Known Audios - TECHNICAL ECSTASY Tour

All tour date information has been was compiled jointly by Robert Dwyer (www.sabbathlive.com) & Joe Siegler (www.black-sabbath.com) from various sources and contributors. All text reviews and additional information was compiled & authored by Robert Dwyer. If you'd like to use any of this text for non-commercial purposes, PLEASE OBTAIN PERMISSION FIRST. Also, please add credit to authors of this original work. Commercial utilization of this work in part or as a whole is prohibited unless rights have been obtained from the authors . [Copyright 2002-2008, Robert Dwyer - Black Sabbath Live Project & Joe Siegler - Black-Sabbath.com]

**Known Audios - TECHNICAL ECSTASY Tour**
Date	Venue	City	Set List	Source	Comments
1976	INNERVIEW	Los Angeles	Interview with all 4 members of Sabbath with album tracks mixed in.	FM	Jim Ladd interviews all 4 members of Sabbath for this radio special. Jezz Woodroffe is also present. FM broadcast vinyl: INNERVIEW (Sound Communications) [Series #5, Show #2] CD-R's: Info And Insight (Relic Records #1)
11/76	Swing Auditorium	San Bernardino	Intro-Supertzar -> Symptom of the Universe, Snowblind, All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Megalomania, Dirty Women (fades at end), Electric Funeral, Drum Solo, Iron Man, E: Children of the Grave, Supernaut [intro] -> Paranoid.	AUD	It’s interesting to note that the 1970 track “Electric Funeral” apparently didn’t get its live debut until the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour! This show contains the earliest known live rendition of that song.
11/9/76	Selland Arena	Fresno	Intro-Supertzar -> Symptom Of The Universe <6:28>, All Moving Parts (Stand Still) <6:07>, War Pigs <10:00>, Gypsy <5:20>, Black Sabbath <8:03>, Dirty Women -> Drum Solo, Guitar Solo 1 -> Jam [short] <3:03>, Rock And Roll Doctor -> Guitar Solo 2 <4:01>, Electric Funeral <3:18>, Iron Man <8:56>, Children Of The Grave -> Intermission <5:49>, E: Supernaut [intro] -> Paranoid <3:46>	AUD	This long uncirculated gem may actually see the light in 2005, thanks to the efforts of Kevin Walker. Originally recorded by Robert Clayton, whom also recorded the remarkable Fresno 9/22/78 tape, this TECHNICAL ECSTASY era audience tape looks to outshine other previously available recordings. The sample I heard over the telephone was AMAZING and Geezer's bass had an unusually distinctive tone and presence. More information is forthcoming, but here are some other details you might find interesting. Unfortunately, Kevin's copy is NOT complete and is missing the 3rd track ("Snowblind"), which may have been cut by the taper himself. This was one of this tapers trademarks, as many did not want anyone else to possess a more complete copy than they themselves had. Robert Clayton also recorded many other concerts at Selland Arena in Fresno including AC/DC (1977 & 1978), Judas Priest (MANY show), UFO (9/22/77, 8/9/78, 4/18/80, & Bakersfield 4/3/79), Lynyrd Skynyd, Rush (1978), Jethro Tull & many others. A lot of these aforementioned recordings remain uncirculated. It is rumored that Robert may no longer be with the land of the living, but his actual whereabouts or fate are still not actually known. [Special thanks to both Kevin Walker coming forward with the tape and Michael Lindenauer for the set list infos.]
11/23/76	Knoxville Civic Coliseum?	Knoxville	See Miami 2/77		Back in February 2004, I received a rather interesting e-mail from Jerry Brown. He is speculating here that the alleged Miami ’77 tape could actually be from a show he attended in Knoxville on the TECHNICAL ECSTACY tour. This has not yet been confirmed, but I thought I’d add these comments here in the hopes that someone will come forth to confirm or deny this as a possibility. Jerry Brown: “I was doing a search for the Knoxville show tour date for the show they did at the Civic Coliseum on the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour that I went to, since I had lost my stub many years ago. I though it may have been earlier than '77 but the openers was Target & Bob Seger. I was of course using drugs and/or drinking that night so I don't remember much about the show except the sound was really bad. Doug, my best friend from high school, told me a couple of years ago that he gave me a ride home (I went with a different group of people) before the show was over because it was such a bad show. The drum solo was like the 3rd song! Since I didn't see the whole show no wonder I didn't remember it. I was checking your audio lists from the various tours & seen the Miami 2/77 remarks. I have reason to believe it is the same show I went to!” “And since the Knoxvile ’76 show was so bad, me & Doug passed on the NEVER SAY DIE tour that came though the next year. If I get the chance I will go down to the University of Tennessee's library & research local newspaper's microfilm to comfirm tour dates for both of these shows.”
11/28/76	Richfield Coliseum	Cleveland		FM	George Berk believes that this show was recorded for WMMS-FM, which often broadcast live performances of concerts at the Agora and other local venues. The band may have also considered using this tape for their planned live album, titled FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN. This one has yet to be confirmed, but it is a very interesting possibility!
12/6/76	Madison Square Garden	NYC	Announcement by Frank Zappa -> Intro-Supertzar, Symptom of the Universe, Snowblind, All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Drum Solo -> Guitar Solo, Jam -> Guitar Solo II -> Rock and Roll Doctor -> Guitar Solo III, Electric Funeral, Iron Man, Children of the Grave, Supernaut [intro] -> Paranoid, Outro-She's Gone	AUD	CD Bootlegs: Madison Square Garden, In The Garden, Archangel Rides Again (Backdoor Possibilities – ARF1) [This boot includes only Frank’s introduction to the show.] Vinyl Bootlegs: Archangel CD-R's: Rock 'N' Roll Gypsy (2001 Metal Sword)
12/8/76	Civic Arena	Pittsburgh	FM Source: (From “British Biscuit” FM Broadcast and WAR PIGS IN PENNSYLVANIA bootleg): Symptom Of The Universe, War Pigs, Gypsy, Children Of The Grave. Audience Source: Intro-Supertzar <1:55>, Symptom Of The Universe <4:57>, Snowblind <6:35>, All Moving Parts (Stand Still) <6:35>, War Pigs <8:06>, Gypsy <5:46>, Black Sabbath <8:07>, Dirty Women pt. 1 <7:04>, Dirty Women pt. 2 -> Jam I [Butler, Ward; brief] -> Drum Solo <5:17>, Jam 2 [Iommi, Ward] <1:23>, Jam 3 [Iommi, Butler, Ward] <3:19>, Guitar Solo <2:44>, Rock 'n' Roll Doctor <3:34>, Jam IV [Iommi, Butler, Ward; Jazz / Rockabilly] , Electric Funeral <3:26>, Iron Man <7:32>. [Incomplete; N.I.B., Children Of The Grave and Paranoid either not recorded or cut]	AUD/FM	There are two sources for this show. The first is an excellent FM tape that was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour (and British Biscuit) and an incomplete VG audience recording (approximately 80 minutes). FM source: Only 4 songs have ever been released, but it is highly likely that a tape of the complete show (in professional multi-track quality) is sitting under lock & key in the King Biscuit vaults. The 4 songs that were broadcast have been a fairly common item on silver CD bootlegs and are often lumped in with another KBFH Pittsburgh recording from 1978. Aside from the stunning recording quality (on par with Asbury Park '75 and better than Pittsburgh '78), the pro-recorded rendition of "Gypsy" is the other reason to pick this