The
last concert given under the Black Sabbath
banner before this Reunion concert was
recorded, was in Bangkok. However, it
was a completely different lineup to the
one on this C.D. Back in December 1995
only Toni Iommi was left in the ranks
of Black Sabbath from the original band.
Along with him was Tony (Cat) Martin on
Vocals. (Tony has just released a new
album (2003) with his band Empire called
'Trading Souls' and very good it is, too.)
Furthermore there were Neil Murray on
bass; Geoff Nicholls on keyboards (he
has been with Sabbath now for twenty years,
but he yet has to play off stage); and
Bobby Rondinelli on drums. On that frenzied
night in Bangkok they gave the sort of
concert that smacks of end of tour, ’Alright,
let’s give it one more go and then
go home’. Great Gig, but you always
felt that you wanted to see the real thing
rather than a bunch of very efficient
and technically gifted players. They gave
an excellent concert, but they were not
it. After a long world tour none of the
members of the band were talking to each
other, and probably never spoke again
after that night in Bangkok. (Apart from
the ever dependable Geoff Nicholls, of
course.)
In 1979 Ozzy Osbourne was fired from
Black Sabbath or quit, depending who’s
side of the story you wanna believe. It
was to be over eighteen years before the
original lineup got back together, although
there were brief moments of hope for the
fans like the one off performance at Live
Aid in 1985. In fact, over those eighteen
years Sabbath had recorded ten different
albums, all of which had different personnel.
Twenty-three musicians had been through
the ranks, not counting hundreds of auditions.
Giant Stonehenge monoliths for the stage
that could not be fitted into the concert
halls they were playing; Dwarfs on stage;
famous vocalists who did not know the
lyrics to classic Sabbath songs; getting
lost on the way to the stage; and drummers
disappearing into the dry ice. You name
it, Sabbath had either done it, or somebody
had done it to them. But through it all
there were still some great moments and
great albums from both, Sabbath and Ozzy,
who's own band was just as liquid as Sabbaths.
(Ozzy Osbourne, with the help of his wife
Sharon, had gone on to be far more commercially
successful than Sabbath had ever been.
The two of them had been the main inspiration
for a movie called 'Spinal Tap'.)
Realizing the time was right, and to
be fair, they probably realized a buck
or two could be made out of the gig, it
was decided to put the original Black
Sabbath together and do those songs properly
again. Bridges were built and contracts
were signed (which was more than Sabbath
managed the first time around). They never
received a dime in royalties for their
first album as they were paid a one off
sum of one thousand pounds, given two
days to record, and that was it. The album
went top twenty all over the world, is
still on the Billboard lists today, over
thirty four years later, and has been
re-licensed to different labels countless
times. Smart move, boys.
As a token of goodwill their home town
of Birmingham, England, was chosen for
the comeback concerts, so the giant N.E.C.
Stadium was booked to present the reunited
Black Sabbath on two dark wet and windy
nights in December 1997. Fearing that
this could be a one off if Sabbath soon
returned to their old habits, it was decided
to record the whole thing for posterity.
Add to that the fact that the boys were
not as young anymore either. Rehearsals
were a little tense, but apart from Bill
Ward missing the odd flight and Toni Iommi
setting Bill’s beard on fire, things
went better than expected. But would the
magic still be there when they took to
the stage?
Before going on stage the band admitted
they had never been so nervous in all
their careers. However, when the pre-recorded
opening sirens and announcements boomed
across the stage the band walked out and
the crowd went mental. 'War Pigs', first
played live by Sabbath in 1969, shuddered
the rafters and thundered out of the speakers.
By the time Ozzy came in with the first
verse, they have got it, the groove was
back. Not only the band knew it, the audience
felt it too and went berserk along with
their heroes. Toni Iommi established what
the whole world knew anyway, he was the
master of the heavy metal riff, his searing
solos were splattered across every song,
driving the band onto further heights.
On the audio C.D. you can hear Geezer
Butler throwing his bass guitar around,
leaving the template for all heavy metal
bassists. Truly a Master of Reality as
he nails every note.
On the drums there is Bill Ward, playing
the bins with hammer blows reaching technical
ecstasy.
Ozzy comes through the Blizzard of sound,
taunting the crowd onto a higher musical
plain between songs, belting out the lyrics
as only Ozzy can. After all, nobody has
ever actually accused him of being able
to sing.
Geoff Nichols is unheard and unseen throughout
the concert; merely a supporting role.
But what you get is two hours of the
live beast, plus two newly recorded studio
tracks as a bonus. All the classics are
played alongside some other songs that
should of been classics (and would of
been if they had been in other bands’
repertoires). Sabbath had such a wealth
of songs that some got forgotten over
a period of time.
I for one am truly grateful that these
concerts were recorded and released, as
the original lineup never released a proper
live album first time round. So this is
a great memento of one of rock’s
immortal giants. After what they have
been through they must be immortal.
I leave you with the opening lyrics to
'Children Of The Grave', written by Geezer
Butler in 1971, which shows, I think,
that not only in their heavy riffs and
solid rhythms were Black Sabbath years
ahead of everybody else. Who would of
thought that there would be social awareness
from this bunch of brummies?
‘So you children of the world,
listen to what I say,
If you want a better place to live in,
spread the word today,
Show the world that love is still alive,
you must be brave,
Or You children of today are children
of the grave.’
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
