All information on this page was
compiled by Robert Dwyer from various sources and contributors. These
timelines and the text within is property of Robert Dwyer and Sabbathlive.com.
If you'd like to use any of this text for non-commercial purposes, please
obtain permission first. Commercial utilization of this work in
whole or in part is prohibited. [2002-2004, Robert Dwyer - Black Sabbath Live
Project]
| Posted | Topic | What's The Story? | Thanks To | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1/2004 | Quartz's 1977 debut to be re-issued on CD by Sanctuary | “Sanctuary Records re-issue the debut album from Birmingham Heavy Metal band Quartz in early 2004. Quartz was one of the leading NWoBHM bands. Guitarist Mike Hopkins had previously played with John Bonham’s Way Of Life whilst second guitarist Geoff Nicholls would join Black Sabbath in 1979. Drummer Malcolm Cope was involved with pre-production for Black Sabbath’s ‘Born Again’.” “Over their career Quartz toured heavily - playing the Reading Festival three times ('76, ''77 and '80) - and touring as support to the likes of UFO, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Gillan and Rush. The band released four albums.” “Originally issued on Jet Records in 1977 the album has never, until now, seen a CD release. Quite remarkable for an album produced by Tony Iommi and featuring Ozzy Osbourne, Brian May and keyboard player Geoff Nicholls. This edited extract is from Garry Sharpe-Young’s acclaimed Black Sabbath biography ‘Never Say Die’. [http://www.rockdetector.com/default,25.sm] “Quartz was on the rise and having Tony Iommi acting as producer on their album lent extra kudos. “Working with Tony as a producer on our debut record was great, very different to some of the big name producers we had used in the past” reckons Malcolm Cope. “Tony put guitar on two tracks on the record and even played his flute on ‘Sugar Rain’. He’s a great flute player. Not many people know that.” “Contracts kept any notion of actual performance credits out of the public arena as acknowledged by Geoff Nicholls. “Tony had produced the record and he was obviously going to play on it too. It’s just that we couldn’t say that at the time for legal reasons. He did quite a bit on the record actually, a couple of solos. Ozzy sang on ‘Sugar Rain’ too. Again, we weren’t allowed to credit him.” “It would not only be the Sabbath duo that featured on the record. Tony’s friend Brian May of Queen fame was invited down to the recording studio. The man would get to add a splash of that famous hand made guitar onto the track ‘Circles’, once more featuring a certain Mr. Ozzy Osbourne on backing vocals. “Ozzy tried to put some harmonica on too” laughs Malcolm.” “‘Circles’ inexplicably never made the album, only appearing as the B side to the subsequent ‘Stoking The Fires Of Hell’ single.” “The Sanctuary re-release, issue date to be confirmed, features many bonus tracks, including ‘Circles’, and liner notes from Garry Sharpe-Young. A detailed Quartz biography and discography is at Rockdetector. http://www.rockdetector.com/artist,7114.sm” |
Rock Detector | |
| 1/1/2004 | Write a ROIO review for SABBATHLIVE | If you collect live recordings of Black Sabbath and enjoy telling other collectors about them, then here is your chance! Be a part of this mammoth work in progress! See the link to the right for guidelines and suggestions in submitting your reviews to SABBATHLIVE. | Rob | Write for SABBATHLIVE |
| 1/5/2004 | SABBATHNEW gets a facelift? | Don't be fooled by the lack of What's New updates, 'cause I've been working my butt off on this website over the past few days! Tonight, I'm going to take a well deserved break and actually watch a movie - but you should notice some little changes cropping up on different pages. I won't go into the gory details here, but if you're interested in hearing more about the changes, then take a look at my latest post to my journal a.k.a. "Rob's Rants". I'd like some honest feedback on the changes, so if you're so inclined, tell me if things are starting to look better..or not! Also, Paul J. has been digging like a madman for interesting little bits to add to our ever accumulating database of Sabbath history. I'll have to thank him for inspiring my decision to overhaul the ticket stub galleries last weekend - updating everything from 1970-81! And no, this isn't everything we've found - just the stuff I've had time to sort out! |
Rob and Paul J. | Latest Rant |
| 1/6/2004 | Remembering an "evil night" - Montreal '83 | “Ian Gillan had a hard time with his voice, but had an amazing stage presence. Just to see him frenetically playing the bongos (which we never heard) was not only hypnotizing but was also contributed to the overall frenzy of their live show. I remember “Zero The Hero” and “Disturbing The Priest” coming across with a diabolical vibe. Geezer Butler seemed to be lost in a trance, as if he were praying to Satan through his bass.” “At midnight, the band topped it off by performing “Heaven And Hell”. Afterwards, two monks walked across the stage to reveal a huge cross of lights before the band started into “Iron Man”.” “The set list for the Montreal show was as follows. [This was transcribed from a newspaper article about the show] Children of the Grave Hot Line War Pigs Supernaut Bev Bevan’s Drum Solo Rock & Roll Doctor Digital Bitch Zero the Hero Heaven and Hell Iron Man Tony Iommi’s Guitar Solo Black Sabbath Smoke on the Water Paranoid Heaven and Hell [reprise] “Once the concert was over, the violence of the evening was still very alive among the 12,000 teenagers. The Metro service [Montreal’s mass transit service] had remained open specifically for us after the concert. However, it was also decided that the main entrances to the Metro station would remain closed. You could see windows being broken as people tried to get to the station. Those who successfully went in started to destroy the station and threw benches on the rails. Because of all the rioting, I had to walk for three hours to get home.” “All in all, I never experienced something so intense and so Machiavellic. I've gone through more than a hundred metal concerts, but not even Slayer, Mercyful Fate or any other so-called Satanic groups ever came close to the evil Sabbath that night.” “I saw Sabbath again a few years ago at the Ozzfest in Toronto. It was nice to see them with Ozzy, but the feeling was much cleaner than the ‘83 concert. I think that the restless crowd (due to 2 hours of waiting!) kind of embodies the feeling of the BORN AGAIN album for me. BORN AGAIN will remain a Sabbath classic, and one I can relate to in my own way.” |
Luc St-Laurent | |
| 1/11/2004 | Earth's unfinished 1st album and the lowdown on the '69 demos. | I’ve seen a few attempts by other sites to paraphrase my earlier findings on the unreleased 1969 Sabbath demos, most of which are full of errors. I felt it would be a good thing to bring everyone up to date on my most recent findings, as well as a tidbit of info about an aborted attempt to record an album BEFORE the BLACK SABBATH debut record. –Rob Dwyer Known Song List: Song For Jim, The Rebel, Blue Suede Shoes [studio demo, not BEAT CLUB version], Evening, When I Came Down, The Wizard [demo]. Official Videos: The Black Sabbath Story Volume 1 [Just brief excerpts of “The Rebel” and “Song For Jim”] Notes: Around June of 1969, Earth recorded several songs for what was to be their first studio album. But after listening back to their first attempts to make a record, the band scrapped the entire session. I recently discovered this very interesting revelation while perusing some early magazine articles from 1970. It is my theory that many of the songs listed below may have originated from their lost “1st album”, while others were nothing more than demos to begin with. I’ve found additional info that claims that both manager Jim Simpson and Tony Hall paid for a proper studio demo. One such demo was to be recorded at Regent Sound Studios on Tottenham Court Rd., with Rodger Bain (who also did their first 3 albums). This may be a SECOND possible source for some songs listed below. “Song For Jim” (a.k.a. “For Jim”) was written as a tribute to their manager’s (Jim Simpson) love of jazz. Early on, Simpson would do his best to expose the band to jazz and blues artists, in hopes of inspiring them. In Chris Welch’s book ‘BLACK SABBATH’ [1982], Simpson mentions having a treasured copy of this demo, along with one for “Blue Suede Shoes”. “The Rebel” is yet another early track that has yet to be released in its complete form. Snippets of this song and “Song For Jim” appear at the beginning of the BLACK SABBATH STORY, VOLUME 1 documentary. Collectors have been begging for a full release of these tracks ever since, but Sabbath seems a bit too embarrassed by these songs to even bother! “Evening” was said to be an important staple of their live set in 1969. Jim Simpson mentions this in an interview that appears on the BLACK SABBATH STORY, VOLUME 1 DVD. It is not known whether the band recorded this song or not. “When I Came Down” is certainly one of the more impressive outtakes I’ve sampled from this bunch. Early whispers about the existence of this track claimed that songwriter/keyboardist Norman Haines had also played on the track, which the band rejected. But having heard this one with my own two ears, he definitely does NOT play on this version. It is likely that the song was demoed shortly before the actual sessions for the BLACK SABBATH album commenced. American collector Joe D’Agostino played this song over the phone for me after obtaining it from a British source, apparently close to the band in their early days. The record itself appears to be an acetate and contains a demo version of “The Wizard” on the flip side. We do know from the label that it was recorded at Zella or Ladbrooke Sound Studios in Birmingham. Keep your fingers crossed, ‘cause there’s still a good chance Joe may decide to share a sample of this one with us in the near future… And while there are a few bootlegs in circulation claiming to contain demos of the band as EARTH, all of these have so far proven to be fakes. One bootleg that claims to include EARTH Demos is "Heaven And Earth", which has three untitled instrumentals and the Asbury Park '75 show. |
Rob | |
| 1/11/2004 | The origins of THE ETERNAL IDOL Demos | Phew! I’m glad to have this work behind me! Okay, I’ve written a complete update for my infos on the ETERNAL IDOL demos. This should bring us up to date with the most current information on the origins of these tracks, as well as the backstory. This took a good part of my weekend to write this one, so I hope it’s helpful to someone! Special thanks must go out to Garry Sharpe-Young, who was able to answer many of our questions about these “lost years” in his latest book NEVER SAY DIE! 1979-1997. His research inspired me to back and put the rest of this puzzle together for tape collectors. Konsta Alander and Joe Siegler were assisted me in my research here, so mega-thanks to these guys as well! Alright, here’s my latest spiel on the ETERNAL IDOL Demos. If anyone can send me further information on which versions are on some of the bootlegs listed below (I only have a few of them), this would be greatly appreciated! THE ETERNAL IDOL DEMOS Version #1: The Boogie Song, Gypsy Warning [a.k.a. “Black Moon”], One In The Box, Speedballs [a.k.a. “Lost Forever”], The Axeman [a.k.a. “Ancient Warrior] and more? Versions #2 and #3 [track order may vary]: The Shining, Ancient Warrior, Hard Life To Love, Glory Ride, Born To Lose, Nightmare, Lost Forever, The Eternal Idol CD Bootlegs: The Ray Gillen Years, Eternal Gillen, Complete Ray Gillen Years, Sabbath's Legacy Tony Martin. Notes: The studio demos for the ETERNAL IDOL album have been the cause of much debate and speculation between Sabbath fans. These unreleased gems give us a rare opportunity to hear an alternate version of a Black Sabbath studio album sung by a different singer! Ray Gillen’s vocal performances on these demos leave us very tangible evidence as to how fine a singer he was! Fans will long debate as to whether