This record is on its way to become a true rarity: deleted from the remastered Ozzy catalog, it is now only available as an import item or leftover from the `95 remaster. For years I hesitated about buying this, as I considered it to be something of an oddity, an apocryphal release of sorts, caught right in the no-man's-land: it was an Ozzy solo record, but it contained no solo songs. Instead, it contained only Black Sabbath songs recorded during his US '82 tour at a show in New York, just a few months after Randy Rhoads tragic death.

Being a major Randy fan, I really didn't know what to make of this release, and I was frustrated `cause it wasn't either a true Black Sabbath or Ozzy record, but rather some kind of hybrid. I didn't know it at the time, but there were a lot of reasons that justified this release, at least for Ozzy: first, Ozzy had planned to release a live record featuring Randy, but the idea was scrapped after his untimely death.

Second, Sharon and Ozzy were trying to negotiate his release from his original record deal with Sharon's father, Don Arden, who was racking it up taking the lion's share of the revenue generated by record sales; the contract demanded a final record, and it was decided to give him one full of Sabbath material as a retaliation, knowing full well that such a record could not compete with the potential sales of a brand new studio record.

Third, Ozzy hated the poorly mixed, rush-released "Live at Last" album, which was released in Europe and constituted the only Sabbath live document at the time; and last but not least, Ozzy and Sharon heard that Sabbath were planning to release a live album with their (then) current lineup with Ronnie James Dio, so they thought this was a perfect occasion to annoy them. Finally, after listening to some of it and having my curiosity whet, I decided to get it and therefore complete my Ozzy collection. The end result? A live album that's surprisingly good, sounding way better than "Live at Last", on a par with "Live Evil" and miles ahead of "Reunion" (I can't comment on "Past Lives" since I haven't heard it).

That being said, and especially if you compare this album with other Ozzy live releases (especially "Tribute", which features live recordings only a year or so older), this one sounds a little too good, suspiciously good, at least as far as the vocals are concerned. I'm willing to bet that Ozzy punched-those-in in the studio. But that doesn't really take away from the album, as the rest of the performance sounds quite honest, specially `cause there are noticeable glitches here and there! Remember folks, guitarist Brad Gillis had been in the band for a short time and had to rush-learn and rehearse the material, so very often in the recording, you can hear him having to resort to extensive use of his whammy bar in order to hide mistakes and find his way back in.

But he ultimately pulls off an great job, masterfully backed by Rudy Sarzo on bass and Tommy Aldridge on drums, by far Ozzy's best rhythm section ever. The band, for the most part, sounds tight and strong, making great performances of these Sabbath tracks, which remain for the most part quite respectul to the originals. As Ozzy himself points out, some of these songs, such as "The Wizard" and/or `Symptom of the Universe" were rarities seldom included in Sabbath's set list, so this is a wonderful chance to hear those songs in a live context, "The Wizard" in particular being a highlight (at least it is for me).

Some of the songs have minor changes in their structure, and I think I can hear at least one edit in there, but probably the thing that I was the most surprised of was to hear that Ozzy skipped singing the last part of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", though: I mean, I understood his doing that for "Reunion" since he simply could no longer reach those high notes, but in 1982, I would have expected him to go for the big ones...oh well, no matter...

Bottom Line: this is a CD worth checking out, if nothing else for its historical value, but I truly believe that Ozzy and Sabbath fans alike can truly enjoy this. This is the greatest live album Sabbath never made. Get it before it becomes unavailable.

