Blizzard of Ozz or Holy Diver?

[WildRanger]

Which debut?

[Samsara]

Damn this one is tough. I honestly don't know. I prefer Ronnie as a singer, but both records have killer tunes. Holy Diver, by a hair.

[Destiny Of Chaos]

While Dio owns Ozzy vocally I like the overall music on Blizzard much more. Easy vote.

[TAC]

I had to check The TAC Top 50, and I have Blizzard (and Diary) at 25 and Holy Diver at 11.

[wolfking]

Ozzy, but both are masterpieces.

[NoseofNicko]

Blizzard. That was easy. Always thought Holy Diver was nothing special.

[MirrorMask]

Dio all the way

[jjrock88]

Dio, without any hesitation

[El Barto]

HD is the better album. Had the poll been HD against DoaM it would have been Ozzy by miles.

[PowerSlave]

Ozzy, but both are masterpieces.

I was ready to say this same thing, but RJD instead of Ozzy. Two amazing records, no doubt.

[ProfessorPeart]

Dio, without any hesitation

[pg1067]

This is really tough.  I went with Holy Diver because RJD >>> Ozzy as a singer and Holy Diver's songs are more consistently strong.  There's no Goodbye to Romance or No Bone Movies on Holy Diver.

[Madman Shepherd]

Damn this one is tough. I honestly don't know. I prefer Ronnie as a singer, but both records have killer tunes. Holy Diver, by a hair.

This except I would choose Blizzard by a hair.  I love Dio's lyrics but the lyrics on Blizzard are amazing.  Of course, Ozzy didn't write them. 

BTW, going to see Last in Line (the band) for the second and third time next month.  They are outstanding live.  Vivian is such a cool guy too.  I'm so glad he decided to undisown his time in the band. 

[TheCountOfNYC]

Blizzard of Ozz.

[bl5150]

Blizzard easy

[Evermind]

Dio, without any hesitation

[max_security]

To me this was Randy Rhodes vs RJD. Randy was brought down a little with the vocals in his band but his performances on Blizzard make it better than Holy Diver for me. But RJD and Vivian Campbell had an amazing run with some really good tunes.

[Stadler]

Wow.  This might be the hardest one of all the polls here.  Two LEGENDARY albums, two legendary front men...   Wow.

Dio beats Ozzy in vocals.
Randy beats Vivian in guitars.
Bain beats Daisley (for me) on bass.
Kerslake beats Appice (for me) on drums.
Songs are a tie, though the best of Blizzard beats the best of Holy Diver, and the worst of Blizzard is worse than the worst of Holy Diver.

Arrgghhh...   Diary was way better than Last In Line, though so I'm going to give the nod to Holy Diver.  This could change at a moments notice.

[TAC]

Wow.  This might be the hardest one of all the polls here.  Two LEGENDARY albums, two legendary front men...   Wow.

Dio beats Ozzy in vocals.
Randy beats Vivian in guitars.
Bain beats Daisley (for me) on bass.
Kerslake beats Appice (for me) on drums.
Songs are a tie, though the best of Blizzard beats the best of Holy Diver, and the worst of Blizzard is worse than the worst of Holy Diver.

Arrgghhh...   Diary was way better than Last In Line, though so I'm going to give the nod to Holy Diver.  This could change at a moments notice.

I agree with everything in this post.

[a51502112]

Blizzard. Solo Dio is cheesy AF.

[El Barto]

Wow.  This might be the hardest one of all the polls here.  Two LEGENDARY albums, two legendary front men...   Wow.

Dio beats Ozzy in vocals.
Randy beats Vivian in guitars.
Bain beats Daisley (for me) on bass.
Kerslake beats Appice (for me) on drums.
Songs are a tie, though the best of Blizzard beats the best of Holy Diver, and the worst of Blizzard is worse than the worst of Holy Diver.

Arrgghhh...   Diary was way better than Last In Line, though so I'm going to give the nod to Holy Diver.  This could change at a moments notice.

Not even close. Bane isn't in the same league as Daisly. Bob came up with some great stuff that was damn near playing lead. I can't think of anything JB did that was memorable. This is about like comparing Steve Harris to Ian Hill.

