Black Rain Review

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(More customer reviews)Ozzy's latest album Black Rain, Is his best in several years. First off, his voice is stronger and clearer on this one since No More Tears. Compare this with his Under Cover album and the difference is obvious.
The tracks:
1. Not Going Away - I think this song is the weakest thing on the album and one of Ozzy's worst opening songs of all. Odd also since the first two songs are essentially about the same thing.
2. I Don't Wanna Stop - Great single and classic sounding Ozzy tune. Way better than Not Going Away.
3. Black Rain - Highlight of the album. War Pigs for the new era. Political lyrics and how long has it been since you've heard a harmonica on an Ozzy tune?
4. Lay Your World On Me - Good ballad, good lyrics. Really needs an epic No More Tears Zakk solo in it though.
5. The Almighty Dollar - Another highlight. Very bass heavy and almost funk sounding during the verses for an Ozzy tune. Blasko does well on this one. His bass is very prominent on the whole album.
6. 11 Silver - Fast song about crystal meth. Pretty cool.
7. Civilize The Universe - Good song, nothing really stands out but good anyway.
8. Here For You - The obligatory "I Love My Wife" ballad.
9. Countdown's Begun - Another one of the best on the album. Possibly Zakk's best solo on the album.
10. Trap Door - Cool Zakk riff but it's kind of repetative on the lyrics.
Bonu Tracks :
11. I Can't Save You - I Don't know why this was left off the US release it's fast and yould have made a killer opening song to the album.
12. Nightmare - Another song that shouldn't have been a b-side. Sounds more like Ozzy from the 80's which kind of mixes the album up a little.
Overall an excellent album with little to complain about and well worth getting the Japanese version for the bonus songs. The album is also in a jewel case with the booklet and the very cool cover art that's way better than the US packaging.

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In February, Ozzy Osbourne made the ground-breakingannouncement that Ozzfest will be free for all this summer. In continuingto give back to his fans, a limited number of specially marked copies ofBlack Rain -- Osbourne's first studio album in six years -- will contain aunique code which can be redeemed for reserved seats to the Ozzfest show ofyour choice. If you pre-order Black Rain Limited Edition now, you willreceive the specially marked copy of the album on or around the May 22ndrelease date (subject to Amazon.com order/shipping policies). The CD willcontain a unique code that you can redeem for two reserved seats beginningJune 8th at 9PM ET -- four days before tickets become available to thegeneral public. Seats are available on a first come, first served basis.Once the reserved seats have been taken at a show, general admissionseating will become available (based on venue availability).This version with limited offer has the same content as the regular editionCD.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Speak of the Devil Review

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(More customer reviews)One thing you have to give Ozzy, he has always surrounded himself with the best musical talent around. And nobody, nobody, has ever played with as many legendary guitar players. Perhaps the one that gets talked about the least is Brad Gillis and anybody that has ever heard this album would have to scream why!? Gillis absolutley shreds, playing as energetic and crisp notes as I have ever heard. I have always felt that this album had to have been double tracked in the studio, but have later found out that it was all live, Gillis is a freak! It is too bad that Gillis did not opt to stay with Ozzy, especially since he left Oz to go do that NightRanger crap. If you like Ozzy and his Sabbath hits and love incredible guitar playing, you cannot go wrong with this album.

