Pros: Shows Ozzy didn't miss a beat when fired from Black Sabbath
Cons: Some true filler lurks on this disc
The Bottom Line: Ozzy's first solo album established him as an artist that would remain influential on heavy metal. Sure there's some filler, but you've got some tracks here that are classic Ozzy.
HawgWyld's Full Review: Blizzard of Ozz [Bonus Track] [Remaster] by Ozzy O...
While it may not be a masterpiece like it's follow-up, 1981's Diary of a Madman, 1980's Blizzard of Ozz was a fine debut from Ozzy Osbourne. As I suspect most heavy metal fans know, Ozzy was booted out of Black Sabbath in 1978 for his erratic behavior as well as drug and alcohol abuse. Many wondered what would become of the man.
Instead of simply fading into history, Ozzy showed up in 1980 with Blizzard of Ozz and started a solo career that was much more successful than anyone would have guessed. Rather than releasing an album that sounded a lot like stuff Ozzy recorded with Black Sabbath, the songs here are -- for the most part -- anchored by fast rhythms and Randy Rhoads' fantastic lead guitar work. The guitars alone set the album off from Black Sabbath stuff as Randy Rhoads avoided simple, repetitive riffs in favor of constant fills and ear candy.
This disc contains two Ozzy songs that rank among my favorites of his -- "Crazy Train" and "I Don't Know." "Crazy Train," of course, is a churning, groove-heavy little number that most folks recognize as it's still played quite a bit these days on classic rock radio stations. That one relies heavily on Ozzy's high-pitched vocals and Rhoads' fast and furious guitar work (particularly in the solo break). That one sounds rather like blues turned on its head as it's anchored by some fairly primitive blues riffing but Rhoads' fills and fretboard mastery force the listener to forget about all of that.
"I Don't Know," the opening track, is a fairly typical number from Ozzy in that it's a rocker in which Osbourne denies having any knowledge about any important societal or spiritual issues. Ozzy has the reputation for being a partier who didn't really give a damn about much else. That track helps confirm it.
Also noteworthy is "Suicide Solution," a crawling, heavy number in which Osbourne rants against addiction to alcohol (a subject with which he was very familiar, by the way). Oddly, that one got Ozzy sued as one young Osbourne fan took his life. The parents of that mixed-up kid blamed Ozzy for the death of their son and were particularly critical of "Suicide Solution." Fortunately, the gross misinterpretation of that track didn't much hurt Ozzy's career.
Unfortunately, there are some truly awful tracks here hidden among the good ones. The worst, perhaps, is "Revelation (Mother Earth)" which touches some environmental themes and dwells heavily in the mystical realm. "Mr. Crowley," a track about satanist Aleister Crowley, is another stinker. Both of those songs feature thick, slow, uninspired guitar riffs and sound rushed into production. This album was recorded in around a month, so perhaps no one should be surprised that some corners were cut.
A ballad that works very well for Ozzy is "Goodbye Romance," which contains just the right blend of pretty music and crunchy guitars to make it worthwhile. "Dee" is a small bit of classical guitar that's short and just sounds darn good.
Two tracks I haven't mentioned are "No Bone Movies" and "Steal Away (The Night)." Those are both filler, but they sound darn good in that they're fast-paced and show some technical flash from Rhoads. Both are, essentially, about nothing and contain the "good time" lyrics one would expect from Ozzy.
All in all, this is a good album with a couple of rough spots that are easy to overlook thanks to the "skip" and "program" buttons on CD players. This album represented Ozzy's step into a solo career and revealed that he'd landed on his feet in spite of his problems with Black Sabbath. For sentimental value alone, this is a "must have" disc for Ozzy fans.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
![Blizzard of Ozz [Bonus Track] [Remaster] by Ozzy Osbourne](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/b3/51/17/2002023074-177x150-0-0.jpg)
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.