Surprisingly,
Warner Brothers
never released a live
Black Sabbath
album in the U.S. during
Ozzy Osbourne
's years with the band. It wasn't until 1982's double-LP
Live Evil
(which featured
Ronnie James Dio
instead of the Oz) that
Warner
finally put out a live
Sabbath
album in the U.S. Released in England in 1980,
Live at Last
is a single LP that was recorded before
Osbourne
's departure but didn't come out until after he had left. Unfortunately, this LP's liner notes are problematic.
Nems
lets you know that
was recorded in Manchester, England, and at
the Rainbow
in London, but no recording dates are given. And
's first name is misspelled "Ossie." As for the performances, the
/
Geezer Butler
Tony Iommi
Bill Ward
lineup of
is in decent form on such menacing favorites as
"War Pigs,"
"Paranoid,"
"Sweet Leaf,"
and
"Children of the Grave."
, which made it to American stores as an import, is by no means definitive -- how could it be without
"Iron Man"
? But even so, fans were glad to finally have a live recording of
-era
that wasn't a bootleg. ~ Alex Henderson