Heaven & Hell - Live From Radio City Music Hall (Ocrd)
|
List Price: Our Price: $10.28 You Save: $9.70 (49%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.38 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Live From Radio City Music Hall (Ocrd)
Free Music Review: Radio City Heaven...
Hit: 5 Stars
I was lucky enough to have been at this show. If you are a fan of Dio-Era Sabbath (that's all they played) - buy this NOW!
Free Music Review: heavan & hell
Hit: 5 Stars
if you're heavily influenced by sabbath this is a must have cd/dvd,fast delivery, and awsome price, cheers guys.Free Music Review: E5I50
Hit: 5 Stars
The correct title is E5I50 (capital I, not # 1 as in 5150)
E V(5) I L(50) = EVIL
Free Music Review: Very good, but not as great as I had hoped...
Hit: 4 Stars
This record is as good a live document of the "Heaven and Hell 2007" tour as anyone can possibly ask for. And yet, I can't help but feel that while a very good album, it is not as great as I had hoped. Now, let me elaborate a little before you start sending me death threats (if you still feel like threatening me by the end of the review, that's ok with me, but at least let me finish, then...). As a major Dio-era Sabbath fan, I was very excited to hear that these gentlemen had decided to give these old, criminally underrated songs a few more spins on tour, especially after catching an unbelievable Dio show in July of 2006, where he played quite a few Sabbath gems and blew me (and everybody else in the house, for that matter...) away!
That show really whet my appetite for this reunion tour, as Ronnie sounded fantastic, way better than he does on his "Holy Diver Live" 2CD set (I like that one too, but the show really blew that out the water as well! Yeah, that's how good it was...). It was obvious that they were gonna release a live album for the benefit of all those among us that couldn't make it to a Heaven and Hell show and for those lucky enough to witness the reunion and wanting to relive the experience over and over again, so I was very happy to find out they would release it rather quickly, while still on tour (as opposed to the normal rule of waiting up to a year after a tour is over to release a live album).
Fans and critics unanimously complimented the tour, and I kept a close watch of its evolution: set lists, reviews, interviews, etc. When I read the reviews that detailed the set list, I didn't think that "After All (the dead)" was the best choice for a show opener (dark and powerful, yes, but slow nevertheless), but after listening to the CD, I have to admit that somehow, these guys make it work! The sound of the album is crystal clear and all the more potent because of it, light years away from the muddy production of "Live Evil".
As I kept listening, I was thrilled by the great performances of most songs, even if they had to drop the tuning for the majority of them: I don't care much for downtuning, but the fact is that it is an unavoidable concession to times. I mean, as much as I hate to admit it, Ronnie is no longer a kid...like the Stones said "what a drag it is getting old..." (Mother's Little Helper). Ronnie can still outsing most singers at god only knows what age, Tony's guitar never sounded better (I mean it!), Geezer sounds louder and clearer here than on any other Sabbath album and Vinny is a powerhouse on his own. I think that the structure of the songs, far more sparse and with more room to breathe than the trademark riff fest of the Ozzy-era really helps when playing live, leaving more room for dynamics. Something caught my attention, though: for some reason, some of the songs didn't sound all that great to me. And after listening to the whole thing, I discovered that I liked disc 1 better than disc 2. Most of the songs sound and feel right, but there are a few that, at least for me, don't.
The totally killer rendition "The Mob Rules" is a highlight for sure! Ronnie even manages a huge scream at the beginning of the song that gave me goose bumps! "Children of the Sea" (the opening song at that Dio show that I mentioned earlier) is a classic of hard rock and here it explodes in all of its glory. The next tune, however, made me raise an eyebrow for the first time: "Lady Evil", one of my favorites from their first album, didn't sound quite right for me; it almost felt as if it were a different song...I have no idea why... I was looking forward to hear "I", another one of my favorites (which was also played at the solo show with unbelievable results!), and while I think it is ok, it's not as great as the live version I got to hear...
"The Sign of the Southern Cross" has got to be one of the greatest songs in the Sabbath catalog, period, and yet, the 2 official live releases from this lineup have failed to present it in all of its glory (absent in the "Live at Hammersmith", included in a medley in "Live Evil"). So the guys finally decided to right that wrong, and the result is well worth it, another highlight of the show without a question. Their performance of "Voodoo" is good, but not great, and finally CD1 closes with a monstrous rendition of a new tune, "The Devil Cried", which sits easily among the classics, proving that the song is just as strong as any other from their catalog.
Disc 2 begins with "Computer God", another one of my personal favorites (I absolutely LOVE "Dehumanizer"...), but truth be told, this version didn't cut it for me...I don't know, I guess it lacks a little something, not sure what exactly..."Falling of the Edge of the World" doesn't really improve things for me: first, I would have preferred to hear a different song, such as "Country Girl" or maybe even "Wishing Well", but in addition to that, this version didn't particularly impress me... "Shadow of the Wind", on the other hand, is a classic on its own right: dark, heavy, and powerful, truly worthy of inclusion here. So is "Die Young", one of the live classics of this lineup that kicks butt big time. Probably my biggest disappointment is with the live rendition of "Heaven and Hell": way shorter than the one included in "Live Evil" (that's ok with me), it lacks the feel of the one Ronnie recorded for his "...Diver Live" set.
The last 2 songs of the set are 2 of my favorite Sabbath songs, and that's why they are also 2 big letdowns of this release: both "Lonely is the Word" and the encore "Neon Knights" sound to me almost like totally different songs...and I have no idea why! I'm sure most of you are thinking "this guy is so full of it, he says he doesn't like the songs, but he can't even say why". Well, I've never claimed to be a professional reviewer or critic, I'm just telling you what I...think...no, not really...I'm an instinctive kind of person, I rely on my gut feeling, if something "feels" right to me, great, and if it doesn't, I say it...
Bottom Line, this is a very good package, with a clear, potent sound that is a faithful representation of the show and the tour. I don't like it as much as I thought I would, but I'd still recommend it to those of you who, like me, were unable to catch the band live, and for those who were lucky enough to do so as well. This is a 3 ½ star record at least, and while I would have preferred a 5 star record, I guess this is as close as we're ever gonna get. A must for Dio-era Sabbath fans and recommended listen for everybody else. (There, NOW you can send your death threats...happy?)
Free Music Review: A Great Set!
Hit: 4 Stars
So a bunch of guys from Black Sabbath get together and tour playing Sabbath material and release a live album...great, another Sa...what? Heaven & Hell? Eh, Sabbath have earned the right to do whatever the Hell they want, so if they want to tour as Heaven & Hell, it's no skin off my back.
Anyway, the album itself is pretty damned good! A lot of live Sabbath, without the cringe worthy moments that have been known to happen when Dio covers Ozzy Osbourne era songs. It's Dio era Sabbath, playing Dio era Sabbath...can't ask for more, can you? And they do hit a lot of great tracks (not bad, considering they've only three albums of material form which to choose). This is really just a great live album. Dio still has it, Iommi still has it, Geezer still has it...good stuff!