MAIL BAG

From: Juan Pacheco

Subject: On 'HEAVEN AND HELL' and who owns the Black Sabbath name?

Hello, Robert!  I am Juan from Argentina, you might remember me.   As you can imagine, I am very excited for Dio's return.  Even though I would prefer a Martin's return, you know Ozzy is the last singer I like for Sabbath.  I would like to ask you the REAL reason why the band is called Heaven And Hell, in your opinion or knowledge.  I read that Iommi decided to do so for "a matter of respect to Sabbath"; but there is a rumour that says that there is a contract made by witch Sharon Osborne that does not let Iommi to use the name if Ozzy is not there.  I DO CARE the name of the band, it is very important to me.  I want Sabbath to live on.  I also ask you if you would want me to send you an interview of an Argentinean magazine to Vinnie Appice, with the obvious photos.  Naturally it is in Spanish, so you may find no interest in this.  Just tell me, okay?
I do not take more of your time, I know you are very busy.  Best wishes from the third world!!!

Rob:  Good to hear from you again, Juan.  Thanks for asking the question that's been on the minds of many Sabbath fans during this unexpected, but wonderful reunion of the MOB RULES lineup of BLACK SABBATH.

To really understand the whole 'name' issue, you have to go back to 1979.  When Tony, Bill & Geezer first began playing with Ronnie James Dio back in 1979, they had truly viewed this project as a new band and not a continuation of Black Sabbath. Although they did come up with any specific names for their new project, it was their original intention to form a NEW band. Their management and record company didn't quite agree and convinced them to keep the Black Sabbath name for obvious financial reasons. It would have been much harder to market them as a new band then it would be under their original BLACK SABBATH banner. 

Keeping the BLACK SABBATH name would turn out to be both a blessing and a curse for them.  It took some time for some older fans to adjust to their new American singer and his much different vocal style.  For Ronnie, it was something of a burden to have to reinterpret the Sabbath classics and live in Ozzy's shadow during his first months with the band. 

Of course, Tony ran into this problem each and every time that he tried to form a new band or solo project. There is little doubt that he intended to make a solo record in 1986, but SEVENTH STAR was released under dubious banner of "Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi". This was meant to justify the fact that only one original member was actually still in the band at this point!!

As for the question of name ownership, I have been told by several band insiders that Tony Iommi still retained ownership even after Sharon Osbourne began managing them in the late 90's.  However, simply owning the name doesn't necessarily mean that other contracts aren't in place to limit usage of the BLACK SABBATH moniker. 

I'd like to believe the answer is much more simple and uncomplicated than the typical legal battles we've come to expect.  It would make good diplomatic sense for the original name to finally come to rest with the reunion of the original lineup.  BLACK SABBATH had finally come full circle with nearly 10 years of reunion tours and 2 Hall Of Fame inductions in the U.S. and U.K.  For Tony and Geezer to continue using that name with Ronnie and Vinny would be somewhat disrespectful to Bill and Ozzy at this point in time.  Relations were much different between the original members back in 1980 and the continued usage of the BLACK SABBATH was certainly an issue.

The 'HEAVEN AND HELL' name does seem appropriate in the sense that they originally wanted to be considered as a different band anyhow. After having recorded 3 studio albums under the Sabbath name (as well as the new greatest hits they are promoting), it does seems a bit silly and confusing to the average fan. I know a lot of hardcore fans like myself could care less what they call themselves.  We're just thankful that these guys are BACK!  I am happy that they have liberated themselves from doing the Ozzy material.  This has allowed them much more time to play the material they wrote together.  There are songs in the current set list that fans may have thought they'd never hear performed again live by this lineup.  It truly is a dream come true for us!

Hope that covers it! I hope you are well and all is good for you in Argentina. Take care, Juan!
 

From Hazzamanazz

Subject: Getting started with trading without purchasing ROIO's - how??

HI,

I read your ROIO and trading sources statement and had a question: What about the people who doesn't have material to trade do?  That's the problem with "don't buy ROIO's".   Please don't get me wrong, let me explain.

