PAST LIVES

There is a bit of history around this live album. Black Sabbath, and in particular Ozzy Osbourne, hated Live At Last with passion. It was the only live album featuring Ozzy Osbourne and it does Ozzy Osbourne no favours at all. So to rectify this injustice, perceived or not, Past Lives was released.

Past Lives gives the Ozzy Osbourne the justice it deserves. This despite of the bootleg like dirty, downtuned sound. But maybe this is the right sound for Black Sabbath. Tony Iommi created the sound both the grunge and the black metal scene adopted. The songs here are flawless classics. The sound is not. But that aside, it is difficult to find any faults with this album. It is a pity that this album was properly recorded during the 1970s. It would probably had been regarded as a great live album back then. I am not the biggest Black Sabbath fan around. I rate them and respect them. But they are not my cup of tea. My problem with this live album is the sound and I can only give it 3.5 stars because of that. But it is still the best live document from that period of their career.

3.5 stars