Gillen’s vocals were actually better than Martin’s, but I can say that Ray’s singing is absolutely wonderful here! With the publication of Garry Sharpe Young’s NEVER SAY DIE book in 2003, many puzzle pieces were offered to Sabbath fans. In wake of this new information, I’ve decided to complete the puzzle wherever possible. We can safely date both of these demos after September 30th, 1986, since that is when Bob Daisley arrived. Bob wrote the lion’s share of the lyrics for THE ETERNAL IDOL, since Gillen was apparently having trouble in the songwriting department. Some of these lyrics were changed when Tony Martin re-recorded the album (in just 8 days!) a year later in London, but the core of these lyrics were definitely from Daisley. And how ironic this is when you consider his contributions to the Ozzy camp as well! There are at least three different recordings from the recording sessions for the ETERNAL IDOL are said to exist (possibly more). Version #1 contains pre-production demos that were recorded in Monserrat between July and August 1986. Sabbath had just finished their U.K. tour to support SEVENTH STAR and went to Air Studios with SEVENTH STAR producer Jeff Glixman to begin writing the next record. The lineup at this time consisted of Ray Gillen (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Dave Spitz (bass), Geoff Nicholls (keyboards) and Eric Singer (drums). These demos are said to be mostly instrumental and contain very unusual working titles in place of the song names they later became. This version has yet to seep into public circulation. Version #2 is an earlier studio demo, recorded at Air Studios in Monserrat in October ’86. It was definitely recorded sometime after Daisley’s arrival, since his lyrics are sung here by Ray. Version #2 lacks guitar solos on almost all of the tracks except “Born To Lose”. This tape allows us an opportunity to hear the bare rhythm tracks for the album, especially during the sections where Tony would be soloing away. The more common Version #3 was done a bit later and does contain guitar solos for all tracks except “The Shining”. It is this version that provides the most complete sounding version of the ETERNAL IDOL demos. Early in 1987, vocalist Ray Gillen and drummer Eric Singer exited the band. They shortly thereafter hooked up with ex-Ozzy guitarist Jake E. Lee to form BADLANDS. The remaining Sabs (Iommi, Nicholls & Daisley) moved the recording sessions from Monserrat to London. Cash flow troubles forced the band to halt recording during the spring of ’87 and Bob Daisley left the band around this time. Recording resumed in August ’87 with Iommi bringing in vocalist Tony Martin to re-record Ray Gillen’s vocal tracks in just 8 days! Martin’s stiff performance was a result of having to mimic Gillen’s performance as closely as possible. The only remaining trace of Ray Gillen’s vocals left on the album was the laughter during the mid-section of “Nightmare”. On the other hand, Eric Singer’s drums were left almost completely intact, even though was no longer playing with Sabbath. Nevertheless, Bev Bevan is given credit for playing drums on the album, even though he only contributed his sticks to “Scarlet Pimpernel”, which was tacked on to the record during the final sessions in London! The bass playing that you hear on the record is all Bob Daisley. Dave Spitz can be heard on the “Some Kind Of Woman” and Geoff Nicholls gets the bass credit for the “Black Moon” demo. Both of these cuts appear on some European maxi-single pressings of “The Shining”. |
Rob | |
| 1/11/2004 | Liner notes for "Black Moon" and "Some Kind Of Woman" | Like the other demos I just finished ranting about, I put together some notes for these two songs over the weekend. “Black Moon” (demo version) Official Releases: The Shining (1987 WB Europe) [b-side of maxi-single] CD Bootlegs: Sabbath’s Legacy Tony Martin (Master Of Rarities #001), Martin Years (Bondage #229). CD-R’s: Masters Of Boston (Big Bear #001), In Demand But Second Hand (Crow #043), Sabbath Gate (Fathead #007), The B-Side Collection (Lizard #043). Two notable outtakes from the ETERNAL IDOL sessions are the songs “Black Moon” and “Some Kind Of Woman”, both of which were officially released together as b-sides on some European maxi-single versions of “The Shining”. These singles have become even more collectible for that reason. They can be found on a few different bootlegs, but may require a bit of digging to locate. This demo for “Black Moon” demo was recorded during the final ETERNAL IDOL recording sessions in London, probably in August ’87. Originally titled “Gypsy Warning” when the band began jamming on this song earlier on in the sessions, it remained an instrumental until Martin laid down his vocals on this rendition. Geoff Nicholls made his one and only appearance playing bass on a Sabbath studio album with this track. He also played the keyboards here as well. Both Tony Martin and Geoff Nicholls have claimed credit for writing lyrics on this one. It was apparently a tricky song to put words to, since no one managed to do it until later in the recording process. The lyrics are essentially the same as the version they re-recorded for 1989’s HEADLESS CROSS album. One minor difference lies in the third verse where Tony sings “I'm standing, on the dark side of time, reaching for the palm of HER hand”, instead of “YOUR hand”. But more importantly, the demo is approximately 30 seconds shorter and ends just after this verse. The 1989 version carries on with several more variations on the chorus and even a brief solo break from Iommi. I rather like the drier production of the demo version of “Black Moon”, since the bass and guitar are much louder and up front. On the studio version, the guitars and bass are set way off in the distance, probably to enhance the ambience of Cozy’s drums. However, the extended outro and Iommi’s head cutter of a guitar solo do redeem the re-recorded HEADLESS CROSS version. “Some Kind Of Woman” Official Releases: The Shining (1987 WB Europe) [b-side of maxi-single] Bootlegs: To be added This very un-Sabbath like song was released only as the b-side for “The Shining” single in Europe. It was obviously left off the album because it is simply TOO different from the rest of the ETERNAL IDOL song list. “SKOW” sounds like something Van Halen might have recorded! Between the rollicking double bass beat and Tony’s Eddie Van Halen styled riffs, the song is almost a cross between “Hot For Teacher” and “I’m The One”. Quite uncharacteristic for Black Sabbath, but interesting nevertheless! The basic tracks for “SKOW” were recorded in Monserrat and contain the bass playing of Dave Spitz, making his first and only appearance on a Sabbath studio recording. Like “Black Moon”, it wasn’t an easy song to write lyrics for. So, it was left unfinished until Tony Martin was able come up with some words to finish it off. Iommi was a bit perplexed by the stuff that Martin came up with, but still decided to go with it in the end. |
Rob | |
| 1/14/2004 | New MOB RULES era pics from Toronto '82 | Dominic Tohill sent me two rather nice shots of Tony and Geezer from this gig at the tail end of the MOB RULES tour (a.k.a. as the LIVE EVIL tour). I figured this would be a good opportunity to revamp that section a bit, so have a look at the new Live Pictures section for the MOB RULES era. | Dominic Tohill | Live Pictures |
| 1/14/2004 | But wait, there's more! Two reviews of Toronto '82. | I know - I could have included this with the last post, but I wanted to add a separate link for this PDF. These are two different reviews of the Toronto '82 show from the local papers. Thanks Dominic! | Dominic Tohill | Articles |
| 1/14/2004 | Question about song in TV FUNHOUSE cartoon | It's a variation on their 1970 song "Hand Of Doom" [from PARANOID]. They just took the middle section of that song and gave it a little twist, probably because they didn't obtain permission to use it! In that case, they would have had to pay Sabbath royalties. But it's definitely meant to be "Hand Of Doom". | Max | |
| 1/17/2004 | REUNION era section added to timelines | In case I forgot to mention it, I have been slowly finishing up the the end of the timeline. Today, I added an Articles section for the REUNION era (1998-99). I hope to have the rest of the timeline finished within the next month or so. Also - I've added the remaining links for CD cover artwork for the Known Audios lists, adding many covers from 1999-2001. | Rob and Jan Hoel (for sorting the artwork) | REUNION era |
| 1/20/2004 | New member to Sabbath Trading Registry | Welcome Craig aboard to the Sabbath Trading Registry. Craig's been quite helpful behind the scenes with Sabbath research, so I'm honored to have him join us officially. | Craig Storey | Registry |
| 1/21/2004 | Questions about Chicago '71, Paris '73 and "KYTL" | Turo Taimen wrote in with some questions about two early Sabbath ROIO’s. Turo: “I just got a copy of the Chicago 1971 show and I was wondering about the date. I know that you aren't entirely sure about the date either, but the thing that troubles me is that you say on your site that it is most likely from July of '71 and on Joe's Tour Date section he has the show marked for October 15th. So which is correct? Or are both just good guesses?” Rob: All of these are guesses. The July '71 date would make the most sense, but August '71 is also possible. As for the October 15th date, I'm not sure where that one came from. Knowing U.S. geography, it would have been very strange for the band to travel from Chicago to Phoenix just 2 days apart. For now, I'd just "1971", since no one has been able to come up with any evidence for the Chicago gig date - although I know it did happen. Hopefully, I will find a more concrete date for this show soon! By the way, the gig dates on Black-Sabbath.com were actually generated from the SABBATHLIVE database. I gave Joe a summary version of what I use on Sabbathlive for his site about 6-8 months ago (maybe longer). The main difference of course is that Joe's list really doesn't change much, except when he feels like fixing a date or two. My list changes almost every day! And I’m not saying this to slight him either – he’s just not as excited about gig dates as I am. Turo: “Another thing is the Paris '73 show. I agree with you about the date being March 3rd. I place my suspicions on the lyrics of “Killing Yourself To Live”. They are very close to the ones that can be heard on the LIVE AT LAST and PAST LIVES album. The ones from the Italy shows are far off and if the other date from Feb. '73 would be accurate I would imagine that the lyrics would be alike the ones sung in Italy. What's your take?” Rob: Very good observations! The lyrics on the Paris version are still quite different from the version from the LIVE AT LAST version. But I do believe Ozzy was improvising much of that song at every show during that tour. Another thing is that Sabbath did not play in Paris on 2/17. I have found French articles from 1973 that show that the band actually played at Palais des Sportes in St. Ouen, France on that date. I have yet another article that confirms the March 3rd show at L'Olympia too. It's in the VOLUME 4 era articles section if you want to have a look. The earliest known recording of "KYTL" was taped at the Bologna show on 2/19. And yes, the lyrics are a bit cruder (but still interesting) on the earlier versions. I think it was these alternate lyrics for “KYTL” that made LIVE AT LAST such an interesting recording to have. |
Turo Taimen | |
