In the “unofficial”, “import” or bootleg record industry, there is certainly some overlap with the same shows being released over and over again. The good ones keep getting repressed by various entities, and naturally we’d hope for a quality increase each time, or at least for something of additional value to be added. With the resurgence of vinyl over the last few years, we are of course seeing an influx of newly pressed unofficial records coming onto the market. The fact that the majority of these titles are still from the same old rock and roll bands of yesteryear is pretty telling of the state of music today. For context, consider that the concert we are looking at here is 43 years old! Not only that, but the Night Terrors version of this record is next to impossible to get a hold of because it’s sold out so fast.
To avoid getting too far ahead of myself, here’s the deal. We are discussing two newly released records here: Night Terrors (Second Records) and Montreal 1981 (Fallen Angel Records). Both of the pressings in question are sourced from a live radio show broadcast called “King Biscuit Flower Hour” on the American station KROQ (I imagine it’s pronounced K-ROCK). The performance itself took place in Montreal, Canada on July 28th, 1981, at the Sain-Denin Theatre. Since this recording was meant for public broadcast, it goes without saying that it’s one of the better live recordings you’re going to find from this era. In my opinion, this could probably pass for a rough, but official release if you just heard it and didn’t know any better.
The fact that the recording is well done, coupled with the fact that Randy Rhoads is the guitarist playing with Ozzy during this show, are the reasons multiple labels decided to put this one out. As for the timing, I imagine that was a total coincidence. If you are an Ozzy fan, however, you will need to decide which version you want, and maybe even if it’s worth getting both. Keeping in mind that the recording is the same, let’s take a look at the actual contents of the performance.
The band is the classic live Ozzy lineup of Randy Rhoads, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldrige and Don Airey. If you don’t recognize the name Don Airey, he was Ozzy’s keyboard player who was often hidden behind a curtain. For this performance and presumably throughout all these early live shows, Airey’s keyboards added a very cool flavor to the music that isn’t present on the studio recordings we are all familiar with. The keyboards aren’t just simply there either; for this particular show, they are pretty hot in the mix and impossible to miss. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this recording is worth seeking out just to hear the big difference the addition of this instrument makes.
Performance wise, the rhythm section of Sarzo and Aldrige is great as usual, so no surprises there. Although very good, the audio quality isn’t perfect in some places. For example, the bass kind of bottoms out during Crazy Train, and one or two other places are a bit choppy. Rudy’s bass on Steal Away The Night is absolutely sick, and the recording does a good job of capturing it. The drum solo also sounds great, and it seems like all the levels were set correctly. The real star of the show here though, as you’d probably expect, is certainly Randy Rhoads.
I think this is a great example of why bootleg records like this one are absolutely essential. All of Randy’s solos are exceptional on this recording and should be preserved for history. He didn’t play exactly the same stuff every night, and while the most familiar motifs in each part pretty much remain the same, we can really get a good feeling of Randy’s insane improvisational skills and his refined talent. A real standout for me in this particular show is the classically influenced solo on Suicide Solution. Randy was always featured during this piece, but I really feel like this is one of his finest performances of that song.
A final issue that has to be addressed in any live Ozzy performance is Ozzy’s vocals. If you are a Black Sabbath fan and have checked out some of their live recordings (both official and non-official), and then listened to Ozzy’s solo years (both official and non-official) up until this very day, you may wonder where all the jokes about Ozzy being a “terrible singer” come from. For the most part, I think people have absolutely no idea what they are talking about and just repeat things they have heard. Ozzy fans know the man can sing, and many such as myself feel that his voice has even improved dramatically with age. I do, however, think that performances like this one are where the “Ozzy Osbourne is a bad singer” rumors started.
While going too much into this goes well beyond the scope of a review like this one, I will say that Ozzy is drunk and on drugs here, and it shows. His voice is blown out, and before you buy this recording, you should be aware that the vocals are, for the most part, not good. Ozzy was going through a lot at this point in his life, and I would encourage you to read his book if you want to know more about that. At some points he recovers (such as in, unexplainably, Mr. Crowley), but then his voice crashes again. For me, and I imagine for most of you, this will not be a deal breaker, but it’s something you should be aware of before paying money for this show. This is probably one reason that this recording was never released officially.
One other interesting point on the performance itself is the brutally loud beep you’re going to hear during Revelation (Mother Earth). One very unusual thing during this show that is very apparent from the beginning is Ozzy’s lack of swearing. If you are a fan, you know how weird this is. Even though he was obviously in a seriously altered state of mind, Oz managed to censor himself very well, except for a single time during this song. The beep is kind of disarming if you aren’t expecting it, but I wouldn’t say it ruins the show. I wonder if an uncensored copy is still out there, or if this is the actual original recording?
That’s about all I can say about the performance. Any Ozzy fan would do well to check it out. But if you want a copy on vinyl, how do you choose between these two versions? Well, the first thing to consider is the quality of the actual pressing. As far as I know, the Fallen Angel version is available on black and red vinyl, and the Second Records version is available on red and blue. I originally wanted the blue version of Night Terrors but it ended up being on back order forever and I settled on red. The pressing for both of these versions is flawless. In both cases, the vinyl is high quality, and looks and sounds great. Neither copy has any vinyl noise or defects to speak of, and the labels look great on each.
The real difference between the two is going to be the packaging. The Fallen Angel version comes with a nice heavy jacket with a live photo of Ozzy and Randy (no idea if it’s from the actual show or not) and is a gatefold. The Second Records version comes in a heavy jacket but is a non-gatefold. It does come sealed in a heavy re-sealable outer sleeve that’s usually used for picture discs. I think this might be made of PVC, so I wouldn’t leave a record in it long term, but it is high quality. It also has a hype sticker on the PVC sleeve indicating the color.
Normally, I am not a fan of AI generated artwork, which is almost certainly what we are looking at here with Night Terrors, but I think this one works. I like the colors and give this cover a pass. I have another Ozzy double LP set coming from Fallen Angel which I think is going to be a good example of when AI generated artwork looks terrible, but I will save that for an upcoming post. I think that in contrast to the full color Night Terrors cover, the Montreal cover looks a bit dull. That’s obviously a purely subjective opinion.
So, which one of these should you get? I don’t think you can go wrong with either one. This is an essential show for any Ozzy collector, so it’s best to see which copies you can find in stock and make your decision from there. It seems like Night Terror is a lot harder to find, and at the time of this writing, it’s almost impossible to find in blue. I will probably continue to look for a blue copy to add to my own collection. Montreal seems to still be widely available at several different shops in both red and black. Both of these releases are solid 10/10 on all counts, so make your choice and pick one up!