up. So far, this is the only pro-recorded rendition of this song in circulation. This FM broadcast first aired on January 16th, 1977 on an episode of the British Biscuit. The show began with a set from Wishbone Ash and then Sabbath. It is also likely that King Biscuit aired this show in America that same week, although I don't have any confirmation of this just yet. Often mislabeled as London 1/16/77, this has been proven incorrect for three reasons. #1 - This was the BROADCAST date. King Biscuit always pre-recorded concerts for re-broadcast at a later date. Given this fact, this show obviously must have occurred before the broadcast date. #2 - Black Sabbath did not perform in London on the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour until AFTER this date. They performed four shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London from March 12th through 15th, 1977. #3 - After comparing the audience recording from Pittsburgh '76 with the radio broadcast, I was able to determine that they were in fact from the same show. [Thanks to John M. for his research assistance here!] The best source tape for this show would be the original British Biscuit radio master (which is out there), but a good second choice would be WAR PIGS IN PENNSYLVANIA. Audience source: This is a very good recording, but sadly incomplete! The last three songs ("N.I.B.", "Children Of The Grave" and "Paranoid") were either not recorded or cut by the person who originally distributed this. It's a great show and definitely worth checking out regardless. Radio Broadcasts: BRITISH BISCUIT (1977 D.I.R. broadcasting): Aired on 1/16/77; Best sounding source, but only contains 4 songs. Originally distributed in the reel to reel format to radio stations. Also included a set from Wishbone Ash. There are some excellent CD-R clones of one of these reels circulating. Bootleg LP’s: UNORTHODOX [FM], THE ARCHANGEL RIDES AGAIN [3 tracks from FM], THE 1978 AMERICAN TOUR (None / Raven Records) [FM; Excellent mono - This was released by 2 different bootleg labels, so there are two editions. It also includes 3 tracks from Pittsburgh '78. RT-22:19], 666 DEMONIC VISITATIONS – LIVE IN LONDON 1978 (Full Tilt / TMOQ) [FM] Bootleg CD’s: WAR PIGS IN PENNSYLVANIA (The Final Mass #001) [FM; Recommended!], UNORTHODOX [FM], ARCHANGEL RIDES AGAIN [FM], LIVE IN PITTSBURGH, THE MADMAN YEARS (2000 Aces High #016) [FM; incorrectly attributed to London ’78; Excellent quality version of all 4 songs. Also contains Wichita 3/25/71 show. RT-22:36], MONDAY’S SCAR (Crow #0042) [FM] CD-R’s: DEADFALL (Lizard #047): Only bootleg from audience source.
12/9/76	Capital Centre	Largo (Landover)		PRO	A professionally shot video from this show is alleged to exist. The Capital Centre in Largo had its own in-house video recording system, which has captured live performances by numerous artists including Kiss, Heart, & Bob Seger during the late 70's.
12/10/76	Niagara Falls Convention Center	Niagara Falls	Intro-Supertzar, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Megalomania [tape flip after end of song], Dirty Women, Bill Ward's Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, Jam, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo II -> Jam II, Iron Man, Children Of The Grave, E: Paranoid.	AUD	VG+ audience recording. This tape was first brought to my attention by Fred S. in April 2005 Fred S. came upon the Niagara Falls '76 and '78 tapes at a record convention in the Niagara Falls area back in the early 90's. It was surprising to me that these audience recordings did not find wider circulation given how it was discovered. I digitally transferred both shows shortly thereafter. Only minimal repair work was done in the restoration of the original cassette, including normalization of each side of the cassette and patching only a few VERY small channel dropouts (maybe 3). As thrilled as I was about finding this show, it was quickly eclipsed by the discovery of the Dumfries '69 tape only weeks later. It was probably for that reason that I neglected to review this show more in depth at the time. However, I did post a sample from the show ("All Moving Parts") for Sabbath fans to download. Guillaume Roos promptly came up with some cover art for the show, cleverly titling it ALL MOVING PARTS (SIT DOWN!). It was this package that I presented to Ozzy when I had the opportunity to meet him in Hollywood in May of 2005. One of the main reasons I thought to give him this show was because of how good his performance was that night. When Ozzy scoped out the cover art he remarked, "I remember this show...." I was skeptical about Ozzy actually remembering this particular gig at the time, but a tale I received from another friend made me reconsider this. Shane Pittenger: “Met a guy named Rob Campbell. He used to work in lighting and is into CGI stuff now. Claims he did some of the snakes for Snakes on a Plane etc. Anyway, he claims in ‘76 he was working for the Niagara Falls venue and met Ozzy. Said he spent a few minutes with him when he asked him to come to the falls with him and his Dad! Swears to me Ozzy had him take a picture of Oz and his Dad. I know his Dad died in ‘77 but why this show and wasn't he pretty ill towards the end? Thought it was a pretty elaborate ruse to make up. I told him about you and your site and he about shit when I told him a tape exists of that show. Claims he's gonna contact you with info so we shall see.” Niagara Falls '76 is easily one of my favortie TECHNICAL ECSTASY era live recordings. It may not be as crisp and perfect as Fresno '76 or Lund '77, but it is a very clear audience recording of a great show. I usually hate it when there is too much talking or audience noise around the microphones, since this usually only serves to detract from my enjoyment of the show. It is hard NOT to be amused to listen to the drama that unfolds during this show. Our narrators are highly irritated that someone is obstructing their view of the show. Their insults grow nastier (and more colorful) as the show goes on. Thankfully, most of the banter and yelling ("SIT DOWN!") happens between songs, so this whole exchange just seems to add a bit more character to this old audience tape. As of April 2007, this show has only been selectively circulated through close friends, but will likely find wider circulation in time.
12/12/76	War Memorial	Syracuse	See Pittsburgh 12/8/76	FM	In 2008, Wolfgang’s Vault (www.wolfgangsvault.com) posted a streaming audio version of a pre-FM recording done in 1976. Their site alleges that the recording is taken from a show at the War Memorial in Syracuse on 12/12/76. However, 4 songs from this show (“Symptom Of The Universe”, “War Pigs”, “Gypsy”, “Children Of The Grave”) were broadcast years ago by King Biscuit Flower Hour and aren’t anything new to collectors. The Wolfgang’s Vault recording offers us five additional songs that haven’t been previously available from the pre-FM source. These tracks include “Black Sabbath”, “All Moving Parts (Stand Still)”, “Dirty Women”, “Electric Funeral” and “Snowblind”. In addition, a portion of Bill and Tony’s mid-show solos are included, yet are still incomplete. “Iron Man” is definitely missing in action. “N.I.B.” and “Paranoid” may have been performed, but are not present on the audience or pre-FM sources (both of which are incomplete). Several years ago, Sabbathlive had determined that these 4 tracks matched a known audience recording done in Pittsburgh on 12/8/76 and were therefore from that show. To give Wolfgang’s Vault the benefit of the doubt, I went back and listened to spoken introductions by Ozzy for 2 of the newly surfaced tracks (“All Moving Parts” and “Dirty Women”). When compared with the Pittsburgh 12/8/76 audience recording, I found them to be a complete match. There is a very slim possibility that the Pittsburgh ’76 audience recording could have been mislabeled, but I highly doubt this. It would be great if the original taper would come forward and help close this gap for us. Regardless, there have been numerous pro-recorded Sabbath shows that have been misattributed to the wrong show. Asbury Park ’75 would be a perfect case in point, as it had long been known as Philadelphia 8/5/75. I have little doubt that this tape is NOT from Syracuse and should be considered to be an extended version of Pittsburgh 12/8/76. Special thanks to Hartwig Schuck for bringing this one to my attention.
