Black Sabbath - Past Lives

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Sanctuary Records Group
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 55:01:00

After driving all the websites with which I am affiliated nuts with change after change on my recent DVD review of Black Sabbath's The Story Of Black Sabbath, I feel that I need to redeem myself with this write up. Past Lives, touted as the definitive live Sabbath recording, sure lives up to its billing. After listening to both CDs thoroughly, I completely agree. This package covers the 1970-1975 time period with excellent liner notes that put the group into a class all by themselves, where they rightly belong in my opinion. I made mention of the fact the Tony Iommi had said nothing about booting Ozzy out of the band for substance abuse and thought that it was a rumor at the time; as it turns out, according to the liner notes, they were all addicts and Ozzy was the fall guy. Well, everyone has a different story. The other fact I wanted to clear up, too, was my reference to the jazz and blues influence on their first album. I had said the title track illustrated how Tony went off on a jazz like run; well, it was more of a hard blues riff than anything actually, and "Wicked World" had the neat jazz runs in it. There, now I feel better. I cannot remember any other album where I heard that sound. If there is, I am sure someone will e-mail me or argue my point of reference. Okay then, let us move on.

CD 1 has some great instrumentation on it, but Ozzy is out of tune on several of the songs, unfortunately, so that puts a damper on the experience. There are some great moments regardless and the performances are more than enough proof that they were the ones that gave berth to Metal. CD2 is awesome, every song. Personally, I feel Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage defined the Sabs sound and they reached their peak while perfecting their doom and gloom drone that captured everyone's imagination. They sound very much in accord and Ozzy is in fine voice, pulling in the audience to create a prevailing energy that would be hard to duplicate on any given night. Playing live is the key to any recording artist's success and turning back the clock to listen to one of the best rock groups to ever walk on a stage certainly gives credence to that notion.

Here is my ode to the Master's of Reality:

Behind the wall of sleep is a hand of doom that would make anyone paranoid of the wicked world we live in, so if you check out these CDs made by iron men of days long past and live the cornucopia of tomorrow's dreams you will soon realize that it is all merely a symptom of the universe.

Tracklisting:
Disc One: Tomorrow's Dream (3:04) / Sweet Leaf (5:26) / Killing Yourself To Live (5:29) / Cornucopia (3:57) / Snowblind (4:47) / Children Of The Grave (4:33) / War Pigs (7:36) / Wicked World (18:55) / Paranoid (3:14)

Side Two: Hand Of Doom (8:26) / Hole In The Sky (4:46) / Symptom Of The Universe (4:52) / Megalomania (9:53) / Iron Man (6:25) / Black Sabbath (8:23) / N.I.B. (5:32) / Behind The Wall Of Sleep (5:03) / Fairies Wear Boots (6:39)

Musicians:
Tony Iommi - guitars
Ozzy Osbourne - vocals
Geezer Butler - bass
Bill Ward ? drums

Discography:
Black Sabbath (1970)
Paranoid (1971)
Master Of Reality (1971)
Black Sabbath, Vol 4 (1972)
Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Sabotage (1975)
Best Of Black Sabbath, Vol. 2 (1975)
We Sold Our Soul For Rock And Roll (1976)* Technical Ecstasy (1976)
Black Sabbath (1976)
Children Of The Grave (1976)
Never Say Die! (1978)
Heaven & Hell (1980)
Live At Last (1980)
Greatest Hits (1980)
The Mob Rules (1981)
Live Evil (1982)
Born Again (1983)
Seventh Star (1986)
Black Sabbath Greatest Hits (1986)
The Eternal Idol (1987)
We Sold Our Soul For Rock And Roll (1988)* Headless Cross (1989)
T Y R (1990)
Greatest Hits (1991)
Dehumanizer (1992)
The Collection (1992)
Cross Purposes (1994)
The Ozzy Osbourne Years (1994)
Black Sabbath (comp.) (1994)
20th Anniversary (1994)
Iron Main (1994)
The Ozzy Osbourne Years (1994)
Forbidden (1995)
Between Heaven & Hell 1970-1983 (1995)
Under Wheels Of Confusion: 1970-1987 (1996)
The Sabbath Stones (1996)
Greatest Hits (1996)
Rock Giants (1998)
Iron Man (1998)
Reunion (1998)
Best Of Ozzy Osbourne Years (1999)
Best Of Black Sabbath (2000)
Singles Box Set (2000)
Rock Champions (2001)
Complete 70's Replica CD Collection (2001)
Masters Of Rock (2002)
Symptom Of The Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 (2002)
Past Lives (2002)
Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 (2004)
Inside Black Sabbath: 1970-1992 (2005)
Greatest Hits 1970-1978 (2006)
Past Lives, Vol. 2 (2006)
Dead Or Alive (2006)
Dio Years (2007)
Live At Hammersmith Odeon (2007)
The Rules Of Hell (2008)
The Greatest Hits (2009)
Best Of Black Sabbath (2009)

Never Say Die (VHS/DVD) (1984/2003)
The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1: 1970-1978 (VHS/DVD) (1992/2002)
The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2: 1978-1992 (VHS/DVD) (1992/2002)
Ozzy Rules Budapest (DVD) (1998)
The Last Supper (DVD) (1999)
The Best Of Musikladen (DVD) (1999)
Cross Purposes (DVD) (2003)
Songs (DVD) (2003)
Critical Review 1970-1992 (DVD) (2005)
Black And Blue (DVD) (2005)
Rock Review: A Critical Retrospective (2005)
Critical Review: Paranoid (2006)
Total Rock Review (2006)
Black Sabbath In Their Own Words (2007)
Up Close & Personal (2007)
Children Of The Grave (DVD) (2008)
In Concert (DVD) (2008)
Madman Alive In Athens (DVD) (2008)

Genre: Rock

Origin UK

Added: December 15th 2002
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.blacksabbath.com
Hits: 2121
Language: english