Well then, here we go with the first Ozzy Album. Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz was released in 1980 and could only be described as as a legendary slab of classic metal and possibly the birth of shred. To put it in perspective Ozzy had to come out with something special after his dismissal from Black Sabbath and this album was just the ticket. It didn’t need to be good, it needed to be legendary to prove that he was still a vital force in music. Bear in mind Ozzy didn’t know how to write music and from my understanding didn’t even write a lot of lyrics so scoring young guitarist Randy Rhodes from a then gigging band, Quiet Riot was massive. Rhodes brought a new element into Ozzy’s music which hadn’t been seen before. Sabbath were great and had an established sound, but no one sounded like Rhodes. This was something new and exciting!
The album punches the listener straight in the face with the opening track “I don’t know”. It’s immediately obvious from the outset, that the signature voice of Ozzy Osbourne is in great form, but even more obvious is the superior song writing team of Bob Daisly (Bass) and Randy Rhodes is in full effect. The song is fresh, it has energy. This is the perfect comeback for the Ozz man. How to top such a great album opener? Well, next up is one of the greatest songs every written, “Crazy Train”. Every time I hear this song it gets me. One of the greatest riffs and some of the greatest lead work ever committed to tape. Certainly a song for the ages. Here’s where I tear up a little at the brilliance of this song.
Next up the haunting ballad “Goodbye to romance”. Besides being a great song, it showcases the bands versatility and songwriting expertise even further. There’s a little interlude with “Dee” then on to another ball tearer “Suicide Solution” All this on any album would be a stroke of brilliance but this is only the first side of the album!
The second side is not as strong as the first, but still a mighty effort starting off with the live staple “Mr Crowley” a slow and brooding number about the occultist Alistair Crowley. Some more great songwriting and awesome guitar solo’s from Randy Rhodes make this another track to stand the test of time. That second guitar solo still gets me right in the feelings, some 45 years after the time of release it remains one of the greatest lead breaks ever. No bone movies is a great song, but kind of overshadowed by the brilliance surrounding it. Revelation slows it down again, with Ozzy’s hymn to Mother Earth with some very classy classicly inspired guitar work punctuating the song.
In short this album is one of the greatest (and most musically accomplished) Heavy Metal albums ever written and the greatest comeback since Lazarus rose from the dead. Ozzy has cemented himself into the ages with this one and I can’t see this album every getting old or boring! As legendary as Ozzy is, I think the real star of this record was Randy Rhodes, his contributions to this one re-shaped Heavy Metal and pushed it forward into a much more musically accomplished direction.
As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one that liked this one, it charted at number 7 in the UK after its release and number 21 in the US, selling over 5 million units since its release. Not bad Ozzy!
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