A fan recently praised Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Brad Gillis (as well as Tommy Aldridge) for their performance on 1982’s ‘Speak of the Devil’ album, calling it an ‘all-time favorite’ and noting that the band members seemed ‘locked in on another level that night.’
Rudy Sarzo, who played bass on the live record, responded to the X comment, saying, “Yes, the level of being told that there’s not going to be any overdubs fixes, so you better get it right tonight.”
When another fan asked whether the no-overdub rule applied to concert videos, Sarzo explained, “What made the ‘Speak of the Devil’ live recording exceptional was it being a 2 nights only performance, not a tour. We only had a handful of rehearsals to learn the songs, with the exception of ‘Iron Man’/‘Children of the Grave’ and ‘Paranoid.’”
He then emphasized there were no overdubs at all for the musicians, adding, “You can verify it by listening to the soundboard recordings available on YouTube.”
The ‘Speak of the Devil’ performances, featuring live renditions of Black Sabbath songs, took place in September 1982 at the Ritz. The Record Plant’s mobile studio, parked behind the venue, captured the shows on tape for a quick release the following month in a race against Osbourne’s former band.
Titled ‘Talk of the Devil’ in the U.K., the album marked the second of four Ozzy Osbourne albums to receive Silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry in early 1983.
