Live Evil [Live]

Black Sabbath | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 8, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KYF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,697 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. E5150

2. Neon Knights

3. N.I.B.

4. Children of the Sea

5. Voodoo

6. Black Sabbath

7. War Pigs

8. Iron Man

Disc: 2

1. The Mob Rules

2. Heaven and Hell

3. Sign of the Southern Cross/Heaven and Hell (Cont.)

4. Paranoid

5. Children of the Grave

6. Fluff

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome power chord Sabbath's live music, February 7, 2001

By 

David J. Huber "Addicted to books!" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Evil (Audio CD)

Live Evil is an amazing collection of live Sabbath tunes. I think Dio does a tremendous job of singing, even singing the old Ozzy tunes. Obviously he sounds very different, but his throaty, demonic timbre really makes the music, to my ears. Although (as many have ponited out) the recording quality on this could be a lot better, the arean-filling sonics of Iommi's guitar come through loud and clear in this recording. His guitar solo in Heaven and Hell is a superblast of guitar noise. One of my favorite moments is in Iron Man, there's a slight pause in the tune between parts, and right before the guitar comes in again you can hear the whole amplifier setup firing up as soon as Iommi puts his hands back on the strings - what a cool sound that is!

This album has a good set of Ozzy and Dio tunes, played in Sabbath's trademark super-heavy sound, with lots of great crowd noises in it, too (thought at times too much).

I'm giving this four stars, partly just because it is recorded not as good as it should have been. The performance is top-rate, however, and any Sabbath fan should enjoy it very much. I know I have, ever since it came out - I listened to this album over and over in high school and college, and still bring it out every now and again when I need some serious heavy-metalage.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for, March 23, 2003

By 

J. Wesley Townsend "westknife" (new york) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live Evil (Audio CD)

This is a GREAT live album. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. Both discs are absolutely solid. Of the total 12 songs on the album, 6 are from the later 2 Sabbath albums: Heaven and Hell, and Mob Rules. The other 6 are from the first 3: Black Sabbath, Paranoid, and Master of Reality. The beauty of this recording is that the new band (with singer Dio and drummer Appice) can not only rock their newest songs, but they can also kick out the old classics harder than ever. Since it has been more than 10 years since these classic albums came out, Iommi and Butler are both profoundly better at their instruments. Iommi now proves himself to be one of the great guitarists in rock. The solo in "Heaven and Hell" is incredible, and his guitar work throughout the album is really great; he is at his high point creatively.

The newer songs, like "Heaven and Hell" and "Sign of the Southern Cross" (two of my favorites) are pretty much like you would expect them (really awesome, that is). The old ones are done surprisingly well, too. The two that I had the most doubt for are the ones that turned out to be the best on the album: "Black Sabbath" and "Iron Man." These are incredible; they are quite different from their original versions. They are sleeker and more updated for the new decade of the 80s.

Dio is the best singer Black Sabbath ever had, as well as being my personal favorite singer of all time. His voice is one of the most recognizable in heavy metal, he has a great distinct style that fits the music of Black Sabbath very well. Vinny Appice (apparently it is pronounced "Ap-iss-ee," as Dio says at one point in the album) is an incredible drummer, although I have to say I do like Bill Ward better. Appice has much better technical ability, as clearly displayed in the ferocious drum solo of "War Pigs," but I find that he does not have the same groove. He doesn't rock quite as hard as Ward. However, the lineup of this album is still one of my favorites. This truly is Black Sabbath at their artistic prime.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "There's a big black shape lookin' up at me...", October 20, 2008

By 

NoLongerDevil (Nowhere, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live Evil (2 CD) (Audio CD)

Here we go. This CD captures a great night out with the second incarnation of Black Sabbath. Taken from 1982's Mob Rules Tour, with singer Ronnie James Dio, this recording compiles a great set list of favorites taken from the short lived Dio era, covering the albums 'Mob Rules', and the immortal 'Heaven and Hell.' Of course, there are Ozzy tunes in the set, which leave us realizing that Ozzy's tunes are best left to Ozzy. But it does'nt take away from the greatness of the CD.
The recording is rough and raw, but keeps it sounding honest and genuine, and there are a couple of jewels in the set-- Dio's vocals on 'Children of the Sea,' are outstanding, and the extended version of 'Heaven and Hell' is truly anthemic and historic. This is a great dark dream back in time, and this CD brings you to that fateful night when 25,000 devil horns pounded defiantly towards the sky...