| 1/24/2004 | Review of Pittsburgh '72 tape | Review of Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA – 3/27/72 By Rob Dwyer Set List: M.C. Intro -> Tony’s guitar solo intro -> N.I.B, Tomorrow's Dream [alternate lyrics], Tony Iommi’s Guitar Solo [includes Orchid, Cornucopia jam, Bill Ward’s Drum Solo, Electric Funeral riff], Wicked World (reprise), E: Embryo -> Children of the Grave, Paranoid CD-R's: Pittsburgh Dream Notes: Fair quality (no better audience recording, which is murky with slight distortions and noise around the edges. Also, the tape speed is a bit too fast on the copy that I received, so this may be the case with many copies in circulation. It’s also incomplete, with about 4 ½ songs cut in the middle of the show and a running time of merely 33 minutes. All of these flaws add up to a somewhat disappointing tape. After an introduction by the M.C., Ozzy shouts out a hello, but it doesn’t sound like he’s saying Pittsburgh. It’s a bit difficult to discern much of his stage raps, due to the mediocre sound resolution here. Tony starts the show with a short guitar solo before the band slams into “N.I.B. There appears to be a small cut at the end of this song. Before introducing a song from their next album (“Tomorrow’s Dream”), Ozzy is apologizing for some sort of equipment failure and asks the crowd for patience while the band “gets it together”. He also makes a point to ask everyone “Are you all high?”, which was almost a pre-requisite for these Sabbath shows! There is a cut here and band returns to play this pre-VOLUME 4 rendition of “Tomorrow’s Dream”, which like the others, has different lyrics. At this point, there is a cut in the tape. Based on set lists for this era, it is probable that “War Pigs”, “Sweet Leaf”, “Iron Man”, “Snowblind” and the beginning of “Wicked World” are all missing here. The tape resumes during Tony’s guitar solo (in the middle of “Wicked World”), where you can hear a lot of talking near the recorder. There is also a sense of impatience as Iommi plays a LONG guitar solo. Bill enters briefly for their “Cornucopia jam”, even attempting to kick into his own drum solo. Iommi renters shortly there after with more fast guitar riffing, so Bill wraps up his bit after only a few minutes. Tony teases the crowd with the “Electric Funeral” riff at one point during his solo. The very end of “Wicked World” cuts abruptly and the tape resumes with their encores of “Embryo”/”Children Of The Grave” and “paranoid”. At first, I thought the band might be playing these at a faster tempo than usual, but I believe it’s actually just the tape recorders batteries getting weaker, thus speeding up the playback. |
Rob | |
| 1/26/2004 | EIGHTH STAR sessions may finally see official release! | EIGHTH STAR sessions may finally see official release! The following post came from Joe Siegler’s most recent mailing list (issue #1144, now known as Pilgrims Of Sabbocracy). For those who haven’t heard EIGHTH STAR, it is an unreleased 1996 studio session, which included Glenn Hughes (vocals and bass), Tony Iommi (guitar), Don Airey (keyboards) and Dave Holland (drums). Holland is best known for his work with Judas Priest, but also played with Glenn in Trapeze back in the 70’s. There is a demo tape from this aborted session circulating in bootleg form as EIGHTH STAR. I rather like these songs myself and thought Glenn sounded a bit more natural here than he did on the SEVENTH STAR album, which was a different style for him to sing. I’ll let Joe finish the comments here, but this is great news for Sabbath collectors! Considering how good the bootleg version sounds, I can’t even begin to imagine how good the official release might sound. Joe Siegler: “Monday morning here brings some very welcome news, and something that when I found out about it came as a shock, as I was not expecting this to actually happen, tell you the truth. I got word that Tony Iommi intends on releasing what's commonly known as the “EIGHTH STAR bootleg". This material was recorded back in 1996 for what was then to be a Tony Iommi's first official solo album. It was later abandoned for what eventually did become Tony's first official solo album, IOMMI.” “The album featured former Deep Purple & Black Sabbath singer Glenn Hughes on vocals and bass, former Sabbath & Ozzy and current Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey, and former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland on drums. I've heard the album, and I have to say it shows that Iommi can play more than just Black Sabbath riffs. There's some great bluesy stuff here, some awesome vocals from Glenn Hughes, and some good heavy stuff, too. Here's some facts about the release of the album.” * Tony will be going in and mixing the album with the intent of releasing it later this year * No details yet as to a precise release date, other than "later this year" * No details as to the final track listing or track order * No details yet as to what form the release will take (Internet download, a CD, etc) * The sound of the existing bootleg will be crap compared to the final, finished album. :) * No details as to what the actual name of the album will be upon release (8th Star is a bootleg name). “The reason for the track listing comment is that there's one song on the existing bootleg that Tony isn't even on at all! [Note: This would be “Shaking My Wings”, which was taken from a Jethro Tull tribute album that Glenn appeared on.] This is a wonderful development, and over the years I've been wishing that Tony would release this album, as I've personally thought it was a wonderful album, and for it never to see the light of day is a crime. Properly cleaned up, I'm sure this album will be widely accepted by Iommi & Sabbath fans everywhere! Once I get more details on the release, bet your ass I'll pass them on. :)” “Any feedback on this? I'll be collecting feedback on this issue and passing it on to Tony through his management.” |
Joe Siegler | |
| 1/27/2004 | Collector gallery spotlight: Joe D'Agostino | With all of the collectors among us, I thought it would be cool to feature different galleries of people showing off their spoils! The first in my unofficial new series is Joe D'Agostino, who has become something of a celebrity around here this year. He's still the only collector I know who can claim to have an acetate of the unreleased "When I Came Down"! Well, that's only the beginning of it! Joe sent me these pictures back in August, where he displays some objects of his affection - his girlfriend and his Sabbath vinyl! | Joe D'Agostino | Joe's Vinyl |
| 1/27/2004 | 1999 interview with Tony & Geezer from Vintage Guitar | Lisa Sharken did this interview with Tony Iommi & Geezer Butler during their U.S. tour for REUNION. This one is slanted towards the musicians and has lots of shop talk about equipment. But there's also a rather amusing bit about Tony recording "FX" in the nude? Read on. | Lisa Sharken and Karl from Sweden (for the link) | Article |
| 1/30/2004 | Ozzy gets sky-high welcome home | “Ozzy Osbourne had a sky-high welcome from wife Sharon to welcome him back to America. Before Christmas the former Black Sabbath singer was involved in a horrific quad-bike accident on his country estate in Britain. After suffering a range of life-threatening injuries he spent weeks in hospital and only returned to California last week.” “He immediately made tracks to his favourite restaurant Lulu’s Alibi where he ate a roll stuffed with chips and covered with HP sauce and malt vinegar - named the Ozzy Sandwich in his honour. Owner Lulu said: "When he came in he looked amazingly well - he was in great spirits and was hysterically funny." “While he was eating a plane flew over the restaurant trailing a banner which read: "Welcome Home Ozzy!" It was paid for by his wife, and when he saw it, he was totally excited." |
Bahamakin and The Irish Examiner | Article |
| 1/30/2004 | Sharon Osbourne backs out of talk show series | From Ananova.com: “Sharon Osbourne has reportedly cancelled her daytime US chat show following Ozzy's life-threatening crash at their Buckinghamshire estate. She has apparently asked to be released from her contract to Time Warner's Telepictures for the Sharon Osbourne Show. However, the programme has posted increasingly lower ratings since it debuted last September.” “According to media researchers the show has dropped significantly from the four million US viewers it had to begin with. A spokesman for the Osbournes has confirmed the show has been cancelled, but would not say if it was related to the singer's serious accident at the Chalfont St Giles house. It has not been announced when the last episode will air, reports Billboard.” |
Bahamakin and Ananova | Source |
| 1/30/2004 | Bootleg CD version of Tucson '72 released | I just received a heads up on the release of the Tucson '72 show as a bootleg silver CD. It's being released under the title TOMORROW'S DREAM by Cannonball Records. I don't have any details on the quality or artwork, but I have reason to believe that this release has been constructed from the original master tapes. This bootleg was mentioned in the Underground section of the latest edition of ICE magazine. Thanks to Joe Knipes for sending in this info to SABBATHLIVE. I first discovered the existence of the Tucson '72 show back in April 2003. While discussing the Phoenix '71 recording with taper Bob G., he also mentioned that he had an even better recording from Tucson. I obtained a copy from him two months later and was duly impressed by this tape! Originally recorded at Tucson Community Center Arena on March 16th, 1972, Sabbath were headlining over Yes and Wild Turkey at this particular show. Bob G. wrote: “All these old memories are flooding back. While I'm thinking about it, when Sabbath played in Tucson on 3/16/72, Yes opened the show and I have the Master of that as well. The local press didn't give Sabbath a very good review but they liked Yes. I'll try to get that article.” “The Community Center at Tucson was much bigger venue and arena [than the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix]. The stage doesn't move and it's a big place, 15,000 or so capacity. Much better sound and much bigger audience. That was a great show.” Bob’s recording is a complete VG+ quality recording of this show. Like the San Francisco ’72 show, it also contains early versions of “Tomorrow’s Dream” and “Snowblind”, but the quality of Bob’s version is much better. Set List: Tune-up -> N.I.B., Tomorrow's Dream [alternate lyrics], War Pigs, Sweet Leaf, Iron Man, Snowblind [alternate lyrics], Wicked World -> Improvisation, Embryo -> Children Of The Grave, Paranoid, Fairies Wear Boots |
Joe Knipes and ICE Magazine | |
| 1/30/2004 | BLACK BOX to be released next month | The latest word on the release date for Sabbath's long awaited box set is now March 2nd. Let's hope this doesn't get pushed back again! | Rob | |
| 2/1/2004 | Mistress Of Reality (all-female Sabbath tribute) launch U.S. tour in February | I first started hearing about Mistress Of Reality about six to eight months ago. They are THE ONLY all-female Black Sabbath tribute band that I’ve ever encountered. And while this might make them seem like a novelty act on the surface, I’ve been a bit curious about these ladies who love the Sabs as deeply as I. I will finally have my chance to see them play when they arrive in Atlanta on Saturday, February 21st. I’m looking forward to meeting MOR and celebrating Bonny Iommi’s [a.k.a. Bonnie Buitrago] birthday with them! Based in Hollywood, California, Mistress Of Reality had only been playing on the West Coast up through the end of 2003. But in February 6th, they will launch their EVIL WOMEN tour in Tucson and work their way across the Southern U.S. through the end of February. They will also make 3 appearances in the NYC area from February 27th-29th before returning to their home turf. Here’s a press release from the band regarding their tour: “Greetings Everyone!” “Next week we hit the road and are so damn excited! We are preparing for on crazy time! Starting off in Arizona going down through Texas over to Florida and then up to New York and all the places in between! Where we end up, who knows!!! More dates still TBA…” “We've made some great new shirts for this tour and hope everyone will like them! They are not currently up on the web site. If anyone remembers the old Master of Reality shirts - like the album cover...well, you get the idea!” “Also lots of press and radio interviews are up and coming so be on the look out! For all the dirt go to our web-site at:” http://www.mistressofreality.com “Can't wait to see you all!!!” “Peace, Love and Madness... Izzy, Bonny, Sheeezer and Jill” EVIL WOMEN Tour Dates Feb. 6:: Plush – Tucson, AZ Feb. 7: Big Fish Pub – Tempe, AZ Feb. 8: The Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM Feb. 9: Club E9 - El Paso, TX Feb. 11: TBA – Houston, TX Feb. 12: Taco Land, San Antonio, TX Feb. 13: Flamingo Cantina – Austin, TX Feb. 14: Trees – Dallas, TX Feb. 15: 415 Club – Port Allen, LA Feb 16: Howlin’ Wolf – New Orleans, LA Feb. 18: The Beta Bar – Tallahassee, FL Feb. 20: The Masquerade – Tampa, FL Feb. 21: The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA Feb. 24: Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL Feb. 25: Cumberlands – Charleston, SC Feb. 27: Downtown Quarterback – Endicott, NY Feb. 28: The Haunt – Ithaca, NY Feb. 29: Tribeca – NYC, NY Mar. 20: Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA Apr. 2: Canes – San Diego, CA Plus more March tour dates to be announced! |