1/16/77	British Biscuit Radio Broadcast		Symptom of the Universe, War Pigs, Gypsy, Children of the Grave	FM	Broadcast date. See Pittsburgh 12/8/76 for more info.
1/20/77	Jai Alai Fronton Hall	Miami	Symptom of the Universe [Tony's guitar cuts out at 2:18 and the song is aborted] -> Drum Solo (Bill fills in, while Tony tried gets his guitar issue resolved), Snowblind [More guitar problems at 2:03; 1st attempt] -> Snowblind (song is resumed), All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Guitar Solo [fades in], Rock and Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo II -> Electric Funeral, Improvisation -> Bass Solo, N.I.B., Iron Man, E: Children of the Grave	AUD	This is a rather distorted and uneven sounding audience recording of a troubled show! Tony’s guitar cuts out several times during this performance, forcing the band to resume and even abort certain songs. This is especially evident on the audience tape, in which Tony's guitar pretty much drowns out the other instruments. Although this tape has been traded with the sketchy date of 11/76, I've always believed this gig happened on their 2nd U.S. tour for TECHNICAL ECSTASY (since they were in the Southeast at that time). Dave Tangye confirmed my theory by sharing his memory of that Miami visit with me. He remembered that it has SNOWED in Miami, which is a rather freak occurence in Florida. Jack Williams wrote the following in a 12/21/04 article for CNN: "Snow did fall in Homestead, Fla., only about 25 miles north of the bridge from the Florida mainland to the Keys, on Jan. 19, 1977. This was during one of the worst of the mid-1970s U.S. cold waves and snow fell that day in several parts of Dade County, Fla., but not at the NWS office at the Miami Airport, which is why the official records do not show the snow." Dave Tangye also confirmed the venue to be the Jai Alai Fronton, which was a very common place for hard rock bands to play during that era. There is yet some speculation that this tape could actually be from Knoxville 11/23/76, but that theory remains unsubstantiated. Read the notes for that show for more information. CD-R's: ALL IOMMI ALL THE TIME (Burning Bush) MOON OVER MIOMMI (Burning Bush) SUPERANIMATION
2/9/77	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	Nashville	Intro-Supertzar <1:50> Symptom Of The Universe <4:51>, Snowblind <6:37>, War Pigs <8:12>, Gypsy <5:56>, Black Sabbath <8:25>, Dirty Women -> Bass Solo [with drums; short] -> Drum Solo <13:34>, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor -> Jam 1 -> Tony Iommi's Guitar Solo <6:02>, Electric Funeral -> Jam 2 -> Bass Solo <8:06>, N.I.B. <5:59>, Iron Man <8:23>, Children Of The Grave -> Intermission [only about 30 seconds before recording is stopped] <5:33>, E: Supernaut [intro only] -> Paranoid <3:47>	AUD	Very good audience recording of complete show. There is a small cut between the intermission and when Ozzy's opening remarks before the encore, but no songs are missing. Running time is approximately 88 minutes. CD Bootlegs: DEATH & ECSTASY CD-R’s: SYMPTOM OF ECSTASY
2/11/77	Indiana State University -Hullman Civic University Center	Terre Haute		AUD	An audience tape of VG quality is alleged to exist. VERY rare if it does in fact exist.
3/9/77	Capitol Theatre	Cardiff	Intro-Supertzar <0:35>, Symptom Of The Universe <4:55>, Snowblind <6:44>, War Pigs <8:11>, Gypsy <6:07>, Black Sabbath <6:44>, Dirty Women <7:08>, Jam I (Butler, Ward; Very short) -> Drum Solo <4:23>, Rock & Roll Doctor <3:01>, Guitar Solo I -> Jam II (Iommi, Ward) -> Guitar Solo II -> Jam III (Iommi, Butler, Ward) -> Guitar Solo III <5:00> Electric Funeral <3:19>, Jam IV (Iommi, Butler, Ward) -> Bass Solo -> N.I.B. [Geezer's bass intro only; Tape ends about 10 seconds after song starts] <5:19>.	AUD	Fair quality audience recording with some level distortion. Incomplete - ends during the opening notes of "N.I.B." and lacks the ending of the show ("Iron Man", "Children Of The Grave" and "Paranoid"). Running time is approximately 62 minutes. CD-R's: We're Just A Little Too Stoned (Crow #033)
3/13/77	Hammersmith Odeon	London	Intro-Supertzar (fades in; joined in progress) -> MC introduction <0:46>, Symptom Of The Universe <4:52>, Snowblind <6:43>, War Pigs <8:20>, Gypsy <6:08>, Black Sabbath <8:16>, Dirty Women <7:13>, Jam I (Butler, Ward) -> Bill Ward's Drum Solo <4:11>, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor <2:59>, Tony Iommi's Guitar Solo -> Jam 2 (Iommi, Ward) <6:52>, Electric Funeral <3:29>, Jam 3 (Iommi, Butler, Ward) <3:48>, -> Bass Solo (Butler, Ward) <0:28>, Bass Solo cont. (Butler, Ward) <1:06>, N.I.B. <5:11>, Iron Man <8:18>, Children Of The Grave <5:13>, E: Supernaut (intro only) -> Paranoid <3:15>. [RT-87:13]	AUD	Good, complete audience recording of an excellent performance in London! This was Sabbath's 2nd night out of a 4 night stand at the Hammersmith Odeon. Their nearly flawless performance had me thinking they must have recording this one. The band is playing in a very studied and methodical manner and Ozzy's singing is strong, confident and on pitch! "Snowblind" is slow and soulful, possibly a tad slower than usual. "Gypsy" sounds fantastic - possibly one of the best renditions for this tour. "Black Sabbath" is slow, deliberate and note perfect. "Dirty Women" is also a highlight in a show of many peaks. The band do encounter some technical problems during the show, but nothing bad enough to ruin their mood. Ozzy contends with PA feedback during the first couple of songs and Iommi seems to be adjusting his tuning after almost every number. But these are only momentary lapses in the show and this London crowd doesn't seem phased by any of it. And now, the bad news. The sound quality of this tape isn't really VERY good. The overall sound mix is fairly saturated, leaving little room for decent instrument separation. For instance, Jezz Woodruffe's keyboards can be heard faintly at times, but are are lost amongst the miss of guitar and bass overtones. Geezer's bass is 'there', but also quite low for the most part. His volume increases substantially after his bass solo, almost matching Tony in volume during "N.I.B.". Also - there's some slight distortion around the edges. Still, it's clear enough for a bootleg veteran to enjoy. A more liberal reviewer might consider this tape to be 'Very Good', but I'd rather err on the side of caution. It's not VERY good to my ears - simply GOOD. Regardless of its sonic shortcomings, Sabbath put on a stellar show on March 12th 1977 in London. And that's reason enough to seek this one out. CD-R's: Hammersmith Of The Gods (2000 Burning Bush)
