Past Lives
At this point in history, it's hard to know whether to call Black Sabbath the Godfathers of Heavy Metal or the Band That Wouldn't Die. Hard to believe that the band's original incarnation--Ozzy Osbourneon vocals, guitaristTony Iommi, Geezer Butler on bass, and drummerBill Ward--never released a live record in America at the peak of their initial arena-packing success in the '70s. This 18-track double-CD fills the gap, fleshing out the 1980 UK-onlyLive at Lastwith nine more early, previously unreleased live Sabbath tracks. If the sound quality is intermittent on the first disc (recorded in Manchester and at London's Rainbow in 1973), that seems only fitting from a band whose members--especially the inimitable Ozzy--have ridden their warts-and-all charms to metal Valhalla. But while that disc's early renditions of "Sweet Leaf," "Snowblind," "War Pigs," and "Paranoid" will more than satisfy Sabbath faithful, it's the newly released material (recorded in considerably better quality at various venues from 1970 to '78) that really underscores the band's dark, endlessly influential legacy. Ozzy's maniacal  "Symptom of the Universe" would be enough, but it's only the prelude for the ominous, over-the-top 10-minute rarity "Megalomania," the thumping "Iron Man," a moody, tellingly jazzy take on "Black Sabbath," and the thrashing "Behind the Wall of Sleep."--Jerry McCulley