Didn’t see an Ozzy thread so I thought I would start a dedicated post;
A lot of talk about the Black Album turning 30 this past month, “No More Tears” quietly celebrated its 30th birthday on the 17th of Sept as well.
Maybe a hot take but I think, pound for pound, this is the best solo album the Ozzman ever did. There really isn’t bad song. A 24 year old Zakk Wylde really brought the heat with some memorable, inspired playing, and Randy Castillo is one of the most underrated drummers of his generation. As a budding guitar player in high school, I could NOT get enough of this album. Truly one of the greatest hard rock albums ever, it also features John Purdell (who was at the helm for DT’s “Awake”) as co-producer.
As good as the album is, it also started the unfortunate trend of Ozzy bringing in outside writers which he’s done ever since. Unlike the later albums though, the outside writer for most of the material is Lemmy Kilmister- so the rock n roll spirit is still there. Definitely a more pop, radio friendly album than “No Rest for the Wicked” but the Ozzy camp wisely chose to move away from the 80s metal trappings (much in the same way Metallica did that same year), crafting what I think is a record that’s aged fairly well.