Black Sabbath - Paranoid in New Jersey 'Ashbury Park, Aug 5th 1975' (2020) Bootleg

(U.K 1968–2006, 2011–present)

In the annals of Black Sabbath bootlegdom, there are two unofficial documents of the original-lineup era that stand above the rest as utterly essential for their sound quality and the band’s performance. One is Warpigs - Paris 1970, and the other is this recording from Aug. 5, 1975, from Asbury Park, New Jersey. 

The show was held in the Convention Hall, a 3,600-seat indoor exhibition center located right on the Boardwalk of the beach town, and the band were in the US promoting the yet-to-be-released LP 'Sabotage', and as one can hear in the renditions of “Hole in the Sky,” “War Pigs,” “Spiral Architect” and on and on, the band was pure stoned fire.

Captured at what I’d gladly argue was his peak as an actual singer, if not as a frontman, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne engages the crowd and nails each song, even if he flubs the lyrics here and there, as on “Symptom of the Universe” early in the 100-minute set. With solos from guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward — sadly nothing from the bass; it would be amazing to have a Geezer Butler solo captured in such fidelity — the band is both vibrant and poised, and whether they’re ripping into “Supernaut” or jamming out an early version of what would become “Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor” on 1976’s Technical Ecstasy, Black Sabbath absolutely laid waste to Asbury Park (it would take the shore town decades to recover) and, seemingly, everyone in the vicinity. As Ozzy says at the beginning of “Hole in the Sky”: “Are you high?” Cheers. “Are you High?” Louder cheers. “So am I.”

Ashbury Park, New Jersey

I won’t doubt the veracity of that claim, which is to say, he probably was high. Black Sabbath‘s adventures in weed, cocaine, booze, etc., are well documented, and as they were about to release their sixth album, they were about to enter the period in which that excess of excess would begin to take its toll, eventually leading to the split with Osbourne and a collaboration with then-Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. 

Of course, they would put out 'Technical Ecstasy' and 1978’s 'Never Say Die' before that happened, and both of those albums certainly have their moments, but there’s a reason the legendary fan t-shirts (see right) says 'You can only trust yourself and the first six Black Sabbath records', and it seems that no small part of that reason is because by the time they were six and then eight years removed from their genre-defining 1970 self-titled debut, they were fried on multiple levels. “Are you high?” Cheers. “So am I.”

That of course is just one example of choice banter from Ozzy throughout. He talks about the “new album” a lot, tells the crowd he loves them multiple times, and at the end of the set, says on behalf of himself and the band behind that the New Jersey crowd is, “a good bunch of people.” 

It’s the kind of thing that would rarely make it onto an official live release, since it so directly ties it to the place and the specific date, but in hearing it some 45 years after the fact, it brings the listener that much more into the moment of what was happening that night, at that time, at that particular gig. And that’s the thing about the Convention Hall show. It was a stop on the tour. They’d have another show the night after and/or the night after that. This could’ve been Black Sabbath any other day of the week, and they’re utterly lethal. Even the slow-rolling beginning section of “Megalomania” sees them dominating.

There are various stories about this show. One that it was a radio broadcast specially organised for the KBFH. Another is that it was recorded and intended for release as a live album that was subsequently shelved. I don’t know how true any of that is or isn’t — neither is outside the realm of possibility; it’s not like the rumor is it was actually recorded by time travelers who wanted to do the future a favor and record the best show the band ever played — but I know that this set is just as essential as any official live record Sabbath ever put out, if not more so, and that it demonstrates the power in Black Sabbath‘s delivery at the time. They were dead on.  [Extract from The Obelisk]

This post consists of FLACs (sourced from a reel to reel mastering recording) and includes artwork for both vinyl and CD releases. It should be noted that this particular release has a shortened version of Sabbra Cadabra (with the removal of a 10 minute drum solo which quite frankly was over the top) and the removal of a medley which comprised of  'Orchid, Rock & Roll Doctor & Don't Start (Too Late)'. I suspect this was done to make it a single CD release.  The original vinyl release was of course much shorter, with only 9 of the 14 tracks found on this 2020 CD release (see * tracks below).