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Ultimate Sin Review

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(More customer reviews)The Ultimate Sin, while mostly dismissed by the Ozzy camp with the exception of Shot In the Dark, which became the sole setlist staple in subsequent years...is an unfairly dismissed album.
To fairly judge the album, one must separate the actual songs from the production, which does indeed drag the album down. Ron Nevison has no business on any Ozzy album (or KISS for that matter.) It is primarily the production that drags the album down, not the actual songs. Fault lies with Ron Nevison and Capitol for pushing him as their choice of a producer upon Ozzy.
Put the production aside and judge the songs on their own merit, with some imagination of how they would have sounded with a proper producer. One must also take into account the souring relations between Ozzy and guitarist Jake E Lee as a factor in affecting Ozzy's view of the album. I believe the other factor that keeps this album/period as one that Ozzy would sooner forget is the image associated with it...big poofy blond hair with sparkly costumes best worn by Liberace.
The album's opening and title track, The Ultimate Sin, is nothing to scoff at. It features excellent lyrics put to a heavy groove...in fact, the song is an easy example of how the production got in the way of an otherwise worthy track, which can immediately instill a sense of frustration into the listener. The song itself would not be out of place on Diary of a Madman or Blizzard of Ozz.
Secret Loser follows suit with the same attributes....both tracks would be candidates as live set staples had they been handled correctly.
Never Know Why is the first track to bring up another issue with the album besides the production....poor lyrics. Actually, with proper production and the dropping of the "We Rock" chorus...it would be improved upon.
Thank God For the Bomb falls right in line with The Ultimate Sin and Secret Loser. The only real problem with the track is again...the production. It is the first track to bring up the theme of nuclear war on the album. It's a fast paced rocker with thoughtful lyrics.
I consider Never to be quite generic and tend to skip it. It does have it's moments...but not enough to hold me.
Lightening Strikes was the 3rd single released from the album. It is a prime example of how a horrid chorus drags down an otherwise great song. The hard hitting main guitar riff had plenty of potential to go down as one of the better known Ozzy classics. Improved lyrical content would have taken this one much further.
If there is one track that makes the overlooking of this album tragic, I'm going to give that honor to Killer of Giants. As the title alone indicates....it features very well done lyrics and an excellent arrangement. The mellow yet quitely edgy opening guitar appregios set the tone...bringing to mind images of the Earth in all it's beauty. When Ozzy's voice first enters...it continues the mellow mood...but after singing the line "if the button is pushed there'll be nowhere to run" the mood/music effectively yet subtlely shifts to one of dread, bringing to mind images of scorched earth..building up to an aggressive chorus.
Fool Like You is another generic rocker that I tend to skip.
The final track Shot In The Dark is well known enough to not need any going into. It does bear noting Ozzy was particuarly proud of the live performance of the song as found on the EP "Just Say Ozzy" as he felt it got right what Nevison trashed. Indeed...the EP track does do just this and serves as a prime example of how the rest of The Ultimate Sin tracks should have been recorded.
Considering the outrage pertaining to the re-recording of the bass and drum tracks on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman...perhaps it would have been more prudent to go and correct the problems inherent on The Ultimate Sin..one of Ozzy's best selling albums, rather than attempt to bury it in obscurity by avoiding re-issuing it. Out of the Ozzy back-catalog..it is the album that would most benefit from re-mixing and re-recording the instruments..fleshing out some truly excellent material that is too easily dismissed by those unable to see past the flat, inappropriate production.
Unfortunately, we only have the album as originally released. I strongly recommend those that have not been exposed to it take into account the factors I name at the start of this review that impact the album. The contempt for the album in many of the reviews here should be read with wariness, considering most provide little supporting commentary for their opinion, especially when considering the rest of the Ozzy catalog. No Rest For the Wicked, while sonically correcting what was wrong with the Ultimate Sin, features a much higher degree of cringe-inducing lyrics than the Ultimate Sin. The proper balance would not be struck until 1991's No More Tears.
Avoid letting the slew of negativity skew your own opinion and you'll be able to see the material for what it is...adding some truly great Ozzy material to your collection that would otherwise have gone overlooked.

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European pressing of 1986 album that's out-of-print domestically. Sony.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Just Say Ozzy Review

