Cons: Most of it just doesn't hold up to Ozzy's better stuff
The Bottom Line: This has some truly awesome songs on it, and it does do an excellent job showcasing the skills of Randy Rhoads, just don't go in expecting Master Of Reality.
durandal1717's Full Review: Blizzard of Ozz [Bonus Track] [Remaster] by Ozzy O...
After Ozzy was kicked out of Black Sabbath he descended into a deep abyss of drunken nights and hungover hotel room days. As any of us would, he loved it profusely, but he wasn't exactly very productive during these times. Until one day in 1981, his then just-manager Sharon came in and told him to get the hell up and start recording again. And so he did, and started recruiting a new band, among them former Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads. Hell, you all know the story. The point is that Rhoads-era Quiet Riot should be available in the US. No, wait, that's not it. It's how this album came to be or something. Anyway...
Ozzy often cites this as one of his favorite albums just because it was blast writing and recording this, simply because he was starting anew and had nothing to lose. This is also cited by many as his best work because it was the beginning of Ozzy's long and successful solo career, not to mention having some huge hits on it. But the fact is, this just isn't that good. Don't get me wrong, this is a great album, it just nowhere meets the reputation set for it. I don't know if you'd exactly call it "filler", but some of this album is just plain not good. Ozzy's songwriting was top-notch in Sabbath, spawning some of the very first world-wide known rock anthems, like Paranoid, Sweet Leaf, and of course the immortal IRON MAN. Well, it was good all the way up to Technical Ecstasy, some of which I actually enjoyed. But he then went downhill up through when he was fired. So what I'm thinking is that he still getting out of his Never Say Die creative slump when he was writing this. Moments of brilliance still shine through, but it wouldn't be fully recognized until his true highlight, Diary Of A Madman. Or maybe I just don't like solo Ozzy as much as Sabbath Ozzy? Who knows? Better yet, who cares?
Oh, and another tidbit that I don't really have to mention but am anyway: Ozzy's band was originally supposed to be called Blizzard Of Ozz and the album supposed to be self-titled, saying it was featuring Ozzy Osbourne. But as usual, the label screwed up and enlarged Ozzy's name, put it above the title and left out "feat.", and so they just changed their name to Ozzy Osbourne and called the album Blizzard Of Ozz. If you didn't already know that, mail me $20 as repentance. Oh, and about the re-recorded tracks, who cares? If you don't like it, buy the 90's remasters.
1. I Don't Know (5/5)
The album starts off with one of the faster songs on the album, immediately showing Randy's rediscovered talent. Working even better live, this was a natural opener for a while, and a killer live version of the box set makes it one of the few reasons to buy it. Really heavy, and clocking in at 5:17, it's one of the longer songs on the album, and in my opinion is more deserving of the classic status than Crazy Train. There's also what sounds like a layered solo at 3:28, which only makes it sound better, and when it bridges back to the main riff, it just sounds awesome. Lyrically, it's about all of Ozzy's fans asking him all the philosophical questions that bug people when they try to sleep, with Ozzy answering simply "Don't ask me, I don't know." Great line, really. It's too bad he doesn't know the blindingly obvious answer. What, you don't know? I'll give you a hint: it's the cube root of 74,088. There is, unfortunately, a stupid ballad-y part in the middle, but it does contain another cool line, "It's not how you play the game it's if you win or lose", which is, despite whatever anyone tells you, is the real meaning of sportsmanship.
2. Crazy Train (5/5)
Another absolutely classic song, that I'm not sure anyone doesn't know. Starting off with it's famous intro with Ozzy screaming "ALL ABOARD!!!", and the cool bass line and little rattle shake or whatever that thing is. You're soon catapulted into an AWESOME riff, that's absolutely perfect for the song. Unfortunately, it's soon abandoned for a happier, somewhat poppier riff that doesn't suit the song at all. After the killer beginning and singing content, it just doesn't seem to fit at all. Speaking of which, he sings about his soon to be most common topic, goin' crazy. The chorus revives some awexomeness with another awesome riff and the line, "I'm goin' off the rails on the crazy train!" There's also a really great solo at 2:45, that soon leads into that killer intro riff again, which sounds awesome, although it soon goes back into the inappropriately happy verses. It is though, for the most part, awesome. If only they used that riff for the entire song... Oh, and for some reason this song is now enormously famous in baseball. I guess insanity can relate somehow to baseball if you look at it a different way...