Track Listing

01 Killing Yourself To Live *

02 Hole In The Sky *

03 Snowblind *

04 Symptom Of The Universe

05 War Pigs *

06 Meglaomania

07 Sabbra Cadabra

08 Sometimes I`m Happy

09 Supernaut

10 Iron Man *

11 Black Sabbath *

12 Spiral Architect *

13 Children Of The Grave *

14 Paranoid *

Black Sabbath were:

Bass Guitar – Terry 'Geezer' Butler

Drums – Bill Ward

Lead Guitar – Tony Iommi

Vocals – Ozzy Osbourne

Black Sabbath Link (507Mb)

REPOST: Zoot - Zoot Locker 'The Best Of' (1980)

(Australian 1965-71)

Zoot were a pop/rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 1965 as Down the Line. They changed their name to Zoot in 1967 and by 1968 had relocated to Melbourne. They had a top five hit on the Go-Set national singles chart with a heavy rock cover of The Beatles' ballad "Eleanor Rigby" released in 1970; but they disbanded in May 1971. Mainstay bass guitarist, Beeb Birtles, was later a founder of Little River Band in 1975 and guitarist singer-songwriter, Rick Springfield, who moved to the United States in 1972, achieved international fame as a solo artist, songwriter and actor [extract from wikipedia]

.Zoot became one the most popular Australian bands of the second 'pop wave' of the late 'Sixties when they and other acts like The Valentines, the Masters Apprentices, Russell Morris and The New Dream were scoring hits and causing riots. Like so many groups at the time, Zoot were drawn along by the rapid stylistic shifts of that uncertain period and they suffered under some ill-advised management decisions that led to them being tagged as a lightweight 'bubblegum' act — an undeserved reputation which overshadowed their fine musicianship and their genuine desire to be taken seriously.

.Ironically, they're probably best remembered these days for the 1970 single that they hoped would scuttle their pop image for good — their classic heavy-metal version of "Eleanor Rigby" — and also for the fact that Zoot was first successful outing for two future stars -- solo performer and soapie heart-throb guitarist Rick Springfield (who went on to have major success in the U.S. in the eighties - see Rick's website for more details) and Little River Band lynch pin Beeb Birtles [extract from milesago.com]

Zoot was one of several significant Aussie bands that emerged from the fertile musical hothouse of Adelaide in the mid-1960s -- the same scene that produced The Masters Apprentices and The Twilights. When the Zoot moved from hometown Adelaide to Melbourne in 1968, the band's management gave it a bubble-gum image, centred on the slogan Think Pink, Think Zoot'. The band dressed entirely in pink outfits. It took Zoot until 1971, just before disbanding, to shake the image and achieve musical credibility.

In 1970, Zoot promoted the release of the single 'Hey Pinky', by taking out an ad in Go-Set magazine that featured a nude rear photograph of the band members. The song was a scathing comment on the band's pink image.
My all time favourite Zoot track would have to be "Eleanor Rigby" (and was infact the first Zoot track I ever heard). Now I know this is going to ruffle a few feathers in the Beatles crowd, but I reckon this Aussie version of the classic track 'beats' the fab fours version by far. The guitar work and vocals are brillant and it is a credit to them to be able to match it with the lads from Liverpool.

The rip included here was taken from CD in FLAC format and includes full album artwork + booklet scans.

Note: Zoot Locker is a "Best Of Compilation" that only covers tracks released between 1968-1971.

        New Improved Rip !

Track Listing
01 - You Better Get Going Now
02 - 1 x 2 x 3 x 4
03 - Monty and Me
04 - It's About Time
05 - Sailing
06 - Yes I'm Glad
07 - Little Roland Lost
08 - She's Alright
09 - Sha La La
10 - Flying
11 - Mr Songwriter
12 - Strange Things
13 - Hey Pink
14 - The Freak
15 - Evil Child
16 - Eleanor Rigby

Band Members:
Beeb Birtles – bass guitar, vocals (1965–1971)
Darryl Cotton – lead vocals, guitar (1965–1971
Rick Brewer – drums (1968–1971)
Rick Springfield – lead vocals, guitar (1969–1971)

