Review: Ozzy Osbourne circa 2005 a gas tank on ‘E’

Hmm Reviews, music — by TDavid @ 2:39 pm PST

Yup, I need a haircut!

I have this love-hate relationship with Ozzy Osbourne’s music. The love part is I keep hoping he’ll release material that rivals his earlier material, the hate part is his vocals any more make me feel like I’m driving around town with the indicator on E.

But unlike some post mortem career collections, there are still some flashes of brilliance in the Ozzy archives. There are some spots which make me think that I can get another couple miles with Ozzy blaring through the speakers before the gas runs completely dry.

Prince Of Darkness, his newest 4-CD set with 1 bonus DVD sampler with five videos is the Ozzman’s first boxed set-like collection. I’m sitting here listening repeatedly to his cover of “Working Class Hero” and thinking: that’s classic Ozzy vocals! Then there’s the “See You On The Other Side (Demo)” less speed and commercialization including a saxaphone and more raw Ozzy vocals. He likes that version better and I think I do too.

This CD collection demonstrates to me — at times — that if anything Ozzy still cares through his roasted brain about the music. I know some people think his wife Sharon has totally whored out the Ozzman and there’s a truth to that but listen to “Working Class Hero” (a cover of Ozzy’s idol Beatle: John Lennon) and see if this doesn’t personify Ozzy Osbourne in your mind:

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you’re clever and they despise a fool
Till you’re so fucking crazy you can’t follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be

So what else comes in this collection?

A buy one, get one free ticket to Ozzfest 2005, which is worth $75 if they go by last year’s prices anyway. For those planning to attend Ozzfest with a friend, then this should cover the $40 price of the compilation.

A 58-page colorful guide complete with one page Ozzy foreward and two pages of Ozzy sharing thoughts on every track including such gems as: “I must have been stoned because I don’t remember recording this at all.” (in reference to Won’t Be Coming Home (S.I.N) Demo.

What’s missing? A live version of “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll”. Does such a performance exist? Ozzy does note that he wrote this for his father-in-law (Don Arden?). I sense there is some deeper story here that keeps the Ozzman from playing live a song which IMO is one of the best of the Rhoads era Ozzy. It got tons of airplay when I was in high school too and yet he hasn’t ever released a live version. It’s the one song that I’d love to hear played live, even today with his subpar vocals. I bet Zakk Wylde could pull off as good a Rhoads imitation as anybody alive.

Another great, somewhat rare Rhoads/Ozzy era track is “You Said It All,” but unfortunately that’s not here either. Also missing is a live performance of “Shot In The Dark” from the Ultimate Sin. Instead we are served the much weaker “Thank God For The Bomb” live. C’mon Ozz! I saw Ozzy on this tour in Green Bay, Wisconsin and “Shot in The Dark” was rocked harder live than it ever did in studio, and you’d think this compilation wouldn’t be complete without this hit song.

But remember, Ozzy (and Sharon presumably too) picked out these songs and this is the same Ozzman who once sniffed ants in front of Motley Crue.

Disc 1 takes us through many familiar Rhoads/Ozzy era familiars like: I Don’t Know (Live), Mr. Crowley and Crazy Train and ending with a few rarities are peppered in like Spiders and a live version of Bark at the Moon with Jake E. Lee taking the axe honors.

Disc 2 begins with Ultimate Sin live tour material, including a great version of the live track and then goes into a couple studio tracks with Zakk Wylde. It closes with one of my favorite tracks of the entire collection, the slower-paced demo of “See You On The Other Side.”

The bootlegs, oh, the bootlegs! Disc 3 has many of those songs up until now you could only obtain via illegal means including Ozzy and Dweezil Zappa doing the Bee Gees cover “Stayin’ Alive” and the infamous, Ozzy and Miss Piggy covering “Born To Be Wild.” Looking for Ozzy covering “Purple Haze?” It’s there. Ozzy playing with Primus and an utterly bone thumping killer version of “N.I.B?” It’s there. “Iron Man” covered by Ozzy and Therapy? There. Ozzy with Type O Negative? Yup. Heck, Ozzy is even on an utterly misplaced track for the Prince of Darkness — “Shake Your Head (let’s go to bed)” — with Kim Basinger WTF?! (who reportedly stepped in for Madonna who refused to sing alongside the Ozzman). So Madonna will swap spit with Brittney Spears, but she’s too proud to share song credits with the legendary bat biter? Uppity bitch!

Disc 4 is what Ozzy calls “my cover’s album” and is being billed as all new material. It include a Ozzy-fied versions of “21st Century Schizoid Man” and Mountain’s “Mississipi Queen.” Also covered is David Bowie’s “All The Young Dudes.” There’s some bright moments in some of these covers like the last minute where Ozzy starts his profanity-laced final lines in “Sympathy of the Devil.” For good measure, or perhaps this is Sharon-influence seaping through the ghastly version of Changes with pretty much talentless vocalist daughter Kelly. By far the bright spot for me is the aforementioned Lennon cover of “Working Class Hero.” There is a Beatles cover, “In My Life” but as most Beatles covers go: it’s lacking.

So what about the fifth disc? The sampler with five Ozzy videos. I still need to check that one out, but even if those are awesome that wouldn’t change my opinion on this compilation.

If for no reason to legally buy the bootlegs and a couple songs, this compilation deserves at least a good review grade. I hope we don’t have to wait until Ozzy dies to get that long absent material … hopefully it does exist (???). My only question is what will Ozzy do next? Will he crank out another studio album? This was put out by Sony his former label. I don’t even know if Ozzy signed with another label (Sanctuary, maybe?). Will he do another studio Black Sabbath album? As much as his voice says he should retire, the love Ozzy music side of me wants him to stay in the game and keep on singing. The Prince Of Darkness would go to his grave rocking. Let’s hope Ozzy ends his career on a high note. Grade: B

tags: ozzy+osbourne, music

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