I'm Trying to Save Your Brain (Live At Last - Black Sabbath)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Live At Last - Black Sabbath
Date:	20/02/08 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Captures the band at its peak, with some of their finest songs including comparatively rare ones.

Disadvantages: Some superior songs are missing, and 'Wicked World' would only really work in the flesh.

'Live At Last' was the long-awaited live album from Black Sabbath, which unfortunately had a fairly controversial background by being completely unofficial, despite receiving a mainstream release. This evidently angered the band's management and was likely a key factor in releasing an official answering-back in the form of 'Live Evil' two years later, but fortunately for the contemporary fans who didn't mind giving some cash to an unlicensed product, this earlier release remained appealing and different for being recorded back in the Ozzy Osbourne years, when the band was arguably at its peak (and certainly its most popular). It's a damn sight better than a bootleg too.

This hour-long performance sees Black Sabbath performing songs from their first five classic albums, the emphasis oddly being more on the third and fourth, which makes this even more appealing to me as those are my favourite Sabbath releases, though as is always the way, many of my actual favourite songs are missing. The tracklist is an interesting mix of obvious classics ('Paranoid,' 'War Pigs,' 'Children of the Grave') and some slightly lesser-known offerings that wouldn't appear on some later live releases, particularly 'Killing Yourself to Live' which is the only representation of the 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' (despite being one of its weaker tracks - there I go again). This marks the recording out nicely as a record of a distinct period in the band's early history, which can be contrasted with the entirely nostalgia-based performances of today that expressly favour the most famous ten or so songs with little variation, while also meaning that the band were still young, eager, in the zone and out of their heads.

As an unofficial release produced without the band's knowledge, there's less likelihood of studio tampering to guarantee a genuine audio record of the performance, but the excellent production job proves that the four band members were all performing at their very best, and also grants the songs from the 'Vol. 4' album some extra heaviness more in line with the rest, that was lacking from the end result of that album. While edits have probably been made, particularly as a fade-out after track six marks out the end of the first side of the original vinyl, the extended solos and somewhat annoying improvisation that dominates the eighteen minutes of 'Wicked World' gives a true feeling of the original show, as does the brief tuning up before 'War Pigs.'

All of the songs here are fine examples of the band's best work, with the possible exception of the aforementioned 'Killing Yourself to Live,' and the band's energy is matched by the nicely (but not distractingly) audible crowd response. Fans of the band's early heavy period have a hell of a lot going for them here, with the drug anthems 'Sweet Leaf' and 'Snowblind' alongside their classic 'Children of the Grave' (Ozzy performs the original version of 'Snowblind' with yells of "cocaine" intact after every verse, rather than the single whisper eventually haggled on the studio version), but the album is less grateful for newcomers who've only heard the big hits 'Paranoid' and 'Iron Man' and desire more of the same; there are more recent live recordings from the geriatric band to suit your needs.

Of course, all of this stage freedom isn't necessarily a good thing, and while it's nice to hear songs performed differently in a live format (or what would be the point of owning them twice?), 'Wicked World' is pushing it. The song itself bookends this eighteen minute odyssey of frantic guitar and (oh god) drum solos, but there are a couple of exciting highlights when the band starts to perform the classics 'Into the Void' and 'Supernaut,' the latter being the only one followed through to any serious degree. While this track is the one to be wary of on repeated listens, this is one of my favourite official live Sabbath albums. Oh wait, except that it's unofficial.

1. Tomorrow's Dream
2. Sweet Leaf
3. Killing Yourself to Live
4. Cornucopia
5. Snowblind
6. Children of the Grave
7. War Pigs
8. Wicked World
9. Paranoid

Summary: Black Sabbath's first (unofficial) live album (1980).