Live Evil - Black Sabbath

In 1982, Black Sabbath finally released their first official live album, spurred on by the popularity of the unofficial 'Live At Last' that they weren't making any money from, and rather than being just one of many, it serves as a perfect epilogue to the years with singer Ronnie James Dio, whose two albums with the band ('Heaven and Hell' and 'Mob Rules') are well represented alongside older material from the Ozzy Osbourne years that Dio has a good crack at without trying to emulate Ozzy's distinctive style. With twelve substantial songs (the first and last are brief instrumentals), there's only a slight degree of overlap for those who had previously purchased 'Live At ...

Few bands can rival Black Sabbath when it comes to live performances and Live Evil does its best to re-create the whole live Sabbath experience. Sabbath had always planned to release a live album right from when they hit the bigtime and Ozzy Osbourne was their lead singer but fans had to wait until 1983 and after Ronnie James Dio had left until they were treated to an official live album. Live at Last did the bands reputation a lot of harm when it was released without their permission so they had to get this album right of face losing fans. Live Evil is a recording of gigs in Seattle, San Antonio and Dallas of the Mark II Sabbath featuring Dio on vocals and ...