Izzy | Visit! |
| 2/5/2004 | Tony is named #1 greatest metal guitarist of all time by Guitar World! | Tony is finally getting his due! From Reuters 2/3/2004: LOS ANGELES - Here’s one “guitar greats” list that Jimi Hendrix did not top: “the 100 greatest metal guitarists of all time.” According to Guitar World magazine, the No. 1 metal guitarist is Tony Iommi, the God-fearing axeman with pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Six musicians claimed the next four spots: Metallica’s James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett tied at No. 2; AC/DC siblings Angus and Malcolm Young at No. 3; Randy Rhoads, the late sideman for Ozzy Osbourne, at No. 4; and Eddie Van Halen, of the foursome that bears his name, at No. 5. Hendrix was No. 12, six places behind Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. The list appears in the magazine’s March issue, which hits newsstands next week. According to Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski, the criteria for the list were purity and innovation. He said Iommi never strayed from a basic formula of B-tuned guitars played very loudly, plenty of power chords and slower rhythms. “He’s essentially the guy that created most of the conventions for heavy metal,” Tolinski said. Iommi’s “shining moment” is the track “Warning” from the band’s self-titled 1970 debut album, according to the poll. If Black Sabbath started the heavy metal ball rolling, then Metallica kept it alive, Tolinski said, pointing to the 1984 track “Creeping Death” as the band’s stand-out. Page’s relatively low No. 6 ranking raised some eyebrows since Led Zeppelin also helped pave the way for heavy metal. But Tolinski said Page would be the first to admit that his playing also incorporates blues and folk. Similarly, Eddie Van Halen has always had a foot in the pop world, he added. Hendrix, who died in 1970, introduced some of the genre’s conventions, but Tolinski termed him more of a “futuristic blues player” than a heavy metal guitarist. |
Reuters and James Rollner (for the tip) | |
| 2/5/2004 | Rob checks in - sorry for the lapse! | Just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for their kind words and great submissions over the past few weeks. I have received numerous noteworthy e-mails from SABBATHLIVE visitors. It's just been a hellaciously busy week for me with my 'real job', so I'm a bit behind with my news updates and posts. Paul and I have been furiously researching the Sabbath "days of old" at a more frenzied pace than ever. Be sure to keep visiting, for there are always surprises waiting to be posted! Many thanks to the following individuals who has “shared the wealth” with us during the past month. First, let me give extra thanks to Paul Jarolimek for truly pulling out all stops to help me get the ball rolling. I’d like to officially welcome Pete Braidis, Christopher Scott, Lars Bernstroem and Craig Storey aboard the SABBATHLIVE research team! I’ll go more into detail in a future post about the contributions of these individuals, but suffice it to say that they have shown great loyalty to this sort of tireless work. Thanks to the following individuals for all of their great contributions in January. Although I have not yet found time to mention their e-mails on the site, I will try my best during the coming weeks to cover as many as I can!: Mogens Pedersen, Kevin Julie, Kyle Jaworski, Tom Vogt, Mark Mihalek, Ralph Morse, Mike Cooper, Raymond Mills, George Kovacich, Russell Saxton, Greg, Matt, Timothy Harrison, Linda, Armijn Hemel, Denny Haaf, Peter Bambini, Sean Big Canoe, Chris Slenker, Thierry Bauwens, Lars Bernstroem, Guillame Roos, Grant Burgess, Shigeru Sato, Norman, Brian Manley, Heath Turner, Steven Cinnella, Paul Wentworth, Paul Semel, Scott Valenzano, John Maulucci, Alistair Blockley, Rich Grenfell, Kyle Gustin, Eric Heemsoth, and Kurse. |
YOU | |
| 2/7/2004 | And just when you thought there was no one to vote for… | Forget Bush, Dean, Kerry and Schwartzanegger. We have a new voice on the election trail - Ronnie James Dio! I'm not sure who put this site together, but kudos to them for doing this! After showing the Dio For America site to my ever skeptical wife, she offered this comment: "Why not? He couldn't be any worse that what we've got. I'd vote for him." Well, now that you put it THAT way honey, I think I'll second that vote… |
Dio For America | Vote! |
| 2/7/2004 | 'Black Sabbath Freaks!!' - A Japanese Sabbath ROIO guide | Shigeru recently wrote in to tell me of another trading resource for Sabbath collectors. Unfortunately, it is in Japanese, so I'm unable to understand much of what's said on these pages. But what I can discern is that Siren is a very dedicated Sabbath fan! Also - he picks out his favorite live sources for each era, so have a look through his recommendations. | Shigeru and Siren | BS Freaks site |
| 2/7/2004 | Updated Links & Resources | I took a few minutes this morning to add a few more links to this section, such as a proper listing of the official sites for each former Black Sabbath member. This has been woefully incomplete for some time now. Also, I've fixed the links to the Robert Ellis photos in several Live Pictures galleries from 1971-77. |
Links | |
| 2/7/2004 | One hell of a concert! - Led Zeppelin & Black Sabbath in 1971 | I’ve noticed a lot of talk in the Sabbath forums about the famed BLACK ZEPPELIN session that went down at The Record Plant in Los Angeles on 6/26/72. Zeppelin was in town to play a gig at the L.A. Forum in Inglewood on the previous night. Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham all dropped in on their old mates to check their progress on Sabbath’s 4th album. The visitors participated in a studio jam on Sabbath’s brand new song, “Supernaut” and it has long been rumored to have been recorded. Tony Iommi denied this in a recent visit to the Iommi Message Board, but you never know… Anyhow, the Zeppelin connection doesn’t end there by any means! In fact, would you believe it if I told you that Black Sabbath had not just once, but TWICE shared the stage with Zeppelin? According to Raymond Mills, this happened when Sabbath returned to America for their 2nd tour to support MASTER OF REALITY in September 1970. I’ll let Raymond tell you the rest of the story! Raymond Mills: “It doesn't surprise me that no one has heard of this gig before, because Syracuse and Rochester were little known stomping grounds for both Sabbath and Zep, due to the fact that they each had a very fanatical fan base from Syracuse University and the surrounding upstate New York community colleges. The Syracuse University FM station featured "The Sabbath Hour" and a "Get Your Led Out" Hour featuring entire album sides and live bootlegs each week. The cold climate meant that we stayed inside grooving to this hard rock, especially Sabbath and Zeppelin. [“We come from the land of the ice and snow - From the midnight sun where the hot winds blow” – “People think we're insane because we a frowning all the time”] I think there are more rainy and overcast days in Syracuse than in England!!! Maybe that's why Sabbath and Zep liked it there?] “ In fact, Sabbath played at Rochester on their own later that year on the 28th of October in 1971. They also opened for Mountain with Leslie West and Felix Pappalardi at the then-named Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse earlier in the year on March 31st, 1971. After the gig, I heard that the original opening act for the September 10th Zeppelin show had fallen through and Sabbath was contacted to fill the bill at the last minute to the surprise and delight of all in attendance.” “Yes, these were good memories - which were enhanced by a recipe out of the Jim Morrison and Beatles Sgt. Peppers mental cookbook. Both bands were in fine form, it was almost like a battle of the bands. Ozzy vs Plant, Iommi vs Page, Geezer vs Jones and Ward vs Bonham...but you could sense the respect that each band had for one another. The Syracuse show was so awesome we hitchhiked down to Rochester the next night [Sept 11] for a repeat, but both bands must have scored some excellent "chemical aphrodisiacs" and groupies in Syracuse, because the energy level was not the same. [My friend and I certainly did...college girls from several campuses in the western and upstate New York area were there in abundance] I wrote some free-verse poetry and other stream of consciousness stuff which may include a song-list in my high school yearbook. I'll drag it out of storage and send you what I have by the end of the month!!!” P.S. - The other memory from being in the third row was that my body was numb for about a week. I was chanting songs from both Sabbath and Zep at my Catholic High School, which convinced the priests and nuns that I was possessed. I had flashbacks and dreams about the show for years…” |
Raymond Mills | |
| 2/7/2004 | EIGHTH STAR notes revised - Includes revelation about unreleased song! | jdw@isd.canberra.edu.au posted an interview fragment on the most recent Black Sabbath Mailing List where Glenn Hughes talks about an uncirculated track from the soon-to-be released 1995 Iommi / Hughes sessions (we hope!). I’ve gone ahead and revised my notes for these recordings, which you can read below. CD Bootlegs: Eighth Star (Grand Cross) CD-R’s: Iomminator [‘Don’t You Tell Me” only] Notes: 9 years after they parted ways during the opening weeks of the SEVENTH STAR tour, Iommi and Hughes agreed to collaborate once again. This time around, it was definitely NOT intended to be a Black Sabbath record. Without the burden of the Sabbath albatross around his neck, Glenn was free to sing and write in a style much more natural to him. Joining them in the studio were veterans Don Airey (keyboards) and ex-Trapeze mate and Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland. They demoed eight songs for this planned studio album. The project was shelved once Iommi began gearing up for Sabbath’s 1997 Ozzfest reunion tour with Ozzy. Shortly thereafter, a cassette dub of seven of those tracks leaked into underground circulation as EIGHTH STAR. The sound quality of the EIGHTH STAR bootleg could be described as excellent overall, but is a tad worse that it ought to be. Since it was sourced from a cassette dub, you can tell that there is a little frequency loss in this copy. But what for it is, the quality is quite acceptable and nothing to complain about. On an alphabetical scale, I’d give it an A-. The 8th track, “Time Is A Healer”, remains under wraps by Iommi & Hughes. Glenn commented on this in an interview with Ballbuster: Ballbuster: “Was there only seven original songs?” Glenn Hughes: “No, there's one more song, "Time Is A Healer." Just to prove it wasn't me who bootlegged it, I have a tape with that on it. When the tape got out, I'm going ‘Fucking hell! Did I give anybody a copy?’ Cause you know you have to think about that and I went, ‘Nope’. Instead, the bootlegs for the 1996 HUGHES/IOMMI sessions included “To Cry You A Song”, which was strangely re-titled “Shakin’ My Wings” on the bootlegs. This song originally appeared on the 1996 Jethro Tull tribute TO CRY YOU A SONG – A COLLECTION OF TULL TALES. Joining Glenn on this song are Mick Abrahams, Clive Bunker, Derek Sherinian and Robert Berry. Additionally, there is a single remix for the1986 Sabbath track “No Stranger To Love”. These Iommi/Hughes demos are fairly developed and much more in the style of Glenn Hughes than Black Sabbath. Iommi certainly makes his presence known with some solid and catch riffs, but the vibe is much more laid back and soulful than their previous collaborations on SEVENTH STAR. Although it is not the “heavy” record that Black Sabbath fans have come to expect from Tony, the songs are well crafted and heartfelt. If you’re a fan of Glenn Hughes, then you’ll definitely need to check these tracks out. Glenn revived the song “Gone” [re-titled as “I’m Gone” on the bootlegs] for his RETURN OF CRYSTAL KARMA album in 2000 and also trotted the song out in concert a bunch. In January 2004, Joe Siegler announced that Tony Iommi was going to head back into the studio to complete this long neglected studio record for official release!! |