4/5/77	Pavillon De Paris	Paris	Intro-Supertzar, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Jam -> Drum Solo, Rock and Roll Doctor (fades), Guitar Solo (includes Jam I), Electric Funeral, Jam II-> Bass Solo, N.I.B., Iron Man, E: Children Of The Grave -> Sing along with Ozzy, Supernaut (intro) -> Paranoid, Outro-She's Gone.	AUD	CD Bootlegs: Technical Witchcraft CD-R's: Ecstasy In Paris, Paris In Ecstasy
4/7/77	Stadthalle	Offenbach	Intro-Supertzar, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Drum Solo, Rock & Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo, Electric Funeral, Jam, N.I.B., Iron Man, E: Children Of The Grave, Paranoid.	AUD	Good to very good (at best) audience recording of complete show. Sometimes traded as 4/29/77, which would have been AFTER Sabbath stopped touring for TECHNICAL ECSTASY.
4/16/77	Cirque Royal (Royal Circus)	Brussels	Intro-Supertzar <2:07>, Symptom Of The Universe <6:04>, Snowblind <7:02>, War Pigs <8:23>, Gypsy <6:05>, Black Sabbath <7:55>, Dirty Women <8:05>, Drum Solo <3:48>, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor <3:13>, Guitar Solo <3:30>, Electric Funeral <3:26>, Improvisation <3:52>, Bass Intro <1:00>, N.I.B. <5:24>, Paranoid <3:58> [Running times from TECHNICAL ZOMBIE]	AUD	Long hoarded, but finally released in Japan as TECHNICAL ZOMBIE on September 17th, 2004. Good quality audience recording which appears to be incomplete. “Children Of The Grave” and “Iron Man” are missing here and may have been cut. Running time is 74 minutes. CD Bootlegs: TECHNICAL ZOMBIE (Power Gate 013)
4/21/77	Olympen	Lund	Intro-Supertzar -> Announcer, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women -> Jam I (Geezer/Bill) -> Bill Ward's Drum Solo, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo -> Jam II (Tony/Bill), Electric Funeral -> Jam III (Tony/Geezer/Bill) -> Bass Solo, N.I.B., Gypsy, Paranoid, E: Children of the Grave.	AUD	Lund ’77 provides us with the finest quality specimen of a COMPLETE TECHNICAL ECSTASY era show in circulation. While there are several other shows with better overall sound quality, none of those are AS complete. I still have questions as to whether this tape is really complete. I will discuss that more later in this article. Benny Sandquist spoke with the original taper for Lund, who provided the following background information on his recording of Sabbath in Lund. “Black Sabbath 1977-04-21 Killing Yourself To Die (Stoned Records 4). I made the original recording with a Sony TC-153SD portable cassette-corder. I still have the original cassette in my collection. I’m not a Sabbath fan at all. I was paid to do this and the Queen concert at Brönby Hallen in Copenhagen on 5/12/77 [Invite You To A Night At The Warehouse (Stoned Records 5)]. I also fixed the tapes to the Jimi Hendrix Guitar Hero (Stoned Records 3) release.” Also, there was no EQing or extra audio work done on the tape that was used for the original KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE vinyl release. The album is raw like the master tape. The quality of the Lund ’77 recording is so good that some collectors wondered whether it could possibly be from an FM recording. There is even a moment on the recording where the taper does a voice over, like some sort of announcer. Its true origin becomes more evident when you hear some clapping fairly close to the microphones. Also, Ozzy’s vocals are a bit more distant than one might expect them to be on a soundboard or FM tape. The King Biscuit recording from Pittsburgh ’76 is slightly better in terms of sound quality, but only gives us 4 songs. The slightly shorter running time makes me a bit suspicious about whether or not this show is truly complete. For instance, “Gypsy” is moved from the #4 slot in the set list to #9 slot, replacing “Iron Man”. This shift in the set list doesn’t occur anywhere else on the TE tour, so it’s possible that “Iron Man” was cut or not recorded. I will do a bit more research on this one to determine whether or not this is true. René Smeijers: “I'm writing because of the comment on the Olympen, Lund bootleg. You (and others) wonder if it's an audience tape or an FM tape. I am pretty confident that it's an audience tape. I have the KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE vinyl. There are multiple points that you actually hear the recording person, or someone very close to him, speak: One of the guys near the microphone doesn't speak English, so you hear another guy translate what Ozzy is saying, for instance: (Ozzy) "We really enjoyed playing for you tonight, here" (Translating guy) "Black Sabbath blei met Lund". There are actually more of these moments going on this vinyl, but you can hear this one very well. It's just before Ozzy introduces “Paranoid”. Bootleg Vinyl: BLACK HAVEN – An early bootleg compilation that also includes tracks from Pittsburgh 9/2/78 (UNORTHODOX source) and Asbury Park 8/5/75 (from GR’NDLEPOL). Eight tracks from Lund appear on this 2-LP vinyl bootleg, including “Dirty Woman”, Bill Ward’s Drum Solo, Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor, Tony Iommi’s Guitar Solo, Electric Funeral, Improvisation, N.I.B. and Gypsy. The sound quality is VG here. This version is incomplete and some tracks contain at least minor edits or fade outs. BLACK HAVEN was actually one of the first Black Sabbath bootlegs I’d ever heard. I stumbled across a vinyl copy of BLACK HAVEN in an Albany, NY record shop in the mid-80’s. I didn’t have the cash to buy myself a copy at the time, so one of my close friends snatched it up for us. At the time, we were simply marveling over having such a rare Black Sabbath recording. Most record shops were nervous about stocking such items, since they would often be confiscated as illegal contraband. The cover art didn’t really provide us with any clues as to which concert these songs were from. It was only many years later that I figured out that BLACK HAVEN was actually a compilation of THREE different shows. What I remember most about my early listens to BLACK HAVEN was how interesting the jam sessions were on the 2nd record. These extended jams were taken from the Lund ’77 show. Sabbath performed a medley of songs at the end of their TE era shows interwoven by extended solos and improvisational pieces. DOOMSDAY RECITATION (1979 Excitable Recordworks / The Impossible Recordworks) – Pirate copy of KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE? *KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE (Stoned 4) – The ORIGINAL source for Lund ’77. This presents the original master recording before any equalization or audio editing. SAB’S FURORE (Oh Boy) – Back cover incorrectly attributes these sources to London 1975. Last three songs are from other shows (not Lund ’77). CD Bootlegs: KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE LIVE AT THE OLYMPEN SAB’S FURORE CD-R: DOOMSDAY RECITATION (BFOC) [Special thanks to Benny Sandquist, Wanchai Alaycherm, Tommy Krumich, Alexander Rack & René Smeijers for their research assistance with this article.]
4/22/77	Scandinavium	Göteborg (Gothenburg)	Symptom of the Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Drum Solo, Rock and Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo, Electric Funeral, Jam -> Bass Solo, N.I.B., E: Paranoid, Children of the Grave.	AUD

