Customer Reviews

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die: Live in 1978

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I was a kid back in the early 80's, I had a copy of Black Sabbath's Greatest Hits on vinyl (the one with the Breughel sleeve), and had never heard anything like it: I already had Motorhead and Iron Maiden records, but this music was so nasty, so alien, so WRONG, that it grabbed me by the guts and demanded to be listened to. My dad knew I liked Sabbath and taped this show on VHS, I watched it over and over again with my brother but it got lost or taped over as these things do. Anyway last Christmas I got this DVD of a friend, and lo and behold it was the same show! So I may be biased, but...

The guy who said that Bill Ward's drumming was below par and the band were going through the motions on this recording was talking absolute bull and should be given a good kicking. I should know, I play drums in a Sabbath tribute band. In fact the whole band are giving it 100%, apart from Geezer who is off the scale, the song selection is as good as it possibly could be, there are no gimmicks, fancy lighting, extras, etc, it's just in-yer-face evil music done as only Sabbath can do it.

I cannot recommend this DVD highly enough to Sabbath fans or to anyone who wants to know what heavy music is really about (no preening and posing like Zep, for a start, superior musicians they may be, but Zep were the END of the BLUES, not the originators of metal - yes it's true, Sabbath WERE responsible).

Anyway, the only minor gripe I have is that the sound quality is below par, but it hardly matters when the performances are this good. Just crank it up and give it a bit more treble: couldn't they have done this sort of thing before releasing the DVD though?

If you are reading this, you either have this DVD or you are thinking about maybe possibly getting it. If you are even slightly curious, I can confirm that you SHOULD buy this DVD.

Repeat: you SHOULD buy this DVD. You NEED this music in your life. Oh yes.

I've looked a long time for a good Sabbath movie of any kind of their 70's performances. Holy smoke, this one delivers!

You have to bear in mind this was recorded on 1978 analog tape, so of course the sound quality leaves a little to be desired. The DVD sure makes up for it with energy and fun, though! The songs are all uncut, it's the best you're gonna see of Sabbath from '78.

Ozzy is quite raunchy and strong on the vocals. Bill Ward flails the drums like a f*ckin maniac - he hasn't changed a bit since. :-D Toni Iommi's playing was outstanding, and I think I actually saw him smile once! Maybe... Geezer, well - that guy needs no introduction. Awesome bass player, and he plays like hell in this vid.

Sound quality could be better, but it's a concert vid from start to finish. I'm very happy with this. If you're a fan of early Sabbath, grab this DVD. You'll be glad you did!

First off, I am a Sabbath fanatic. Yes, I've seen the Paris 1970 footage which is better than this footage. I guess you could say this concert if for the completist who is willing TO LOOK PAST QUALITY TO SEE WHAT IS REALLY THERE. It annoys me when people expect that the video will be 21st century quality and look like it was recorded yesterday. Yes they managed to do that with the Zeppelin DVD but the remastering for this wasn't done by the band but rather by the fledgling sanctuary records. Not sure if I'm correct on that, maybe Tony was involved. Read on for the review.

First off, this concert is too short for a band that had been together for ten years. It barely clocks at over an hour with encores which is a disappointment. Tony's guitar tone is not loud at all in the mix which actually allows the viewer to see the intricate talent of Sabbath's superb rhythm section. You finally get to hear all of the bass fills done be Geezer which are a great treat for bass players such as myself. Bill seems to be the only person in the band not playing well. It just seems like he's too drugged up to do anything. His drum solo is only 1 minute long which can be attributed to his excessive drug use. My last comlaint is how Ozzy's mike is off to the left and Tony (a boring showman compared to Ozzy) dead center. Now to the more positive comments.