Zoot Link (344Mb) New Link 14/04/2026

Chuck Berry - The London Sessions (1972)

(U.S 1953 - 2017)

This is the biggest selling Chuck Berry album ever! Much of its success could of course be attributed to the amazing #1 hit status of the 45 r.p.m" version of "My-Ding-A-Ling". However, the album actually jumped on Billboard's "Top Pop Albums" charts two months prior to the single's release.
It was Berry's first LP chart appearance in five years, since the original Golden Decade greatest hits two-fer nudged its way to #191 in 1967. In contrast, The London Chuck Berry Sessions is his only certified gold album and, upon original release, ripped all the way to #8 while staying on the chart for 47 weeks.

Along with the hit single, the album's success simply reflected the climate of time. Berry and rock 'n' roll had prospered greatly during the early'60s-the originator more than holding his own on the charts and in the grooves on such as "No Particular Place To Go" and "Nadine (Is It You?)" with the British invaders and sundry imitators. However, as the decade wore on, the "roll" was lost from rock and Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Watera replaced the master rock 'n' roller as the primary source of inspiration for mainstream rockers. Furthermore, the hyphen rocks-folk-rock, acid-rock, blues-rock, country-rock and hard-rock had superceded good ole rock'n'roll as the primary terms and music forms of the day.

Chuck Berry in the 70's

As it always is when a pop music strays too far from its roots, there was a backlash to the Woodstock generation, the concept albums, and the 10 minute guitar and drum solos of the early'70s. This backlash came in the form of a several year run of immensely popular "Rock'n'Roll Revival" package shows featuring '50s and early '60s acts of all stripes, kicking off with a series of spectacular showcases at New York's Madison Square Garden. Before long, the revival concept had spread across America, predictably with mixed results. These shows became a mixture of great acts (Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Del Shannon, etc.) getting renewed and deserved atttention, greed (as promoters presented umpteen versions of The Drifters, The Platters, and The Coasters, sometimes on the same bills as Diddley and company), and pure and simple (and often narrow-minded) nostalgia. Rick Nelson celebrated the joy and frustration of the scene on his hit "Garden Party" - many of the fans wanted to turn back the hands of time, while tha acts wanted tn play their beloved music and enjoy.

Berry's Duckwalking

However, even amidst that not-so-happy lament, there was Johnny B.Goode joyously playing his guitar and singing his song. Chuck Berry had once again become the King of Rock'n'Roll duckwalking across American stages. Not just small theater stages this time, though; now it was sports arenas and coliseums. So, when The London Chuck Berry Sessions was released, festuring live versions of "Johnny B. Goode" and "Reelin' And Rockin'" just like Revival fans heard in concert, it became an instant smash. As opposed to earlier Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters London Sessions, the album was not just new versions of the artist's old songs with an all star assemblage of British musicians supporting. There were a few "star" names on the dates: The Faces' Kenny Jones and lan Mclagen on the studio tracks; the Average White Band's Robbie McIntosh on the live sides. But this is purely Chuck Berry's show, and six of the eight songs were new to the Berry "oeuvre." He wrote four of the five tracks on the studio side, using the lead track, "Let's Boogie," to make a passing tribute to the Rock 'n' Roll Revival scene. The one non-original, "Mean Old World," is a remake of a Little Walter song. And the live side is the crux of an especially hot Chuck Berry concert
circa'72.

That the concert side is that good is a tribute to the master, his songs, to then musicians on the date, but mostly to good luck. If form held, Chuck barely rehearsed with the band, if at all. Long before this, Berry had begun the practice of having a promoter provide a band that knew his songs, and he would show up just in time to say hello to the group and go on stage. 

Gatefold Photo 1

The inclusion of "My-Ding-A-Ling," according to Chuck, was also by chance. He had been doing it live in front of non-teen audiences even before "Maybellene" changed history, and he was simply doing it as usual the night of the recording. By this time, Berry had worked the ditty into a slick, naughty, audience participation number of well over 10 minutes in duration, and to see an arena full of fans laughingly participating in a 'Ding-A-Ling" singalong was...well, unusual, to say the least.