No contest about Kerslake, though. Both Appices are overrated, but at least Carmine has a style and some creativity.

[TAC]

Vinnie definitely has his own style. I hate it.

[max_security]

Wow.  This might be the hardest one of all the polls here.  Two LEGENDARY albums, two legendary front men...   Wow.

Dio beats Ozzy in vocals.
Randy beats Vivian in guitars.
Bain beats Daisley (for me) on bass.
Kerslake beats Appice (for me) on drums.
Songs are a tie, though the best of Blizzard beats the best of Holy Diver, and the worst of Blizzard is worse than the worst of Holy Diver.

Arrgghhh...   Diary was way better than Last In Line, though so I'm going to give the nod to Holy Diver.  This could change at a moments notice.

Not even close. Bane isn't in the same league as Daisly. Bob came up with some great stuff that was damn near playing lead. I can't think of anything JB did that was memorable. This is about like comparing Steve Harris to Ian Hill.

No contest about Kerslake, though. Both Appices are overrated, but at least Carmine has a style and some creativity.

I agree. Bob Daisly was probably a better songwriter than the other members of both bands combined. I also agree that he is the much better bass player in this conversation.

[LudwigVan]

Blizzard

[Stadler]

Wow.  This might be the hardest one of all the polls here.  Two LEGENDARY albums, two legendary front men...   Wow.

Dio beats Ozzy in vocals.
Randy beats Vivian in guitars.
Bain beats Daisley (for me) on bass.
Kerslake beats Appice (for me) on drums.
Songs are a tie, though the best of Blizzard beats the best of Holy Diver, and the worst of Blizzard is worse than the worst of Holy Diver.

Arrgghhh...   Diary was way better than Last In Line, though so I'm going to give the nod to Holy Diver.  This could change at a moments notice.

Not even close. Bane isn't in the same league as Daisly. Bob came up with some great stuff that was damn near playing lead. I can't think of anything JB did that was memorable. This is about like comparing Steve Harris to Ian Hill.

No contest about Kerslake, though. Both Appices are overrated, but at least Carmine has a style and some creativity.

I agree. Bob Daisly was probably a better songwriter than the other members of both bands combined. I also agree that he is the much better bass player in this conversation.

Well, let me preface by saying that it's FOR ME, and I really cannot stand that burpy style that Daisley has (like in the intro to Believer), but it's not a coincidence that some of the best of Rainbow (for me) was with Bain, and the best of Dio solo (for me) was with Bain.   As for songwriting, yeah, Daisley has some fame for the lyrics he did and the lawsuits over royalties, but a) I can't believe it's THAT hard to write with Randy Rhoades, and b) Bain deserves a lot more credit for those first two or three Dio records than he gets.  If you listen to the "Wild Horses" records he did with Brian Robertson, he's no slouch with a pen, either. 

[TAC]

Stadler, I’m totally with you on Bain. Not taking anything away from Daisley.

[El Barto]

Name something that Bain did that was particularly interesting. I can think of plenty of songs where Daisley was on fire. To me it's like comparing Les Binks to Dave Holland. If you just want somebody who can play a steady bassline, then Bain's as good as anybody else, I suppose. If you want somebody that can be melodic and hold his own in a band full of heavyweights he's not going to cut it, but Dasiley did. As much as BoO was about Randy Rhodes, DoaM is about Daisley/Kerslake.

Honestly, is there' some Bain stuff that I'm overlooking? When I think of BD I think of Steel Away or SATO where the guy's a beast. When I think of Jimmy Bain I think of how board I am.

[King Postwhore]

Name something that Bain did that was particularly interesting. I can think of plenty of songs where Daisley was on fire. To me it's like comparing Les Binks to Dave Holland. If you just want somebody who can play a steady bassline, then Bain's as good as anybody else, I suppose. If you want somebody that can be melodic and hold his own in a band full of heavyweights he's not going to cut it, but Dasiley did. As much as BoO was about Randy Rhodes, DoaM is about Daisley/Kerslake.

Honestly, is there' some Bain stuff that I'm overlooking? When I think of BD I think of Steel Away or SATO where the guy's a beast. When I think of Jimmy Bain I think of how board I am.

I'm with you on this El Barto.

[TAC]

Name something that Bain did that was particularly interesting.