jdw@isd.canberra.edu.au | |
| 2/8/2004 | Are there 70's live recordings of Tony playing the flute or "The Wizard"? | Trivia time! Brian Manley wrote in with the following questions: Brian: “I have two questions for you: “On the BLACK SABBATH STORY PART 1 video, they talk about a time Tony Iommi was playing the flute and was so stoned didn’t realize he was just blowing [air]. Ozzy brought out a mirror to show Tony what he was doing, and ended up startling him! Have you heard of any bootlegs with Tony playing the flute?” Rob: No, I've never heard ANY live recordings of Tony playing the flute as of yet, but there’s always a chance that SOMEONE did record such a thing. I do have some recordings of him playing piano on "Changes" during the '72 tour, but that's about as exotic as it gets! Brian: “On his 1982 live album, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL, Ozzy mentions that he “hasn’t played this since the Fillmore East” during his introduction for “The Wizard”. Have you heard any bootlegs or have any info that they played this in the 70's?” Rob: Excellent question. If Ozzy is correct, then that means that Sabbath hasn't played "The Wizard" since at least February 20th, 1971 OR the even earlier gig on November 10th, 1970 (which would be my guess). Unfortunately, there are NO live recordings of those shows or any containing "The Wizard" from that era. Sabbath did play "The Wizard" on Dutch TV for a show called DOEBIDOE on May 22nd, 1970, but no one has been able to come up with a copy of that one yet :( However, there IS a demo version of "The Wizard" on the flip side of the unreleased "When I Came Down" acetate. Joe D. says that the mix isn't very good, but it's probably the only alternate recording we have right now of “The Wizard” in the 70’s. This song was revived for the CROSS PURPOSES, FORBIDDEN and 2001 OZZFEST tours. Geoff Nicholls even played guitar with Tony on that at many shows! |
Brian Manley | |
| 2/8/2004 | Bill Ward and Mike Bordin inteviewed in U.K.'s RHYTHM magazine | Special thanks to Kurse for sending this along to SABBATHLIVE! This was posted on Blabbermouth.net on February 3rd. “BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward recently gave an interview to the U.K.'s Rhythm magazine in which he discussed the group's early years, his musical upbringing and SABBATH's current status. Asked if there are any plans to make another BLACK SABBATH album, Ward said, "That would be nice. I'd like to. We certainly have enough material. At my house here, I have nearly 60 cassettes of new SABBATH songs we've worked on. It's just stuff we churned out. [Guitarist] Tony [Iommi] and [bassist] Geezer [Butler] have the same amount of tapes. Tony comes up with these riffs, and like we always did, I tried some melody ideas, took them back to Tony, he would come back to me with ideas, same with Geezer. We'd be sending things back and forth. We just share ideas and that makes the songs work, like always. I just love it. I love them all and working with them is so easy. You just have to listen to Tony, see where he's going, and he inspires so much. So we'd like to do another SABBATH album, but Ozzy's [been] on tour. Geezer's in the U.K. Tony is working on projects. We just have to just get together in the same room." In the same issue of Rhythm magazine, current OZZY OSBOURNE drummer Mike Bordin spoke about filling in for his "hero" Bill Ward for a number of BLACK SABBATH dates several years ago. "I've been really, really into music since I was about eight years old, but when I first heard a BLACK SABBATH record, that was it - there was nothing else," Bordin said. "The very next week, on April 6, 1974, I saw them on TV on the 'California Jam'. It was the most compelling, the most exciting, the most physical thing that I had ever seen - it was a revelation. I remember Bill as this big, crazy, giant hairy dude with red tights and no shirt. By the middle of the first song, you couldn't see him - it was just hair and flailing arms. "When you look at Bill's style of playing, you have to look at it in the context of the giants around him. Geezer, Tony and Ozzy are like forces of nature, and to balance in between them and not be squished, you have to be a giant as well. "Bill's playing is phenomenally individual and completely unique - nobody can play those songs like him. I was raised on BLACK SABBATH music and it was hugely important to me even before I started playing drums. "Bill Ward is a prince of a human being and I feel honored to have had a chance to play in BLACK SABBATH with Ozzy, Tony and Geezer. It was my tribute to the man that wasn't onstage, but should have been..." |
Kurse | |
| 2/8/2004 | Corrections on the CAL JAM I video comments | I have a correction on my liner notes for the CALIFORNIA JAM I video footage for Black Sabbath. I had previously stated that most of this footage was in color, when in fact there I’ve only been able to find ONE song in color – the unedited version of “Children Of The Grave” from the original ABC broadcast. All of the other footage I have seen so far has been in black & white. Oddly enough, even the version of “COTG” on THE BLACK SABBATH STORY, VOLUME 1 is black & white! I’ve seen this footage countless times, but it’s one of those small details that eluded me. On May 10th, 1974 at 11:30 PM, ABC began broadcasting highlights from the show on its ‘Wide World In Concert’ series. There were 4 episodes, each broadcast on Friday 2 weeks apart. It was in this first episode that the Black Sabbath footage was shown. 3 songs were broadcast ("Killing Yourself To Live", "War Pigs" and "Paranoid"). The copies I’ve found from this broadcast are in black & white. On yet another episode, “Children Of The Grave” was shown IN COLOR. The complete version of this footage shows a helicopter descending outside of Ontario Raceway, carrying Black Sabbath. This is followed by a short interview with Ozzy, who praises the festival for being so organized and peaceful. Geezer is standing beside him. The scene then cuts away to four black limousines, which are transporting the band into the venue. Additional after-show footage shows Ozzy being interviewed by the same female correspondent, who asks Ozzy for some post-show impressions. A very ‘dazed’ Ozzy remarks that the audience looked like “an ocean”, but is mostly “lost for words”. Interestingly, a black & white version of “Children Of The Grave” is included on THE BLACK SABBATH STORY, VOLUME 1. The arrival sequence with the helicopter and limousines is shortened and the interviews are completely removed. I’ve yet to hear anything new regarding the rumored transfer of the CAL JAM show to DVD, but I know many people who are still wishing and waiting for that one! |
Rob | |
| 2/9/2004 | E-mail troubles! Please mail me here if you can't get through… | I'm not sure what the problem is, but I've received several e-mails from people who have been trying to mail me, only to have their message bounce. In the meantime, you can also contact me at the following addresses: sabbathlive@gmail.com robbit@inhealth.cc Sorry for the inconvenience! |
Rob | |
| 2/9/2004 | Did Sabbath play near Rome in 1987? - UPDATE | Fabio Grazie wrote the following message to me regarding a planned Rome concert in 1987. His mail was in Italian, so I’ve done my best to translate it here. For the benefit of my Italian audience, the original message text is below my translation. Fabio: “In 1987, during "The Eternal Idol tour", I had a ticket to see a Black Sabbath concert at Casalpalocco, which is in Rome. Such a concert would have had to taken place at the Palaeur of Rome, but at the last moment it was moved to this smaller locale. I want to know if that concert actually took place. (The date is not mentioned on the ticket and I unfortunately cannot remember it.)” [Graze’s message in Italian: “Nel 1987, nell'ambito del "The eternal idol tour" ho visto un concerto dei Black sabbath a Casalpalocco nelle vicinanze di Roma. Tale concerto avrebbe dovuto tenersi al Palaeur di Roma ma all'ultimo momento fu spostato in un piccolo locale della predetta località. Vorrei sapere in che data si è tenuto tale concerto (la data non è riportata nel biglietto ed io purtroppo non me la ricordo).” When I initially responded to this letter, I was only able to determine that the show must have taken place between December 11th and 19th, between gigs in Florence and Antwerp. In a follow-up message, Grazie confirmed that my theory sounded correct to him. Finally, I received a note from Garry Sharpe-Young who reminded me of the Rome ’87 story in his new book, NEVER SAY DIE! 1987-1997. Ah yes, how could I have forgotten this one?! Here is just a fragment of Tony Martin’s recollection of this chaotic gig. Tony Martin: “Rome was a total disaster and actually the Pope was partly to blame bizarrely enough”, he remonstrates. “What had happened was that originally we were booked into an auditorium that held roughly ten thousand people. There had been about seven thousand tickets sold. However, the Pope had just held a major religious meeting in this auditorium and the authorities thought that it would be some kind of blasphemy if Black Sabbath played in the same building as the Pope. So what did they do? They moved the band to a 2,000 capacity theatre! Of course we arrived and discovered what was going on, but there was absolutely nothing we could do. Joe is right, there was about twice the number of people there for just the one gig and they all had a valid ticket.” “Stupidly, they tried to cram everybody in. There were kids packed in everywhere, pushed in here, shoved in there. All the standing room was taken and there were people hanging off things all over the place. They still couldn’t get them all in and 3,000 fans were stuck outside demanding to get in.” [from NEVER SAY DIE, pages #266-267] To read the rest of Tony Martin’s tale (and Jo Burt’s memory of Rome ’87 too), be sure to pick up Garry’s book!! |
Fabio Grazie and Garry Sharpe Young | |