Actually, "Ding-A-Ling" served as token respite from wall-to-wall hot rockin' in Chuck's early '70s set, and after it dominated the airwaves, the version of "Reelin' And Rockin"' here took that fourteen year old song to #27, becoming Berry's last hit single. So it was only logical that The London Chuck Berry Sessions was as big a success as it was upon original release. The only real shock is that his earlier singles and albums didn't climb to these heights, and besides the music, the happiest thing about this collection is that it reasserted the prominence of one of the true legends of modern popular music after much too long an absence from the forefront.  [Liner Notes by Andy McKaie]

Pete Clemon's article from the  Coventry Telegraph on the Lanchester Arts Festival 1972. 

"Chuck Berry owes his biggest selling hit to the Lacarno"

Chuck Berry was born in St Louis, Missouri in 1926 and was an early pioneer in the field of electric guitar-led rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll.

His major breakthrough came in 1955 with the release of Maybellene and his stage presence, humour, showmanship and duck walk became the stuff of legend. As were his notoriously short gigs.

Chuck is also an incredible lyricist, constantly full of double entendre, and so it was a little ironic that his best ever selling single and his only UK and US no 1 would be a cover version... of sorts. Not only that but, as hard as it is to imagine, it was actually recorded in Coventry in what is now Central Library. A headline article in the New Musical Express dated January 22, 1972 proclaimed the forthcoming gig as 'The Berry, Slade, Floyd sound scoop. It went on to report that 'In journalistic terms, the LAF committee have a first-class scoop. Not only do they present the only British appearance of Chuck Berry, one of the great influences of rock over 20 years, but the only college appearance of Pink Floyd, who are at present on a British tour. As if that isn't enough, they also have Billy Preston and Slade appearing at Coventry Locarno'.

Gatefold Photo 2

And so it was on the February 3, 1972, as part of the Lanchester Arts Festival, Chuck Berry would perform the song 'My Ding-a-Ling', all 11 and a half minutes of it in front of almost 2000 fans. A few of the crowd were 'old style' Teddy Boys dressed in drainpipe trousers and bootlace ties. Chuck, dressed in multicoloured shirt and skin tight white trousers, introduced the song as 4th grade humour and the whole thing contains plenty of audience participation.

The full set list that night, as far as I can ascertain, was: Sweet Little Sixteen, Roll 'Em Pete, It Hurts Me Too, Around and Around, Promised Land, Reelin' and Rockin', My Dinga-Ling and Johnny B Goode. The performance lasted around an hour with Chuck Berry being on stage for about 50 minutes of it which would have been par for the course for his gigs back then. A few years later when he appeared at Coventry Theatre he was barely on stage for 40 minutes.

Chuck Berry was backed that night by The Roy Young Band although Roy himself was never credited on the album. Roy, also a wonderful performer, was famed for his boogie woogie piano playing. He first broke through on TV's 'Oh Boy' in 1958. By the 1970s his band was fluid and, depending on the kind of gig, he could pull a line up together from a pool of as many as 30 plus extraordinary musicians.

For the Coventry gig he used Owen 'Onnie' McIntyre on guitar and Robbie McIntosh on drums. On bass was one time Van der Graff Generator member Nic Potter and finally on keyboard was ex Rare Bird player Dave Kaffinetti. Onnie McIntyre and Robbie McIntosh would later that year become members of the newly formed Scottish funk outfit The Average White Band.

The whole Coventry gig was recorded on the Pye Mobile Unit by engineer Alan Perkins and it was rumoured on the night that an LP called 'Chuck Berry Live in Coventry' would be released but that never materialised.

However in July of that year a heavily edited 4 minute version of 'My Ding-a-Ling' was released as a single. It stormed the charts on both sides of the Atlantic in part due to an American disc jockey called Jim Connors who plugged it from his radio station in Boston USA. In fact Jim was credited with a gold record for his efforts. Mary Whitehouse who, at the time, was a staunch campaigner against the permissive society and social liberalism and who once led a crusade against the BBC, tried to get the song banned but to no avail.

Then, during October 1972, an album was released titled 'The London Chuck Berry Sessions'. The album was intended as a double but was finally released as a single LP.

