Black Sabbath Live Evil CD

Black Sabbath: Ronnie James Dio (vocals); Tony Iommi (guitar); Geezer Butler (bass); Vinnie Appice (drums).
Recorded live in Seattle, Washington, San Antonio, Texas and Dallas, Texas.
Black Sabbath's first attempt at an official live album, 1982's Live Evil was also the straw that broke the camel's back -- or rather, split the legendary group's second lineup right down the middle. Band tensions were already at an all-time high leading into the album's mixing sessions, but when founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler accused singer Ronnie James Dio of sneaking into the studio to raise the volume on his vocal tracks, the pint-sized warbler decided he'd had enough and, guilty or not, departed to pursue a solo career, taking drummer Vinny Appice with him. Fateful accusations aside, Live Evil does benefit from a crystal clear, in-your-face sound, and by showcasing even amounts of both Ozzy and Dio material, effectively documents Black Sabbath's renascent tours of the early '80s. Ronnie certainly has the vocal chops, if not the same everyman charm, to handle the Osbourne classics, but his incessant banter between (and during!) songs sometimes verges on the unbearable. And even though the album's only truly transcendent moments may be the vicious introductory pairing of "E5150"/"Neon Knights" and the extended "Heaven and Hell"/"Sign of the Southern Cross" suite, there's also nothing really amiss with solid interpretations of such all-time metal classics as "Children of the Sea," "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs," and "Children of the Grave" either. And considering the as yet unknown travails awaiting Black Sabbath in the post-Dio era, Live Evil's troubled gestation has come to seem positively idyllic in retrospect. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
Released in January 1983, LIVE EVIL was competing against Ozzy Osbourne's live SPEAK OF THE DEVIL for the dominant share of Black Sabbath fans' favor. Both albums did fairly well, and EVIL features Ozzy's successor Ronnie James Dio on vocals. Recorded in Seattle, San Antonio, and Dallas on the Mob Rules tour, excellent production only enhances these powerful live performances.
With two Dio-era albums under their belt, Sabbath opens with "E5150" and "Neon Knights" for a rousing start. Then Dio tackles "N.I.B.," the first of many Ozzy classics. Longtime Sabbath fans were curious as to how the former Rainbow belter would handle "Black Sabbath," "War Pigs" and "Iron Man." Quite well, as it turns out. Dio's vocal style is drastically different from Ozzy's, but his range and power sustain the songs formidably. While "Heaven And Hell" and "Children of the Sea" are two of the finer Dio-era Sabbath songs, "Paranoid" and "Children Of The Grave" drive the point home. Although Black Sabbath mark II did not last long, Dio did return to front the band 10 years later. LIVE EVIL is an excellent recording from a classic lineup.