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Bill Ward with Black Sabbath Back To The Beginning

JimmyM

JimmyM

Diamond Member
I can’t believe there’s not yet a thread about Bill Ward’s triumphant return to the drum stool in Black Sabbath yesterday. SOVB started a thread about some of the other drummers, but Bill is the big story.

Had a double bass Ludwig set with Sabians. Seemed a little tight at first but loosened up enough to take his shirt off, unfortunately ;). But I really enjoyed seeing him and felt he did excellent, even if not as skilled as he used to be.

1751842372330.jpeg
 

Better stage shot here


and much better shot of Bill

 
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great show! all bands did amazing! <3
 
Looks like Sharon got after people uploading the actual feed for Ozzy and Sabbath to YouTube.
 
I agree, I think he did great. Especially for a man his age. He’s not as hard rock as he was when he was younger and stronger, but it was unmistakably Bill F-ing Ward! Kinda heavy, plodding jazz-rock.



I was also relieved that Tony didn’t light him on fire at the end of the set.



Man, that would have been a true Spinal Tap moment.
 
On the one on hand, he didn't attack the drums with the ferocity that he used to. He seemed to be hitting them rather politely.

On the other hand, he sounded sharp and like time hadn't passed. He sounded ferocious!

Also, a bit interesting that he was back to Ludwig after being with Tama for a long time.

It must have been odd for him not to be able to see Ozzy. From his vantage point, all he would see is the back of Ozzy's giant chair.

I understand why the set was short, but it would have been cool if they could have played a bit longer.

Overall, a fitting end to a legendary band.
 
Shame Slingerland didn't build him a kit for the full 70s vibe.

Felt sorry for folk flying in from out of town. Villa Park is rough as arses. If I'd have remortgaged my house i could have got the local train there and back
 
You gotta hand it to them, The Rolling Stones, Ringo, McCartney, Iron Maiden, many more that still get up there for the fans at that age. It would be a horrible thing for an audience but I'd sure rather kick it and fall off the drum throne then die some horrible slow death.
 
who was the drummer in Ozzy's solo set..


drummer accompanying him for that set was Tommy Clufetos. The band also included Zakk Wylde on guitar, Mike Inez on bass, and Adam Wakeman on keyboards
Adam Wakeman is the younger son of legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman
 
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mikyok said:
Shame Slingerland didn't build him a kit for the full 70s vibe.

Felt sorry for folk flying in from out of town. Villa Park is rough as arses. If I'd have remortgaged my house i could have got the local train there and back
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He’s been endorsing Ludwig lately, but I’d have enjoyed it whether he played Slingerland or a starter kit from Griffin. Ok, maybe not so much the Griffin ;)
 
jda said:
who was the drummer in Ozzy's solo set..


drummer accompanying him for that set was Tommy Clufetos. The band also included Zakk Wylde on guitar, Mike Inez on bass, and Adam Wakeman on keyboards
Adam Wakeman is the younger son of legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman
Click to expand...
Ozzy seemed On-key with his 'solo band but off-key with the Original band wonder what
@JimmyM
you notice that? or what
 
jda said:
Ozzy seemed On-key with his 'solo band but off-key with the Original band wonder what
@JimmyM
you notice that? or what
Click to expand...
Not really, but I only got to hear it once with the broadcast feed and I’m spoiled for mere audience vids. It’s possible he was getting tired by then. Plus War Pigs is pretty much a cappella and that might have been tough for him.
 
jda said:
Ozzy seemed On-key with his 'solo band but off-key with the Original band wonder what
@JimmyM
you notice that? or what
Click to expand...
There is a reason Oz only played two short sets. With his health, he can't do a full show. Though sounded good through most stuff, you could see him struggle physically.

With his solo band, they don't play the songs in the original key. Like most bands, they take it down to accommodate an aging singer. Sabbathm here stuff is already tuned down, so I doubt they could go down any further.

The main reason? Zak Wylde. Zak protects Ozzy on stage. He'll get on the mic to help out when he senses Oz is struggling; he'll do whatever he can to make Oz come off the best he can, be it sing a missing word, double a vocal that might be off, and just pay attention to what's going on and adjust. Ozzy band works for Ozzy.

In Sabbath, no one sings backup. No one works for Ozzy.

Plus, as mentioned, War Pigs is a lot of a cappella. Long night, failing health, losing the root note in your head, your right-hand man isn't on stage with you, and it's a setup to be a hair off.
 
I think that's it . The Sabbath were in original Keys the solo act Band had made the adjustments and sounded spot on. It was a world of difference.
 
From my vague memory of watching the other night Sabbath did down-tune slightly but I suspect the issue is stage monitoring. On one of the songs Ozzy made a gesture that very much looked like an in-ear monitor signal.
 
here's the two Oz back to back perfermances
1st 2nd
you don't have to wait for Mrs. Oz feature film..



the drum + Amp riser platform circling out
tween performance switches was the coolest thing British ingenuity
😁

one was on-key one was off-key
 
jda said:
I think that's it . The Sabbath were in original Keys the solo act Band had made the adjustments and sounded spot on. It was a world of difference.
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They haven't played those original albums in the original keys since 1971. Tony started downtuning in 1971 I believe, so anytime they played stuff off the first two albums (which were in E standard iirc) they'd be tuned down a step and a half. This dates back to their heyday.

This has to do with Tony more than Ozzy though.
 
Looks like Bill has a 6 1/2 black beauty Main and an 8x14 Black Beauty (do they make those?) on a stand side snare
 
jda said:
Looks like Bill has a 6 1/2 black beauty Main and an 8x14 Black Beauty (do they make those?) on a stand side snare
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Yes they do make them. Bermuda has one and loves it.
 
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