With the recent announcement of the Back To The Beginning show in Birmingham, I decided to explore some Black Sabbath recordings from the last round of “final shows” they did a few years back. If you’ve somehow missed the announcement, this all day event will feature not only the last ever performances by Ozzy Osbourne and the original Black Sabbath lineup, but also performances by Metallica, Pantera, Slayer, Slash and a plethora of other, including Rudy Sarzo! Personally, I am most excited by the fact that JAKE E. LEE!!!! has been announced as a guest. Does this mean we’ll get to hear him play “Bark At The Moon” one last time with Ozzy? I sure hope so, because apparently, I will be there watching this one in person.
Originally, I had no intention of even attempting to purchase tickets for the show since I realized how expensive travel alone would be. However, I happened to be at my computer at the right time, and I saw someone post the link and presale code from Metallica’s website on Reddit. I figured it would be interesting to see how many people I got stuck behind, so I got “in line”. I noticed there were only 4,00 people in front of me, and that really seemed like a low number. Before I knew it, the map popped up, but everything I clicked on was “sold out” before I got a chance to add it to my cart. I tried for another few seconds, and finally I got two seated tickets in the “Holt End”, whatever that is. I figured the system probably wouldn’t take my credit card, so I put the number in just for fun. A few seconds later, it told me my order was confirmed. So come to find out, I’m going to the UK this summer. Exciting times!
Of course, not everyone got so lucky. I do feel bad for all the dedicated fans out there that didn’t win what was effectively a lottery. Thankfully, there is still another chance at the general sale this week. At the same time, I think the level of online complaining has verged into the ridiculous. From people saying the show will be horrible, to claims that “$haron” will be stealing the proceeds that are meant to go to charity, there is no shortage of online outrage (is there ever?). People are also complaining about the ticket prices quite a bit, even though the profits are all going to charity. The seats I got were around 300 USD a piece, and that just doesn’t seem especially expensive in 2025. Not even for a middle-of-the-road concert, let alone the legendary lineup we’re getting here.
I’m not sure if the people complaining haven’t been to a concert since the 70’s, or if they are just secretly upset they didn’t get a ticket. In any case, I have decided to do my best to ignore all the online vitriol and just get pumped up for the show. As part of that effort, I present you with a review of a pretty good Sabbath recording from all the way back in 2016, from the legendary town of “Manfield” Massachusetts.
Actually, it’s “Mansfield”, but whoever was supposed to be proofreading before the record sleeve went to the printer was either asleep at the wheel or has English as a second or third language. I actually picked this release up just a couple weeks ago at a record store here in Las Vegas. I had seen it online a couple times, and always thought about buying it, but just never did. Seeing it right there in front of me, and at a decent price of fifty dollars no less, I decided to pick it up. To be honest, I didn’t have the highest expectations for it, but I was pleasantly surprised.
This is one of those cases where the first thing that caught my eye was the artwork. I’m not sure if they had an artist put this together or if they just jacked the image from somewhere, but it looks great. I’m especially a fan of the purple and black, which I will always associate with Sabbath. This is another “not on label” release, but it is hand numbered on the back, supposedly out of 500 copies. The jacket itself is very high quality and, and I was surprised to find out the set also has glossy, printed inner sleeves. The sleeve artwork features some well-known imagery from the tour, as well as some live shots on the opposite side. They are really heavy and top quality.
I think there was a sticker or label somewhere that said, “colored vinyl”, but I didn’t know it was purple till I got home and opened it up. These discs are pressed on high quality wax, are completely flat, heavy, and look great. The labels are full color, list the tracks and have artwork that matches the back of the jacket. I am not someone who could possibly bring himself to storing records in printed inner sleeves, so I cleaned them both and replaced those with MOFI ones as is my standard process. I checked out the setlist on the back cover before giving the set a spin, and overall, it looked like it was a killer show.
Live Recording – Xfinity Center, Mansfield, Massachusetts USA – 25th August 2016
A1 Black Sabbath
A2 Fairies Wear Boots
A3 After Forever
B1 Into The Void
B2 Snowblind
B3 War Pigs
C1 Behind The Wall Of Sleep
C2 NIB
C3 Hand Of Doom
C4 Rat Salad
D1 Iron Man
D2 Dirty Women
D3 Children Of The Grave
D4 Paranoid
I wasn’t sure what the audio source would be, but whatever it is sounds great. This has to be a soundboard or some other type of leaked official recording. The mix is really great and was certainly overseen by a professional. It’s a tiny bit quiet, but also nice and bassy. Thankfully, all the tracks are faded at the end of each side, which has always been a big deal for me. I’ll never understand why someone goes through the trouble of pressing a show on vinyl and then just lets it cut off right in the middle to dead silence or record crackle. It always sounds terrible, but thankfully, that isn’t the case here.
As far as the performance goes, it’s a really great effort by the whole band. Tommy Clufetos does an awesome job on the drums, but of course it’s just not the same without Bill Ward. Overall, Ozzy does a great job on vocals, though he does seem to get a bit tired as he gets close to the end of the set. Funny enough, when talking to the crowd, he says that sometimes people ask him if these are really the last shows Sabbath will ever do. He answers the question by saying yes, they definitely are! This is another thing internet people are complaining about, but I’m totally giving him a pass here. After all, was it really Sabbath without Bill? Some would say no, and I would agree.
As expected, “War Pigs” is certainly a standout track. Everyone is firing on all cylinders, but Geezer sort of steals the show on this one with some serious lead bass. I haven’t heard a bass riff like this since David St. Hubbins joined Derek and Nigel on Spinal Tap’s “Big Bottom”. I have to think “War Pigs” will be played at the Birmingham gig, and I kind of hope Geezer reprises this version.
The only song that sounded a bit funny to me was “Into The Void”, which is a notoriously difficult one to sing. It’s not “to the album perfect”, but Ozzy still gets through it just fine. There is also the obligatory and much, much too long drum solo which mercifully, eventually turns into “Iron Man”. The only questionable song choice of the evening is “Dirty Women”. This is not a great song, and I think that’s being generous. I can’t even imagine why this was chosen over any one of the others that weren’t included. As I listened to it, I couldn’t help but think that for someone, somewhere, this is their favorite Black Sabbath song. I then thought further about what that person must be like, and then about how I probably didn’t want to meet them. By this time, the song was over.
There is no doubt we can hear Ozzy lose a bit of steam on “Children of the Grave”, but he takes a short breather and finishes strong with “Paranoid”, and all is as it should be. Overall, I think this was a great performance, and definitely worthy of getting the vinyl treatment. I know that the 2025 “short set” that Sabbath plays will be nowhere near this long, but it makes me extra thankful that we have so many of these past shows (practically all of them) documented through bootlegs and the hard work of the fans.
Whether you find yourself looking for material to psych up for the upcoming gig or not, I highly recommend The End: “Manfield” to anyone who wants to hear some great live Sabbath from the 2016-2017 era. It’s really a great show not only performance wise, but also from a physical collectability standpoint. I give it a 9/10 on the pressing and packaging, and a 9.5 for the audio source. My copy has zero surface noise, and I couldn’t find any issues with it at all.
If you can find it for somewhere around the price my local shop had it (about 50 bucks), I think it’s a real bargain and will be a great addition to your Sabbath collection. Since there is no record label listed, the best way to find it is probably by using the misspelling of “Manfield” in a Google search. That’s the way it’s listed over on Discogs, and I imagine most folks who don’t live in the area don’t know any better. Over the next few weeks and months, I plan on checking out some other Sabbath gigs from around this time period, including both official and unofficial releases. Stay tuned!