3. Goodbye To Romance (5/5)
This is, as if you hadn't already gathered by the title, the ballad of the album. And it's actually a really good ballad too. Unlike the standard hair ballads of the era, e.g. anything by Poison, this actually has true emotion in it. Also unlike the standard ballad, this doesn't deal with losing your girl due to a raging case of alcoholism, it's about Ozzy leaving his longtime friends and bandmates in Black Sabbath. This also seems to be a sort of apology to them, since it was entirely his fault that he was kicked out. It's executed so well though, that it can be applied to almost any situation as a remorseful ballad. The title helps this, although I don't know how he could've culled it from the events of leaving Sabbath. Unless of course he had some sort of secret romance with one of the members. Ugh, just think, "Bill, did I ever tell you how your beard looks like a pen nib? I think it suits you, it's masculine, yet very attractive..." Great, now I can't get that out of my head. The solos in this that are heavy, yet retain the mood of the song perfectly. There's also a synth solo that fades the song out, but thankfully it doesn't suck too bad. Oh, and for some reason, it sounds like there's half a rim-click at the beginning of the song. There's nothing that leads into it, so I guess it's just a recording error or something. Eh...
4. Dee (4/5)
This is an instrumental written by Randy for his mother, who probably named Dee? It's pretty good, but at 49 seconds, you can't expect much. It shows off Randy's talent with an acoustic guitar, and shows how he's talented in classical as well as metal. It sounds somewhat like a medieval or renaissance piece that should be played on a lute or something. It sounds really good in some places, notably 0:28-0:37, which is a really good melody that should've been expanded upon into a full song. Or at least something longer than 49 seconds. But the song's alright by it's self, even if it is way too short. Good, but not great. I also don't like the way it ends; too high a note. But it leads into...
5. Suicide Solution (5/5)
Another classic Ozzy song. The heaviest thing here and a concert mainstay, and this time it's absolutely deserving of its high status. This is also Ozzy's most controversial song, with its questionable title and the subliminal messages "Shoot, shoot, shoot". Although I can't remember if this actually caused any suicides like Priest's "Better By You, Better Than Me" did, but it did spark the whole Ozzy/Maiden vinyl burning debacle. And unbeknownst to most people, the piles of burning records destroyed by overzealous, paranoid soccer moms most likely didn't never not un-inspire the song Infernal Death by death metal pioneers Death. Chuck just replaced vinyls with people. Anyway, this song isn't about suicide at all, but instead about drinking yourself to death, which is easily seen by all but the most idiotic of conservatives in the awesome opening line, "Wine is fine but whiskey's quicker. Suicide is slow with liquor. Take a bottle, drown your sorrows, then it floods away tomorrow." Ozzy dedicated this song to the former singer of AC/DC, who did exactly what the song describes: replacing your blood with alcohol one bottle at a time. Controversy aside, this is an awesome song, that sounds even better live. Too bad you'll never see it performed properly again...
6. Mr. Crowley (5/5)
This is, without a doubt the best song on the album. It doesn't work that well in a live setting, as they can't ever perfectly recreate the awesome keyboards, but I'm perfectly content to listen to this awesome studio version instead. This is the second song that gained him infamy throughout every church bulletin board in the western hemisphere, as it was written about father of modern satanism and overall rambunctious revolutionary, Aleister Crowley . We all know that Zeppelin had certain relations with the occult, specifically living in Crowley's actual house during the writing and recording of one of their albums, and it apparently rubbed off on Ozzy. Back then, everyone was apparently fascinated with the wickedest man in the world, and one of Zeppelin's roadies got Ozzy interested in him somehow, though I have no idea. So instead of writing a song praising him when he just found out about him, he instead wrote a song asking questions about him and what he meant by anything. I don't know, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" seems pretty self-explanatory to me. But lyrics aside, this is an awesome song from the amazing organ intro to amazing soloing in the song, this is just PURE Ozzy. The only thing I don't like is that it just seems that it'd be better as an instrumental without any voice to get in the way of the amazing musicianship. And I just love the solo it fades out to...perfect. By the way, satanic connotations aside, I HIGHLY recommend Crowley's short story, "The Testament Of Magdalene Blair". Better imagery I have yet to read.