The show starts with Ozzy flashing peace signs all throughout during Symtom Of The Universe. The song is well played and the band is tight. Next is the unbeatable War Pigs which Sabbath always seems to manage to perfectly play. This is followed by the epic cocaine influenced song that is Snowblind. It is far better then the truncated version that appears on The Last Supper. Never Say Die follows which I find to be a treat because of it rarely being played live. Great Song. Ozzy then gives his tenth anniversary speech and the band proceeds to play Sabbath's calling card, Black Sabbath. Then is one of the last classics Sabbath managed to make. That song is Dirty Women. Bill Ward's crappy drum solo follows which then proceeds into the useless Rock and Roll Doctor. Good song and all but I wish it was replaced with maybe another song off of Never Say Die like Johnny Blade. This song is followed by the yet again incomplete Electric Funeral. Would it kill sabbath to ever play all five minutes of the song. The only time you hear the full live version of the song is on Reunion. Then comes Children Of The Grave minus the Embryo intro. That killed the song for me. Without embryo the song seems incomplete. Credits then role and are interupted by the singular encore song that is Paranoid. Yet again this is a song that is impossible to do bad. Overall, great dvd for that point in time and a fun show to look at today. Go out and buy it. Sabbath forever!!! Can't wait till they make a new album.

In aug 1978 i saw this show in New Haven Ct, opening band was then unknown's Van Halen, which in my opinion blew sabbath away, i was 16 at the time and barely remember the show but i do remember VH was alot better.
Where this film was shot i cant find out, but with some shots of the crowd it def looks in usa.

A must, must have for any Sabbath fan. Great concert. Great video footage... good sound for 1979.
Last tour with Ozzy. They perform hits and some that did not make it as hits that only the true Sabbath fans could appreciate. If you are looking to get a Sabbath DVD. This is the one to get

My only negative take on this is that it was recorded at a time when the band had lost some of the heaviness in favor of Big-Arena-Mega-Dome-Super-Rock-Star-Shenanigans ~ that is, gone was their strange brew of underground drug-laced sci-fi/existentialism/supernatural-warnings and outcries that made the dense and distorted atmosphere of their early albums soooo heavy.
By the late 70's, they had lapsed into self-parody, and as is seen in this recording, drummer Bill Warde can't play anything like he did in the early 70's, and the others unfortunately come off as lampooning "rock stars" going through the motions of what was originally deeply felt inner termoil, demons and band-chemistry that gave creation to their early material.
Don't get me wrong, Sabb going through the motions is still better than a lot of the over produced junk that passes for mainstream metal today, but I guess I liked Sabbath more when they weren't as well known...when there was a fire burning inside when they played. Just my 2 cents.

When will the QUINTESSENTIAL live Sabbath film be released on DVD?!..that is, the Paris 1970 film that was shot for TV?
Now THAT was Black Sabbath! My old video copy of that, despite poor audio/video quality, still smokes this Hammersmith show, hands down! For those unfamilar with it, the DVD Sabbath Story Vol.1 takes the version of N.I.B. from that Paris show.

Also, someone should make a doc., interviewing people from great doom bands such as Pentagram, Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Trouble, Earth, Sleep, Candlemass, Electric Wizard, Acid King, Goatsnake and so forth, and ask them how they were inspired by the mighty Sabbath. It's ironic that as popular as Sabbath became, the underground music scene they inspired(doom/stoner) has remained just that...underground. Thankfully.

Good to see this released on DVD. The video quality, for a late 70's show, is excellent, and the audio OK. My only gripe is that for around 22 bucks, there should have been some 'extras' on this DVD. In this day and age, if you don't provide extra value to the customer, you're not doing your job right. That said, Sabbath forever!!!

There's nothing more than concert in the year 1978.
The tracklist:
Symptom of the Universe
War Pigs
Snowblind
Never Say Die
Black Sabbath
Dirty Women
Rock'n'Roll Doctor
Electric Funeral
Children of the Grave
Paranoid

Very good! Ozzy has a good voice!
My favourite tracks are "Symptom of the Universe", "Paranoid", "Electric Funeral", "Never Say Die" and "Black Sabbath".

This is the "de facto" live performance recording of Black Sabbath on it's best. The original line up at the end of it's era, in a vibrating concert. You'll notice the higher tone from the instruments and Ozzy finding his way to cope with them. On the other side, I have never seen Ozzy so enthusiastic like this performance. Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne fans will definitely love this video.

I love the video, we all must remember that this video was not made in the last 10 years!

It brings back the total memories of seeing the band in concert during their last existing days!

I love it, but I never ever expected it too be the quality of footage we now experience in the 21st century.

I was expecting much less to be honest when I purchased this DVD, as a die-hard Sabbath fan, I am very satisfied with it!