I'm very new to this world of trading and I agree with you, buying a bootleg is wrong.  But how do I get this material since the community only trade and I don't have material to do this?  You see the "cat and mouse" situation here?  It's wrong to buy these records, but the community doesn’t give them to us, unless you return something, usually another bootleg. ;-)

I don't know, I can't blame the guy who do this, "only trade if you return something", because he got all the trouble to record the concert or acquiring the SBD tape.  On the other hand, sometimes it seems that people involved in this is only flattering about themselves, saying "hey, look what I got and you don't".  One of the guys I admire is at http://maidenshows.ryasrealm.com .  Even if you don't have a bootleg (or ROIO) to trade, he can do something to help you.

I think this should be the attitude from the community, IMHO. Or even Demonoid, who seed torrents from the shows and only asks to you keep seeding them after you download them.

On the "lick my balls" section (LOL)...what a nice site you have!  I'm always found what I looking for in a Sabbath show!   The dates, the places, and very important - at least to me -, how is the quality of the record and its source (SBD or audience).   The information also is very good, I liked the article about Born Again Demos, very interesting stuff about the industry and how this kind of thing works.

And Last, but not least, excuse my English, I'm from Brazil.  My hope is that you can understand what I'm trying to say with my text.

Keep rocking!
Hazzamanazz

Rob: Thanks for your e-mail.  I get a lot of messages from people like you who are looking to trade for Sabbath shows but may not have enough collateral to interest a more established trader.  I felt the same way when I first started looking for trades on the Internet many years ago.  Although I had a fairly sizeable trade list to begin with, it wasn’t always enough to get the attention of the bigger collectors who seemed to have everything.

If you’re looking for a way to coax the bigger traders to deal with you, then record your own shows.  Those collectors who are completists will certainly want to get a copy of your tape – especially straight from YOU.  This of course will take a bit more work on your part, but that’s how most of us get taken seriously in the trading communities.  If you want to partake, then record something!  Otherwise it WILL be difficult to interest people in trading with you.

As far as purchasing bootlegs goes, it is easy for people to get overly righteous about why you shouldn't.  I know many of us have purchased them when there were few other alternatives available.  Besides, if you can get one guy to buy the overpriced bootleg so you can copy it for you friends, your 'crime' becomes more of a lesser evil.  ;)

I can remember how difficult it was to find ANY selection of unreleased live recordings back in the early 80's.  Back then, collectors were nearly held hostage by the bootleggers who charged outrageous prices for rare recordings of completely unknown lineage.  The only other real alternative was to find other like-minded fans through the classified ads in magazines or trade publications like Goldmine.  We’d Xerox our handwritten trade lists and snail mail them to our prospective trader.  Once the trade was finalized, we’d discuss our preferred cassette brand and hope that the dub we got in return wasn’t complete garbage.

Therefore, it’s kind of hard for me to have TOO much pity for traders now.  The Internet gives you countless alternatives for finding music for FREE.  Just one click and you can download just about any show you want from Bit Torrent file sharing communities like Dimeadozen.org.  This file sharing revolution has been great for music fans, but not so good for brick & mortar record stores or record show pirates.

I don’t feel that the “community” owes every guy who puts their hand out a free show.  Many of us did have to pay top dollar to obtain some of these rarer shows, so it’s understandable that we’d be reluctant to just hand out these items to anyone who asks.  Although it would seem politically correct for collectors to bash anyone who tries to profit from these recordings in any way, they are also missing the point that some recordings ARE more valuable than others.  These guys are damned if they do try to exchange these recordings for profit and damned again if they ‘hoard’ them.  Under these circumstances, it’s pretty easy for me to see why some recordings never see the light of day.

The downside of this new Internet free-for-all mentality is that all of these people seem to be crawling out of the woodwork with this attitude that they are entitled to have it all – and for FREE.  Yes, I think it’s nice of this Maiden collector to offer his time up so generously for people he doesn’t even know for the sheer love of doing so.  But you can’t expect that everyone is going to have that sort of free time or willingness to share.

Anyhow, thanks for your great letter and your compliments on Sabbathlive.  I'm very glad that you find it useful and interesting.  I wish you much luck in your collecting.  While some of these guys may be able to brag about having so many shows, many of them lose the original spirit of why they started in the first place.  When you have TOO many shows, there is no time to listen to everything and your collecting simply becomes an obsessive compulsive act.  I had MUCH more fun in the beginning when I could hear the magic in every rare tape I owned.  It's the journey, not the destination.