Known Audios - TECHNICAL ECSTASY Tour

Date

Venue

City

Set List

Source

Comments

1976

INNERVIEW

Los Angeles

Interview with all 4 members of Sabbath with album tracks mixed in.

Jim Ladd interviews all 4 members of Sabbath for this radio special. Jezz Woodroffe is also present.

FM broadcast vinyl: INNERVIEW (Sound Communications) [Series #5, Show #2]

CD-R's: Info And Insight (Relic Records #1)

11/76

Swing Auditorium

San Bernardino

Intro-Supertzar -> Symptom of the Universe, Snowblind, All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Megalomania, Dirty Women (fades at end), Electric Funeral, Drum Solo, Iron Man, E: Children of the Grave, Supernaut [intro] -> Paranoid.

AUD

It’s interesting to note that the 1970 track “Electric Funeral” apparently didn’t get its live debut until the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour! This show contains the earliest known live rendition of that song.

11/9/76

Selland Arena

Fresno

Intro-Supertzar -> Symptom Of The Universe <6:28>, All Moving Parts (Stand Still) <6:07>, War Pigs <10:00>, Gypsy <5:20>, Black Sabbath <8:03>, Dirty Women -> Drum Solo, Guitar Solo 1 -> Jam [short] <3:03>, Rock And Roll Doctor -> Guitar Solo 2 <4:01>, Electric Funeral <3:18>, Iron Man <8:56>, Children Of The Grave -> Intermission <5:49>, E: Supernaut [intro] -> Paranoid <3:46>

AUD

This long uncirculated gem may actually see the light in 2005, thanks to the efforts of Kevin Walker. Originally recorded by Robert Clayton, whom also recorded the remarkable Fresno 9/22/78 tape, this TECHNICAL ECSTASY era audience tape looks to outshine other previously available recordings. The sample I heard over the telephone was AMAZING and Geezer's bass had an unusually distinctive tone and presence. More information is forthcoming, but here are some other details you might find interesting.

Unfortunately, Kevin's copy is NOT complete and is missing the 3rd track ("Snowblind"), which may have been cut by the taper himself. This was one of this tapers trademarks, as many did not want anyone else to possess a more complete copy than they themselves had. Robert Clayton also recorded many other concerts at Selland Arena in Fresno including AC/DC (1977 & 1978), Judas Priest (MANY show), UFO (9/22/77, 8/9/78, 4/18/80, & Bakersfield 4/3/79), Lynyrd Skynyd, Rush (1978), Jethro Tull & many others. A lot of these aforementioned recordings remain uncirculated. It is rumored that Robert may no longer be with the land of the living, but his actual whereabouts or fate are still not actually known. [Special thanks to both Kevin Walker coming forward with the tape and Michael Lindenauer for the set list infos.]

11/23/76

Knoxville Civic Coliseum?

Knoxville

See Miami 2/77

Back in February 2004, I received a rather interesting e-mail from Jerry Brown. He is speculating here that the alleged Miami ’77 tape could actually be from a show he attended in Knoxville on the TECHNICAL ECSTACY tour. This has not yet been confirmed, but I thought I’d add these comments here in the hopes that someone will come forth to confirm or deny this as a possibility.

Jerry Brown: “I was doing a search for the Knoxville show tour date for the show they did at the Civic Coliseum on the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour that I went to, since I had lost my stub many years ago. I though it may have been earlier than '77 but the openers was Target & Bob Seger. I was of course using drugs and/or drinking that night so I don't remember much about the show except the sound was really bad. Doug, my best friend from high school, told me a couple of years ago that he gave me a ride home (I went with a different group of people) before the show was over because it was such a bad show. The drum solo was like the 3rd song! Since I didn't see the whole show no wonder I didn't remember it. I was checking your audio lists from the various tours & seen the Miami 2/77 remarks. I have reason to believe it is the same show I went to!”

“And since the Knoxvile ’76 show was so bad, me & Doug passed on the NEVER SAY DIE tour that came though the next year. If I get the chance I will go down to the University of Tennessee's library & research local newspaper's microfilm to comfirm tour dates for both of these shows.”

11/28/76

Richfield Coliseum

Cleveland

George Berk believes that this show was recorded for WMMS-FM, which often broadcast live performances of concerts at the Agora and other local venues. The band may have also considered using this tape for their planned live album, titled FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN. This one has yet to be confirmed, but it is a very interesting possibility!

12/6/76

Madison Square Garden

NYC

Announcement by Frank Zappa -> Intro-Supertzar, Symptom of the Universe, Snowblind, All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Drum Solo -> Guitar Solo, Jam -> Guitar Solo II -> Rock and Roll Doctor -> Guitar Solo III, Electric Funeral, Iron Man, Children of the Grave, Supernaut [intro] -> Paranoid, Outro-She's Gone

AUD

CD Bootlegs: Madison Square Garden, In The Garden, Archangel Rides Again (Backdoor Possibilities – ARF1) [This boot includes only Frank’s introduction to the show.]

Vinyl Bootlegs: Archangel

CD-R's: Rock 'N' Roll Gypsy (2001 Metal Sword)

12/8/76

Civic Arena

Pittsburgh

FM Source: (From “British Biscuit” FM Broadcast and WAR PIGS IN PENNSYLVANIA bootleg): Symptom Of The Universe, War Pigs, Gypsy, Children Of The Grave.

Audience Source: Intro-Supertzar <1:55>, Symptom Of The Universe <4:57>, Snowblind <6:35>, All Moving Parts (Stand Still) <6:35>, War Pigs <8:06>, Gypsy <5:46>, Black Sabbath <8:07>, Dirty Women pt. 1 <7:04>, Dirty Women pt. 2 -> Jam I [Butler, Ward; brief] -> Drum Solo <5:17>, Jam 2 [Iommi, Ward] <1:23>, Jam 3 [Iommi, Butler, Ward] <3:19>, Guitar Solo <2:44>, Rock 'n' Roll Doctor <3:34>, Jam IV [Iommi, Butler, Ward; Jazz / Rockabilly] , Electric Funeral <3:26>, Iron Man <7:32>. [Incomplete; N.I.B., Children Of The Grave and Paranoid either not recorded or cut]

AUD/FM

There are two sources for this show. The first is an excellent FM tape that was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour (and British Biscuit) and an incomplete VG audience recording (approximately 80 minutes).

FM source: Only 4 songs have ever been released, but it is highly likely that a tape of the complete show (in professional multi-track quality) is sitting under lock & key in the King Biscuit vaults. The 4 songs that were broadcast have been a fairly common item on silver CD bootlegs and are often lumped in with another KBFH Pittsburgh recording from 1978. Aside from the stunning recording quality (on par with Asbury Park '75 and better than Pittsburgh '78), the pro-recorded rendition of "Gypsy" is the other reason to pick this up. So far, this is the only pro-recorded rendition of this song in circulation.

This FM broadcast first aired on January 16th, 1977 on an episode of the British Biscuit. The show began with a set from Wishbone Ash and then Sabbath. It is also likely that King Biscuit aired this show in America that same week, although I don't have any confirmation of this just yet.

