A cash cow released by IRS records back in 1995, Cross Purposes Live is now highly sought after by die hard fans and collectors - the line up which recorded it was already split up by then, and it was released not long before Forbidden came out.
Long deleted in it's original form - and a bootleg dvd derived from it (stick with the vid if you can find it as the dvd truncates half the show) - Cross Purposes Live is not an unwelcome album.
The setlist in itself is terrific, covering a large chunk of the band's history, including a few surprise songs, but this album was far from perfect.
Tony Martin was ill - and it shows, the frontman struggling for notes he would have made in his sleep during the Headless Cross tour back in '89.
The band behind him is tight and sounds great (especially Geezer and Tony, but what's new?) but the live sound was horribly polished though - hardly any menace in the songs - even "Black Sabbath" didn't have it's usual menacing gravitas - and it's the fault of the mix, not the band.
Also cool for being the only official live album to feature Anno Mundi (which isn't on the cd sadly), Headless Cross and The Wizard.
Martin also plays harmonica on the Wizard as well - a real treat for Sabbath fans who had followed the band since the beginning.
Ultimately, a nice collectible if you can get it - but nothing more.