From Darryl Minsky

Subject: TV commercial for Canadian 'HEAVEN & HELL' shows

From Thierry Bauwens

Subject: 1970 - Ozzy @ Folsom Street Parade - GLBT Historical Society

January 21, 2007

From 김학현

Subject: Will HEAVEN & HELL still be performing in Korea?

"Hello, I'm Black Sabbath's Korean fan.  I often visited 'www.black-sabbath.com'.  Few days ago, I saw the word; Then HEAVEN AND HELL will likely play South America, Japan, Korea and Australia before returning to North America for a U.S. tour in August or September.  But I also visited 'www.black-sabbath.com' today.  I saw the word that I should not have seen.  That is the announcement of tour date.  Surprisingly, I couldn't find Korea.  I felt the ground fall from beneath me.  I expected that Black Sabbath would come to Korea for concert.  I wanna ask you "Is Korea excepted from tour date?"

Rob: Good question.  I don't know that Korea was specifically removed from the list of possibilities.  This may have just been an oversight when the tour announcements were made on Eddie Trunk's show.  The main change with the Far East dates was that they were pushed back until after the U.S. tour finishes.  Nothing is absolutely certain about this tour just yet.  I've received the impression that the band is looking to take things on a month to month basis, given their past history together.  Until they've begun playing together again for a while, we may not have any detailed answers regarding the planned gigs in Korea, the U.S., Australia or Japan.  Let's just hope for the best!

From: Graeme and Julie

Subject: STILL PARANOID IN '75 vinyl boot (Asbury Park '75)

First up I love the site – it’s a great reference source for Sabbath material and I hope you can find the time to keep plugging away at it now and again.

I have a quick question for you if you ever get the time.  I recently bought STILL PARANOID IN 75.  It;s a single LP version from the Asbury Park show which claims to be on Vertigo which I highly doubt.  I believe it is a fairly recent repressing as I saw it in the USA on vacation.  Although I didn’t buy it then I did manage to get a copy from a dealer here in Canada. The sound quality is fantastic.

I have a CD copy of LIVE IN 75 which I got from the internet some years ago and this version definitely seems to be a kosher recording from the show (all of Ozzy’s crowd chats are there). 

I didn’t find any reference to it on your site so I thought I would ask and see if you knew anything about it.

Rob: Thanks Graeme!  I appreciate the kudos and encouragement.  There have been times over the past year where I'd wondered if I'd ever get back to work on Sabbathlive.  Thankfully, I've been able to conquer a few important goals and now have a little more free time again (at least for now).

Until you mentioned it, I'd never heard of STILL PARANOID IN '75.  It does appear to be a fairly recent bootleg release of Italian origin, despite the bogus Vertigo insignia.  I'm quite surprised they pressed this one on vinyl, but it does add a nice vintage touch.  Thanks for letting me know about it.

September 9th, 2006

From Andrew Davy

Subject: Castle albums with 7" singles - in the UK

I remember reading an article (or an advert) many years ago about Castle reissuing the first six Black Sabbath albums on vinyl and the gimmick was that there was a 7" single with each one containing rare outtakes.  This was after Castle had issued the albums on CD with the extra track from Live at Last.  I never saw any of these albums in a shop, but I have often wondered what was on the 7" singles - does anyone know?

Reply by Chris Slenker: 

May 14th, 2006

From Michael

Subject: Asbury Park '75 tape could be from more than one show?!

Hi.  Nice web site!   About a year ago I was given a copy of the Asbury Park bootleg as a gift.   The person who gave it to me was pretty happy with himself, as he'd heard me talk about that show many times.   I was there...it was my first concert, and it was a life-changing event.   I remember much of it like it was last week.

That being said, I'm quite sure that the tape circulated as August 5th 1975 is a compilation of several shows.   There are some moments on that tape that did not happen at the Asbury Park show (heck on one track some keyboards can be heard in the background, but Geoff Woodruff, their touring keyboard player, was not at that show.)   Some other moments aren't quite right either, while others are exactly as I remember them (Symptom of the Universe!)

Anyhow, I'm curious to find out, and or share, information about that show.    It was amazing!

