I’ll just get right into this one by saying that this is my favorite Ozzy release of the year, hands down. We have seen quite a few good ones in 2024, and I have talked about a few of them. However, the mantle has been taken, right at the buzzer, by Flying Dragon Records with the release of In Memoriam. Obviously, the “memoriam” part refers to Randy Rhoads, who passed away not long after this recording was made. This show is certainly a showcase to Randy’s otherworldly abilities, and we can only guess how he might have grown as a player if he had never gotten on that plane.
In Memoriam is a two LP set and is available on splatter or “cloudy” wax. I don’t think I’ve heard that particular term to describe a color pattern like this, but I’m on board with it. Both versions have a black and white color scheme, and each is limited to only 100 hand numbered copies. This means that in total, there are only 200 copies of this record in existence, which is going to make it pretty rare right out of the gate. You can find your copy number on the back of the record jacket, written in black ink toward the bottom. I originally ordered the splatter version, but was so impressed with this thing, I went back and ordered the cloudy version as well.
When I opened them up, I couldn’t believe how much these sets weighed. Each one comes with the two records, an A4 sized program booklet replica from the Diary of a Madman tour, and 3 absolutely stunning A2 sized posters. Most of the time, the posters and other paper items that come with unofficial releases are just there to boost the perceived value of the set and aren’t that well made. This year, I have gotten quite a few “extras”, and I don’t think any of them would have been suitable to put on actual display. Most are a folded piece of printer paper, or a small, blurry scan of a CD cover. That’s not the case here. Whoever Flying Dragon got to make these posters was a professional outfit. They are all extremely well made, and I believe they are all replicas of period Ozzy posters.
The tour book replica, I would guess, was made by the same company. It’s also very high quality and shows no signs of blurriness. Since I don’t have an original copy, I am unsure if this is an exact facsimile of what you would have received attending the tour, or if more has been added to it. In any case, it has great photos, insightful information about each band member, and even a full listing of the “1981-82 Stage Equipment Specifications” list for Aldrige, Sarzo, Airey and Randy Rhoads himself. If you wanted to know all about Randy’s gear, including his effects pedals, here it is. As a particularly interested party and a musician myself, everything on Randy’s list looks absolutely correct as far as I can tell from the knowledge we have today. This includes the MXR Distortion + that was recently re-released by MXR. It sold out in seconds and is now selling for triple the price.
The LP’s themselves are heavy weight, beautifully pressed, and the full color labels look great. The records come inside very heavy, poly-lined black sleeves that have some weight to them. I didn’t have a single scratch or defect on any of the discs I received. All of this stuff comes housed in a single sleeve jacket that’s just the right thickness to accommodate everything. Both of my sets, obtained from two different sources, had the posters nested inside the tour book. Not only does this keep everything neat, but it also went a long way to prevent anything getting bent up. After a quick cleaning, I gave the cloudy version a spin.
Live Recording – Mecca Arena – Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA – 22 January, 1982
A1 Intro
A2 Over The Mountain
A3 Mr. Crowley
A4 Crazy Train
B1 Revelation (Mother Earth)
B2 Steal Away (The Night)
B3 Suicide Solution
B4 Guitar Solo
B5 Drum Solo
C1 Goodbye To Romance
C2 I Don’t Know
C3 No Bone Movies
C4 Believer
D1 Flying High Again
D2 Iron Man
D3 Children Of The Grave
D4 Paranoid
I think most Ozzy fans are probably going to be familiar with this show. In my opinion, it’s the most fun listen of the Randy Rhoads era. If Ozzy collectors gave names to shows like Pink Floyd collectors do, this one would no doubt be called “Animal Society”. That’s because right away, Ozzy lets us know that there are some special guests in the audience this night… namely people from the “animal society”. As most of you can guess, these folks were in attendance after (false) stories of Ozzy slaughtering live animals on stage were circulating though the news, as well as the little incidents involving a dove and a (pre-deceased) bat. Ozzy greeted these people by letting them know “I am a f*cking animal! I am THE f*ucking animal!”. What a time this must have been to be alive and going to rock shows!
The performance itself is an interesting one. I think it’s obvious as to why Flying Dragon chose this particular show to showcase Randy. He’s just on fire the whole time and throws out maybe the greatest solo to “Suicide Solution” that we have a recording of. I’ll tell you right now that this is another one of those shows that’s a little heavy on keyboards, and it does step on Randy’s playing a bit in certain places. Ozzy’s voice is a little rough in the beginning (maybe because he’s going absolutely ballistic over the animal society people), but it quickly returns to normal, and we hear an all-around great vocal performance for the rest of the show. Tommy Aldrige and Rudy Sarzo are also both on top of the game, as they were in 99% of their performances with Ozzy.
As far as the rest of the show goes… well… it’s Ozzy. Fans should know what to expect. I will say again that I believe that these are some of the best live versions of these songs that we have. This is just one more reason why bootleg releases like this are vital music history. Can you imagine if the studio versions of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were the only places we could hear Randy play with Ozzy? It would be an absolute travesty. Even Tribute was pretty much just a sanctioned and cleaned up bootleg. As far as I’m concerned, the tapers are the labels who make this material available are doing the Lord’s work.
As far as the recording goes, this sounds like an audience tape to me. If it is, it’s really an excellent one. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its issues, though. The most noticeable problem is a bit of distortion and cut out during “Over The Mountain”, but thankfully, this quickly goes away. There are also some volume fluctuations throughout the recording, but they aren’t terrible. It’s nothing that will have you jumping up to turn down the stereo, but it’s something collectors should be aware of.
Overall, this is a fantastic show. I have a couple copies of it on CD, but I’m really thrilled to have this on vinyl, and in such a nice edition to boot. It’s just an incredibly fun Ozzy show to listen to, and I can only imagine what it must have been like to be there in person. The band was firing on all cylinders, and Ozzy was having fun with the crowd and just generally going insane. The crowd noise is definitely present but is not overwhelming. Even with its faults, the audio here is an 8/10. The pressing itself is a 10/10, with no surface noise at all, at least on my copies.
You probably guessed already, but I am also giving the packaging for In Memoriam a solid 10/10. I don’t think it’s possible to have a nicer package than this. I think this should be the standard for anyone who is thinking about releasing bootlegs of any kind. That being said, you might be shocked to hear that these aren’t expensive. I don’t generally mention prices, but you should be able to find this is the sub 100 USD range. Do keep in mind that this is an extremely limited release. My guess is that once these totally sell out, people are going to be charging eye watering amounts for them. People will still buy copies at inflated prices because it really is that nice. So, if this is something that sounds interesting to you, yesterday was the time to buy this one. Good luck!