| 2/11/2004 | Cal Jam madness - part 2; "COTG" in color and questions about the B&W version | Okay, I have some slight revisions to make to my previous post about the video footage for Sabbath’s California Jam I performance. When I first got these letters from Dylan and Bryan, I was thinking “Uh oh! Open mouth, insert foot!” But after a little more research, I realized that these weren’t necessarily errors to fix, but revelations to add. First, here’s Dylan Lieberman’s e-mail from yesterday: Dylan: “Just read your update about Cal Jam's “Children of the Grave”. In it, you stated that the version of “COTG” on the BLACK SABBATH STORY – VOLUME 1 is in black and white, and without the before/after interviews/footage. That's news to me! On my copy of the BSS - VOLUME 1 DVD, “COTG” has all that extra footage, plus it's in colour. Did you mean the VHS version of the BSS – VOLUME 1 has “COTG” in black and white and edited? I'm a little confused.” Rob: When I first read Dylan’s note, I was equally confused. I even went back and rewatched my VHS copy of BSS V1, just to make sure my TV wasn’t playing tricks on me or some sort of Macrovision filter had kicked on while I had watched it this weekend. My copy was indeed in black and white, no question about it. Now, I must admit that I didn’t run out and purchase THE BLACK SABBATH STORY DVD’s when they came out, because I still had a lingering grudge about having to shell out $40 back in 1991 to own both Volumes 1 and 2 on VHS! With a running time of only 60 minutes per volume, they clearly could have issued these on ONE tape, but decided to shake us down. I even managed to score a copy of a Japanese version, which contained a slightly different edit. So when the DVD versions came out in 2002, I was in no hurry to buy them, although I would eventually break down and shell out the dough. Well, thanks to Dylan’s revelation, I knew I would have to. Here’s what I found… The DVD version of THE BLACK SABBATH STORY – VOLUME 1 includes an upgraded color print of “Children Of The Grave” from Cal Jam I. It’s the same exact footage, but no longer in black and white. There are some occasional flecks of film grain that appear in the picture, but this copy is MUCH nicer than the dark and somewhat blurry print used on the VHS version. And as Dylan pointed out, the DVD version also contains most of the extra footage that appeared on the original ABC broadcast. However, it isn’t complete and has been re-edited out of sequence and with a voice over of Tony (in 1991) giving his memories of the show. It does contain most of the essential bits, such as the pre-show interview with Ozzy talking and Geezer standing beside him. The final post-show interview in front of the trailer is cut short, right before Ozzy starts babbling about how “lost for words” he was about the show. Casual fans would probably never pick up on these things, but completists like me like to nitpick crap like this. So there! And just after I cleared those woods, Bryan Berry came stalking me with one more missed detail. I knew I could count on you guys to find more trivialities to exploit. It’s totally cool and love you guys for it! Bryan: “Just wanted to correct your correction. The first ‘IN CONCERT’ Cal Jam episode that ABC aired was an overview of the days events and featured one song from each of the eight bands, as well as how the show was put together. “Children Of The Grave” was the cut from Black Sabbath, including the interviews before and after the song. Rob: That’s correct. I have an advertisement for this program in my Cal Jam articles archive. The opening episode was aired on May 10th, 1974 at 11:30 PM EST. I have a ‘good’ quality dub of that entire episode, which mentions many of the following episodes for the coming week. The ad mentions subsequent programs on May 24th (featuring Deep Purple), June 7th (featuring Emerson Lake And Palmer) and June 21st (featuring Seals And Crofts). Bryan: “The second episode aired featured Deep Purple, Rare Earth, and Sabbath. This one had “Killing Yourself To Live”, “War Pigs” and “Paranoid”. Although the boot copies of these songs are black and white, I am certain that the entire four original broadcasts were in color. The question is, where did these black and white versions come from, including the one used in the official release of The Black Sabbath Story Vol. 1? Maybe a BBC broadcast several years later? Anybody know?” Rob: Thank you Bryan for asking the question that’s been in the back of my mind all of this time! I’ve always wondered why ABC would have broadcast color versions of the show alongside black and white film stock? Just doesn’t make any sense. But after thinking about this a bit more, this footage doesn’t contain any show tags or commercials. It’s simply raw stock footage from the shows, probably from some pre-production masters. Hopefully someone will read our pleas and come forth with additional info on the origin of these black and white reels. Just as an FYI, here is the track listing for both the color and B&W reels I have from California Jam I. If anyone has a different version or episode not listed here, please let me know! Episode #1 (Originally aired May 10th, 1974; In Color): Introduction, SEALS & CROFTS-“Fiddles Of Thunder”, RARE EARTH-“Big Brother”, Don Imus interviews Sheriff, TV Ad for upcoming TV broadcasts of California Jam on ABC, The Lavatory Situation -> Lost Children, EARTH WIND & FIRE-“C'mon Children”, Crowd Interview clip - "Keep On Truckin'", Mobile staging -> Young fan saved up for Cal Jam, THE EAGLES-“Take It Easy”, Crowd control discussion, SEALS & CROFTS-“Windflowers”, BLACK OAK ARKANSAS-“Jim Dandy”, "Are You Having A Good Time" -> Imus interviews alien, "Everybody move back!", Ozzy pre-show interview, BLACK SABBATH-“Children Of The Grave”, Post-show interview with Ozzy, DEEP PURPLE-“Space Truckin'”, Ritchie's guitar smash, ELP – “The Great Gates of Kiev” -> Keith Emerson's flying keyboard solo, The End. [Running Time – 64 minutes] Black & White Raw Footage: DEEP PURPLE-“Burn” [fragment], “Might Just Take Your Life”, Imus interview with cook, BLACK SABBATH-“War Pigs”, “Paranoid”, DEEP PURPLE-“Smoke On The Water”, Promoter discusses crowd control, RARE EARTH-“Celebrate”, “Big Brother”. [Running Time – 40 minutes] Bryan: “Anyway, I sure hope somebody somewhere is working on getting that show released. This year is the 30th anniversary!!” Rob: It’s funny you should mention the 30th anniversary, for I do believe someone IS planning to celebrate that rather soon. But it’s been a long night at the keyboard for me, so I’ll just have to save Cal Jam part 3 for another day! |
Dylan Lieberman and Bryan Berry | More |
| 2/12/2004 | Sabbra Cadabra in Philly tomorrow! | Sabbath tribute band Sabbra Cadabra will be appearing at Sweeney's tomorrow night at 13639 Philmont Avenue. Be sure to check 'em out! | Tom Capobianco | Site |
| 2/12/2004 | Update - Accurate U.S. release dates for Sabbath's 1980-98 releases | Kudos to new Sabbathlive researcher Pete Braidas for coming through with some very useful information on his first assignment! He spent some time researching the U.S. release dates for Black Sabbath’s more recent catalog releases (from 1980 to present). Most of these differed at least slightly with what I had originally. It’s possible that many of the release dates on Joe and Alexander’s sites may be for Europe. I’d like to add the European release dates as well, but not without hard evidence. If anyone can provide credible and proven release dates for the rest of the world, bring ‘em on! The following list is what Pete was unable to uncover for us this week. We’re still looking for the exact release dates of TYR and FORBIDDEN, which appear to be a bit more daunting to find. U.S. Release Dates for Black Sabbath catalog albums Heaven And Hell (Warner Bros 3372) released 5-27-80 Mob Rules (Warner Bros 3605) released 11-10-81 Live Evil (Warner Bros 23742) released 1-18-83 Born Again (Warner Bros 23978) released 10-4-83 Seventh Star (Warner Bros 25337) released 1-28-86 Eternal Idol (Warner Bros 25548) released 12-8-87 Headless Cross (IRS 82002) released 4-25-89 Tyr (IRS 13049) released 9-?-90 Dehumanizer (Reprise 26965) released 6-30-92 Cross Purposes (IRS 13222) released 2-8-94 Forbidden (IRS 30620) released 6-?-95 Reunion (Epic 69115) released 10-20-98 Thanks again to Pete for his help in giving us some more credible information for the timeline! |
Pete Braidas | |
| 2/14/2004 | Ozzfest 2004 to feature Judas Priest…but no Sabbath? | It looks like Ozzy will be readying himself up for another round of Ozzfest shows...but what about Sabbath?? I am glad to see the newly reunited Judas Priest will be there and that Ozzy is recovering well enough to do this. But I'm also VERY disheartened by the fact that it's been 3 years since Ozzy made the rounds with Black Sabbath. This write-up is from Billboard.com. Thanks to Bahamakin for the link! NASHVILLE – “Slayer, Judas Priest -- reunited with vocalist Rob Halford -- and Slipknot will join Ozzy Osbourne as the mainstage acts on this year's Ozzfest, set to begin in early July. For Osbourne, the shows will mark his return to the live stage after suffering severe injuries in an ATV crash late last year. Since its inaugural run in 1996, Ozzfest has grossed $146.5 million from 236 shows that have drawn 3.8 million headbangers, primarily to outdoor amphitheaters.” “A testament to Ozzfest's stature among the metal faithful is the tour's performance in 2003, when Metallica's Summer Sanitarium stadium tour, the return of Lollapalooza, a much-hyped Kiss/Aerosmith double bill and dozens of smaller tours vied for the money and time of rock fans. Ozzfest more than held its own, grossing $23.5 million and drawing 481,857 people. This summer is expected to be equally saturated with rock tours, including another Lollapalooza run and an Aerosmith/Cheap Trick double bill. Official tour details will be announced next week in Los Angeles.” |
Billboard.com / Bahamkin | |
| 2/15/2004 | Danish Sabbath tribute to play Copenhagen on Feb. 28th | Poul Tharuup informed me that 'Black Sabbath Tribute', a Danish Sabbath tribute band, will be performing at Pumpehuset in Copenhagen on February 28th. They will be joined by both two other tribute bands doing Zeppelin and Purple. I've added this band to my ever growing list of Sabbath tribute bands on the Links page. | Poul Tharuup | Site |
| 2/15/2004 | Added 2 new traders to the Sabbath Trading Registry | Sean Big Canoe and Andy Kitching have joined the ranks of our Sabbath trading community, which now totals 35 members! You may known Sean already from his generous contributions to our cover art archive. Andy collects Sabbath, Ozzy & Queen stuff mainly. Welcome them aboard! | Sean and Andy | Traders |
| 2/18/2004 | Cozy brings the house down! - Amsterdam 1990 remembered | Peter wrote in with some memories about Sabbath doing some sonic damage to the Jaap Eden Hall in Amsterdam during the TYR tour. Peter Degen: “Maybe it’s not so interesting to mention, but I went too see Sabbath in the Jaap Eden Hal in Amsterdam on 11/1/90. A nice detail is the fact that actually during the last song of the set, some parts of the ceiling came down behind the drums. Right before they played the encores Tony Martin made some remarks about the roof and bringing it down etc. Although the Jaap Eden Hal wasn’t used much for live gigs, Sabbath was one of the last acts who played there due to the bad state the hall was in. Although I did a lot of taping those days, I didn’t record that particular gig unfortunately.” Peter’s story is echoed in the book NEVER SAY DIE! 1979-1997 by Tony Martin, who confirms the tale. Tony Martin: “We had been banned from using Pyro’s at this particular gig and as warned some time previous that we weren’t gonna be able to use them. So he had an amazing idea to use compressed air in great fuckin’ canisters 5 feet tall!! Cozy had a series of pipes and tubes laid around the kit in a square formation with jet nozzles at approximate places. The idea was that when he did his 1812 drum solo, his drum tech would open the valves on these compressed air canisters and all hell would let loose upward around the kit. So we tried it at rehearsal and sure enough it was quite spectacular – great jets of steam rising out of the kit! Wow!” “OK, so that was agreed, but then a quiet voice of concern from behind the kit. The drum tech couldn’t turn the fuckers off because compressed air freezes when it comes out at that velocity and the valves stuck, along with his skin I might add, to the canister. He thought it was still possible if he wore industrial gloves. So, we tried again and it worked OK.” “When it was time for the solo, we all stood in the wings watching and waiting for this thing to go off. The time came, the tech shoved the lever on the canister and the force of the jets took out the ceiling completely! All kinds of shit came out of the roof that had been up there since the building was erected, and for a time it was difficult to breath. When the dust settled, I went out front and applauded the audience for bringing the roof down. We were subsequently banned from the gig. In fact, I don’t think anyone ever played there after because of the unsafe ceiling.” [from NEVER SAY DIE! 1979-1997 by Garry Sharpe Young – 2003 Cherry Red Books, pg. #307] |