-Michael

Thanks for your e-mail.  Jezz Woodruffe did start playing with the band on that tour, but I believe he joined at the beginning of the European leg.  It's not unusual for bands to do overdubs after the fact, especially since those tapes were for a planned live album (that was later shelved).   This could account for some of the differences between the show you saw and the one you heard on this recording.

However...there has been so many references to the Philly show on the next night that it does make me wonder whether the tape could contain highlights from both?  Problem is, I have been unable to confirm that Sabbath played at the Spectrum on 8/6, so the additional source could be from an entirely different show?

March 11th, 2005

From: Shane Pittenger

Subject: Trouble brewing between Iommi & the Osbournes...again??!

Greetings Rob!

Shane

July 18th, 2005

From: Mike Flood

Subject: Ozzfest PLARS package

I highly recommend you get the Ozzfest PLARS package.  I got to meet Bill Ward!!!!!!!  What a genuinely nice guy he is.  I shook his hand complimented him on how cool his audio diaries are and he was flattered to the fullest.  He then asked me my name and and when we left he said, "Mike ,thanks for the compliments on the Diary.  I'm glad you like them."  Bill Ward, the great drummer of Sabbath,  called me by my name.  LOL.  NO CAMERA THOUGH - I WAS PISSED!!!!  All I have is memories.  Bill is the coolest."

Mike

June 20th, 2005

From: Phillip Mock

Subject: Mausoleum mystery solved

[Originally sent February 19th, 2005]

You may have already seen my last post on the Black-Sabbath forum, so some of this will be old news.

Well what started out as a curious look at a pdf file of Circus magazine on your site, turned into a real adventure.  When I was taken to the final resting place of the deceased horror writer, James Malcolm Rymer (as we had solved the word puzzle incorrectly) my heart sank when I saw only a patch of grass to look at.  My immediate thought was the need to bother you again with more correspondence, so that we could figure out where the Paranoid gatefold sleeve and associated flyers may have been taken.  It was only by luck that I spoke to a guy cutting grass and showed him the picture from your site, that I found the building in the photo shoot.  I still would have been looking now to cover all 77 acres of the cemetery!

At this rate, along with Mapledurham Water Mill, I’ll have a full tour itinerary of Sabbath related locations for you, should you ever get the chance of a trip to England.  I’ve included a couple of links to information on the mausoleum, one of with my mate Karl helped me configure on my post at Black-Sabbath.  I’ve also attached a couple of shots taken on the day of my visit.


Gravely Gothic: Mausolea in Fact And Fiction

John Grant Malcolmson's tomb


You can see why it is now impossible to get into the exact same position as the photographer did in ’70.

I will write down about my experiences of seeing Sabbath 3 times in the ‘70’s, as well as the unforgettable trip to San Bernadino June 29th ’97.

Meanwhile, we need to think about where the next location is that I need to visit,….. Birmingham Town Hall (site of the VOLUME 4 gatefold sleeve) perhaps, or how about S.B.S. four-poster bed “haunted-house scene?  Ha Ha!

Keep up the good work

Pip

Nice one, Pip!  You're definitely becoming one of Sabbathlive's more esteemed resident historians.  I always enjoy knowing the history behind these images that we sometimes take for granted.  When I do make the trip across the Atlantic, I'll have to take you up on that tour.

Sorry about the quality of the sample I've posted on the far right.  I know I have a perfect picture of the band in front of that mausoleum SOMEWHERE....

June 16th, 2005

From: Anthony Sudworth

Subject: Meeting Sabbath & Van Halen at Southport '78

HI,

Just a quick note to say thanks for a fantastic site a great source of info, I have only just got into collecting Sabbath ROIO's and stumbled across your site by accident searching for artwork on the net.

Is it possible you could recommend some Sabbath titles I could search out?

While I am here I will share a little story.  I remember a gig in Southport in '78.  Fifteen of us travelled to Southport to see the gig Van Halen supported, which was one of the first gig's they played in England.  We arrived early at the venue and Ozzy was sitting on the wall outside.  He asked us if were we there for the gig and we said "yes".  He shouted to a guy called Dave, who we didn't know.  But he had the longest hair we had seen and believe me a few of us lads had a decent length (those were the days).  Anyway, we assumed he was a roadie as he also shouted Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler over, but the guy turned out to be David Lee Roth.

