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Speak of the Devil
Participated by Ozzy Osbourne
Studio : Sony/Epic
by Sony/Epic
Release Date : 1995-11-27
Publisher : Sony/Epic
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN : 5099748167927
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 75 reviews)
List Price : $14.49
Our Price : $5.13
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Speaking of the devil... |
It`s a little odd that the first live album of Ozzy`s solo career is an album of Black Sabbath covers only isn't it? Yes as bizarre as it may seem there are absolutely no songs from Ozzy`s solo albums released to date Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), Speak of the Devil focuses only on Ozz`s Sabbath years. Due to contractual obligations, in 1982 the madman had to release a full live album, only his guitarist Randy Rhoads died the previous years and was so affected by the young Rhoads` death that he refused to allow a live album with Randy on it. Osbourne still had to deliver a live album to his record company even if he was firmly against it, he didn`t want to release a live album of his solo material with another guitarist feeling it would disrespectful to Randy`s memory so he opted to a Sabbath material only live album. That album became Speak of the Devil and Talk of the Devil in England.
At first I was really against the idea of Ozzy releasing a live album of Sabbath songs only and for quite some time I refused to buy it. I mean Sabbath material played by another guitarist than Tony Iommi? The idea of this album didn`t appeal to me at all plus Ozzy himself hates Speak of the Devil and describes it as "a bull**** Sabbath covers album". I can understand if you are or ever were sceptical of this live album. However after buying and listening to Speak of the Devil to complete my collection I changed my mind about the album. Night Ranger`s Brad Gillis stepped in to replace Rhoads after his tragic death, I can`t say that he`s as great as Randy was but I can safely say that Gillis does have a lot of talent and he can play! I was never a fan of Night Ranger and never really hated the band but after listening to SotD many agree that he should have stayed longer in the Ozzy Osbourne band. By the way, Gillis was only given a short time to learn all the songs and he learned it really fast and could play it really well too! I also felt that Brad added his own touch to the songs.
Ozzy`s reasons for hating the album are understandable; he was forced by the record company to do one, he had lost his guitarist and friend and he didn`t want to go through the process of recording a live album. I really think that Ozzy hated the events surrounding and affecting Speak of the Devil and not the album itself. The material sounds great, those covers are fantastic and there`s a lot of energy to them. This was back when Ozzy was at his best and could really deliver; he was truly the madman of rock`n`roll back then. Ozzy`s voice sounds amazing, Gillis is excellent and the rest of the band is great as well delivering a terrific performance of Sabbath-only material.
I`d have to say there`s not a bad version of any song, they truly all sound great. If you`re sceptical you`re not getting bad Sabbath covers, they`re great and have interesting twists to them. To me the highlight of the show would Iron Man (a much better and faster version than the original!)/Children of the Grave when they start with Paranoid and switch to Children suddenly that was just great. I lived Snowblind and N.I.B. as well, those are two of my Sabbath favourites and they are performed incredibly well here. I was pleasantly surprised that both Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Symptom of the Universe are on SotD, Ozzy sings them so good thought I question why he didn`t do the screaming part at the end of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath but it was probably too hard for him to sing anyway. No one will be surprised that Sabbath standards such as War Pigs, Paranoid and Sweet Leaf are here. Black Sabbath (the song) is still as terrifying as it was even live. I really like Speak of the Devil and enjoy it far more than I ever thought I would.
Problem is Speak of the Devil along with The Ultimate Sin, Just Say Ozzy and Live & Loud was not reissued along with the rest of the 2001 remasters series. You can get it as a leftover of the 1995 reissues with a red background and I suggest you get the album, if you like Ozzy and Sabbath you`re almost guaranteed to like this live album. I wouldn`t say it`s the best live album Ozzy put out, that honour would go to 1987`s Tribute (and I`d consider Live & Loud better as well), but it`s worth it big time. Not quite a five stars but a terrific four.
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the ultimate live ozzy !!!!!!! |
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WHAT CAN I SAY THAT HASNT BEEN SAID ALREADY...THIS IN MY OPINION IS THE LOUDEST AND HEAVIEST LIVE RECORDING EVER PUT TO TAPE.!!!!.. FROM THE FIRST TO THE LAST TRACK THIS RECORDING KICKS ASS....BRAD GILLS GUITAR PLAYING IS AS SOLID AND STRONG AS ANY OTHER ROCK GOD GUITARIST CAN PLAY ...JUST LISTEN TO (SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH!). I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS CD FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND IT STILL SOUNDS GOOD..THE GUITAR PLAYING STILL GIVES ME GOOSE BUMPS TIL THIS VERY DAY...EXCELLENT!!!!!! |
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Bland Sabbath |
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The guitars are sounding great. Ozzy is sounding good. There's something missing. Most likely it's Tony, Geezer and Bill. There's just no reason to listen to this over the originals. Instead of the correct solos it's alot of whammy bar. |
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Does anyone remember the Filmore East?... |
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Ozzy's first live album (first of at least five to date...) is an anomaly in his catalogue as it contains only Black Sabbath covers. In the early `80's there were many young Ozzy fans who really weren't familiar with this material outside of "Paranoid" and "Iron Man" so in a sense it was sort of a history lesson given by the ultimate nutty professor. The story of the genesis of `Speak of the Devil' has been told many times; the planned live album with Randy Rhoads that was nixed as a result of his untimely death and the pending release of Sabbath's `Live Evil' were the major catalysts to the production of this record. With temporary guitarist Brad Gills, Ozzy strolled into the Ritz Theater in NYC in September 1982 and laid down a double LP's worth of Sabbath chestnuts. The record is good but I think both `Live Evil' and Ozzy's own `Tribute' are better (the latter features a better performance from the Oz with songs that were still fresh). I would echo some of the other reviewers that this album is special because you do get "Never Say Die", "The Wizard" and "Symptom of the Universe" which Ozzy and Sabbath never usually do and they sound great, especially "Symptom" which is the opener. It was a stop gap record for Ozzy as he would soon form a new band with Jake E. Lee and head back to the studio. `Speak of the Devil' was meant as a treat for the fans and it shows. |
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an evening of Black Sabbath covers |
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Following the death of Randy Rhoads, plans for a live recording from the Rhoads tours were quickly scrapped. Instead, the singer opted for a pair of one-offs at New York City's Ritz club. No one had any idea what Ozzy would do, and an evening of Black Sabbath covers was the furthest thing from everyone's mind. Ozzy had been portrayed as a washed-up, vocally challenged frontman by his ex-bandmates, and the perception was that Ozzy could no longer sing the original Sabbath material. Hiring metal producer Max Norman to man the boards, Ozzy enlisted Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis to play guitar for the evening. Still, Speak of the Devil is strengthened by the classic combo of Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge on bass and drums, undoubtedly one the best rhythm sections of Ozzy's solo career. Speak of the Devil ends up solid throughout, if somewhat unremarkable at times. Ozzy proved his point to his ex-bandmates. Following the recording Gillis would jump ship and rejoin the ranks of Night Ranger. |
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