Side 1 had been recorded in the studio while side 2 was 'live' and contained the last three songs from the shows set list.

At the end of Chuck's performance the Coventry audience can be clearly heard chanting and shouting for more while the festival management struggled in vain to clear the Locarno so that the stage could be set up for Pink Floyd. And this is very evident on the album. 'The London Sessions' peaked at number 8 in the US charts.

My Ding-a-Ling had originally been recorded by Dave Bartholomew in 1952. When he changed record label Dave re-recorded it under the new title of Little Girl Sing Ding-a-Ling. In 1954 a band called The Bees released a version of the song called 'Toy Bell' and Chuck Berry's first stab at the song was in 1968 under the title 'My Tambourine'. He would call it his alma mater.

I Can't Hear You

Despite the songs amazing success pop critics, at the time, disliked it. In fact a Coventry Telegraph reporter, on its release noted, "I thought it was easily the worst thing he's ever done. It seems rather sad, after all the great rock classics with those sly, perceptive lyrics he has recorded over the years, that the song which really established him should have been a rather dubious, rehashed nursery rhyme" which of course is a fair assessment.

But I must admit to it being a guilty pleasure and every time I hear 'My Ding-a-Ling' it still brings on a chuckle and a cheeky smile [thanks to coventrygigs.blogspot.com]

This post consists of FLACs ripped from CD (thanks to Sunshine) and includes full artwork for both CD and vinyl media. I puchased my vinyl copy of Berry's London Sessions back in the early 70's, after I heard the live side played at a school mates 16th Birthday Party. I can still remember the laughter and yahooing that took place while "My-Ding-a-Ling" played and everyone joined in with both girls and boys singing their parts. It was hilarious and also a great ice breaker for chatting up the chicks. 

My Australian pressing has the rare gatefold cover and some of the B&W photos above are from that gatefold.

Track Listing:

01 Let's Boogie  3:13

02 Mean Old World  5:58

03 I Will Not Let You Go  2:49

04 London Berry Blues  5:56

05 I Love You

06 Reelin' And Rockin' (live) 7:10 *

07 My-Ding-A-Ling (live)  11:52 *

08 Johnny B. Goode (live)  4:38 *

Personnel: Studio Tracks

Chuck Berry - Vocals & Guitar

Derek Griffiths - Guitar

Ian McLagen - Piano

Kenny Jones - Drums

Personnel: Live Tracks

Chuck Berry - Vocals & Guitar

Own McIntyre - Guitar

Dave Kafinetti - Piano

Nic Potter - Bass

Robbie McIntosh - Drums

 

Chuck Berry Link (266Mb) 

REPOST: Cold Chisel - You're 13, You're Beautiful And You're Mine (1978)

(Australian Band: 1974-83)

Cold Chisel's rare live recording recorded at the Regent Theatre in Sydney in 1977, and released in November 1978.

This five track 12" E.P was released during a low ebb in the Chisel's popularity resulting in a limited number of pressings reaching the record stores. Vinyl copies now fetch up to $200 on eBay. 

Highlight track is the Troggs cover track 'Wild Thing' with Jimmy Barnes burning his tonsils alongside Ian Moss who gives his axe a full work out. After a long period of unavailability, the EP was re-released as a bonus disk with the second pressing of the 1991 compilation album Chisel.

This rip was taken from a CD pressing in FLAC format and includes full album artwork for both vinyl and CD formats.

Track listing

1. One Long Day
2. Home And Broken Hearted
3. Merry-Go-Round
4. Mona And The Preacher
5. Wild Thing

Band Members:
Jimmy Barnes (vocals)
Ian Moss (Guitar, vocals)
Don Walker (Piano, Organ)
Phil Small (Bass)
Steve Prestwich (Drums)

Stop Press: When this EP was reissued back in 2011, I removed it from the blog, but as it has once again become unavailable, I am reposting this gem in glorious FLAC format.   This is my favourite live release by Cold Chisel and regret the day I stupidly sold my vinyl copy to another collector for a measley sum.  

Cold Chisel Link (174Mb)

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