One of our gang asked Bill who's were the tights he had worn on the cover of Sabotage and Ozzy shouted they were " the wife's and the silly bas***d had got in trouble because he had ripped them before he gave them back!"

Ozzy then asked us if we were thirsty and proceeded to get the cans of ale out.  We sat on a wall in the middle of Southport, drinking beer with the full lineup of Black Sabbath, along with David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen.  BIZARRE !

All of them were superb with us and very easy going.  They chatted with us for a good hour and signed autographs.  At this time, Sabbath were huge! It was a great day and both Van Halen and Sabbath played blistering sets that night.  An absolutely brilliant day!

There was only one bad point.  Yours truly got the ticket signed on the part that I had to give up to the guy on the door and he wouldn't let me have it back.   I have also never been able to get the gig on bootleg.  Anyway thanks again for a great site and hope you enjoyed the story.


Thanks for your letter, Anthony.  Wow, I'm sure that was pretty surreal to get to hang out with your heroes like that, drinking brews and all!  It would probably please you to know that an audience recording of Southport 5/17/78 does exist.  It's not a stellar recording, but I'm sure it would sound even better to you having been there!

I do plan on compiling a list of recommended live shows to look for, since people ask me this all the time.  If you're into the 70's Sabbath stuff, I'd recommend Berlin 6/26/70, Paris 12/19/70, Asbury Park 8/5/75, Fresno 9/22/78 and Lund 4/21/77 for starters.  Also, be sure to read the reviews on my Known Audios list for more tips.

April 24th, 2005 

This is the first of three letters I've received from Pip.  This one arrived back on February 5th.  Although other obligations have prevented me from posting this sooner, I have been anxious to share these with my readers.

From: Phillip Mock

Subject: Introduction and a visit to Mapledurham

Thank you so much for putting the picture of Ozzy from my songbook on the front page of your site.  I understand that my best mate & fellow Sabbath fanatic Karl has sent you the remainder of the images that he helped me scan?  He is a little younger that myself, so never got the chance of seeing the band in the 70’s.  However, I am 47 this year and was fortunate enough to see them three times during that decade - once on the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour in ’77, and twice on the NEVER SAY DIE tour in ’78. 

In addition to this, I got backstage and met the entire band on both those N.S.D. dates at Oxford New Theatre and again the next day at Southampton Gaumont Theatre.  I will get that unforgettable experience down onto a PC file and send it to you, as it is quite some story.  I just wish I had pictures of it all to share on your site.  I made a t-shirt for Ozzy and he was so chuffed with it.  He was running around the backstage area showing it to the rest of the band.  Like I say, I will get all of this down and send it to you, but first I’d like to tell you a bit about myself and why Karl is such a top geezer.

Without dwelling on this hideous illness too much, I was diagnosed with Cancer a couple of years back.  Karl has been an absolute star in supporting me through the horrendous treatment and very slow recovery.  I’m now in remission, but some tasks take a lot of effort, such as learning how to use a computer.  He gave me the machine I’m currently using and has been very patient in showing me all that I now know.  It was Karl who got me onto the Internet, which has opened up a world of information on the band that I have supported since I was a teenager. Back in the 70’s, we didn’t have all this access to information on the Fab Four.  In fact, it came as a huge shock to me as to what they actually looked like when they first walked on stage in ’77.

Last year, Karl took me to Mapledurham Water Mill (see photo below).  I was in tears when I saw the location for Black Sabbath’s first album cover.  How many times had I held that cover without realizing the cover photo was taken merely 20 miles from where I’m now sitting!  The Internet has now given me this information. 

I have also attached a picture of myself from ’76 wearing a top I bought from “Sounds”, the weekly paper that you have referred to on your site.

I am indeed also very grateful to you for running the Live Project Site.  After I’ve written about my experiences from ’77 & ’78, I’ll tell you how I got to see the nearly original line-up in ’97 at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion, in Devore, California, U.S.A. and how Ozzy & Sharon came to give me the tickets, free of charge!  Now that was an adventure.

Cheers 

Thanks so much for sharing your visit to Mapledurham with us, Pip!  I was very moved by your story and quite sad to hear of your battle with cancer.  I respect your loyalty and dedication to Black Sabbath, as I'm sure the band does as well.  I'm always gladdened to hear from other fans who also are continuing to pay tribute to their legacy many years after first discovering them.  Sabbath was a huge inspiration to me as a young man.  Their music gave me the courage to overcome many obstacles and shoot for many goals.  So in this, I feel a sort of brotherhood with others like yourself.

