Live Evil

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Live Evil, released in 1982 (see 1982 in music), is the first "official" live album by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was recorded in Seattle, San Antonio and Dallas, with Ronnie James Dio singing lead.

The previously released Live at Last (1980) was not sanctioned by Black Sabbath, making it an unofficial release. The subsequent Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007) is from the same tour as Live Evil.

Already having tense relations with the other band members, Dio and drummer Vinny Appice abruptly left the group during the mixing of the album, amidst rumors that they had sneaked into the studio late at night to mix the drums and vocals higher. All parties have since denied that this occurred. In what Dio has called retaliation for him and Appice leaving the group, on the back of the album, Dio is listed as "Ronnie Dio" instead of his stage-name of "Ronnie James Dio," and Vinny Appice is listed as a special guest rather than a member of the band.

One of the most popular tracks on the album is a near 20-minute long medley that includes "Heaven And Hell" (with its extended break-down section and additional lyrics), "Sign of the Southern Cross", a guitar solo, and a reprise of "Heaven and Hell".

Another favourite is an extended War Pigs which featured a drum solo from Appice whose playing more closely resembled John Bonham than original Sabbath drummer Bill Ward's jazzier style.

At one point Dio says 'Not only are we filming this one...', although the footage has never been commercially available, but some bits have been shown on YouTube. (It is not the footage on the Black & Blue video and laserdisc, which was recorded on the Heaven and Hell tour on October 17, 1980.)

Album cover

The album cover shows a group of beings that each bear a resemblance to Black Sabbath songs. They are:

a screaming man in a straitjacket ("Paranoid")
a voodoo shaman ("Voodoo")
an angel and a devil ("Heaven and Hell")
a knight with a sword emitting an eerie glow (Neon Knights)
a hooded man ("Black Sabbath"/"N.I.B.")
a metallic-skinned man flexing his muscles ("Iron Man")
a pig dressed as a sergeant ("War Pigs")
a group of children inside a casket ("Children of the Grave") floating on the water ("Children of the Sea")
a man with a whip ("The Mob Rules")
lightning in the shape of a devil's head ("E5150")
(On the back of the sleeve,) an acoustic guitar washed up on the shore ("Fluff")
(On the back of the sleeve) the Southern Cross in the sky ("Sign of the Southern Cross")

Track listing

"E5150" (Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler) – 2:21
"Neon Knights" (Dio, Iommi, Butler, Bill Ward) – 4:36
"N.I.B." (Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 5:09
"Children of the Sea" (Dio, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 6:08
"Voodoo" (Dio, Butler, Iommi) – 6:07
"Black Sabbath" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 8:39
"War Pigs" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 9:19
"Iron Man" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 7:29
"The Mob Rules" (Dio, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 4:10
"Heaven and Hell" (Dio, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 12:04
"Sign of the Southern Cross/Heaven and Hell (Continued)" (Dio, Butler, Iommi/Dio, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 7:15
"Paranoid" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 3:46
"Children of the Grave" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) – 5:25
"Fluff" (Iommi) – 0:59

The two LP set was released in a gatefold sleeve but with generic Vertigo inners, rather than the photo-inners that graced the live-album of many other bands.

The first UK CD release omitted "War Pigs", so as to fit onto a single CD, and although the remaster restored this it cut much of the stage banter, so as to again fit onto a single CD. Naturally, this further reduced the 'live' feel of the recordings. In the US it was a two CD set, which matched the vinyl.

Personnel

Ronnie James Dio – vocals
Tony Iommi – guitar
Geezer Butler – bass guitar
Vinny Appice – drums
Geoff Nicholls – keyboards

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United States	December 1982	Warner Bros. Records
United Kingdom	18 January, 1983	Vertigo Records
Canada	???	Warner Bros. Records
United Kingdom	1996	Castle Communications
United Kingdom	2004	Sanctuary Records

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Last updated on Monday March 03, 2008 at 13:02:53 PST (GMT -0800)
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