Black Sabbath/Italy 1987 & more

From the 1987 European tour of BLACK SABBATH with Tony Martin, a high-quality audience recording of the performance in Turin, Italy on December 6th, which was the final stage of the tour, is now available, a must-see for fans. This “THE ETERNAL IDOL” tour is known for several excellent audience recordings. Nevertheless, this work is highly recommended as much as the masterpieces so far, for the following three reasons. First of all, one of the most stable and good live performances was held on this day. The European tour accompanying the release of “THE ETERNAL IDOL” was only 13 to 14 performances in just under a month, and Tony Martin, who joined the band almost as a newcomer, had to do the first few performances in a fumbling state. Furthermore, the rhythm section was temporary Terry Chimes (Dr) and Joe Bart (B), and although their playing was solid, they gave off a sound that was different from the traditional SABBATH. It was around this time, after nearly 10 performances since the start of the tour, that they were able to fully demonstrate their true abilities and express a much more SABBATH-like play. In particular, Martin’s performance, from the opening “Neon Knights” to the encore “Paranoid”, is wonderful, reminiscent of the later “HEADLESS CROSS” tour. Indeed, in “Neon Knights”, the melody of the chorus part is faked, which is different from what was heard just a few days ago, but rather than “no sound”, it is intentionally hidden, and the duo with Nichols “created a new nuance”. In addition to the numbers from the Ronnie era that Martin was good at for a long time, such as “Children Of The Sea”, “Die Young”, and “Heaven And Hell”, you can enjoy an exquisite performance in “Black Sabbath” and “Children Of The Grave”, which successfully blends the inherent freshness into the SABBATH sound. Needless to say, the repertoire from the new album such as “Born To Lose” and “The Shining” is a superb performance that can only be seen at this time. If “SAKUNTALA” is a show where Martin, who is still feeling his way, shows a glimpse of his great talent and hits a huge home run, this work is an exquisite live performance that makes you feel the sharpness of professional techniques early on, and it is a great pleasure for not only SABBATH fans but also many hard rock and heavy metal fans to be able to enjoy this with a stable clearness, visibility, and excellent balance recording from start to finish. Secondly, it makes up for the lack of the Italian tour, which has many high-quality sound sources. There are first-class sound sources for this Italian tour, such as the analog boot “APOCALYPSE” which recorded the Milan performance on December 5th in high quality, and the Reggio Emilia performance on December 7th, which was recorded as the main part of “GLORY RIDE”. With the addition of this work, which contains the performance in Turin on December 6th, you can enjoy three major live shows from the Italian tour in a row. The fact that the ’87 tour, which is already rare, is available for three consecutive days is a groundbreaking achievement for SABBATH-related collectors’ sound sources, and this is a very important event in terms of knowing the Martin era. Also, the show usually ends with a reprise of the theme riff of “Heaven and Hell” on the encore “Paranoid”, but on this day the chorus of “The Shining” is reprised. This arrangement has only been confirmed for three performances, including this one, and it would be interesting to compare it with the Reggio Emilia performance recorded on the other “GLORY RIDE”. And the last reason is that you can enjoy the 1988 SABBATH live, which was almost unknown until now, in the highest quality ever! The last four tracks on Disc 2 are from BLACK SABBATH’s special appearance at a charity gig held in Oldbury, England on May 29, 1988. This was a transitional period just before Cozy Powell joined the band, and the band lineup consisted of Iommi on guitar, Martin on vocals, and Terry Chimes on drums, the same as in ’87. The biggest feature was that Jeff Nichols, who usually plays the keyboard, was playing the bass, so this day was a keyboard-less four-piece show. (The back cover also features photos from the day.) The sound quality was clear and stable, and the strength of the bass, which allowed Jeff’s bass to be heard relatively well, seemed to accurately shine a spotlight on the special performance, where it should be heard. The set, which started with “Neon Knights” and ended with “Paranoid” and then “Heart Like A Wheel” from “SEVENTH STAR”, was also very unique, and the audience was very excited about this surprise. The time is very limited, about 18 minutes including the opening and closing MC, but if you get this work just to listen to these 4 tracks, you won’t lose anything. In fact, if you are interested in the history of SABBATH, what would you do if you didn’t listen to this special live performance? It’s an ultra-exceptional rare take! The entire recording time of this work is 112 minutes, and it is of the highest quality using Master Direct, so you can enjoy these historical performances with natural sound and excellent recording condition! As a missing link that captures the image of BLACK SABBATH, it can be said to be the best sound source ever. This work, which has high documentability, excellent performance, and high-quality recording, is a must-have for SABBATH fans! Live at Palasport, Torino, Italy 6th December 1987 TRULY AMAZING SOUND Disc 1(57:58) 1. Supertzar 2. Neon Knights 3. Children Of The Sea 4. War Pigs 5. Die Young 6. Drum Solo 7. Iron Man 8. Born To Lose 9. Black Sabbath 10. Glory Ride Disc 2(53:55) 1. Heaven And Hell 2 . Guitar Solo 3. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Heaven And Hell(reprise) 4. Children Of The Grave 5. The Shining 6. Paranoid/The Shining(reprise) Tony Iommi – Guitar Tony Martin – Vocal Jo Burt – Bass Terry Chimes – Drums Geoff Nicholls – Keyboards Live at Top Spot Club, Oldbury, UK 29th May 1988 7. Introduction 8. Neon Knights 9. Paranoid 10. Heart Like A Wheel Tony Iommi – Guitar Tony Martin – Vocal Geoff Nicholls – Bass Terry Chimes – Drums