GiGinJapan Artwork of Japanese CDs (mostly) Black Sabbath / Philadelphia 1978 / 2CDR / Shades
The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, USA 29th August 1978
Play sample :
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BLACK SABBATH in 1978 embarked on a tour to summarize the golden 70’s, celebrating its 10th anniversary. A legendary name recording that allows you to experience the scene is here.
“Performance in Philadelphia on August 29, 1978” is imbued in this work. It is the full audience recording. Speaking of “NEVER SAY DIE Tour”, the official pro shot of the Hammersmith Odeon performance reigns as a symbol, so let’s first take a bird’s eye view of the tour at that time and check the position as well.
・ January 6: Dave Walker and BBC appearance
《January: Dave leaves → Ozzy Osbourne returns》
・ May 16-June 19: UK (26 performances) ← * Official video
・ August 22-September 27: North America #1a (27 performances) ← here
《“NEVER SAY DIE!” Released on September 28》
・ September 28-30: North America #1b (3 performances)
・October 9-22: Europe (10 performances)
・ November 3-December 11: North America # 2 (31 performances)
This is the 1978 BLACK SABBATH. In September of the previous year, Ozzy Osbourne was replaced by former SAVOY BROWN / FLEETWOOD MAC Dave Walker, but Ozzy returned with only one BBC radio appearance. Proceeded to the production of “NEVER SAY DIE!” The official pro shot video was shot at the “British” leg at the beginning of the tour, but the Philadelphia performance of this work is about two months later. It was a concert that was the 7th performance of “North America # 1”.
This work, which vacuum-packed such a scene, has long been known as one of the best recordings of the “NEVER SAY DIE Tour”. Speaking of the highest masterpiece audience of this era, it is the press name board “SABBATH IN FRESNO”, and this work does not reach that area. However, that super masterpiece is an abnormal work that stands at the top of all audience recordings in the 70’s. It is natural that it does not reach that area, and this work itself is far enough away from the customer record if it is viewed by the 70’s audience standards.
The point is, after all, the thick core and the vividness without a sense of distance. It’s super tight and super direct, with no sense of space that makes you think it’s connected to the PA. Considering the overall balance of the ensemble, the snare feels a little light, but that is also the case when listening microscopically and looking for evidence of the audience. If you listen to it normally with speakers, you will forget the fact that it is a customer record and get drunk with the vintage feeling of the 70’s.
A full show that concentrates the “Golden 70’s” is depicted with such real sound. As mentioned above, the symbol of this tour is the official pro shot of the Hammersmith Odeon performance, but it is an edited work shortened according to the (at that time) product standard. On the other hand, this work is a full recording from beginning to end, and famous songs that are not in the official video are also shown. Let’s organize the set while comparing here.
●Early trilogy (7 songs)
・Paranoid: War Pigs / Electric Funeral / Iron Man (★) / Fairies Wear Boots (★) / Paranoid
・Other: Black Sabbath / Children Of The Grave
● Middle term and later (5 songs)
・Technical Ecstasy: Dirty Women / Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor
・Other: Snowblind/Symptom Of The Universe/Never Say Die
* Note: “★” marks are songs that cannot be heard in Hammersmith’s official pro shots.
… and it looks like this. “Iron Man” and “Fairies Wear Boots” can experience the scene of the 70’s through the songs. In particular, “Fairies Wear Boots”, which was revived after a long time, is a delicious song that can not be heard even by the masterpiece audience “SABBATH IN FRESNO”.
“What’s even more interesting is that she’s actually not feeling well.” This is quite rare. From the opening “Supertzar”, the sound started while the tape was playing, and it was strangely prolonged, and “Symptom Of The Universe” started with a mess. In the following “War Pigs”, the guitar is turned off due to equipment trouble and it becomes unrefined. After that, the aftermath continued, and the texture was not decided, and the sharpness was bad. Did you still not get the hang of it in the early days of the North American tour? Or were you just drunk? In any case, even in the 70’s, the ruggedness that is rarely seen is being roasted with the finest quality.
Although the show content is somewhat maniac, the sound quality is press-grade. It was introduced from the Shades label because of such personality, but that is why it is also an extremely interesting full live album. A rare but unusual quality and listenable board. Please enjoy it to the fullest.
★ Full audience recording of “August 29, 1978 Philadelphia Performance”. It has been known as one of the best recordings of the NEVER SAY DIE Tour for some time, and the thick core and vividness without a sense of distance are wonderful. It’s super tight and super direct, with no sense of space that makes you think it’s connected to the PA. It is an interesting and valuable live album that is slightly useless, such as “Symptom Of The Universe” where the sound output is strangely prolonged and becomes loose, and “War Pigs” where the guitar is turned off due to equipment trouble.
Shades 1626