I'd love to hear your other stories and look forward to sharing your other letters on this page.  Cheers to you, Pip!

March 30, 2005 

From: Leonid Makarovsky

Subject: Various Black Sabbath rarities on E-bay

Editor's note: Leonid will be selling some collectible 'official' Black Sabbath items on the E-bay page below.  Please note there are NO bootlegs listed here and I cannot condone the sale of any unofficial releases.  These are simply collectors items that some of you may be interested in obtaining.

Leonid's E-BAY PAGE

March 21, 2005 

From: Roy Evans (Birmingham, England)

Subject: What really happened to the ending of the Birmingham 1/24/72 tape

Rob: Thanks so much for sharing the TRUE story of the B'ham '72 tape.  I've had my own personal taping disasters (such as last years Nashville show) so I know your brother must have been furious!  Taping Zeppelin was a good pick for some otherwise useless tape stock!  And yes, I'd love an opportunity to improve that one :)

March 14, 2005 

[The following e-mail was sent to both me and Joe Siegler.  It was written in response to Joe's previous assertions that the BLACK BOX is an upgrade from previous editions, including the 1996 Castle remasters.]

From Richard Schofield

Subject: BLACK BOX better?

....next is the exact same screen-shot for the  track taken from the Black Box remaster.  This tells us that the remaster has seriously damaged the recording in two ways:
 - First, note how much louder the quiet bits are compared to the 1996 remaster, even allowing for the greater overall track loudness.  This version has been compressed, as is the trend with nearly all recent CD masters I've seen.  The quieter bits have been made louder in volume bringing them closer in level to the loud bits.
 - Next notice how the top and bottom peaks are sort of flattened off .  This too is a current trend of setting the level to high, and using soft and/or hard limiting to prune the peaks down to size.  This introduces added distortion (hard limiting aka clipping is much worse) and reduces the impact of loud passages.  The 1996 remaster on the other hand has had the level set correctly so that the loudest peaks just reach full scale, without being damaged.

The next shot magnifies a tiny piece of the Black Box Junior's Eyes waveform heaps, so we can see what is going on.  Most of the waveform peaks are pointy topped - mostly soft limiting has been used.  But there are some peaks with flattened tops, a light amount of hard limiting or clipping has occurred.  Admittedly much less than some new recordings.

In terms of  what this means when you listen to the Black Box remaster, I guess it depends on your point of view.  You yourself said you'd heard things you'd never heard before - the answer is because those bits are louder than they originally were!  And because compression and limiting are used to maximize the recording level, some people will say things like "sounds bright and has more presence", while others including me will say "why have the dynamics been reduced and why has the level been set so f'ing high that the causes additional distortion" (I could hear the extra distortion even before looking at the waveforms!).

For me the 1996 remasters remain the best, even if they didn't fix tape flaws.  They are demonstrably the truest to the original.  The Black Box will be filed next to the awful ZZ Top Six pack remixes to be looked at but not played. After all, it does have a nice book, great to have the proper lyrics after all these years.

A final question, is there any reason to believe the 1996 remasters didn't come from the original master tapes as claimed on the sticker?  The Warner masters will be first or second generation copies of these, surely....


Cheers,
Richard Schofield
Wairarapa
New Zealand

Rob: Thank you for your interesting study, Richard.  I think the examples you have provided will be clear to anyone who is familiar with reading wavforms.  When I first began transferring analog recordings to digital, I used to use a Sound Forge plug-in called the Ultramaximizer-L1 as a finishing touch.  In contrast to using normalization, the Ultramaximizer acts as both an 'exciter' AND a limiter/compressor.  It adds some sparkle to finished product at the sacrifice of squashing the original dynamic range of the sound file.  FM radio signals are processed in a similar way that keeps the audio levels stable and even, but removes a lot of the original punch.

At first, I thought I was enhancing my recordings by using the L1 plug-in's.  It didn't take me long to realize that some of my WAV files often looked too 'clipped', much like a recording whose level had been set too high and then repaired.  And yes, if these enhancements are not done carefully, distortion can easily be introduced into the audio.  For these reasons, I prefer to manually adjust the EQ recording  (if necessary) and not just hit it with some magic plug-in.

