Joe Satriani remembered the first time he joined a Black Sabbath concert which turned into a disaster during his recent conversation with Planet Rock Radio. He revealed that the band’s frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, couldn’t talk at the concert.
As a great guitar virtuoso, many legendary guitarists such as Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Tony Iommi inspired Satriani to pursue a musical career. During several interviews, the musician has stated that he listened to Black Sabbath and loved their songs too much that he played them with his high school band.
Years later, Satriani collaborated with a member of his favorite band, Ozzy Osbourne, to perform ‘Hey Stoopid,’ a song from Alice Cooper’s twelfth solo album with the same name, released on July 2, 1991. Their fans appreciated their collaboration and praised their harmony.
In his interview, Satriani recalled his first Black Sabbath show in New York in the mid-’70s, saying that the audience got so tired of waiting for the band, who were late, and set the floor on fire. Then, the firefighters came and covered them with white foam while trying to extinguish the fire, but it was still the best concert he had attended, according to the guitarist.
Ultimately, the band took the stage, and Osbourne explained that he could barely talk because he had caught got a cold. Therefore, the fans started throwing things at him, and Satriani noticed the importance of a good bassist when watching how Geezer Butler saved the day for him.
Satriani said in his interview the following about that night:
“The fire marshals come out, they turn on all the bright lights they start spraying fire retardant on us. I got covered in this white foam, but I have to say. We’re like, ‘Yeah, this is like the best concert ever!’
Then, of course, they eventually come out, and it turns out Ozzy’s got a cold, and he’s being very apologetic to the audience, saying, ‘I’m sorry, I just can barely talk.’ People are booing him and throwing things on the stage.”
He went on:
“However, my best memory of that whole night, besides the wonderful mayhem that’s typical, what you would like when your teenager, is Geezer Butler’s bass. That was just like the greatest thing that had ever come across me in a live show. Live shows weren’t that great sounding back then, you know, the PA systems were pretty terrible, but his bass was just so wonderful sounding.
The way that he played, he drove that band. It’s like, you could just listen to him and a little bit of Ozzy, and that would be the whole experience. It stuck with me how important that bass guitar was, and that person was having that kind of musical personality and how important it is in the band. I think as a young musician, that was a key moment, just acknowledging that and his great musicianship.”
You can listen to the song below.