Often mislabeled as London 1/16/77, this has been proven incorrect for three reasons.

#1 - This was the BROADCAST date. King Biscuit always pre-recorded concerts for re-broadcast at a later date. Given this fact, this show obviously must have occurred before the broadcast date.

#2 - Black Sabbath did not perform in London on the TECHNICAL ECSTASY tour until AFTER this date. They performed four shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London from March 12th through 15th, 1977.

#3 - After comparing the audience recording from Pittsburgh '76 with the radio broadcast, I was able to determine that they were in fact from the same show. [Thanks to John M. for his research assistance here!]

The best source tape for this show would be the original British Biscuit radio master (which is out there), but a good second choice would be WAR PIGS IN PENNSYLVANIA.

Audience source: This is a very good recording, but sadly incomplete! The last three songs ("N.I.B.", "Children Of The Grave" and "Paranoid") were either not recorded or cut by the person who originally distributed this. It's a great show and definitely worth checking out regardless.

Radio Broadcasts: *BRITISH BISCUIT (1977 D.I.R. broadcasting): Aired on 1/16/77; Best sounding source, but only contains 4 songs. Originally distributed in the reel to reel format to radio stations. Also included a set from Wishbone Ash. There are some excellent CD-R clones of one of these reels circulating.

Bootleg LP’s: UNORTHODOX [FM], THE ARCHANGEL RIDES AGAIN [3 tracks from FM], THE 1978 AMERICAN TOUR (None / Raven Records) [FM; Excellent mono - This was released by 2 different bootleg labels, so there are two editions. It also includes 3 tracks from Pittsburgh '78. RT-22:19], 666 DEMONIC VISITATIONS – LIVE IN LONDON 1978 (Full Tilt / TMOQ) [FM]

Bootleg CD’s: *WAR PIGS IN PENNSYLVANIA (The Final Mass #001) [FM; Recommended!], UNORTHODOX [FM], ARCHANGEL RIDES AGAIN [FM], LIVE IN PITTSBURGH, THE MADMAN YEARS (2000 Aces High #016) [FM; incorrectly attributed to London ’78; Excellent quality version of all 4 songs. Also contains Wichita 3/25/71 show. RT-22:36], MONDAY’S SCAR (Crow #0042) [FM]

CD-R’s: DEADFALL (Lizard #047): Only bootleg from audience source.

12/9/76

Capital Centre

Largo (Landover)

PRO

A professionally shot video from this show is alleged to exist. The Capital Centre in Largo had its own in-house video recording system, which has captured live performances by numerous artists including Kiss, Heart, & Bob Seger during the late 70's.

12/10/76

Niagara Falls Convention Center

Niagara Falls

Intro-Supertzar, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Megalomania [tape flip after end of song], Dirty Women, Bill Ward's Drum Solo, Guitar Solo, Jam, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo II -> Jam II, Iron Man, Children Of The Grave, E: Paranoid.

AUD

VG+ audience recording. This tape was first brought to my attention by Fred S. in April 2005 Fred S. came upon the Niagara Falls '76 and '78 tapes at a record convention in the Niagara Falls area back in the early 90's. It was surprising to me that these audience recordings did not find wider circulation given how it was discovered. I digitally transferred both shows shortly thereafter. Only minimal repair work was done in the restoration of the original cassette, including normalization of each side of the cassette and patching only a few VERY small channel dropouts (maybe 3).

As thrilled as I was about finding this show, it was quickly eclipsed by the discovery of the Dumfries '69 tape only weeks later. It was probably for that reason that I neglected to review this show more in depth at the time. However, I did post a sample from the show ("All Moving Parts") for Sabbath fans to download. Guillaume Roos promptly came up with some cover art for the show, cleverly titling it ALL MOVING PARTS (SIT DOWN!).

It was this package that I presented to Ozzy when I had the opportunity to meet him in Hollywood in May of 2005. One of the main reasons I thought to give him this show was because of how good his performance was that night. When Ozzy scoped out the cover art he remarked, "I remember this show...." I was skeptical about Ozzy actually remembering this particular gig at the time, but a tale I received from another friend made me reconsider this.

Shane Pittenger: “Met a guy named Rob Campbell. He used to work in lighting and is into CGI stuff now. Claims he did some of the snakes for Snakes on a Plane etc. Anyway, he claims in ‘76 he was working for the Niagara Falls venue and met Ozzy. Said he spent a few minutes with him when he asked him to come to the falls with him and his Dad! Swears to me Ozzy had him take a picture of Oz and his Dad. I know his Dad died in ‘77 but why this show and wasn't he pretty ill towards the end? Thought it was a pretty elaborate ruse to make up. I told him about you and your site and he about shit when I told him a tape exists of that show. Claims he's gonna contact you with info so we shall see.”

Niagara Falls '76 is easily one of my favortie TECHNICAL ECSTASY era live recordings. It may not be as crisp and perfect as Fresno '76 or Lund '77, but it is a very clear audience recording of a great show. I usually hate it when there is too much talking or audience noise around the microphones, since this usually only serves to detract from my enjoyment of the show. It is hard NOT to be amused to listen to the drama that unfolds during this show. Our narrators are highly irritated that someone is obstructing their view of the show. Their insults grow nastier (and more colorful) as the show goes on. Thankfully, most of the banter and yelling ("SIT DOWN!") happens between songs, so this whole exchange just seems to add a bit more character to this old audience tape.

As of April 2007, this show has only been selectively circulated through close friends, but will likely find wider circulation in time.

12/12/76

War Memorial

Syracuse

See Pittsburgh 12/8/76

In 2008, Wolfgang’s Vault (www.wolfgangsvault.com) posted a streaming audio version of a pre-FM recording done in 1976. Their site alleges that the recording is taken from a show at the War Memorial in Syracuse on 12/12/76. However, 4 songs from this show (“Symptom Of The Universe”, “War Pigs”, “Gypsy”, “Children Of The Grave”) were broadcast years ago by King Biscuit Flower Hour and aren’t anything new to collectors.

The Wolfgang’s Vault recording offers us five additional songs that haven’t been previously available from the pre-FM source. These tracks include “Black Sabbath”, “All Moving Parts (Stand Still)”, “Dirty Women”, “Electric Funeral” and “Snowblind”. In addition, a portion of Bill and Tony’s mid-show solos are included, yet are still incomplete. “Iron Man” is definitely missing in action. “N.I.B.” and “Paranoid” may have been performed, but are not present on the audience or pre-FM sources (both of which are incomplete).

Several years ago, Sabbathlive had determined that these 4 tracks matched a known audience recording done in Pittsburgh on 12/8/76 and were therefore from that show. To give Wolfgang’s Vault the benefit of the doubt, I went back and listened to spoken introductions by Ozzy for 2 of the newly surfaced tracks (“All Moving Parts” and “Dirty Women”). When compared with the Pittsburgh 12/8/76 audience recording, I found them to be a complete match.

There is a very slim possibility that the Pittsburgh ’76 audience recording could have been mislabeled, but I highly doubt this. It would be great if the original taper would come forward and help close this gap for us. Regardless, there have been numerous pro-recorded Sabbath shows that have been misattributed to the wrong show. Asbury Park ’75 would be a perfect case in point, as it had long been known as Philadelphia 8/5/75. I have little doubt that this tape is NOT from Syracuse and should be considered to be an extended version of Pittsburgh 12/8/76.

