Customer Reviews

Live Evil (Deluxe Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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The packaging on this edition qualifies as deluxe, but not the musical content per se. Having the crowd noise and Dio banter included "once again" does not constitute bonus material. The Rhino edition gave you that-- albeit bloated and smeared sound. This edition is closer to the original Warner cd in terms of its sonics. Dio's voice is really front and center on this issue and the bass guitar's individual notes are more detailed and natural. While sounding more like the first edition Warner CD is not a bad thing, its just that Live Evil, as with Born Again, need a full scale remix. Take all those tapes and spread them out and do the whole thing over. I believe Mr. Iommi is actually going to do that with Born Again in the near future. The booklet and packaging alone make this worth an upgrade as does the increase in dynamic range. You just might find yourself playing this twice and not knowing why!

I bought the Warner/Rhino version (R2 515957) UPC#081227988999 from Amazon.com, produced by Tony Iommi and Geezer
Butler. There is nothing wrong with it, and it costs less money. Buy that one instead of this "Deluxe Edition" I
feel you will be more satisfied overall. I'm an audiophile, and very picky when it comes to music and releases.
I have listened to Black Sabbath since their incarnation, and subsequent band changes, plus solo efforts of them
all. The original Warner was 1982, reissue Rhino in 2008 for Live Evil that I purchased, and well-worth it.

Just to get this out there, the sound/mix on this import version is different from the Sabbath Dio boxset/other American pressings. This may be a good selling point if you are disappointed with other CD versions of "Live Evil". I own the original 2LP, the Dio boxset CD and this import version. I believe both CD pressings are great, with the import sounding warmer, like vinyl(but defin better than the original LPs!) and the boxset CD sounding clear and crisp and a bit louder. After eight albums with Ozzy and two highly successful "comeback" albums with Dio, a live album with either singer was long overdue. The track listing on "Live Evil" is about what you would expect for the time period, half Dio, half Ozzy era. That is where I believe the only flaw on this album is. While everyone knows they have to play the "Paranoid" hits, I would have like to have heard a couple surprises. Songs such as "Symptom of the Universe", "Supernaut","Sweet Leaf" "Die Young" "Falling Off the Edge of the World", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and "Sabbra Cadabra" would have all been welcome additions. Maybe this should have been a triple or quadruple set. As is, this album is a testament to just how good Sabbath was with very different singers, and to how tight their playing was with then new drummer, Vinny Appice. Dio's vocal prowess shines (one could argue improved!) on classics like "War Pigs" and "NIB", giving the songs new dimensions in heaviness without sounding forced or over the top, considering the relatively simple original vocal melodies. For sure Ozzy would have trouble with "Sign of the Southern Cross"! The truly great thing about this album is that the songs aren't just reproductions of the studio counterparts. Given the band's bluesy/jazzy roots and Dio being Dio, no two performances are ever the same, but always outstanding. Solos are twisted around or improvised, drum fills splashed in here and there, bass fills extended and we all know how Dio was a master at ad libing lyrics and vocal melodies (ie extended Heaven and Hell jams). Overall, the sound and mix is greatly improved over the original vinyl version, no mater what version of the CD you get and we all know all die hard Sabbath fans will get "Live Evil" anyway so enjoy!

Live Evil was my first Black Sabbath album, and it got me hooked. This is arguably the heaviest live album released by any rock or metal band, and showcases the band at the height of their powers, and firing on all cylinders. Though there is almost some studio remastering wizardry at play, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler's tone on this album is so incredibly perfect that it sets an almost impossible standard for all other metal bands to achieve. Ronnie James Dio had never sounded nastier (in a good way) before or after this recording, and the song selection? A near perfect mix of Ozzy and Dio era songs: Neon Knights, Heaven and Hell, NIB, The Sign of the Southern Cross, War Pigs, Children of the Sea ... ignore all the naysayers who say Dio couldn't do the Ozzy material - just listen to the versions of NIB and Children of the Grave on this album- you might just reach the conclusion that these are the most impressive live versions of these songs ever recorded. On Live Evil, even Paranoid is transformed from Ozzy's by-the-numbers rendition into something almost impossibly heavy and menacing.

The Live Edition sounds a bit cleaner, but in other respects, is almost identical to the two disc Warner Bros. release. This deluxe edition adds photos and a booklet that sorta, almost, justifies the price. Obviously, this edition will appeal to mostly to die hard fans, but the music itself is amazing. An absolute essential album for any fan of heavy metal.