Regarding your question of what generation of tapes were used for the BLACK BOX, I'd be curious to hear from one of the original engineers on that one.  Anything else would be pure speculation.

From a non-technical standpoint, I must admit that I agreed with Joe Siegler's initial assessment that the BLACK BOX did sound like an improvement upon previous releases.  I didn't do any detailed analysis of the new remasters, but they did seem to have a certain sparkle that was lacking in most other editions I'd heard before.  Based on the assumption that some 'exciters' were used in the processing of these masters, that illusion would make a good deal of sense.

Before I or anyone else rushes to judgment on the BLACK BOX, I would like to see some additional samples and studies.  I'd also like to hear Doug Darnell, Jon Hinchliffe and / or Leonid Makarovsky weigh in on this debate.  I'd highly recommend reading their review of previous CD releases (titled 'Remaster Of Reality or Hole In The Sound').

March 8, 2005

From Craig Storey

Subject: Tommy Vance's passing

Hi Rob,

It's a shame that I should be contacting you about this, but I feel I must write to pay tribute to one of rock's finest allies, Tommy Vance (the DJ), who passed away in the early hours of Sunday 6th March.  Throughout the eighties, I remember listening to "TV On The Radio" and brightening up a somewhat bleak soundscape of digital dross with his velvet tones and enthusiastic ravings of the latest blast of noize by Sabbath, Gillan or whoever.  He helped formulate much of my musical leanings, and if you ever want to hear him in great flow, listen to the "Reincarnation" set, when he interviews Tony and Cozy.  In an era of faceless wonders and plastic people, I will remember Tommy along with another recently deceased DJ John Peel as individuals who wanted people to love the music as much as they did.

God bless you Thomas.

Craig Storey

Thanks for your letter, Craig.  I was very saddened to hear about Tommy's passing earlier this week and I appreciate you taking the time to acknowledge this here.  I've always enjoyed hearing Tommy speak with various rock legends during his great Rock Show programs on the BBC.  Both he and John Peel will sorely be missed by all of their faithful listeners.

For more on Tommy Vance, check out this piece.

March 3, 2005

From Warlord

Subject: The Dio message board Vs Tony Martin & Paul Dianno

I've secured Q&A's with 2 ex-vocalists of probably the 2 biggest bands in the Metal world.  Tony Martin from Black Sabbath and Paul Dianno of Iron Maiden

If you'd like to pose a question or 2 for either/both of them then log onto the board and post it in the respective threads in the 'Stand up and shout' forum.  There is also a topic in 'SUAS' about the outstanding Q&A's we have.

In Dio related news if you're not already aware..

Dio has announced a full UK tour for October where the band will play the whole 'Holy Diver' album in full as part of a 2 part set. There will be no support act for these shows.  All details pertaining to this can be found in the 'Master of the moon' forum.

Once again thank you for your continued support and don't forget to check the board reguarly for Dio updates as we always aim to be the first with the latest news.

Warlord..

March 2, 2005

From Jim Rollner

Subject: Bogus SACRAMENTO '92 video / Ghent '90 / Alleged Munich '90 pro-shot

Thought I'd give you a couple of comments regarding these two videos:

Firstly, Sacramento '92 is NOT what it says it is. I received this in a trade last week, and just sat down to watch it last night. Right off the bat, I recognized some of the video shots and stage comments, and sure enough, what's being traded around as Sacramento 11/12/92 is actually New York Beacon Theater 8/6/92. At the end of 'Paranoid,' Ronnie even says 'Thank you, New York!' though, it's kind of hard to hear him - the DVD I received is a pretty generated version of this particular vid. My 8/6/92 vid is much clearer and cleaner sounding, so this so-called Sacramento video is NOT worth seeking out for any reason.