Special thanks to Hartwig Schuck for bringing this one to my attention.

1/16/77

British Biscuit Radio Broadcast

Symptom of the Universe, War Pigs, Gypsy, Children of the Grave

Broadcast date. See Pittsburgh 12/8/76 for more info.

1/20/77

Jai Alai Fronton Hall

Miami

Symptom of the Universe [Tony's guitar cuts out at 2:18 and the song is aborted] -> Drum Solo (Bill fills in, while Tony tried gets his guitar issue resolved), Snowblind [More guitar problems at 2:03; 1st attempt] -> Snowblind (song is resumed), All Moving Parts (Stand Still), War Pigs, Gypsy, Guitar Solo [fades in], Rock and Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo II -> Electric Funeral, Improvisation -> Bass Solo, N.I.B., Iron Man, E: Children of the Grave

AUD

This is a rather distorted and uneven sounding audience recording of a troubled show! Tony’s guitar cuts out several times during this performance, forcing the band to resume and even abort certain songs. This is especially evident on the audience tape, in which Tony's guitar pretty much drowns out the other instruments.

Although this tape has been traded with the sketchy date of 11/76, I've always believed this gig happened on their 2nd U.S. tour for TECHNICAL ECSTASY (since they were in the Southeast at that time). Dave Tangye confirmed my theory by sharing his memory of that Miami visit with me. He remembered that it has SNOWED in Miami, which is a rather freak occurence in Florida. Jack Williams wrote the following in a 12/21/04 article for CNN:

"Snow did fall in Homestead, Fla., only about 25 miles north of the bridge from the Florida mainland to the Keys, on Jan. 19, 1977. This was during one of the worst of the mid-1970s U.S. cold waves and snow fell that day in several parts of Dade County, Fla., but not at the NWS office at the Miami Airport, which is why the official records do not show the snow."

Dave Tangye also confirmed the venue to be the Jai Alai Fronton, which was a very common place for hard rock bands to play during that era.

There is yet some speculation that this tape could actually be from Knoxville 11/23/76, but that theory remains unsubstantiated. Read the notes for that show for more information.

CD-R's:

ALL IOMMI ALL THE TIME (Burning Bush)

MOON OVER MIOMMI (Burning Bush)

SUPERANIMATION

2/9/77

Nashville Municipal Auditorium

Nashville

Intro-Supertzar <1:50> Symptom Of The Universe <4:51>, Snowblind <6:37>, War Pigs <8:12>, Gypsy <5:56>, Black Sabbath <8:25>, Dirty Women -> Bass Solo [with drums; short] -> Drum Solo <13:34>, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor -> Jam 1 -> Tony Iommi's Guitar Solo <6:02>, Electric Funeral -> Jam 2 -> Bass Solo <8:06>, N.I.B. <5:59>, Iron Man <8:23>, Children Of The Grave -> Intermission [only about 30 seconds before recording is stopped] <5:33>, E: Supernaut [intro only] -> Paranoid <3:47>

AUD

Very good audience recording of complete show. There is a small cut between the intermission and when Ozzy's opening remarks before the encore, but no songs are missing. Running time is approximately 88 minutes.

CD Bootlegs: DEATH & ECSTASY

CD-R’s: SYMPTOM OF ECSTASY

2/11/77

Indiana State University -Hullman Civic University Center

Terre Haute

AUD

An audience tape of VG quality is alleged to exist. VERY rare if it does in fact exist.

3/9/77

Capitol Theatre

Cardiff

Intro-Supertzar <0:35>, Symptom Of The Universe <4:55>, Snowblind <6:44>, War Pigs <8:11>, Gypsy <6:07>, Black Sabbath <6:44>, Dirty Women <7:08>, Jam I (Butler, Ward; Very short) -> Drum Solo <4:23>, Rock & Roll Doctor <3:01>, Guitar Solo I -> Jam II (Iommi, Ward) -> Guitar Solo II -> Jam III (Iommi, Butler, Ward) -> Guitar Solo III <5:00> Electric Funeral <3:19>, Jam IV (Iommi, Butler, Ward) -> Bass Solo -> N.I.B. [Geezer's bass intro only; Tape ends about 10 seconds after song starts] <5:19>.

AUD

Fair quality audience recording with some level distortion. Incomplete - ends during the opening notes of "N.I.B." and lacks the ending of the show ("Iron Man", "Children Of The Grave" and "Paranoid"). Running time is approximately 62 minutes.

CD-R's: We're Just A Little Too Stoned (Crow #033)

3/13/77

Hammersmith Odeon

London

Intro-Supertzar (fades in; joined in progress) -> MC introduction <0:46>, Symptom Of The Universe <4:52>, Snowblind <6:43>, War Pigs <8:20>, Gypsy <6:08>, Black Sabbath <8:16>, Dirty Women <7:13>, Jam I (Butler, Ward) -> Bill Ward's Drum Solo <4:11>, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor <2:59>, Tony Iommi's Guitar Solo -> Jam 2 (Iommi, Ward) <6:52>, Electric Funeral <3:29>, Jam 3 (Iommi, Butler, Ward) <3:48>, -> Bass Solo (Butler, Ward) <0:28>, Bass Solo cont. (Butler, Ward) <1:06>, N.I.B. <5:11>, Iron Man <8:18>, Children Of The Grave <5:13>, E: Supernaut (intro only) -> Paranoid <3:15>. [RT-87:13]

AUD

Good, complete audience recording of an excellent performance in London! This was Sabbath's 2nd night out of a 4 night stand at the Hammersmith Odeon. Their nearly flawless performance had me thinking they must have recording this one. The band is playing in a very studied and methodical manner and Ozzy's singing is strong, confident and on pitch! "Snowblind" is slow and soulful, possibly a tad slower than usual. "Gypsy" sounds fantastic - possibly one of the best renditions for this tour. "Black Sabbath" is slow, deliberate and note perfect. "Dirty Women" is also a highlight in a show of many peaks.

The band do encounter some technical problems during the show, but nothing bad enough to ruin their mood. Ozzy contends with PA feedback during the first couple of songs and Iommi seems to be adjusting his tuning after almost every number. But these are only momentary lapses in the show and this London crowd doesn't seem phased by any of it.

And now, the bad news. The sound quality of this tape isn't really VERY good. The overall sound mix is fairly saturated, leaving little room for decent instrument separation. For instance, Jezz Woodruffe's keyboards can be heard faintly at times, but are are lost amongst the miss of guitar and bass overtones. Geezer's bass is 'there', but also quite low for the most part. His volume increases substantially after his bass solo, almost matching Tony in volume during "N.I.B.". Also - there's some slight distortion around the edges. Still, it's clear enough for a bootleg veteran to enjoy. A more liberal reviewer might consider this tape to be 'Very Good', but I'd rather err on the side of caution. It's not VERY good to my ears - simply GOOD. Regardless of its sonic shortcomings, Sabbath put on a stellar show on March 12th 1977 in London. And that's reason enough to seek this one out.

