#2 Ozzy Osbourne: The Ultimate Sin /Randy Rhoads Tribute (LIVE) - TIE
Released : 1986/ 1987 I rate every single album from Blizzard of Ozz to No More Tears a classic , so I like the Ozzman a lot. I think he's under rated as a vocalist and , if nothing else, boy could he attract some talent. I'd make particular mention of Bob Daisley here as someone whose name was not up in lights but who had a whole lot to do with most of Ozzy's best songs.
Both of these albums are 100% ers for me , were hugely influential and so I really cannot split them - I would also feel bad if either Randy Rhoads or Jake E Lee did not get a mention in this list.
Ozzy Osbourne has been a huge part of my musical journey. Back in the mid 80's I used to get my dad to set the VHS to record a show called Rage in the wee hours of the morning. These days I imagine the show plays crap around the clock but back then there was at least a couple of hours of rock and metal between 2am and 4am on a Sunday morning. Most of it was pretty average but one day in 1986 (12 yo) I stumbled onto this video for the song Lightning Strikes - link goes to the solo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om24gvzWcLY#t=160After watching that I was fucking well hooked - God knows how many times I rewound and replayed that solo. I was already a fan of KISS and Van Halen but that video took my desire to be a good guitarist to a new level. Jake had the looks, the moves and the chops in abundance - so much so that I barely noticed Ozzy looking like a juiced up drag queen .
I can barely remember what I did last week but I can quite vividly remember dragging my dad into the record store to buy the album - which would be my first real "metal" album too. So we go to the cassettes and find it - Dad looks at me sideways as if I'm some sort of devil worshipper when he sees the cover (I was 12 years old) but agrees I can buy it. So I remove the cassette cover from the shelf and THIS
...............................
is behind it
Whoops - more explaining.
So there my journey began and I worked my way backwards , quickly picking up Bark At The Moon , Blizzard and Diary (on a 2 for the price of one tape). I bought every new release shortly after it hit the shops right up until Ozzmosis , after which I sorta lost interest.
While I haven't ranked Ozzy as my all time favourite artist I wouldn't mind betting I've listened to him more than any other artist over the years .
Getting back to my two favourites
1) The Ultimate Sin: This record seems to get bad press from left , right and centre . Ozzy himself has pretty much disowned it and Zakk Wylde is quoted as saying it's pissweak compared to BATM. That's something I just don't get because to me it's heavier sounding than BATM if anything. Sure it has some commercial sounding stuff on it but overall it's certainly not some sort of commercial sellout. Aside from the awesome guitar work of Jake E Lee , Ozzy puts in a top performance and I actually find a lot of the lyrics quite well thought out. Many topical subjects of the time were covered including nuclear war, the demonising of metal music/artists etc........ every track on it has a special place for me. The guitar SOUND could've been better but on the other hand I almost find it adds character to the album. I just love his playing on this and I recall not only being initially gutted when I got NRFTW and realised Jake had left , but also after playing the debut Badlands. While good I really missed the "metal" Jake.
2) Randy Rhoads Tribute; This is an amazing snapshot of the brilliant Randy Rhoads at the peak of his powers .......powers that were unfortunately not allowed to grow even further due to his untimely death. The songs on this record (from Blizzard of Ozz especially) sound so much heavier and more lively than they did on the studio recordings - they really get taken to a whole new level. I would listen to this rather than Blizzard every day of the week. Ozzy sounds fantastic and Randy just slays on everything , including the Sabbath songs which take on a whole new energy too. This album was also my first wake up that Sabbath even existed. The only issue I have is the lack of more material (and the better songs) from Diary of a Madman......at the time Diary had been recorded but not released. Aside from that , and the fact that Randy's probably just a bit too prominent in the mix, it's perfect. I have the tab for this sitting around here somewhere and had it down pat at one point - wouldn't have a hope now but if I ever get my shit together and pick up the guitar again then this album will be a great starting point to get the juices flowing.
Favourite Tracks: Again - all of them. If you don't know the albums and want a sample then perhaps try Shot In The Dark, Never , Lightning Strikes, Killer of Giants from The Ultimate Sin. On the Tribute album ............I Don't Know , Mr Crowley , Relevation(Mother Earth). Most/all of these don't seem to be on Youtube - Sharon's on the job. I'll upload some samples if anyone really need them - just let me know.
Actually ......The Ultimate Sin can be listened to here :
https://grooveshark.com/#!/album/The+Ultimate+Sin/191511Honourable Mention: Michael Schenker Group : Written In The Sand ..........quite a laid back rock album , initially a JAP only release (my copy) but later got a Euro release without the bonus tracks. Leif Sundin on vocals is always good to listen to. Bonus tracks are re-records of Cry For The Nations and Into The Arena.
#1 might take me 2 or 3 days as it's the only one I didn't put some prep work into beforehand.