Happy New Year! If you haven’t read my last post, some cool things are coming to Dawn of the Deadwax in 2025 (sooner than later, it looks like). I am going to do some work on the site itself and will be launching a podcast to talk about the stuff I write about here, along with some other record and music related topics. The original idea was for this website to cover a wide variety of topics that relate to collecting records, but sometimes what I’m thinking is just too much to write out in a “post”. It might end up just being me talking into the void, but I’ll give it a try. Keep checking back here for updates.
As far as new releases go, I don’t think there’s a better way to start the year than with an Ozzy record. This is another one of those titles that I would probably normally save and write about later in the year, but I think you all need to know about this one. Like all releases from Iron Eagle, Live at the Kemper Arena will probably become difficult to find pretty quickly. There is no doubt that this concert has been “done to death”, but I think this is a definitive version for a few different reasons.
A while back, I covered another release of this show from Fallen Angel Records that they called The Classic Missouri Broadcast. All and all, it’s a pretty nice budget release, and you can read about it by clicking here. If you have a copy of that one, you pretty much already have Live at the Kemper Arena, since it’s the same performance date. However, the Fallen Angel version is missing a couple key tracks, as far as I’m concerned. Their version was an FM radio broadcast, and it was almost certainly cut for time. The missing tracks include “Secret Loser”, a Randy Castillo drum solo (understandable), and a reprised version of “Secret Loser”. So, as it’s cut on the Fallen Angel version, a total of three missing tracks. It should also be mentioned that if you have a copy of the officially released The Ultimate Ozzy DVD or VHS tape, you have a video version of this full show, complete with no missing tracks.
Live Recording – Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri – 1st April 1986
A1 Opening / Carmina Burana
A2 Bark At The Moon
A3 Suicide Solution
A4 Never Know Why
A5 Mr. Crowley
B1 Shot In The Dark
B2 I Don’t Know
B3 Killer Of Giants (with Extended Guitar Solo)
C1 Thank God For The Bomb
C2 Flyin’ High Again
C3 Secret Loser
C4 Drum Solo
C5 Secret Loser (Reprise)
D1 Ultimate Sin
D2 Iron Man
D3 Crazy Train
D4 Paranoid
Beyond those I just mentioned, there are also tons of other versions of this show floating around out there, and I have several of them. Most of them are on CD, with my favorite being the Zodiac pressing out of Japan. It’s a complete version that sounds great, but most of us would probably like to have a great sounding, and great looking version of this show on vinyl. Enter Iron Eagle Records. If you want a review of how this show sounds performance wise, I will again refer you to the original post for the Fallen Angel version. There are, however, still plenty of interesting and noteworthy differences between these two versions to consider even beyond the three missing/restored tracks.
Live at the Kemper Arena is a 2 LP set, and is available on black (60 copies), white (110 copies) or purple wax (110 copies). It seems that these are standard release colors for Iron Eagle, but they always look great. There are also 20 white label test pressing copies out there as well if that happens to be your thing. For the black copies, the first ones numbered 1-50 also include a tin metal plate. If you aren’t familiar with this, the metal plate is a sort of gimmick Iron Eagle does with (I think) every one of their releases. This is an upcharge, and although I’ve mentioned it before in passing, I had never sprung for one myself. Up until now, that is. Yes, I paid extra for a tin metal Ozzy picture, so you don’t have to.
The overall quality of the Live at the Kemper Arena package is great. I got a purple copy, and since I also wanted to check out the metal plate this time, I got a black one as well. The jackets themselves are like other Iron Eagle releases I’ve gotten in the past, with the oversized LP compartment to fit both discs, and a foldout single panel on the front of the jacket. Inside the fold is some general information on the show, the band lineup and so on. It’s nice to have, but not any real in depth or unknown information. Each copy comes housed inside a plastic sleeve with a numbered hype sticker on the front that also indicates the color. The jackets are also hand numbered on the back, and the purple copy came with a cardboard slat inside to help keep everything sturdy during shipment and storage. The black copy didn’t have this, presumably because it’s got a literal metal plate in there.
The plate is quite an interesting “extra”. As you probably know, a lot of these labels include little trinkets, posters, stickers or some other form of chachki with their releases to increase the perceived value and make them unique. This is a topic I plan on discussing a lot more in depth on the podcast, but I can tell you right now this is one of the more interesting items I’ve come across. In the past, I’ve heard rumors that when Iron Eagle does 50 plates for a release, all of the photos printed on them would be different, and you would get a random one. That may very well be true for other releases, but I think that in this case, all 50 are the same photo. Judging by the holes in the thing, I’m guessing the idea is to put this on your wall? Like a mini, stolen, Ozzy themed street sign?
I think the idea of the plate is interesting as far as a promotional sort of item. I would probably be more interested in them if the pictures were in fact all different, and you had to wait and see which one you randomly received. As you can see, mine came a little bent up on the bottom right corner, but I guess overall it’s a cool little collectable. Is it something I will continue to shell out an extra 20-40 USD for on future release? Probably not. I’m glad I finally got to see one in person, though.
As far as the pressing itself goes, I can’t find any faults with it. Both of the sets I received are flat and clean, and the vinyl itself is as good, or better than, any official release. The discs themselves are heavy weight, and while the colors may be plain, they still look nice. The labels are the standard black and white Iron Eagle, and the LPs come inside nice ploy-lined sleeves to prevent any scratching. I would have personally preferred a gatefold jacket, but I can’t complain about this one at all. The printing is crisp and extremely clear, once again rivaling the artwork on most all official record releases.
Audio wise, the only thing I can really find to criticize is that the volume is a little low, and the mix might be a little bassy for some people’s taste. To me, this sounds like a soundboard recording, and I can’t imagine many people would be disappointed with the audio quality. I think the inclusion of the missing “Secret Loser” and subsequent guitar solo is pretty important. I think that in general, Jake E. Lee is underrepresented on Ozzy bootlegs, so I am always happy to see another one come out, even if it is the same show over and over again. There is no doubt that he really shines here. If you are like many collectors and have mainly Randy Rhoads shows, I think this one would be a fantastic introduction to the Jake era.
If you already have The Classic Missouri Broadcast, is the one extra song and the drum solo enough to justify buying it again? Personally, I think it is. Anytime there is an option to have the full show, I’ll generally go for it. For the most part, I don’t avoid incomplete shows like some collectors do, as long as there are some other reasons that make me want to buy a copy. This could be the quality of the audio source, piece and availability, or even something as simple as the vinyl color or the artwork. In this case, the Iron Eagle version is superior in every one of those ways to the Fallen Angel release. For me, this makes for an easy decision.
So overall, would I recommend Live at the Kemper Arena to other collectors? Yes. Even though we’ve seen this show released a bunch of times, this is literally the full package. It’s the full show, uncut and presented in beautiful packaging with a very high-quality vinyl pressing. I’m not knocking it, but I can’t really see myself ever going back and listening to the Fallen Angel version again. It’s much cheaper and more widely available than this Iron Eagle version, but it’s incomplete and not nearly as nice of a package. If you are looking to get a great version of this classic show, I think this is the one to get. Packaging is a 10/10 and the audio source is a solid 9/10. Not totally perfect, but amazing for an unofficial release.