CD-R's: Hammersmith Of The Gods (2000 Burning Bush)

4/5/77

Pavillon De Paris

Paris

Intro-Supertzar, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Jam -> Drum Solo, Rock and Roll Doctor (fades), Guitar Solo (includes Jam I), Electric Funeral, Jam II-> Bass Solo, N.I.B., Iron Man, E: Children Of The Grave -> Sing along with Ozzy, Supernaut (intro) -> Paranoid, Outro-She's Gone.

AUD

CD Bootlegs: Technical Witchcraft

CD-R's: Ecstasy In Paris, Paris In Ecstasy

4/7/77

Stadthalle

Offenbach

Intro-Supertzar, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Drum Solo, Rock & Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo, Electric Funeral, Jam, N.I.B., Iron Man, E: Children Of The Grave, Paranoid.

AUD

Good to very good (at best) audience recording of complete show. Sometimes traded as 4/29/77, which would have been AFTER Sabbath stopped touring for TECHNICAL ECSTASY.

4/16/77

Cirque Royal (Royal Circus)

Brussels

Intro-Supertzar <2:07>, Symptom Of The Universe <6:04>, Snowblind <7:02>, War Pigs <8:23>, Gypsy <6:05>, Black Sabbath <7:55>, Dirty Women <8:05>, Drum Solo <3:48>, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor <3:13>, Guitar Solo <3:30>, Electric Funeral <3:26>, Improvisation <3:52>, Bass Intro <1:00>, N.I.B. <5:24>, Paranoid <3:58> [Running times from TECHNICAL ZOMBIE]

AUD

Long hoarded, but finally released in Japan as TECHNICAL ZOMBIE on September 17th, 2004. Good quality audience recording which appears to be incomplete. “Children Of The Grave” and “Iron Man” are missing here and may have been cut. Running time is 74 minutes.

CD Bootlegs: TECHNICAL ZOMBIE (Power Gate 013)

4/21/77

Olympen

Lund

Intro-Supertzar -> Announcer, Symptom Of The Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women -> Jam I (Geezer/Bill) -> Bill Ward's Drum Solo, Rock 'N' Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo -> Jam II (Tony/Bill), Electric Funeral -> Jam III (Tony/Geezer/Bill) -> Bass Solo, N.I.B., Gypsy, Paranoid, E: Children of the Grave.

AUD

Lund ’77 provides us with the finest quality specimen of a COMPLETE TECHNICAL ECSTASY era show in circulation. While there are several other shows with better overall sound quality, none of those are AS complete. I still have questions as to whether this tape is really complete. I will discuss that more later in this article.

Benny Sandquist spoke with the original taper for Lund, who provided the following background information on his recording of Sabbath in Lund.

“Black Sabbath 1977-04-21 Killing Yourself To Die (Stoned Records 4). I made the original recording with a Sony TC-153SD portable cassette-corder. I still have the original cassette in my collection. I’m not a Sabbath fan at all. I was paid to do this and the Queen concert at Brönby Hallen in Copenhagen on 5/12/77 [Invite You To A Night At The Warehouse (Stoned Records 5)]. I also fixed the tapes to the Jimi Hendrix Guitar Hero (Stoned Records 3) release.”

Also, there was no EQing or extra audio work done on the tape that was used for the original KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE vinyl release. The album is raw like the master tape.

The quality of the Lund ’77 recording is so good that some collectors wondered whether it could possibly be from an FM recording. There is even a moment on the recording where the taper does a voice over, like some sort of announcer. Its true origin becomes more evident when you hear some clapping fairly close to the microphones. Also, Ozzy’s vocals are a bit more distant than one might expect them to be on a soundboard or FM tape.

The King Biscuit recording from Pittsburgh ’76 is slightly better in terms of sound quality, but only gives us 4 songs. The slightly shorter running time makes me a bit suspicious about whether or not this show is truly complete. For instance, “Gypsy” is moved from the #4 slot in the set list to #9 slot, replacing “Iron Man”. This shift in the set list doesn’t occur anywhere else on the TE tour, so it’s possible that “Iron Man” was cut or not recorded. I will do a bit more research on this one to determine whether or not this is true.

René Smeijers: “I'm writing because of the comment on the Olympen, Lund bootleg. You (and others) wonder if it's an audience tape or an FM tape. I am pretty confident that it's an audience tape. I have the KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE vinyl. There are multiple points that you actually hear the recording person, or someone very close to him, speak: One of the guys near the microphone doesn't speak English, so you hear another guy translate what Ozzy is saying, for instance: (Ozzy) "We really enjoyed playing for you tonight, here" (Translating guy) "Black Sabbath blei met Lund". There are actually more of these moments going on this vinyl, but you can hear this one very well. It's just before Ozzy introduces “Paranoid”.

Bootleg Vinyl:

BLACK HAVEN – An early bootleg compilation that also includes tracks from Pittsburgh 9/2/78 (UNORTHODOX source) and Asbury Park 8/5/75 (from GR’NDLEPOL). Eight tracks from Lund appear on this 2-LP vinyl bootleg, including “Dirty Woman”, Bill Ward’s Drum Solo, Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor, Tony Iommi’s Guitar Solo, Electric Funeral, Improvisation, N.I.B. and Gypsy. The sound quality is VG here. This version is incomplete and some tracks contain at least minor edits or fade outs.

BLACK HAVEN was actually one of the first Black Sabbath bootlegs I’d ever heard. I stumbled across a vinyl copy of BLACK HAVEN in an Albany, NY record shop in the mid-80’s. I didn’t have the cash to buy myself a copy at the time, so one of my close friends snatched it up for us. At the time, we were simply marveling over having such a rare Black Sabbath recording. Most record shops were nervous about stocking such items, since they would often be confiscated as illegal contraband.

The cover art didn’t really provide us with any clues as to which concert these songs were from. It was only many years later that I figured out that BLACK HAVEN was actually a compilation of THREE different shows. What I remember most about my early listens to BLACK HAVEN was how interesting the jam sessions were on the 2nd record. These extended jams were taken from the Lund ’77 show. Sabbath performed a medley of songs at the end of their TE era shows interwoven by extended solos and improvisational pieces.

DOOMSDAY RECITATION (1979 Excitable Recordworks / The Impossible Recordworks) – Pirate copy of KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE?

*KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE (Stoned 4) – The ORIGINAL source for Lund ’77. This presents the original master recording before any equalization or audio editing.

SAB’S FURORE (Oh Boy) – Back cover incorrectly attributes these sources to London 1975. Last three songs are from other shows (not Lund ’77).

CD Bootlegs:

KILLING YOURSELF TO DIE

LIVE AT THE OLYMPEN

SAB’S FURORE

CD-R:

DOOMSDAY RECITATION (BFOC)

[Special thanks to Benny Sandquist, Wanchai Alaycherm, Tommy Krumich, Alexander Rack & René Smeijers for their research assistance with this article.]

4/22/77

Scandinavium

Göteborg (Gothenburg)

Symptom of the Universe, Snowblind, War Pigs, Gypsy, Black Sabbath, Dirty Women, Drum Solo, Rock and Roll Doctor, Guitar Solo, Electric Funeral, Jam -> Bass Solo, N.I.B., E: Paranoid, Children of the Grave.

AUD