released along with that long held old fashioned album.

“Past Lives” contains two discs. The first disc is the re-release of the “Live at Last” album. That album was taken from recordings over two nights in March 1973 from Manchester and London. Now, something that has cropped up in recent reviews of other live albums has been the action of not having the songs in the order they were played in the concert they are taken from. And that occurs here again. Now while it doesn’t disturb the listening pleasure of the album (especially when you don’t KNOW what the order of the songs was when they were played) that still sticks in my craw a little. Of course, I was completely unaware of this being the case, until the recently remastered and deluxe edition of the album “Volume 4” was released. As a part of that package, the original analog tapes of these two gigs were remastered and released as a part of the boxset. They left in the onstage banter that this album eradicated, but also put the song back on the order they were played! Imagine my surprise when I first heard it. Now as I said, it isn’t a big thing, and this album is great to listen to, but if you happen to get a chance to listen to that remastered edition of the tapes on “Volume 4”, check it out.
The second disc here contains recordings from 1970 and 1975. Again, it’s interesting that they mix these up a little, with the 1970’s tracks acting as bookends to the 1975 tracks. Now it’s easy to pick up the differences in when and how these were recorded, and even in the way Ozzy sang the songs as the years differed. In 1970 it was at the high point of his range. By 1975 he occasionally adapted to compensate for the ridiculousness of his vocals on some studio versions of the songs.
This isn’t a clean live album, and by that I mean that it hasn’t had a dutiful effort to record these shows to the ultimate sound. But neither are they bootlegs, recordings made by fans with their cheap cassette players. If anything, this is an excellent compromise, live recordings with all of the pieces intact but with a rough and ready sound that exemplifies just how a Sabbath show must have sounded in those early to mid 1970’s. You get the incomprehensible drumming of Bill Ward, where you can imagine his hair and beard flowing over the kit as he rained down upon it, the gutteral bass guitar of Geezer Butler that is perhaps the one thing that gets missed a bit in the recording mix, the massiveness of Tony Iommi’s guitaring, and Ozzy’s quite brilliant live vocals that still stand the test of time. And the songs – it is just a who’s who of the great Sabbath tracks of the 1970’s. There is really nothing to complain about.

Prior to the re-release of the Black Sabbath early album with the deluxe versions coming out with unreleased live concerts that had been remastered, “Live at Last” had been the one peek at that time in the history of the band. To be fair, even now it is worthy. And its re-release as a part of “Past Lives”, with the extra disc of two other years of the band live, is really amazingly important. For the very reason that Black Sabbath, and this original foursome, is so significantly influential on heavy metal actually becoming a thing, and growing to what it is now, 50 years later.
All those who were old enough and fortunate enough to see the band live in those days must still be grateful for the experience. And for those of us since who have seen pieces of that genius by seeing those four artists performing in other arenas in later days, such as Ozzy on his solo gigs, Heaven and Hell with Tony and Geezer, and then the final almost-complete reformation on the album “13” and the two subsequent final tours, have at least seen that genius in those forums. But it wasn’t the original band, and the band in those early days at their peak, before drugs and arguments killed the vibe. And that is what makes “Past Lives” such an important release, one that gives you a window to that time, and lets you experience what it must have been like.
This is an album worth listening to, probably in a darkened room and letting it all sink in. This continues to be such an enjoyable experience, and one that if you haven’t heard all the way through before, you should definitely consider doing.