With Back To The Beginning getting closer on the horizon (and with me becoming increasingly nervous about such a long plane flight), I turn my attention this week to a very exciting new release by Casino Records. As regular readers will probably know, Casino is my all-time favorite unofficial label, and they put out some of the best stuff on the market today. It should be no surprise then that Black Millard is certainly something special. Mike Millard recordings have long been universally known to collectors as some of the best out there. Somehow though, this is the first time that this recording at Long Beach arena in 1975 has been pressed to vinyl (at least as far as we know, anyway). Some other titles you might find this recording listed under on CD versions include Definitive Long Beach, and simply Long Beach 75. Black Millard is certainly a weird sounding name, but at least it pays homage to the man himself.
But who was Mike “The Mic” Millard, and why is he so respected in the bootleg world? Well, over his concert going career, Millard recorded well over 300 concerts, mostly in the California area, since that’s where he lived. Thankfully, pretty much every big and important act came through that area on a regular basis, and Mike would arrange to get to the show with his recording gear. He started with a mono recorder but later upgraded to a Nakamichi (my personal choice for a home stereo) with an AKG 451E microphone at some point in 1975. That’s almost certainly the setup Black Millard was recorded on, but that’s still some really large gear to be smuggling into a concert in secret.
Well, Mike would usually collaborate with friends when going to these shows. One of his now more well-known tactics was to fake being crippled, and ride into the concert in a wheelchair. Unbeknownst to security guards, we would be hiding his taping system underneath the chair while he and his “helper” made their way as close to the front of the concert as possible. I imagine that people thinking he was disabled certainly helped with this, but he really was making a sacrifice for us all and preserving some of the most important moments in rock and roll history. Most collectors will be familiar with his vast contributions to our hobby, capturing legendary level recordings from The Stones, Bowie, Elton John, Pink Floyd and The Who among many more. Even so, it’s probably the infamous Listen To This, Eddie! from Led Zeppelins 1977 shows at the LA Forum that is his most famous work.
If you are a collector, it’s certainly worth looking up more information about Mike, and collecting as many of his recordings as possible. Aside from his impressive body of work, one of my favorite things about him was his sense of ethics. Recording these shows was done for the love and preservation of music, and never to make money. As a matter of fact, he never sold his tapes and would only offer them for trade. Legend says that he would mark all of his tapes somehow, so he would know the party responsible if there was ever a leak, and something ended up for sale. Nowadays, all of these shows are sold by various rogue labels, and Black Millard is no exception. I believe we do live in a time where physical media is more important than ever, and it certainly costs money to put these things out. With that being said, purists can and should seek out and trade for these recordings, which are freely available in many places on the internet.
Casino Records doesn’t release a whole lot of Black Sabbath, so I was absolutely thrilled when I saw the announcement for this. As a fan of the original recording, I certainly had to have this version. We knew right away from the pictures that it would be limited to 300 copies and come on purple vinyl, but that was about it. Since I was very familiar with the original recording, the main question would be what the pressing and transfer to vinyl would be like. If they could hit high marks on those points, there was no way this could possibly be a bad purchase.
When I finally received the set, I was pleased to see that everything had lived up to Casino’s reputation. The jacket is a triple gatefold with great artwork, and the printing is top notch. Each set comes in the standard resealable outer sleeve, complete with numbered hype sticker. The labels themselves are black and white, and only give the disc number instead of song titles, but I think that goes well with the art selections. Interestingly, most of the labels have band members in action shots where their faces are obscured. I suppose this could be perceived as an alignment mistake, but I think it was more of an artistic choice. The purple wax looks great, and my discs were totally flat and defect free. I gave them a cleaning as usual and was pretty excited to give these a first spin.
If somehow you aren’t sure what a Black Sabbath concert from 1975 would look like, here’s the full set list. All of the first six albums, Black Sabbath through Sabotage are represented here, and the entire show is a polished tour de force of Sabbath goodness. They can’t possibly cover all the hits and beloved deeper cuts in a single show, but they really did their best. The performances from each bad member are exceptional, and the band was, perhaps, at the height of their power.
