Live Review : "Back to the Beginning" concert

When this concert was announced on the heels of a Rock N Roll Hall of Fame show, which found other singers struggling through solo Ozzy songs, while the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness watched from his seat, I was skeptical. After all, I prefer to have the memories of my favorite artists, when they were closer to their prime, intact. I've always felt that the 1989 show on the "No Rest For the Wicked Tour " was The Oz-Man at his best. "Bark at the Moon" tour, something was off, and I was too young to know he was wasted, and my perspective at the time could not be trusted through my impressionable eyes when considered from the filter of nostalgia. Including the Black Sabbath reunion I saw in 1999.  So what I would want is something that would respect his legacy. Sharon, of course, has other plans

A bunch of bands covering Ozzy all day, well most of the performances on the Nativity in Black albums were better, but let's consider what unfolded.  It opened with Mastodon, who pulled out respectable Hinds-less versions of "Black Tongue" and "Blood and Thunder" before being joined onstage by Danny Carey, Eloy Casagrande, and Mario Duplantier for a cover of "Supernaut". Brann's mic was not working for his first verse, but when it came on for him to catch the second verse, he did an admirable job. Up next was Rival Sons, who are not my thing, and came across feeling like they should have waited for the Robert Plant farewell concert instead. 

One thing that became apparent was just how good of a singer Ozzy once was, as the majority of the singers struggled to hit the notes even in lower tunings. The one singer who might have done the best was Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, when they played "Into the Void" granted it was nothing like back when they used to cover "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" but Anthrax put on one of the day's best performances. 

Halestorm on the other hand, was almost unwatchable. Lzzy Hale screeched her way into running "Perry Mason", but fared better when she joined one of the all-star bands for "Ultimate Sin". She was not the day's worst vocal performance. "Randy of Lamb of God, who came across like a Temu version of Pantera, struggled with "Children of the Grave" until he just barked his way through it. 

The drum off between Travis Barker, Chad Smith, and Danny Carey was jammed over an instrumental version of 'Symptom of the Universe' that Tom Morello and Rudy Sarzo. Compared to what Carey normally plays, this was just straightforward rock, so the other two kept up. Smith is not known for being a bombastic player, but he has done session work with Ozzy. I am not sure why anyone thought it was a good idea for Billy Corgan and KK Downing to come onstage and play " Breaking the Law" after this, but this is what happened. On a day filled with generally terrible vocals, this one was exceptionally bad, in fact, the worst of the day. Most of these all-star things were unnecessary. However, David Draiman of Disturbed hit notes required of him much better than more popular singers, who struggled to even stay in key. William Duvall of Alice in Chains was also one ofthe better singers of this show, though "Fairies Wear Boots" is one of the easier Sabbath songs.

Gojira sounded rough; their cover of "Under the Sun" also has problems in the vocal department. The band that now calls itself Pantera, renewed my confidence in not spending the money to go see cash grab tours that are on, as it fell short of the memories I have from the half dozen times I saw the actual Pantera with Dimebag and Vinnie, one of those being on an Ozzfest. Tool's cover of "Hand of Doom" worked Maynard sounded better than the time he rode the struggle bus trying to sing ''Crazy Train" and to think he used to nail a cover of "Diary of a Madman" back in the early A Perfect Circle days thseir own songs felt rather dialed in. . 

Slayer was one of the day's better acts, though "South of Heaven" sounded rough. I like their approach to "Wicked World." They have been past their prime for 10 years now, but are such a great band, it's hard for them to do wrong. I am surprised that Guns N' Roses played as many Sabbath songs as they did, and while Rose is another singer not in peak form due to age, he was in key more often than not. James Hetfield, on the other hand, had no business singing "Hole in the Sky,"  the kind of leaned into the blues boogie side of like they were covering a Thin Lizzy song instead, but James sounded great on their own songs and "Johnny Blade," which was unexpected. 

We knew Ozzy would be in the chair. He sounded fine for "I Don't Know", despite not fully engaging his diaphragm by sitting when he sang. In fact, I was surprised by how convincing he was, but it was a mixed bag as "Iron Man' did not sound that great, and the crowd singing along to "War Pigs" certainly helped. He still has 70 percent of his charisma which is more than most. The set lists were not surprising; if you heard an Ozzy or Sabbath song on the radio, it was one of the ones they played. "N.I.B.." is the most challenging of the Sabbath songs he chose to tackle. He could sleepwalk through "Paranoid: at this point. I am sure Sharon encouraged Ozzy as this is the kind of farewell he needed to give himself. And it worked for what it was. I personally would have been fine with my memories, but if it made the world realize how great he is, then I can live with that.

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