Peter Degen, Tony Martin and Garry Sharpe Young | |
| 2/18/2004 | Review of Boston '98 autograph signing for REUNION. | Bill M. penned this remembrance of Sabbath's 1998 autograph signing appearance at Tower Records on his personal web site. I've added a link to this in the REUNION articles section for future reference too. Bill was also responsible for making up the 'Black Sabbath Game', which you can also access through this page. | Bill M. | Boston '98 |
| 2/22/2004 | Mistress Of Reality comes to Atlanta! | Last night, I finally had a chance to see the world's only all-female Black Sabbath tribute band for myself. I was duly impressed by the show and had a nice time meeting the band to discuss "all things Sabbath"! This is actually a sneak preview of a feature article that I'm in the process of writing. For now, enjoy the photos from last night show and be sure to support Mistress Of Reality when they visit YOUR town. | Rob Dwyer (the article) and Mistress Of Reality | Mistress in Atlanta |
| 2/22/2004 | Geezer's son releases 2nd album with Apt. 24 on February 24th | From MTV.com (Feb 11th, 2004): Many critics cried "nepotism!" after Apartment 26 opened their doors in 2000 and soon found themselves on the Ozzfest tour. Band frontman Biff Butler, son of Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, admitted his group had little else to hang its Pony baseball caps on, especially since its industrial-metal debut album, Hallucinating, was unfocused and derivative. "We were signed right out of high school and didn't know what we were doing," Butler said. "A lot of bands were pissed off about the opportunities we were getting, so we had to try a lot harder to earn any sort of respect." On their second album, Music for the Massive (out February 24), Apartment 26 have re-emerged a changed band. They still play loud, aggressive music that wouldn't feel out of place at Ozzfest. But rather than latch on to current trends, the bandmembers have mined new forms of precious metal, combining raging songs with jazzy textures and unconventional time signatures. To read the rest of this story, go to the link at MTV.com. |
MTV.com and Bahamakin | MTV.com |
| 2/22/2004 | BLACK BOX delayed again - Now set for April 27th release | Once again, the release date for the long awaited BLACK BOX set has been pushed back once again! In my Jan. 30th post, I had reported a March 2nd release date. But now the official word is has the box set will now be released on April 27th (just a day before my birthday, HINT HINT...). This collection will contain the same remastered treatment that was previewed for us on the SYMPTOM OF THE UNIVERSE 2-CD compilation. A bonus DVD will contain the 4 songs from Sabbath's two 1970 appearance on German TV's BEAT CLUB. As for the question of whether the later albums will receive a similar treatment, Joe Siegler tells me that this won't happen until at least 2005. For a more detailed rundown on the BLACK BOX release, check out Joe's news page on Black-Sabbath.com! |
Joe Siegler | Siegler's news |
| 2/24/2004 | Ozzy the good samaritan! | From Mirror.Co.UK (Feb 23rd, 2004): “OUR good neighbour award goes to Ozzy Osbourne after the 55-year-old rocker chipped in to save a small village shop near his Buckinghamshire estate. Ozzy gave his local store a handout to ensure it wouldn't close after villagers wrote him a letter. We're told: "Locals were asked to either give money or time and he was happy to help, but sadly he won't be serving behind the counter." He has also given £50,000 to Wexham Park Hospital in Slough where they nursed him after his quad bike accident. Nice one.” |
Mirror (U.K.) and SXG | Article |
| 2/24/2004 | Virginia's TWISTED TOWER cover "Glory Ride" for a Sabbath tribute album | From Blabbermouth (Feb. 21st, 2004): Virginia's "classic metal" act TWISTED TOWER DIRE are currently writing material for the follow-up to 2003's "Crest of the Martyrs", tentatively due this summer through Remedy Records. Song titles set to appear on the CD include "Starshine", "Tales of Submission", "Netherworlds", and "Casualties of the Cruel". In other news, TWISTED TOWER DIRE recently recorded a version of BLACK SABBATH's "Glory Ride" (from THE ETERNAL IDOL album) for inclusion on a BLACK SABBATH tribute album to be released by Cleopatra Records. Also, Midwest Metal's tribute to Schenker-era UFO, "Spaced Out", featuring TWISTED TOWER DIRE performing "Give Her the Gun" among other bands, will be released April 15. The band have also recorded a cover of "Shoot You in the Back" for Remedy Records' "Motömorphösis - A Tribute To MOTORHEAD Part II", which was released late last year.” |
Blabbermouth and SXG | Article |
| 2/24/2004 | Bill Ward to appear on Internet radio special Wednesday! | Rock Solid Pressure (E-press release - Feb 20th, 2004: "Possibly the greatest drummer in the world, Bill Ward, from the legendary rock unit 'Black Sabbath' will give an exclusive, and rare live interview on the Rock Solid Pressure 'After Party’. Mark your calendars for Wednesday 2/25/04 8:00pm Eastern USA time! The interview will be conducted by the high profile Internet DJ team of J-Rock & Patty The Radio Girl. The loveable, and slightly off the wall hosts have made this Internet broadcast a 'Tonight Show' of sorts for Cyberspace! J-Rock & Patty have conducted interviews with some of the biggest names in the music industry, which is pretty much unheard of for Internet radio. Look who they have featured so far: BRIAN McKNIGHT, JOAN OSBORNE, GARTH BROOKS, THE TRACKBOYZ (Nelly), BTO, KANSAS, KMFDM, PAUL WILLIAMS, GARY WRIGHT, MARTHA DAVIS, THE GREAT KAT, BILL MOSELY, JOE CERINI (Sony A&R), BRIAN ROTHSCHILD (John Lennon Songwriting Competition), DAN TOLER (Allman bros), BOB LEONE (Director for Songwriters Hall Of Fame), and many many more! The music is comprised of mainly unsigned artists and bands. The preceding show 'Rock Solid Pressure' which is also hosted by the team, is an 'American Idol' style competition. This weekly game show has become the rage of the net in the 2 years on air. The post game 'After Party' is where the superstar interviews take place. Who says Internet radio can't be an adventure? Don't miss Bill Ward from Black Sabbath this Wednesday night 8:00pm eastern USA time exclusively on http://Cyberstationusa.com. |
Rock Solid Pressure | Site |
| 2/24/2004 | OZZFEST 2004 lineup announced last Friday | For more news and information regarding the upcoming Ozzfest 2004 tour, be sure to visit Ozzfest.com! [From February 20th]: The organizers of the annual Ozzfest announced the lineup for this year's festival at a press conference held this morning at Avalon in Hollywood, California. It is as follows: Main Stage: OZZY OSBOURNE, JUDAS PRIEST, SLAYER, DIMMU BORGIR, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, Second Stage: SLIPKNOT, HATEBREED, LAMB OF GOD, Rotating: ATREYU, BLEEDING THROUGH, LACUNA COIL, EVERY TIME I DIE, UNEARTH, GOD FORBID. Ozzfest tour dates: 7/10 - Hartford, CT @ ctnow.com Meadows Music 7/12 - Mansfield, MA @ Tweeter Center 7/14 - Wantagh, NY @ Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Th. 7/16 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center 7/18 - Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion 7/20 - Columbus, OH @ Germain Amphitheatre 7/22 - Nashville, TN @ Starwood Amphitheatre 7/24 - Englewood, CO @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre 7/27 - Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre 7/29 - Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre 7/31 - Devore, CA @ Hyundai Pavilion of Glen Helen 8/3 - Albuquerque, NM @ Journal Pavilion 8/5 - Dallas, TX @ Smirnoff Music Center 8/7 - San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 8/10 - Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre 8/12 - Maryland Heights, MO @ UMB Pavilion 8/14 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre 8/17 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Center 8/19 - Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center 8/21 - Tinley Park, IL @ Tweeter Center 8/24 - Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center 8/26 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront 8/28 - Burgettstown, PA @ Post-Gazette Pavilion @ Star Lake 8/31 - Raleigh, NC @ Alltel Pavilion @ Walnut Creek 9/2 - Tampa, FL @ Tampa Bay Amphitheatre 9/4 - West Palm Beach, FL @ Sound Advice Amphitheatre Yahoo! Groups Links · To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Black_Sabbath/ · To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Black_Sabbath-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com · Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. |
Robert | Ozzfest.com |
| 2/24/2004 | New cover art added! | I've received tons of great new covers for the archive over the past few months. The following covers are just the tip of the iceberg. Mega-thanks to Sean Big Canoe, Mark, Chris Slenker & Erik Heemsoth for sending me AND even designing most of the covers seen here. Bravo! | Sean, Mark, Chris & Erik | Covers |
| 2/25/2004 | Several different Sabbath tribute shows to see in NY this weekend! | There’s going to be lots of Sabbath tribute band action around the Big Apple this weekend, so check your schedules and cash flow! SABBRA CADABRA (www.sabbracadabra.com) will be appearing with the Zeppelin tribute BLACK DOG at the following venues: Friday Feb 27 - TOM & JERRYS - 1005 Mcdade Blvd. - Milmont Park Pa. 610-586-1008 Saturday Feb 28 - CONTINENTAL - 25 third ave @ st marks pl., nyc - 212-529-6924 MISTRESS OF REALITY (www.mistressofreality.com), the all-female Sabbath tribute from Los Angeles, make their very 1st appearances in the Big Apple this weekend. Be sure to see my short feature about their Atlanta show from this past week. I’ve been hearing all sorts of good feedback from people about their other Southern gigs too, so don’t miss ‘em! Friday Feb. 27: DOWNTOWN QUARTERBACK – 115 Washington Ave., Endicott, Ny – 607-658-9554 [9 PM show; $10 ADV/$12 at the door] Saturday Feb 28: THE HAUNT – 702 Willow Ave., Ithaca, NY 14850 – 607-275-3447 [7 PM; $5 at the door; Early 16+ show] Sunday Feb. 29: TRIBECA – 16 Warren Street, NYC, NY 10007 – 212-766-1070 [9 PM; $10 ADV/$12 at the door; 18+ show]. |
Wicked World and Mistress Of Reality | |
| 2/26/2004 | REVISED - Notes for Newcastle 11/27/80 (BURNING THE CROSS) added to Known Audios list | Just added this blurb about Newcastle 11/27/80 to the Known Audios list. If anyone has any other helpful info regarding this recording, bring it on! I’ve always loved this show. Special thanks to Tapio Keihanen, Alexander Rack and Chris Slenker for their previous research on this boot and Adrian D. for sharing his memories of the Sydney 11/24/80 show. Set List [from BURNING THE CROSS]: Intro-Supertzar -> War Pigs, Neon Knights, N.I.B., Children Of The Sea, Sweet Leaf -> Vinny Appice's Drum Solo -> Sweet Leaf [reprise], Guitar Intro -> Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell [fades in during intro riff], Iron Man -> Tony Iommi's Guitar Solo [edited], Die Young, Paranoid [beginning cut; joined in progress at beginning of 1st verse] -> Heaven And Hell [reprise] CD Bootlegs: **Burning The Cross (1995 Red Hot RH 015): A SABBATHLIVE pick! Excellent, but somewhat incomplete soundboard recording. Aside from some small cuts, this appears to be missing most of Tony Iommi’s guitar solo. It also plays a bit too fast, although I have found speed corrected CD-R ‘remasters’. This Australian boot was a limited edition pressing of just 500 copies! The liner notes boast that this is ‘the only complete show from the aborted Heaven & Hell tour of Australia’, but in fact, this tape is incomplete. Also, Sydney 11/25/80 appears to be more complete. Still, this is an essential ROIO to have in your collection. [RT – 74:26] Aussie Knights (Smooth Dancer SD-9078). Notes: Definitely a "must have" show from the HEAVEN AND HELL tour. While the liner notes for the BURNING THE CROSS bootleg state the venue as ‘Newcastle Civic Theatre in Newcastle, Australia’, the band apparently did not make it to Newcastle. The reason given in these liner notes is that Geezer had been injured