I also received the complete Ghent '90 video in a separate trade - this is indeed the complete show, and it's a FANTASTIC video of the show. BUT - and it's a big but - the audio is so distorted that it's almost impossible to tell what's being played. When Tony Martin speaks, the audio is much clearer, so I'm thinking the 1990 era video camera just couldn't handle the aural assault of Sabbath! But, from a video perspective, this is easily the best picture to come from the TYR tour - and maybe one of the best visuals of any Tony Martin era audience film I've yet scene (and I think I've pretty much seen them all - at least all that we know to exist!). The filmer is in a balcony or something on the Neil Murray side of the stage, and some of the closeups of Martin and Iommi are so close, you feel like you're climbing up their noses! The DVD appears to have been created from the master tape - while there are some tape flurries on it (probably due to it being almost 15 years old!), the picture is very sharp, the colors are very vivid, and the camera work is mostly excellent (with a bit of shake here and there). Too bad about the audio - is there a good or great audio recording of this particular show that you know of? If so, I bet I could make a GREAT DVD of this very good video.

Now, somebody supposedly is sending me a PROSHOT Munich '90 DVD. I don't believe this for a second, but, I'll let you know if it turns out to be true. :)  Please feel free to use any and all (or none, for that matter) comments for Sabbathlive.

November 24th, 2004

From Dean Book

Subject:  Corrected venue for Wichita, Kansas - 3/25/71 show

"I live just outside of Wichita KS. I was looking at your known audio section and noticed the Wichita entry from 1971. I have a copy of this show on cassette. You have the show listed as occurring at the Coliseum. The show didn't happen there. It was at Henry Levitt Arena on the campus of Wichita State University. The Coliseum here wasn't even finished until 1977 or 1978. Just thought you might be interested in that. By the way, you have a great site. Take care."

Rob: Duly noted!  Thanks for the correction, Dean.  The venue is now known as Koch Arena.

November 19th, 2004

From Tom Capobianco

SUBJECT: SABBRA CADABRA UPDATE !!

SABBRA CADABRA IS THE WORLDS GREATEST BLACK SABBATH TRIBUTE BAND

WWW.SABBRACADABRA.COM

FRIDAY NOV 19 - SABBRA CADABRA IS APPEARING AT :
DINGBATZ - 620 VAN HOUTEN AVE - CLIFTON N.J.
973-471-1145

SAT NOV 20 - SABBRA CADABRA IS APPEARING AT :
THE WAGON WHEEL TAVERN - 2300 RT 313 , QUAKERTOWN PA.
215 -536-9989

November 18th, 2004

From Greg P.:

SUBJECT: 'SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH' Video Question

Great site - I view it all the time!  I have a few questions which maybe you can help me with.  Was 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' the group's first real 'promo video'?  I know they were on TV shows before, but if I remember correctly, 'SBS' was the first real 'promo video.' 

Rob: Thanks for the compliment, Greg.   "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" to be the first CONCEPTUAL promotional video ever released.  I suppose that might consider the early TV appearances to be promotional clips too, so that's why this distinction is important.  The "SBS" clip is a pretty low budget affair that mainly features footage of the band walking through the Welsh forest near Clearwell Castle and looking a bit 'under the influence' in the posed shots.  An incomplete version of this appears in the BLACK SABBATH STORY - VOLUME 1 release, but there are also complete versions (from TV broadcasts) floating around. 

Secondly, was the song issued as a single at the time of release? 

I'm not certain if this video was getting played on TV when the SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH video came out.  We'd have to ask some older Sabbath fans to confirm that for us.  But yes, "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" was released as a single in many countries around the world in October 1973.  The flip-side on the earliest pressings was "Changes", although this differs on later editions.

And lastly, what show is it that the videos on 'Black Box' (Iron Man, Paranoid) are from - is it Beat Club?

That's correct!  "Blue Suede Shoes" was recorded at a soundcheck for their first appearance on May 25th, 1970.  The band had only been planning to perform the song "Black Sabbath", but their rendition of the Carl Perkins classic also aired.  They returned to 'Beat Club' on September 26th, 1970 to perform "Iron Man" and "Paranoid".

Thanks, and keep up the great work w/ the site!
Greg P.

[Edited on 11/19 - Greg was quick to point out I had goofed on the name of the castle.  I had originally called it 'Clearwater', instead of 'Clearwell' Castle.  He also shared the following link for those of you who'd like to learn more about the castle - http://www.brideshead.co.uk/clearwell_main.html.  The owners of this castle started leasing it out to rock bands during the 70's to help finance their renovation work.  Albums such as Led Zeppelin's IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR and Bad Company's STRAIGHT SHOOTER were recorded at Clearwater Castle too.