I had zero idea such a thing as this existed until a few minutes ago. I can tell by the set that this is during Dave's CBS years, of which I've only ever seen isolated clips. But to think that a theatre full of folks went in to see the Letterman show in 1998 and were treated to a fully reunited Black Sabbath - yes, that's Bill Ward playing the drums! - is just wonderful!
I love this clip because you can see how Ozzy starts the performance with a healthy dose of reserve, probably not having played a television show with his old Birmingham mates since 1978's Top of the Pops, and then Dave's crowd begins to react to his boisterous prompts, he really starts to come alive. That's my big takeaway from having seen Ozzy live four or five times: he was the consummate showman. Makes sense when you consider he performed up until two weeks before his death.
People talk about how Ozzy never really wrote anything and that somehow makes him lesser, however, anyone who saw this man live knows he is a voice and a performer above all things.
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