Live Evil (Black Sabbath album)
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Live Evil, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music), is the first "official" live album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was recorded in Seattle, San Antonio and Dallas, with Ronnie James Dio singing lead.
The previously released Live at Last (1980) was not sanctioned by Black Sabbath, making it an unofficial release. The subsequent Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007) is from from the same tour as Live Evil.
Already having tense relations with the other band members, Dio and drummer Vinny Appice abruptly left the group during the mixing of the album, amidst rumors that they had sneaked into the studio late at night to mix the drums and vocals higher. All parties have since denied that this occurred. In what Dio has called retaliation for him and Appice leaving the group, on the back of the album, Dio is listed as "Ronnie Dio" instead of his stage-name of "Ronnie James Dio," and Vinny Appice is listed as a special guest rather than a member of the band.
One of the most popular tracks on the album is a near 20-minute long medley that includes Heaven And Hell (with its extended break-down section and additional lyrics), Sign of the Southern Cross, a guitar solo, and a reprise of Heaven And Hell.
Another favourite is an extended War Pigs which featured a drum solo from Appice whose playing more closely resembled John Bonham than original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward's jazzier style.
At one point Dio says 'Not only are we filming this one...', although the footage has never been commercially available, but some bits have been shown on YouTube. (It is not the footage on the Black & Blue video and laserdisc, which was recorded on the Heaven and Hell tour on October 17th 1980.)
Album cover
The album cover shows a group of beings that each bear a resemblance to Black Sabbath songs. They are:
- a screaming man in a straight jacket (Paranoid)
- a voodoo shaman (Voodoo)
- an angel and a devil (Heaven and Hell)
- a knight with a sword emitting an eerie glow (Neon Knights)
- a hooded man (Black Sabbath/N.I.B.)
- a metallic-skinned man flexing his muscles (Iron Man)
- a pig dressed as a sergeant (War Pigs)
- a group of children inside a casket (Children of the Grave) floating on the water (Children of the Sea)
- a man with a whip (Mob Rules)
- lightning in the shape of a devil's head (E5150/Sign of the Southern Cross)
- (On the back of the sleeve,) an acoustic guitar washed up on the shore (Fluff)
- (On the back of the sleeve) the Southern Cross in the sky
Track listing
- "E5150" (Butler, Dio, Iommi) – 2:21
- "Neon Knights" (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward) – 4:36
- "N.I.B." (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) – 5:09
- "Children of the Sea" (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward) – 6:08
- "Voodoo" (Butler, Dio, Iommi) – 6:07
- "Black Sabbath (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) – 8:39
- "War Pigs" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) – 9:19
- "Iron Man" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) – 7:29
- "The Mob Rules" (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward) – 4:10
- "Heaven and Hell (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward) – 12:04
- "Sign of the Southern Cross/Heaven and Hell (Continued)" (Butler, Dio, Iommi, Ward)/(Butler, Dio, Iommi) – 7:15
- "Paranoid" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) – 3:46
- "Children of the Grave" (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne, Ward) – 5:25
- "Fluff" (Iommi) – 0:59
The two LP set was released in a gatefold sleeve but with generic Vertigo inners, rather than the photo-inners that graced the live-album of many other bands.
The first UK CD release omitted 'War Pigs', so as to fit onto a single CD, and although the remaster restored this it cut much of the stage banter, so as to again fit onto a single CD. Naturally, this further reduced the 'live' feel of the recordings. In the US it was a two CD set, which matched the vinyl.
Credits
- Ronnie James Dio – vocals
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Geezer Butler – bass guitar
- Vinny Appice – drums
- Geoff Nicholls – keyboards