7. No Bone Movies (4/5)
Starting off with a LONG silence (like 8 seconds), and Ozzy counting into the song in a trembly old man voice, side 2 gets off to an iffy start. Everything about this song just screams filler. From the rather simplistic arrangement, to the *ahem* strange lyrics, and the muttering "Cut...that'll do" at the end, this just seems like it was written and recording in the last few days in the studio. However, this doesn't automatically make it a bad song. Hell, Bodom's Kissing The Shadows was written under the same circumstances and it's pretty much THE example on dueling solos. But this is still a an above-average song, probably meant to be what it is: a simple party song. The lyrics deal with something most everyone struggles with, from poison passions to pulsating veins, it's all about bone movies. And if you don't know what they are, go out and get one, you don't know what you're missing. The riff is actually pretty good, though the solo isn't nearly loud enough. In fact, I couldn't hear it until I was listening specifically for it. Oh, and when he sings "Yeah, yeah, yeah" with the layered shouts of "No bone movies" shouted over it, it sounds spectacular; the timing is just impeccable. Too bad it only works on the first try.
8. Revelation (Mother Earth) (4/5)
This was Ozzy's attempt at having both an epic song, and a revolutionary song. This doesn't really sound epic at all, he'd perfect that later with the amazing Diary Of A Madman. And as for revolutionary, this sound more like an effort to replicate After Forever, which was both revolutionary and epic. And instead of making the surprising turnaround from alleged satanist to christian defender, which he actually made sound very good, he decides to front himself as an environmentalist. Yeah, he goes from singing about porno on one song to about saving mother earth from the hordes of people who don't deposit waste in the specified receptacles. Besides the stupid lyrics, this song is just boring, and I HATE his voice this. It's just so...painful? It is literally physically painful for me to listen to him sing on this. Ozzy's voice is actually worse here than on early Sabbath songs. It's actually more comparable to Fall Out Boy instead. Musically, it's also pretty dull and uninteresting, or at least until when the song's halfway over. There's some awesome piano and synth solos until the final minute or so, where Randy just tears the whole place up. If only they just included the good parts... It's the same thing with One, an awesome part buried too far in a bad song.
9. Steal Away (The Night) (4/5)
First of all, two parenthetic titled songs in a row aren't excusable except in extreme conditions. And this isn't one. It starts off good enough, with some really fast riffing and singing. It sounds a-really, really good, until the chorus, which is not good. Again, the stupid happy part sneaks in and ruins the song. It sounds like an awesome speed metal song until he sings, "Steal away, you gotta steal away the night. You gotta steal it! Come on baby." It just sounds like bad 80's pop and ruins the awesome heavy atmosphere, just like in Crazy Train. And again, the solo is buried WAY too deep in the song. It sounds like too much reverb or something was added to it. I'm at a loss as to the lyrics; vampires maybe? It would've made since if the line "Blood will flow like wine tonight" was actually that, but it turns out it's not "blood", it's "love", which just sounds the opposite of heterosexual. Again, if only they'd stuck with the awesome opening riff, they'd have another awesome song.
Bonus Track
10. You Lookin' At Me Lookin' At You (4/5)
This was the B-side to one of the singles, though I can't remember which. Maybe it was Crazy Train, maybe it was all of them. This is just a simple pop metal song, so it's no surprise it was relegated to B-side status. As you could guess by the title, it's just a simple love song, and the lyrics are nothing to search for deeper meanings, or any meanings. There's nothing that really catches your attention in this song, which is excusable as it's just a bonus track. Though at 2:05 there's a particularly good solo that's somewhat reminiscent of the ones on Goodbye To Romance. Other than that though, there's not really much that stands out.
Somethin', somethin', here's the rankin'
Mr. Crowley
Suicide Solution
I Don't Know
Crazy Train
Goodbye To Romance
No Bone Movies
Steal Away (The Night)
You Lookin' At Me Lookin' At You
Revelation (Mother Earth)
Dee
It just seems like they used up all the "good" on side 1. Side 2 just seems to fall flat on almost every level. It's not terrible, but c'mon, can you really say that Revelation even touches Suicide Solution or Mr. Crowley? Didn't think so. True, it was the beginning of Ozzy's career, and it has his best-known songs on it, but it just isn't in any a masterpiece. If I come off as hostile towards it, it's because I was just disappointed when I first bought it. Keep in mind that the first version I listened to was the original version, so the rerecorded drums and bass in no way affect my impression of this album. And really, there isn't much of a difference anyway. It's just that if this is his best (which it ain't), I'd hate to see what his worst is (and I have. stay far away from Ozzmosis).
I'm not saying that this is a useless album, as it's definitely worth it if only for the awesome songs on side 1, all of which are classic. Except Dee. That's not classic. And if you happen to pick up this album without any prior information (which is next to impossible), chances are you'll love it, as it is great example of the coming 80's metal. If nothing else, buy it for the famous songs so you can finally say you have the album Crazy Train's on the next time you hear it on the radio.
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