Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025)

By SoDak

In my essay about the first time listening to Black Sabbath, (https://tickleyourtaint.blogspot.com/2025/07/we-sold-our-soul-for-rock-n-roll-my.html), I mentioned that my older neighbor Tim introduced me to many hard rock and metal bands in the 1970s and early 80s. Just over a year after he loaned me his copy of We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll, which got me hooked on Sabbath, he had me come over to his house to listen to Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard of Ozz (1980). As the record spun, Tim excitedly told me about the guitar player Randy Rhoads, emphasizing that he was as good as Eddie Van Halen. I just nodded, as I did not have an opinion on this matter. Plus, I had learned that to question such statements often resulted in getting punch. Tim was tightly wound, impulsive, and aggressive. Nevertheless, he loved music. I appreciated having someone older around who listened to different genres. Tim flipped through rock magazines, searching for a photo of Ozzy and Randy, to show me how cool they looked together. We repeated this experience a year later when Dairy of a Madman (1981) was released. 

Over a couple years, we spent hours listening to these records, both on vinyl and cassette, as we shot hoops in the driveway, played catch in the backyard, or read Circus and Hit Parader. Tim tried to regale me with stories about Ozzy’s buffoonery. I did not care too much about this, as I was more interested in the music. Like in Black Sabbath, Ozzy sang along to the guitar riff, creating wonderful melodies, which helped create distinct hooks within songs. His ability on this front is quite captivating, given the different guitar players through the years. He established a distinctive voice, which also stretched and varied in accordance with the guitar players. The first two Ozzy records hold a special place for folks my age and older, as they marked the continuation of Ozzy following Sabbath and the brief ascendancy of Randy. The guitar work is excellent, as the riffs are catchy. Randy throws in plenty of additional licks within songs that are delightful. 

Both records start strong, with the most memorable songs. On Blizzard, it is “I Don’t Know” and “Crazy Train.” On Dairy, it is “Over the Mountain” and “Flying High Again.” These songs rock and generally have a propulsive energy (“Flying High Again” is more mid-tempo). It is clear why these were the hits on these records. Like Sabbath records, Ozzy’s early records include slow/ballad songs (“Goodbye to Romance” and “Tonight”), plodding songs (“Suicide Solution” and “Believer”), mid-tempo songs without much drive (“Mr. Crowley,” “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll,” “Little Dolls,” and “S.A.T.O.”), and rock ‘n’ roll songs (“No Bone Movies”). The variation contributed to peaks and valleys on the records, which also made them distinct. I like plenty of the additional songs, but the records are not masterpieces. On Blizzard, the additional gem is the closing song “Steal Away (The Night).” 

The first non-Sabbath Ozzy record that I bought was Bark at the Moon (1983). On this transition record, Jake E. Lee was the guitar player. Don Airey’s keyboards and synths were much more present. The production is more polished, and the sound was more mainstream. As usual for Ozzy, the record starts with a strong song—the title track. The “Bark at the Moon” video was regularly played on MTV, depicting Ozzy’s “comical” madness, as a scientist who becomes a werewolf. Anyhow, Jake’s guitar riffs on this song are infectious. The song builds momentum and is catchy. Ozzy sounds great. The record is often dismissed as inferior to the previous two solo albums. Nevertheless, it has a similar variation in types of songs. It is also uneven, with both peaks and valleys. In many ways, I think it has a stronger side one than the first two records. The title track, “You’re No Different,” “Now You See Me,” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel” are all solid rock songs, even if the last one gets tiring. On side two, I am fine with the ballad “So Tired,” as I like Ozzy’s vocal inflections when he sings more serious and tender songs. Plus, the ballads reveal his love of the Beatles in interesting ways. “Slow Down” is a very strong rock song, and “Waiting for Darkness” is interesting. I have soft spot for this record, and I listened to it a lot when I was young. Perhaps, this colors my assessment, but I think Bark at the Moon is a stronger record than the first two. I still enjoy listening to it. 

Over the decades, I continued to buy each Ozzy record, finding enjoyable moments and good songs throughout the catalog. I continue to like his most pop record The Ultimate Sin (1986), despite the poor production, perhaps because it is quite different, and the songs remain distinct from each other. Following this, Ozzy records generally sound okay, except the songs start to sound very similar throughout the record. Part of this is due to how Zakk Wylde, the guitar player on most Ozzy records, incorporates pinch harmonics into almost every song. Once noticing how often Zakk employs this guitar technique, it became distracting and annoying, interfering with listening pleasure. Many years ago, I played a later Ozzy record and hit skip forward on the CD the first time I heard a pinched harmonic in each song. The listening time was about a minute. 

The Black Sabbath records with Ozzy, including the last one, 13 (2013), highlight Ozzy’s best work. Every year, I regularly listen to them. But, from time to time, I appreciate listening to his solo records, especially the first four albums, and remembering the excitement of hearing new songs by him. Regardless of whether he acted as a clown, from time to time, his music still gives me pleasure.