As regular readers have probably noticed, I tend to pick up a lot of records from the same labels over and over again. That’s because once you get into the world of collecting bootlegs, one quickly realizes that while some pressings are great quality, the bulk of them are somewhere in the “fair to bad” range. So, if you find a label that consistently puts out good stuff that’s worth the money, it’s not a bad idea to stick with them. New labels come and go constantly. Some are just fake names for one off releases. Once and a while, however, a new label will pop up that looks very promising. The Great British Music Weekend 1991 was pressed by Ancient Pyramid Records, and I think they have a very good start.
I should mention up front that this isn’t the first record that Ancient Pyramid has pressed. As a matter of fact, there is at least one other title (Black Sabbath) that came out prior to The Great British Music Weekend 1991. I also have a copy of that and will be covering it as well in the coming weeks. I kind of wanted to do the Sabbath first, but I am really excited about this one at the moment. Also, I just kind of felt like it was time for some more Ozzy on the blog, so here we are. There are a couple reasons why this record is special, and one of them is the fact that this particular show has (somehow) never been pressed on vinyl before. It’s also a soundboard, which makes the fact that it has been overlooked for 34 years all the more perplexing. But what was the Great British Music Weekend, anyway?
Back in 1991, Harvey Goldsmith (the promoter of Live Aid) put together a sort of weekend showcase that focused solely on British hard rock and heavy metal acts. It took place indoors at Wembley Arena in London and ran for three days. Each day had a specific theme, and the event hosted some of the biggest names in rock music like Def Leppard and Iron Maiden. Basically, it was supposed to be the British equivalent of Monsters of Rock at Donington, but it only lasted two years. Ozzy headlined on Sunday, 20th January 1991, and that recording is the one we have here. Notably, Black Sabbath (touring with Tony Martin at the time) did not make an appearance. The fact that this was more of a showcase than a full all-out festival is why we are able to have an entire Ozzy set here on a single LP. As fans and collectors will know, this is a serious rarity since Ozzy shows were almost always very long.
The Great British Music Weekend 1991 is a numbered, limited release. It’s available on yellow, pink, and brown (Discogs says Mahogony) wax, and there are also some test pressings floating around. From what I can gather, there are a couple clear test presses and a clear/black one. It also appears that there might be a fourth color available (pink marble), but I couldn’t find a copy of that one. I got a copy of every color I could find and was also able to score a clear test. According to the back of the jackets, there are only 500 copies pressed. I imagine that this is in total, encompassing all colors and variants. The test press jackets are different and are done in the style of an old school bootleg. Plain jacket, insert and stickers. The inserts are done on photo paper, which I’ve never seen before, and are of very high quality. My clear test press also came with a cool Ozzy poster.
The artwork on everything looks great and is crystal clear. The jackets are a standard matte finish, but I generally prefer this style to the glossy ones. The real standout bit for me are the printed labels which feature Aztec inspired artwork and obviously reflect the Ancient Pyramid label itself rather than this specific release. The labels are also numbered so we don’t have to guess or get out the magnifying glass to read the deadwax in an attempt to find out which side is which. My copies came in poly lined sleeves and sealed outer sleeves as well, which is always a nice touch. The LPs looked clean enough, but as usual, I cleaned them myself with the ultrasonic and VPI before giving them a spin. I decided to go with the pink version (which actually has a tiny hint of yellow marbling) since I like the looks of that one best.
Right away, I took notice of the sound quality of the source. This definitely is a soundboard, and it’s a good one. It’s not quite as spectacular as the Def Leppard set that I covered last week, but it’s pretty close. All the instruments are well defined, and you can hear everything. I’m not sure if this was being taped as a planned release, but someone adjusted the audio with intention rather than just hitting record with basic settings. Both sides have expert fade-ins and fade-outs. As people who read this blog will know, fading (or the lack of it) is a big issue for me and a lot of other collectors. There are also ZERO spaces in between tracks, which proves it can be done! The pressing itself sounds great, and I detected zero surface noise on my copy.
Soundboard Recording – Wembley Arena, London UK – 20th January, 1991
A1 Intro: O’ Fortuna
A2 Bark At The Moon
A3 I Don’t Know
A4 Mr. Crowley
A5 Suicide Solution
B1 War Pigs
B2 Crazy Train
B3 Paranoid
Universal Amphitheater, Universal City, California USA – 18th November, 1991
B4 Snowblind
The show itself is a rare gem. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Ozzy and his band with more energy than they had for this performance. I’m guessing that part of the reason may have been that it was a short set and they didn’t need to pace themselves. I think this might be my favorite version of “Bark At The Moon” with Zakk on guitar. He sticks really close to the original solo, but you can still tell it’s uniquely him. “I Don’t Know” has a bit of unusual panning to the crowd in one spot. I think this was done purposely to highlight the interaction they were having with Ozzy, who was completely on top of his game with the vocals. He even added some interesting vocal inflections that only fans who listen to a ton of old live shows will notice, and it’s very cool to hear. I think he was really “present” for this performance, and the “rock and roll” chant at the end of “Mr. Crowley” is just awesome.
We also get great versions of the classics “War Pigs” and “Crazy Train”, which I think rank up near the top with any other live recorded versions. Zakk’s outro solo for “Suicide Solution” is crazy good and is certainly an unusual take. To me, it doesn’t sound like any other version of the solo he’s ever played, and I think guitar fans will want to hear this one. Overall, this is certainly a standout performance for Ozzy and crew and highlights the band at a time just before they were about to unleash No More Tears on the world. An album which many consider to be one of the highest points of Ozzy’s career.
Apparently, the set was short enough that there was even some room left over on the LP. Instead of just leaving unused space, Ancient Pyramid decided to add a bonus track of “Snowblind”. This track was recorded in November of 1991 and features the same lineup with the exception of keyboardist Jon Sinclair being replaced by Kevin Jones. Mike Inez is on bass and would notably become the last bass player to ever play a solo set with Ozzy, which took place at Back To The Beginning. This is a shortened version of “Snowblind”, but it was shortened in performance by the band rather than by the record label. The original version is quite long, so they removed the guitar solo and a verse. It’s still a great version of a Sabbath song that Ozzy rarely covered, and a nice bonus for this pressing.
I think it should be pretty obvious that I really like this record. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear a concert that’s never been released on vinyl before, instead of the same shows with Randy being pressed over and over again countless times. I would have liked to have seen the band lineup listed on the jacket, as I do think that’s valuable information for collectors. That’s a very small complaint, however, and I realize that space is limited, especially on a single LP release. The pressing and packaging for The Great British Music Weekend 1991 easily gets a 10/10 and the audio source is about an 8.5/10. I am also going to add another category here, which is value. Mentioning exactly what I paid for my copies is pointless, since every seller will vary. I will say that it was a very fair price, and a 10/10 considering the quality and value that I received.
I would encourage anyone who’s interested to seek out a copy sooner than later. These are too good to be around for very long, and I imagine the price will increase once the supply is exhausted. The jacket also promises “More Great Releases To Come”, which I certainly hope is the case. The Black Sabbath one looks good, but I haven’t heard it yet. It’s also a single LP, and I’ll cover it at some point during the upcoming weeks. Good luck in the hunt!