<P> The album sleeve states that it was recorded at The Ritz in New York on 26 and 27 September 1982, during the Speak of the Devil Tour, however all tracks with the exception of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" were taken from the 27 September concert as verified against the soundboard recordings of both performances which exist as bootleg recordings . "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" was not played at either of the Ritz concerts . </P> <P> Album producer Max Norman stated in 2007 that due to a limited budget, he had Osbourne perform an entire show in the afternoon (of which day he wasn't clear) with no audience . That performance was recorded in the event that the actual live performance that night was not of suitable quality for release . "At least we've got a choice and we'll have more material to draw from", he said . According to Norman, the finished album features three songs from that performance with crowd noise later added in post-production . Though Norman did not specifically identify which tracks he was referring to, he said "If you got nothing to do for a couple of days you could just lie there and listen to them in the headphones and figure out which songs had the real audience and which ones didn't ." </P> <P> This is the only official Osbourne recording to feature Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis, who had temporarily stepped in for the recently deceased Randy Rhoads following Bernie Tormé's brief stint in the band . Gillis did tour with Osbourne during this time period, and the group also played material from Osbourne's first two solo albums during this tour . </P> <P> A double album, Speak of the Devil represents the fulfillment of a contractual obligation, as Osbourne owed Jet Records two more records . Osbourne has publicly renounced the album, stating that it was only released to satisfy his contractual obligation . At the time, a live album featuring guitarist Randy Rhoads was being prepared, but it was scrapped indefinitely upon Rhoads's sudden death in a March 1982 plane crash . Speak of the Devil was hastily recorded and released in its place . The planned live album featuring Rhoads' work would eventually be released five years later in 1987, entitled Tribute . </P>

Who played guitar on speak of the devil