Neon Knights: Black Sabbath’s Dio-Era Live Album Gets Remixed Reissue
Like all good demons, Black Sabbath proved they could rise from the dead – or, at the very least, the loss of their iconic frontman – with the recruitment of Ronnie James Dio as lead singer in the early ’80s. Now, the live document they issued chronicling this era will get a new look for its 40th anniversary.
Live Evil, the 1983 double album that followed Dio, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Vinny Appice as they toured in support of Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell the year before, gets the super deluxe treatment on June 2. The 4CD or 4LP sets include the original album newly remastered by Andy Pearce, plus a remix of the same program by longtime band associate Wyn Davies. Both sets will come with a hardcover book including both new liner notes about the album and replicas of the Mob Rules tour program and poster.
While Live At Last, an official yet band-unsanctioned concert album, had hit stores in 1980, Live Evil was released with the full consent of Black Sabbath. And it came at a great time for everyone: a new publishing contract meant greater royalties from Dio singing songs from the group’s back catalogue. (Just months before Live Evil hit stores, former frontman Ozzy Osbourne took advantage of this new deal with 1982’s Speak of the Devil, a double live album that only featured Sabbath cuts.) Thus, newer tracks like “Neon Knights,” “Children of the Sea,” “Heaven and Hell” and “The Mob Rules” share disc space with classics like “Iron Man,” “Paranoid” and “War Pigs.” Culled from performances in Seattle, San Francisco and Dallas, the members of Sabbath all acknowledged the tour as one of their best. But Iommi and Butler reportedly squabbled with Dio during the mixing of the record, and the tension caused Dio to leave for his own celebrated solo career, taking Appice with him.
Live Evil will rise again this summer and can be pre-ordered at the links below.
Live Evil (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) (Rhino, 2023)
4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD/LP 1-2: Original album remastered by Andy Pearce (originally released as Warner Bros. 23702, 1983)
CD/LP 3-4: Original album remixed by Wyn Davis (previously unreleased)
- E5150
- Neon Knights
- N.I.B.
- Children of the Sea
- Voodoo
- Black Sabbath
- War Pigs
- Iron Man
- The Mob Rules
- Heaven and Hell
- Sign of the Southern Cross
- Heaven and Hell (Reprise)
- Paranoid
- Children of the Grave
- Fluff
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5 thoughts on “Neon Knights: Black Sabbath’s Dio-Era Live Album Gets Remixed Reissue”
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LP 1 and 2 is the album. LP 3 and 4 is the SAME album? Rhino/ Warner is absolutely nuts.
It’s remixed by 2 different engineers.
The mix of this recording is abysmal. It feels like a live in studio album and should have never been rekeased, let alone re-released as a SDE. Sharon…
You have to wonder where labels get their ideas sometimes? The same album, two different mixes, with some extras tossed in. They could have included the previously released “Live At Hammersmith”, same tour, different show(s) and has two songs not on Live Evil: “Country Girl” and “Slipping Away”. They also played “Turn Up The Night” and “Falling Off The Edge Of The World” on The Mob Rules tour. I cannot believe there are no professional recordings of those songs anywhere.
Right there I already have a better boxed set than this.
I have Remix for the CDs in Rules of Hell, it’s good enough for me!