This is an excellent live performance of Ozzy/Black Sabbath's greatest hits. What's cool is that there are many songs on this album that aren't normally found outside their original recordings. "Never Say Die", "The Wizard", and "Symptom of The Universe" are killer hits that deserved their place on the performance stage. Ozzy and Brad Gillis know just how to do these cuts justice, and bring down the house with their performance. This is a clear, distinct recording, even including Ozzy talking to the crowd in-between songs. For anyone who has gone to an Ozzy Osbourne concert ,or anyone who's never been able to make it, this album will get you into a head-banging, moshing mood.

speak of the devil is an under-rated and hard to find, if u are lucky to find this album it is a great listen every song is greatly done , ozzy took a pretty much unheard of guitarist in brad gill and showed the world that he could indeed play guitar.some people would say that ozzy put this album out for nonthing more then money,but the reason this album was even made was because the record company forced ozzy to put out another album, right after the tragic death of fellow guitarist and best friend randy rhoads , which is how this album got its name speak of the devil ( hints the record company) . they wanted ozzy to put out an album of randy rhoads on guitar, which was too soon and ozzy felt it would be disrespectful , so instead ozzy recorded a live concert with brad gill on guitar , who did a fantastic job and sent that to the company,ozzy himself says and i quote I dont give a f#$k about this album. That is why ozzy doesnt like this album and why it was done of all black sabbath songs, but still it is a great album , i was lucky and found it one day , bought it and couldnt stop listening to it.

over all i give this album a 10/10

This Album sounds as great today as it sounded back in the Fall of 1982 when me and my old friend, "DJ" first heard it. This is one of the Greatest Live Recordings ever made: Musically, Sonically & the Quality of the Recording is astounding. For those of you who don't know, Ozzy had just lost his best friend, Randy Rhoads in March 1982 during the "Dairy of a Madman" Tour. Man, you talk about devasted, anyone that was listening to Ozzy back then can tell you the impact Randy had on our lives. Ozzy was crushed. We were crushed.

Ozzy hired an incredible Guitarist, Brad Gillis from the group - Night Ranger. Ozzy decided to Record all Black Sabbath songs which, in my opinion, Black Sabbath are the Fathers of Heavy Metal. In fact, I would say that Ozzy is the Godfather of Metal. Listen to Brad play all those old Sabbath tunes with such conviction - Brad grew up listening to Sabbath - it was in his DNA. Tommy Aldridge - what an incredible drummer and Rudy Sarzo on Bass - I'm talking about heavyweights here. Ozzy has never hired chumps or two-bit players, always the very best and this recording proves it.

Finally, Ozzy's voice on the recording is so dynamic I still get the chills when I listen to the way he delivers "Black Sabbath". Nobody can deliver the goods like Ozzy. I highly recommend this Album - remember those black, round, flat things we used to stick a needle on and music came out - yeah, records..... There is even some of the old Artwork that came with Original Album inside the Jewel Case. This CD is a must have for any Black Sabbath & Ozzy fan. Enjoy!!!!!

George E. Lewis

Speak of the Devil and Tribute are my favorite live Ozzy recordings out of the many. Speak of the Devil is unique in that it features live versions of Sabbath songs during the peak of Ozzy's solo career (but after the death of Randy). Ozzy's performance, the sound of the recording, the choice and arrangement of songs...all excellent. No Ozzy fan would be disappointed, and only a few of the most tedious Sabbath purists would be.

First, Ozzy's performance. His voice is clear, strong, on-key, in tune...qualities he can't always maintain live these days. Also, he sounds completely insane between songs, making strange noises, shouting at top volume at the crowd, referencing obscure movies, offering odd random comments about certain substances and groupies. This is the Ozzy that scared parents in the 80's. He's right on target when he bellows early in the show, "THE MADMAN IS BACK!!"

Second, the sound. I think I can say with confidence that I don't own any live albums that sound better. It's in that upper echelon of incredible live recordings, at least in the heavy metal genre. Clear and crisp guitar, loud drums and bass, vocals at perfect volume. A masterpiece as far as live albums go.

Last, the songs. Any live set of Sabbath material will always include War Pigs, Paranoid, Sweet Leaf, Iron Man, etc. This throws in Symptom of the Universe and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, which were not exactly staples of Sabbath's 70's concerts. In addition to that, Speak of the Devil is the only recording I've heard that has faster versions of Symptom of the Universe and Snowblind, and a faster second half of the song Black Sabbath. Back in '82, when this came out, that might not have been what all Sabbath fans wanted to hear. But now, in 2011, with such a variety of live Sabbath material available, it's nice to have an album like this that sounds distinctly different from everything else.