Audience Recording – Long Beach Arena – Long Beach, California, USA – 7th September, 1975
A1 Killing Yourself To Live
A2 Hole In The Sky
A3 Snowblind
B1 Symptom Of The Universe
B2 War Pigs
C Megalomania
D1 Sabbra Cadabra Jam
D2 Sometimes I’m Happy
D3 Supernaut
E1 Iron Man
E2 Orchid
E3 Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor
E4 Black Sabbath
F1 Spiral Architect
F2 Embryo
F3 Children Of The Grave
F4 Paranoid
First of all, the transfer to vinyl done by Casino Records is, in my opinion, flawless. To me, it doesn’t sound like they “re-mastered” it in any way that would compromise the integrity of the original recording. There is no surface noise whatsoever on my copy, and all the fading and cuts between sides have been done professionally. This really is one of the best Black Sabbath boots out there, but it’s still an audience recording. It was done by the best in the game so it sounds spectacular, but you might not “get” it if you have never heard a bootleg before. Still, I would say this is another one of those records that might be a good introduction to someone who is just getting into live audience recordings on vinyl. If in doubt, you can check out the Millard Master Tapes in various places on the net, and probably even on YouTube.
As far as the show itself goes, it’s got a little something for every fan. I absolutely love that Sabbath started using “Supertzar” as their recorded intro piece around this time and even kept with it well after the initial run of the Ozzy years. Till this day, Zakk Sabbath (my favorite cover band ever) still keeps up this tradition by playing it before their shows. If you have never seen them before and are a Sabbath fan, you’re really missing out. They have just released the dates for their 2025 tour, so if it sounds interesting to you, you should find some tickets!
Overall, I think the mix that’s captured on this recording is excellent. In particular, the guitar is very distinct, so Iommi fans rejoice. We have extended solos from Tony in a few places, with “Rock ‘N’ Roll Doctor” and “War Pigs” being two of my favorites. As a matter of fact, this may still be my favorite live version of “War Pigs” in existence. At times, I think the drums get a tiny bit lost in the mix, but it’s not super noticeable. Geezer’s bass sounds excellent, and if you’re listening to this on a moderately high-end system, you really are going to feel like you’re at the show. One of the reason Millard’s tapes were so legendary was the fact that he somehow managed to capture that “magical feel” of a live concert, while most other tapers efforts fell well short.
What can really be said about the rest of the songs? Since Vol. 4 is my favorite Sabbath album, “Snowblind” and “Supernaut” are two of the standout tracks for me. Both are great representations of the recorded versions, and Ozzy is on fire with the vocals. The whole show is an excellent representation of his ability to interact with a crowd on levels unmatched by anyone in rock and roll before or since. Someone like Dio is also a master of this, but anyone who has listened to both of those guys will know there is a distinct difference, and that Ozzy has a charisma that pretty much no other frontman has ever been able to match.
“Megalomania” is another particularly interesting song, as it’s once of those we didn’t really hear much in later years. I had kind of forgotten how good it was until I was listening to this set, and it reminded me that I really should talk about the Megalomania (unofficial) box set someday. It’s another one that every collector should own, and I think there are still some copies floating around out there to be had. Lastly, there’s “Spiral Architect”. Even if I didn’t want to hear the rest of this show, it would have been worth listening to the whole thing just for this track. It’s been one of my favorite Sabbath numbers since the first time I heard it, and I think this is the best live version of it that anyone managed to capture during this period.
It should be no surprise that yes, I certainly recommend that fans pick up this set before it eventually sells out. Ratings wise, pressing and packaging are a solid 10/10. Also, no surprise here, since quality stuff is the only thing Casino Records puts out. The transfer to vinyl sounds great, and even though this is the first time this recording has come out on vinyl, I have a feeling this will be the definitive version for the foreseeable future. Audio quality wise, I would also give Black Millard a 10/10, as it’s completely faithful to the source material, and all the cuts and fades between LPs are spot on.
Would the recording itself be ranked as flawless? Well, it’s still an audience recording, even if it is among some of the best. For collectors who know and understand boots, this is a 10/10, no questions asked. For someone coming in who has never heard a bootleg, I’d say it’s probably going to be an 8/10 for them. I think that their ranking would inevitably improve after they learn exactly what it is they are listening to and why it’s so important, though. Find this one while you can, and happy hunting!
In Memory of Mike “The Mic” Millard: 1951-1994