in an ‘onstage accident’. According to Geoff Nicholls, Geezer drunkenly decided to punch a wall and made a mess of his hand! So, I’m not quite sure if that this really qualifies as an accident and Geoff didn’t say anything about this happening onstage, but anyhow… Thanks to research done by both Alexander Rack and Tapio Keihanen, we do know that this tape was actually recorded at The Capitol Theatre in Sydney on the 4th and final night of that unexpectedly shortened tour. Alexander mentioned to me that the late Axel Fischer (a German Dio collector) knew the person who recorded this show, as well another person who came forth with a longer source tape (nearly 20 minutes more). Both of these people confirmed Sydney as the location and November 27th, 1980 as the date. The tape itself is an excellent soundboard recording. Aside from small dropouts in spots, this is really a great sounding recording. The sheer aggression of the band slamming into "War Pigs" at the beginning of this show is one of those live memories that stick out in mind when I think of great Sabbath performances. Ronnie is bellowing righteously and the band is wonderfully edgy. While everything isn't perfectly spot on, you can definitely feel the conviction. BURNING THE CROSS is somewhat incomplete, lacking their customary "Children Of The Grave" encore, the intro rap for "Heaven And Hell", the very beginning of "Paranoid" and possibly "Lady Evil", which was performed in Sydney two nights before. There are longer versions of this tape in circulation, but even these do not appear to be 100% complete. The above set list reflects the completeness of the BTC bootleg, but I’d appreciate information about whether all of these cuts and fade-in’s are present on all versions. Regardless of the cuts, the 75 minutes available to us are an awesome thing to behold. According to Adrian D. of Ravenshoe, Australia, the title of this bootleg was inspired by Sabbath’s powerfully symbolic and controversial burning of a cross during those shows in Australia. Adrian: “The burning cross provoked the Vatican to do a press release to the effect that Black Sabbath should be careful of the message they were putting out as a lot of Christians took notice of what they had to say and burning the cross did not give a good message. The burning cross was very effective, as it's the main thing I remember about the performance, the Capitol was packed out and Black Sabbath's performance was flawless.” |
Rob, Adrian, Tapio, Alexander and Chris! | Covers |
| 2/26/2004 | Rare private photos from Copenhagen '75 added to SABOTAGE era Live Pictures gallery! | I’m always thrilled to see old live pictures of Sabbath in concert, as I know you will be too when you see some of these vintage shots from the SABOTAGE era! I’ll let Mogens tell you the rest of this story… Mogens: “Great site. Just went nostalgic, and dug out my old Sabbath stuff, which might be of interest to your site. I saw them at their best in Copenhagen - January 74, and October 75. Went half across Denmark at the age of 15 to watch the SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH Tour in January '74 (just 30 years ago). Had to go back in '75 to watch the SABOTAGE show too." “Please find attached some pictures & ticket scans for your site in case you're interested. Also the SABOTAGE tour program is included. The concert pictures are from the 1975 SABOTAGE tour, taken in the 2000 seat Falkoner Centre with my parents Kodak Instamatic standing on the seat of row 13 or something like that. I had to manually change (or pop out) the flashbulbs, hence the lousy quality. But who cares - it was a great show. Jezz Woodroffe was hidden behind the curtain playing keyboards by the way.” The original pictures were a bit discoloured after nearly thirty years in Mogens’ scrapbook, but I was able to work some Photoshop magic on them to restore a much more natural color. Enjoy! |
Mogens Pedersen | Copenhagen pics |
| 2/27/2004 | Added - 1975 article from Circus Raves | Just added to SABOTAGE Era Articles! Sabbath's Sabotage: Rock Musicians On Tour - End Sabbatical With Devilish LP (PDF): Article by Mick Houghton, originally featured in the December '75 edition of Circus Raves. Thanks SO much to Dixie Howard for sending this along to SABBATHLIVE last summer. [Submitted by Dixie Howard; Posted 2/2004] | Dixie Howard | Article |
| 2/27/2004 | Site maintenance and revisions | I've spent a little time working on the BLACK SABBATH era and PARANOID era sections, added a few pics and design changes. | Rob | 70's |
| 3/1/2004 | Review of San Francisco '82 tape by the taper! | I’m happy to see that my plea for tape reviews is finally bearing some fruit. And what’s better is that the 1st review was written by the taper himself! Mark sent me this review of his audience recording from San Francisco ’82! Mark: “I taped this show back in the day as a 17 year old. I think it is the only source that made it into circulation, although someone else did tape it. Anyway, here's a review...” Date of show: 4-17-82 Cow Palace, San Francisco (actually, technically located in Daly City) Set list: Intro-E5150, Neon Knights, N.I.B., Children Of The Sea, Voodoo, Black Sabbath, War Pigs, Vinny Appice's Drum Solo, Iron Man [beginning cut], The Mob Rules, Heaven And Hell, Improvisation, Guitar Solo, The Sign Of The Southern Cross [intro], Heaven And Hell [reprise], Paranoid, Children Of The Grave, Outro: Fluff Original Source: Audience Lineage: Master Running Time: 90m Complete show: yes Quality: Very good Summary: My first show ever! Great fun, exciting. Your Review: My first show ever, not just my first Sabbath show. As a senior in high school I was just discovering Sabbath, and got into the Dio era first as that was the existing line up at the time. At this time I had just gotten into bootlegs, so figured I'd try to record this one. Brought along a not so small Panasonic mono recorder with a built in condenser mic. Despite it's bulkiness, I somehow got the thing in! Er, I also snuck two 90-minute TDK-AD tapes in my shoes – yes, my shoes! They kinda got bent, but worked fine. Hey I was only 17… The Outlaws were on first and I didn't bother to record them. I do remember quite well that one of the Outlaws wore a cowboy hat and someone from the crowd knocked the thing off his head with a roll of toilet paper! He left the stage in a huff. Sabbath was next. The lights go out and I start up the Panasonic. "Look at that scenery, man", yelled my friend Dave, as he took in the red devil laden backdrop while “E5I50” played. My pals figured "Mob Rules" would be the first as “E5I50” led into that on the LP. Alas the lights came on and it was "Neon Knights." My friend Ramon gave me a hint as the song started "Hold it up, Mark!!!" meaning hold up the recorder and I did. In retrospect, the sound did improve a bit after I did this. I held it up for the whole show and I remember my arms being sore the next day. At the end of "Neon Knights" I can be heard yelling "yeah" in a strained voice as a fire pod ignited. I remember the heat from it being intense. We were about 30 feet in front of the stage, in the general admission area. "N.I.B." followed. After that tune, Dio talked about playing ‘Day On The Green’ in the Bay Area (7-27-80; I wish there was a tape of that!) They followed with nice versions of “Children of the Grave”, “Voodoo”, “Black Sabbath” and “War Pigs”. Vinny's solo followed and ended right at the end of Side A of my tape. OK, here is where I blew it. Instead of merely flipping the tape to Side B and hitting record, I tried to rewind it to the beginning of Side B, but hit forward instead. I realized my error and hit reverse, then hit record. But I missed the first 20 seconds of so of "Iron Man." At the beginning of "Mob Rules”, there was some 1982 mosh pit action and I was hit from behind, almost knocking the recorder out of my hands. There is a bit of a "wow" on the tape at this point. A great version of “Heaven And Hell” followed, with “The Sign Of The Southern Cross” tossed in. “Paranoid” ended the regular set. As we waited for an encore, I stuck my finger in the AC jack of the recorder, which stopped the tape. I pulled it in and out a few times when I thought the guys were coming back, but stuck it back in when I realized they weren't just yet, and that's why there is that weird noise before “Children of the Grave”. Tony's intro to "Children" was really powerful and came out strong on my recording. I remember joking in the following months that Warner Bros. had called me to borrow my tape for that intro for the LIVE EVIL LP’s because it sounded so good. As the band left the stage, I let the recorder run. You can hear me saying I "blew it" at the beginning of “Iron Man”, my friends comment how hot it was (I was wearing a red sweatshirt and sweating like a pig) and the fact that they didn't do "Die Young, which was my friend Ramon's favorite.” I have fond memories of that night and am glad I recorded it. It was a 1982 "by the numbers show" with no surprises really. But the band was very tight at that point and the playing was amazing. I still have my master and have transferred it to CD. |
Mark | |
| 3/2/2004 | Dio news (New album in the works and SACRED HEART on DVD) | From Blabbermouth (March 1, 2004): DIO are scheduled to enter the studio in April to record the follow-up to 2002's KILLING THE DRAGON , tentatively due in the summer. Speaking to HeavyMetalRadio.net, Ronnie James Dio had the following to say about the upcoming CD: "This is not a concept piece, although as usual, it has that kind of texture in the music. "We, of course, feel the need to repeat the success of KILLING THE DRAGON, but try not to make it the same album over again. Doing the unexpected is always a good idea.” "Our writing process consists of first finding the rhythm of the song we want to write, and then constructing the chord changes inside it that allows me as the lyricist and melody writer to finish it. The last piece of the puzzle is the solo which we always find works best when the song is completed, thereby giving the soloist a better idea of what the piece is all about." Read the rest of the interview by following the link to the right. As previously reported, DIO will release the live "Sacred Heart" performance on DVD March 23 on Rhino Records. The disc will feature bonus interviews with Dio and Craig Goldy (guitar).” |
Blabbermouth | Article |
| 3/2/2004 | New OSBOURNES DVD due in May | From Blabbermouth (February 29): A brand-new "The Osbournes" DVD, titled "The Osbournes 2 ½" will be released on May 4 through Miramax Home Entertainment, according to TVShowsOnDVD.com. Following in the footsteps of the "The Osbournes: The 1st Season" and "The Osbournes: The 2nd Season", "The Osbournes 2 ½" is a 2-disc box set that collects the second half of Season 2, plus a never-before-seen episode. "The Osbournes 2 ½" (cover) has bonus materials galore, including uncensored and censored tracks, never-before-seen footage, The "Lost Episode" that never aired on MTV, set-top games and more. The DVD is expected to have a list price of $29.99. |
Blabbermouth | |
| 3/2/2004 | Ron Keel discusses his brief courtship with Sabbath | Quite accidentally, I ran across this article by Ron Keel on his homepage. Ron Keel, best known as the namesake for the 80’s metal act KEEL, was one of the singers that Iommi and Butler checked out after Ian Gillan left in March 1984. They had met through producer Spencer Proffer, whom the band was also working with at the time. Having heard the demo Ron had been recording with Spencer, Iommi and Butler gave Ron a list of songs to learn. Without retelling the whole story (which you can read in the article), Ron lost his chance to audition for Sabbath and opportunity fizzled out. In Ron’s article, he takes time to thank those sites and authors who have acknowledged his “small role” in Black Sabbath’s history and gives a brief accounting of the events that brought him quite close to singing for his idols. This also helps fill in a few blanks regarding a period where the band was very much in limbo. It’s also hard not to feel a bit b |