What are y'alls favorite live version of each blizzard or diary song? If you could make the ultimate setlist comprising of your favorite version of each song what would that look like?
This could be playing wise or just overall sound, idc...
Just curious

Alright I think i got the Diary set list in order without looking

01-22-1982 - Over the Mountain
07-28-1981 - Mr.Crowley
07-28-1981 - Crazy Train
07-28-1981 - Revelation Mother Earth
01-15-1982 - Steal Away
07-28-1981 - Suicide Solution
01-15-1982 - Goodbye to Romance
07-28-1981 - I Don't Know
07-28-1981 - Believer
05-11-1981 - Flying High Again
07-28-1981 - Iron Man
07-28-1981 - COTG
07-28-1981 - Paranoid

Montreal by far IMO is Randy's best performance that we have available to us. His fills in that show are just absolutely perfect and all complement each other perfectly as well. His solo in believer is absolute fire...His tone is very odd starting in June 1981 and continuing through past the Montreal show. It's almost like it has a touch of chorus to it but at the same time it doesn't. It just sounds very "glassy" is the only way I can explain it. I have never been able to figure that tone out. I believe it's the Providence show in June that is an audience recording and it sounds like the person is recording on Randy side of the stage as thr guitar is very prominent compared to the rest of the band. Leads me to believe that glassy sound is what was actually coming out of his amps and not the PA/soundboards.

The first thing most people notice about diary shows is the heavy modulation on Randy's sound. I thought for years that that was his actually tone coming out of his setup but I doubt that now. Mainly because of the New Mexico footage of OTM and Mr.Crowley. The tone on that video is just a cranked Marshall and that is tone exactly as it was on the blizzard tour. Just cranked up a bit more and tons of effects added through the soundboard.

I will say though that all the recordings we have of the Diary tour are nothing compared to that of the ET/Two on the Town footage that we have heard. When they are playing Crazy Train that is truly a wall of sound and sounds so good with that much modulation and keyboards when recording clearly. . I imagine that's what the actually show sounded like which would have been amazing.

Personally, I think the Chelmsford Odeon show from October 22, 1980 is the best show available. Probably because it is so different from the Tribute recording - rawer and fresher... the later stuff doesn't sound as good to me. This early recording sounds like Randy was still happy being in the band.

My set list would be very similar because Montreal is also my favorite show. Awesome fills and awesome tone. I would make Suicide Solution from 1-15-82 because I love the band jam. Children and Paranoid would be a tossup between Montreal and 1-15.

I have also wondered that about his 1982 sound. That tone through the soundboard tapes and ET footage fascinates me. I noticed that as well regarding the other video footage being more of a straight Marshall tone. I wonder if the thicker sound was what the Eventide Harmonizer that's been mentioned did to the sound through the soundboard. With the Montreal tone, it's odd that FHA (the one Montreal track used for Ozzy Live, other than some other banter lifted from Montreal) doesn't have the chrousy sound that the KBFH version has. On FHA from Ozzy Live it's much drier.

For me it would have to be the Heavy Metal Holocaust gig 1st August 1981. The bootleg of this show doesn't capture that open air sound but for everyone who went to that show they said it was fkn great. Randy was on top form and Ozzy was faultless. On watching that small clip of the show the atmosphere of the gig comes across great and for a 8mm camera sound recording it does bring home what a great sound the band had on that day.