BLACK SABBATH – Live at Last (1980 NEMS)
Although the Black Sabbath discography is not that complicated, we still struggle to know exactly how to file Live at Last. Recorded in 1973 (Vol. 4 tour), it was shelved because the band were not happy with it. Much later on (1980) it was released officially but without the band’s consent or knowledge. They have shunned it, while Live at Last has enjoyed a number of re-releases and remasters. For maximum fun, why not track down an old vinyl pressing with the singer’s name spelled as Ossie Osbourne? (The vinyl pressing is also one way to get a completely unedited version; most CD releases lack at least the band intro.)
Live at Last was, for many many years, the only live Black Sabbath album with Ozzy. Live Evil, released in 1982, had then-current frontman Ronnie James Dio. Although considered a sub-par album, you didn’t have much choice back then. Excessive Tony Iommi guitar feedback may be one reason the band weren’t happy with it.
Starting with new single “Tomorrow’s Dream”, Sabbath sound coked to the brim. Iommi’s guitar pukes sonic sludge, Bill Ward floating behind, and Geezer playing bass melodies from another world. “Sweet Leaf” continues the trip; Ozzy howling “I love you!” while the stoned band pummels through. Original Sabbath has a looseness that no other lineup possessed. It’s just something special that happens with those four guys, and Bill Ward had the swing to it all.
Brand new tune “Killing Yourself to Live” hadn’t been released yet, but it’s pretty intact in live form. “Get high!” screams Oz. The challenging song demonstrates Sabbath’s ability to meld multiple memorable guitar riffs together into a single whole. “Killing Yourself to Live” has at least three distinct riff sections, each cooler than the last. Unfortunately the recording doesn’t allow us to really hear how the audience responded to the new material.
“Cornucopia” alone could be responsible for birthing half of grunge rock. The young band’s energy is remarkable. “Snowblind” is a blast, with Ozzy shouting “CO-CAINE!” rather than whispering slyly. Closing side one, we come to “Embryo/Children of the Grave” and its unforgettable chug riff that launched many a metal band. You can hear the crowd clapping madly at Ozzy’s command to “Embryo”, before the riff cascades down like the Biblical flood. Bill Ward paces it faster than the album version by several notches. “War Pigs” also swings, a little faster than album, but with an unusually jazzy touch.
For some serious swing, check out the 20 minute “Wicked World” medley. Ward jazzes it up like nobody’s business, when he’s not crushing the heavy parts. Tony Iommi has a varied guitar solo section, becoming “Into the Void”, then a blues jam and the old standard “Sometimes I’m Happy”. That turns into “Supernaut” and a drum solo, before reverting right back into “Wicked World” for the finale! This insane extended track is the one to buy the album for.
After asking the audience several times “What do you wanna hear?”, Ozzy closes with “Paranoid”. Once again it’s quite fast with Bill ahead of the beat. Osbourne tells the crowd that they’re beautiful and of course “we love you all!” and that’s that — a one hour live album on a single LP, all done. No “Black Sabbath”, no “Fairies Wear Boots” or “Iron Man”, but plenty of the blackest Sabbaths.
Recommended CD edition: Black Sabbath’s 2002 Past Lives set, which includes a slightly edited version of Live at Last plus a whole CD more of unreleased live stuff. It even has a sticker on the front that says “Live at Last…deluxe edition”! Full review of that CD tomorrow.
3.5/5 stars
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Review…at last.
Love that Wicked World jam. It’s a great way to hear a couple extra riffs.
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When I first heard this album I didn’t have Wicked World in studio form yet. I thought all those riffs were a part of it!
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Just got the deluxe of this. Never really found it all that exciting but its overdue a revisit.
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It’s less exciting today when there is more original Sabbath available.
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I haven’t heard this since the late 70s (77 or 78). At the time, I thought it was one of the worst, muddiest sounding live albums I’d ever heard. Mind you this was at the same time as listening to pristine live recordings such as Live and Dangerous (Thin Lizzy) and Double Live Gonzo. I just assumed all live albums at that time would sound clean and clear and not dense and muddy like Live At Last. Didn’t the Live at Last deluxe set contain some songs from the Sabotage tour which were from an FM broadcast? I might be wrong.
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Hey Tony! We will be getting into the “deluxe” bonus tracks tomorrow. Good stuff worth owning.
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I’ve never heard this one and don’t really think I’ve ever spotted it. Although they may not have been happy with the performance or quality, it sounds like a proper live album.
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It’s proper. If Sabbath had released a few live albums during their 70s tenure, they might have managed a classic one.
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The title is obviously stolen from the Steeleye Span album of the same name which came out a year or two before.
New task: invoke the spirit of Pete Frame and forge connections between the two bands. The shortest wins, but so does the longest! I’ll start.
Gillan sang in Sabbath, so that gets us to Purple. Airey is in Purple and toured with Jethro Tull. Many paths from Tull to Steeleye: Ian Anderson produced And Now We Are Six; several members of Tull play on Maddy Prior’s (main singer with Steeleye) solo album Woman in the Wings. Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks, Martin Allcock, and Ric Sanders from Fairport Convention have recorded and toured with Tull. Ashley Hutchings founded Fairport Convention, and Steeleye Span. So, Sabbath to Steeleye is only three or four degrees of separation. Perhaps Sabbath could cover “The Blacksmith”: very heavy metal. Of course, “Steeleye” is itself very heavy metal, as opposed to some wimp with a glass eye.
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Once again Phillip…you have absolutely blown me away with your knowledge of the rock.
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This is something I must check out. “Killing Yourself to Live” is my favourite track from the “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” album and I think it would be cool to hear a raw, live version of it.
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For sure! Especially this early after its conception.
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I like the sounds of the 20-minute medley!
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Whaaaa? I was under the impression that this was a Dio-Sabbath album. I must get this now.
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen this one in the wild to be honest. I am a bit of a sucker fo that space-age typeface though, I might buy it just for that.
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A fella back in High School (early 82) had this and I remember hearing it at his place …
My initial reaction was “WTF” I had never heard anything like Sabbath or this version and than a short while later the same fella was drooling all over “Born Again”
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“Recommended CD edition: Black Sabbath’s 2002 Past Lives set, which includes a slightly edited version of Live at Last plus a whole CD more of unreleased live stuff”.
I disagree. Sure you get more live stuff, but the mastering of Past Lives is seriously compressed and dynamically crushed. That’s the last thing needed by an already relatively dodgy sounding recording such as Live At Last.
In comparison the early CD releases of Live At Last from the 1980s (on Creative Sounds or Castle Communications) are free from that compression and have almost twice the dynamic range. So one of those would be my recommendation.
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I have vinyl too so I get it all ways.
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