Well, today was the Record Store Day Black Friday event, and there was absolutely nothing of interest for me on the list this time. It’s actually kind of rare when I find anything I want even at a normal RSD, so I guess this isn’t a surprise. So, instead of doing another article complaining about RSD like I wrote last time… here’s some Ozzy!
This new release from Soundcraft follows The Prince Of Darkness into 1989 with an appearance at the Moscow Peace Festival. This festival was broadcast internationally, including on MTV. It was billed as “Russian Woodstock”, and loads of big names appeared that day, including Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Cinderella. One of the reasons it became so famous though, was the myth that it inspired “Wind Of Change” by Scorpions. That’s a really cool song, and I have no idea if the story is true or not, but let’s just say that it is for dramatic effect. What is certainly true, however, is that by the time this show rolled around, Ozzy had established himself as a heavy metal icon on an international scale and was no longer just the former Black Sabbath front man.
Soundcraft Records makes a lot of good stuff, and I have talked about some of their releases in the past. Normally, I pick up their box sets or fancy 3 LP sets, so it was unusual to see a single LP release from these guys. There are three different colors available, and of course I picked up all of them. This took some doing, as I couldn’t find any single shop that had all the colors. Flying High, Prince Of Darkness comes in a single LP sleeve, and the printing and artwork look great. It comes sealed in standard plastic wrap, and the numbered hype sticker is on the front of the plastic. If you want to keep the sticker, your best bet is opening the record just enough and keeping the plastic intact. Each of the three colors is limited to just 100 copies, and I have no doubt that these will sell out quickly. I decided to pick the red copy for testing purposes and cleaned it as usual before giving it a spin.
This performance would find Ozzy right at the tail end of the No Rest For The Wicked tour, which would of course be Zakk’s first full tour as Ozzy’s guitar player. This is a killer live lineup, which brought Geezer Butler into the fold, temporarily stealing him from Black Sabbath. The full lineup was as follows:
Vocals – Ozzy Osbourne
Guitar – Zakk Wylde
Bass – Geezer Butler
Drums – Randy Castillo
Keyboards – Don Airey (Unlisted in Credits)
I think that most of us are familiar with this show and will have probably seen the DVD at some point. For me, it had been a long while, and I was surprised when I saw all these songs listed on the jacket, along with a note saying that this was the “complete show”. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to fit all of these songs on a single LP, but as we shall see, there are a couple reasons why it worked.
For being a show that was broadcast internationally, it’s interesting that the audio itself leaves us with so many questions. To me, this show certainly sounds “pieced together”. There are some spots that sound like they come from different sources, and the quality varies quite a bit, sometime even within the same song. The evidence I have seen seems to indicate that that some of the show was at least partially lost (or never recorded at all), and most surviving videos seem to reflect this. I think that this is, however, probably the best reconstruction we have available, at least on vinyl. It’s plays sort of like a fragmented memory in spots, but is an important historical time capsule, nonetheless.
Broadcast Recording – Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow – 13 August, 1989
A1 Intro – O’Fortuna
A2 I Don’t Know
A3 Flying High Again
A4 Shot In The Dark
A5 Miracle Man
B1 Sweet Leaf
B2 War Pigs
B3 Tattooed Dancer
B4 Suicide Solution
B5 Crazy Train
B6 Paranoid
Starting out, we hear a lot of noise from the crowd, but it mostly fades as the music comes in. By the time we get to “Shot In The Dark”, things sound pretty good to me. Once we get into “Miracle Man” though, I had a pop or two on my LP. There were no visible defects on any of my discs, so I think this must have been an audio source problem. This is a great version of the song, complete with the samples, and it sounds pretty much like the record. To this day, this is still one of my favorites that Zakk wrote with Ozzy. All the transitions between songs sound good with no spacing issues, and the fading is all professionally done as well.
This version of “Sweet Leaf” is a very heavy one, and it’s awesome to hear Geezer and Ozzy playing it together again. It’s pretty ironic that the Moscow Peace Festival itself was billed as a “Make A Difference” anti-drug/sobriety event, and then they got a band playing a crushing version of one of the most famous drug anthems ever written. Sadly, this is the first of several truncated songs, and it ends right after the guitar solo. The combination of shortened songs, along with either cut or lost tape, is what makes this “full show” able to be pressed on a single LP. It still flows really well, and whoever put this together did the best job possible with the material available.
After “Sweet Leaf”, the band goes right into “War Pigs”. All the cool sirens and sound effects are there, but to me, the song sounds a little rushed. I have a strong feeling that they only had so much time and were consciously or unconsciously speeding things up a bit. This is also another shortened number, and they decided to cut the song right before the guitar solo is supposed to kick in. “Tattooed Dancer” has a nice drum intro from Randy, but there just isn’t much room at all between songs. Some songs are complete, but in certain places, the performance feels like a bit of a medley.
“Suicide Solution” is a great rendition, but you can tell that Zakk is sort of still developing his style at this point. The feature solo is great of course but is probably not one of the favorite Zakk versions of the song, and it would get much crazier over the years. His playing is full of fire and aggression, and he’s clearly found his secret sauce with the pinch harmonics, but overall, it’s a long solo and it sounds a bit repetitive. “Crazy Train” certainly has a cut in the tape, and the audio gets a bit rough again here. To me, it sounds like multiple sources might have been used to put this song together.
After “Crazy Train”, Ozzy says goodnight to the crowd but instantly announces the encore. This is a pretty solid clue that there is some editing at work here, but it honestly isn’t bad. Once “Paranoid” starts, the quality is better again at first, but the tape kind of degrades after a while. Thankfully though, this is the full version of the song, and it’s a strong ending for one of the most famous festival appearances in the annals of Ozzy Osbourne history.
I know it might sound like I didn’t like Flying High, Prince Of Darkness, but honestly, I enjoyed it. It’s not perfect, but as I often discuss on this site, that’s just sometimes the nature of bootlegs. In a way, the rawness sort of adds to the overall feel, and does a good job of putting you at that point in history. I think that most Ozzy collectors are going to want this one. Physically, the records look great, and it’s also a great chance to pick up the closest thing we have to a complete Moscow show on vinyl. Ratings wise, the packaging here is an easy 10/10. It’s a simple single LP in a sleeve, but the jacket artwork and labels look great. The pressing itself had a tiny bit of surface noise to it, but still an easy 9/10 for me. The audio itself is where some people might be divided, but I would give it 6.5/10. This might sound a bit low, but I think it’s an accurate reflection of what’s here.
Overall, I’m happy I picked this one up and managed to get all of the colors. It seems like there’s always new Ozzy stuff coming out on the underground, but I think this is a special release. If you want to find a copy, now is the time to start looking. Good luck in the search!