Stargazer??

I found Bain's work on Gary Moore's Dirty Fingers album more interesting than anything Daisley did on like 10 other Gary Moore albums.

If you just want somebody who can play a steady bassline, then Bain's as good as anybody else, 

That's how I feel about Daisley, who I do like.

When I think of BD I think of Steel Away or SATO where the guy's a beast.

He sure is.


Hey I like Daisley. He is as steady and professional as you can get. The Les Binks to Dave Holland comparison is nuts though. I'm not saying Bain blows him away or anything, but I find Daisley to be the more safe player.

[Architeuthis]

Vinnie definitely has his own style. I hate it.

The mighty Jabba asks................WHY?!?!?!

[Stadler]

Hey I like Daisley. He is as steady and professional as you can get. The Les Binks to Dave Holland comparison is nuts though. I'm not saying Bain blows him away or anything, but I find Daisley to be the more safe player.

I'm kind of with TAC on this.   It's not like we're talking Chris Squire versus, well, me, but I've already said, sometimes Daisley has that burp-y tone that I DON'T like.  So it's not like Daisley blows or anything - he doesn't - and the band "Blizzard of Ozz" is probably my favorite Ozzy band by far. 

I'll have to go back and listen to see if I can find a specific bass line. 

[TAC]

Vinnie definitely has his own style. I hate it.

The mighty Jabba asks................WHY?!?!?!

It's hard to describe. there's this hesitation that runs through his drumming that I find distracting. His style is great for songs like Black Sabbath and The Sign Of The Southern Cross, but I've never really been a fan.

[Setlist Scotty]

While Dio owns Ozzy vocally I like the overall music on Blizzard much more. Easy vote.

This.

[Architeuthis]

Vinnie definitely has his own style. I hate it.

The mighty Jabba asks................WHY?!?!?!

It's hard to describe. there's this hesitation that runs through his drumming that I find distracting. His style is great for songs like Black Sabbath and The Sign Of The Southern Cross, but I've never really been a fan.

Jabba now presses the button and feeds you to the Rancor! Just kidding, I actually see where you are coming from. Gotta love Vivian Campbell's guitar work though..

[pg1067]

Wow.  This might be the hardest one of all the polls here.  Two LEGENDARY albums, two legendary front men...   Wow.

Dio beats Ozzy in vocals.
Randy beats Vivian in guitars.
Bain beats Daisley (for me) on bass.
Kerslake beats Appice (for me) on drums.
Songs are a tie, though the best of Blizzard beats the best of Holy Diver, and the worst of Blizzard is worse than the worst of Holy Diver.

Arrgghhh...   Diary was way better than Last In Line, though so I'm going to give the nod to Holy Diver.  This could change at a moments notice.

Not even close. [Bain] isn't in the same league as Daisly. Bob came up with some great stuff that was damn near playing lead. I can't think of anything JB did that was memorable. This is about like comparing Steve Harris to Ian Hill..

Agree on all fronts.  I remember hearing an interview in which Ronnie was praising Jimmy Bain, and the best he could come up with was that he's really "steady."  I remember telling the guitar player in my band that, if "steady" was the most significant thing about my bass playing that he could come up with, then he shouldn't say anything at all.

Bain's playing is also buried on all of the Dio albums by extra rhythm tracks.  Blizzard and Diary were better produced so that you could actually hear all of the instruments.

it's not a coincidence that some of the best of Rainbow (for me) was with Bain, and the best of Dio solo (for me) was with Bain.

I think it was a coincidence.  Rising was written entirely by Blackmore and Dio.  Bain is only credited on a little more than half of the tracks on the first four Dio albums (he also got a couple of credits on Lock up the Wolves, but I won't hold that against him).  We have no way of knowing exactly what he contributed to each song, but his playing is practically invisible on most songs.

Name something that Bain did that was particularly interesting.

Stargazer??

Stargazer is one of my all-time favorite songs, but it sure as heck isn't because of Jimmy Bain's bass playing

In terms of performance, Daisley's playing on the first few Ozzy albums is light years ahead of Bain's playing with Dio.

By the way, I think part of this equation is Daisley's tone, which I generally like, but which is really annoying on a couple songs -- Tonight being the clearest example.