As an Ozzy fan, you might be surprised to find out that the very last album (including the newest ones) that I really got into was No Rest for the Wicked. I don’t dislike any of Ozzy’s albums, but for the longest time, this one was my least favorite. Needless to say, I have really come to like it over the years… it just took a while to grow on me. So, when I saw that a new bootleg was coming out that perfectly captures this particularly high point in Ozzy’s career, I was pretty excited. So today, we’re looking at No Rest for the Wicked Tour, released by Axe Attack records. This is a 2 LP set that comes in a gatefold sleeve.
The first thing anyone will notice with this release is just how cool the packaging looks. As far as covers go, I have never seen an unofficial record hit this level of quality. The artwork, while probably AI generated, is fantastic, and obviously really calls back to the cover art of the studio album. Instead of the original little girls on the cover, we have sort of a Wednesday Adams lookalike that’s holding some kind of dragon. That’s kind of weird, but when you look at the whole thing together, it’s a really cool image. I would love to have a poster of this thing.
Aside from the artwork, the actual cover material has a very unique texturing to it, and is very high quality with beautiful coloring. The Japanese-style obi strip also adds a lot to the aesthetic, but this record was not made in Japan. I’m not 100% sure where it was made, but it wasn’t there. Definitely somewhere in Europe. The gatefold has the song lyrics printed on the inside, which is another great touch.
No Rest for the Wicked Tour was pressed on five different colors of wax… black, white, gold and two other “misprint” colors which appear to be a sort of marble. So far, I have picked up the white and the gold, and I also plan on getting a black copy, if ones comes up, so I can complete the “base set”, so to speak. The vinyl itself isn’t particularly heavy, but it is of amazing quality. Neither one of my copies had any defects, and each disc comes inside a poly lined paper sleeve, which really does help prevent scratches. The labels themselves are generic to Axe Attack but are very nice and clearly marked (you won’t have any trouble telling which side is which).
The audio on this release is excellent. As far as bootlegs go, it’s an easy 10/10. The show we are dealing with here is pretty well known amongst the Ozzy fandom. If you want to look it up, search for Philadelphia 1989, and you’ll see what I mean. Great stuff. This live show was originally recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program, and I’m pretty certain that’s exactly what Axe Attack is using here as their source. As usual, if you just want to hear the show, you can do so for free. If you’re like me, however, you probably want a copy pressed on vinyl that’s presented in nice packaging. When it comes down to it, with releases like this, those things are what we are actually paying for. Here is the absolutely killer set list for the show:
Live Recording – Tower Theatre, Upper Darby PA, USA – 4th June 1989
A1 Introduction
A2 I Don’t Know
A3 Flying High Again
A4 Mr. Crowley
A5 Shot In The Dark
B1 Bloodbath In Paradise
B2 Zakk Wylde Solo Pt. 1
B3 Zakk Wylde Solo Pt. 2
B4 Sweet Leaf
B5 War Pigs
C1 Tattooed Dancer
C2 Randy castillo Solo
C3 Tattooed Dancer 2
C4 Miracle Man
D1 Suicide Solution
D2 Iron Man
D3 Crazy Train
D4 Paranoid
For this review, I decided to play my gold copy. My pressing has absolutely no surface noise at all, which is always a very pleasant surprise. The audio does have a few cuts every now and again, and some of the fadeouts at the end of sides are abrupt. These issues in no way detract from the show as far as I am concerned. I haven’t tested out my white copy yet, but I can tell you it looks exactly the same as far as the physical pressing goes. Sometimes, discs from the same company that are pressed on different colors can sound wildly different due to the composition of the colored wax. I don’t envision that being an issue here at all, but if it is, I will certainly report back on it and update this review.
What can really be said about this performance? I believe this is the very best live Ozzy show I have ever heard, and I don’t say that lightly. If you like the songs on the set list, I think you’re really in for a treat here. I have come to find that I prefer Zakk Wylde’s earlier guitar playing compared with the newer stuff. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the later albums or his solo work, but this time period was just something special. There are a lot less of the pinch harmonics (guitar squeals… some fans are annoyed by these) that Zakk became known for, and the playing in general somehow seems totally different to me. Undoubtedly, he was still developing his signature style at this point, but man is it cool to hear him play during this particular tour. As a matter of fact, the entire line up for this show and this tour were pretty special:
Lead Vocals – Ozzy Osbourne
Lead Guitar – Zakk Wylde
Bass Guitar – Geezer Butler
Drums – Randy Castillo
Keyboards – John Sinclair
Ozzy and Black Sabbath fans will need no introduction to Geezer Butler, who Ozzy managed to poach away from Tony Iommi and Sabbath to join him on this tour. In my opinion, the bass parts for most Ozzy songs are much more interesting than the bass parts for most Black Sabbath songs, so it’s really cool to hear Geezer playing on another level here. There is also a major difference between Don Airey and John Sinclair on keyboards. Sinclair’s tone is much more ominous, and it really takes the No Rest for the Wicked material in another direction with a much different feeling. As always, Randy Castillo is superb on the drums, and he knocks out an incredible solo.
As I mentioned, Zakk’s playing is just great here. Sometimes, extended guitar features/solos can get a bit boring. That’s certainly not the case on this recording… this is Zakk Wylde on top of his game. If you are a fan of “guitar gods”, this is a fantastic chance to hear one in the making. If you are a guitar player, you’re really going to enjoy this. Finally, it has to be said that Ozzy himself is absolutely on fire here and reminds us why he’s not only the Prince of Darkness, but also the King of Metal. When he’s in good shape like he is here, he sings like no one else with that unique style we have all come to love.
Without going through every individual song, I will say that the overall energy of the show is very high. Songs are a bit faster than you are probably used to hearing them, but they are also not rushed. For this particular show, they feel exactly right. I think that overall, the speed increase is most noticeable on “Shot in the Dark” and “Crazy Train”, which are two obvious highlights from this performance. With “Shot in the Dark” being one of my favorite Ozzy songs of any era, I have to say this is an absolutely killer version. It’s not exactly like Jake would have played it, but that’s ok. It is much more faithful to the original solo than we would hear Zakk play it in later years, though.
Really, I can’t say too many good things about this release. If you are an Ozzy fan, I would highly recommend picking up No Rest for the Wicked Tour by Axe Attack records as soon as you possibly can. This is going to sell out, and it is going to go up in price. Mark my words. Right now, you can find copies from one or two domestic sellers (USA) on places like the big auction site. When they run out, you’ll have to resort to importing a copy, until eventually that supply is exhausted too. If you manage to snag one now, you can get a copy for as low as 50.00 USD! That’s an incredible price for a double LP of this quality. Right now, there are no price differences between the three main stock colors, but the “misprint” copies are a bit more if you can find them. As far as I can tell though, no US sellers have these up for sale. If you do decide to import, you can expect to pay around 80.00 USD before shipping. You know what I think, so grab one while there’s still time!