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(More customer reviews)1988 saw the release of "No Rest for the Wicked", the Ozzy Osbourne album that introduced the world to guitarist Zakk Wylde, and got decent airplay on the radio and Mtv with songs like "Miracle Man", "Breaking All The Rules" and "Crazy Babies". Although previous bassist and lyric writer Bob Daisley joined back to make the album, the bassist for the videos and tour was none other than Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler (a fact that critics gleefully used to further fuel the never ending "Ozzy vs. Sabbath" soap opera). Other highlights for Ozzy in this 88-89 time period include playing the huge Moscow Peace Festival with other metal bands, being featured on the related "Stairway to Heaven, Highway to Hell" album, pay-per-view concerts, and the top-10 duet with Lita Ford "Close My Eyes Forever".
To hold over the fans who had just about worn out their cassette and vinyl copies of "No Rest For The Wicked", 1990 saw the release of "Just Say Ozzy". This was an appropriately low-priced live EP from the tour. (Why do some people complain about the short length? It was an EP, not an LP, and thus supposed to be only a little longer than a single!) In the liner notes, Ozzy explains that when first proposed with the idea, his initial thoughts were along the lines of "Oh no, not another live Ozzy/Sabbath album!" But this release features a refreshingly different selection of songs, and serves to capture this unique line-up. It has no repeats of the same songs found on "Tribute", which had been released just two years prior.
Of "Just Say Ozzy's" six songs, three are from "No Rest For The Wicked": Miracle Man, and the more obscure tracks Bloodbath In Paradise and Tattooed Dancer. With the band here being 1/2 of Black Sabbath's original line-up, it made sense to include two Black Sabbath songs here too: "War Pigs" and "Sweet Leaf". "War Pigs" is quite a common'y played Black Sabbath song, but "Sweet Leaf" was a good unexpected choice for the tour (songs like "Paranoid" and "Iron Man", as classic as they are, had been done to death since Ozzy started his solo career). Finally, this EP also includes "Shot In The Dark", the hit song from the immensely successful, albeit hated by Ozzy, "The Ultimate Sin" album. Both Ozzy and many fans alike have hailed this live version to be superior to the original studio recording. A video for this live version of "Shot In The Dark" got decent rotation on Mtv, created from different shots of the band live, mostly taken from Moscow.
Being a bass player and big Geezer Butler fan, I was anxious to get this album, and I bought it on cassette when it hit the stores in 1990. As far as I know, "Just Say Ozzy" was not released on CD format until 1995, when the rest of Ozzy's back catalog was re-released with 22-bit remastering. But beware that "Just Say Ozzy", along with "The Ultimate Sin" and "Speak of the Devil", are being deleted from Ozzy's catalog. So snatch up these releases while you still can!

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Black Label Society: The European Invasion - Doom Troopin' Live (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)As a long time fan of Zakk Wylde I looked forward to this Blu Ray release. I was not disappointed. The show is all that you could want with a great audience particpation piece on stage! The guitar playing is up front and diverse. The interaction with the fans was hugely entertaining and shows how this band appreciates thier audience. (You have to see the guitar player from the crowd!) The sound quality is excellent. The special features are extensive as is the beer consumption evident throughout the video! Good music, good visuals and interesting features. What else could you want?

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Black Label Society, is the brainchild of guitar great Zakk Wylde. Having graced the world s stages for thelast 20 years, both as Ozzy Osborne s right hand man and fronting BLS, Zakk Wylde has established himself as one of the few remaining guitar heroes. EuropeanInvasion captures BLS live on their sold out European tour in 2005 supporting their hit album Mafia . Itcontains the full Paris show as well as extensive bonus features. Originally a 2 disc DVD it is now presented in superb picture and sound quality on a single disc Blu-ray.1) Intro Solo 2) Stoned And Drunk 3) Destruction Overdrive 4) Been A Long Time 5) Ironman Interlude 6) Funeral Bell 7) Suffering Overdue 8) In This River 9) Suicide Messiah 10) Demise Of Sanity 11) Spread Your Wings 12) Solo Acoustic Jam 13) Spoke In The Wheel 14) Fire It Up 15) Stillborn 16) Genocide Junkies Bonus Features Four tracks from the Astoria in London: 1) Been A Long Time 2) Suicide Messiah 3) Stillborn Jam 4) Genocide Junkies. Backstage Pass: 50 minute on the road documentary following the tour. Music Videos: 1) Suicide Messiah 2) Making Of Suicide Messiah 3) In This River 4) Fire It Up

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Live & Loud Review

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(More customer reviews)This cd rules! It's absolutely the best live album I own! I know I said it was tribute before, but when I bought this I changed my mind. Zakk Wylde is an absolutely amazing guitarist. Ozzy's band sounds the best ever since 1982. The crowd noise is a little bit loud, but it doesn't get in the way like some people would have you think. The profanity is excessive but, ya know, it's Ozzy. What do you expect? The setlist is incredible. It has hard rockin' classics like "Crazy Train", "Mr. Crowley", "Flying High Again", and "Bark At The Moon". It has softer ballads like "Mama, I'm Coming Home", "Goodbye To Romance" and "Road To Nowhere". Zakk Wylde adds a fill wherever possible, and it sounds good all the time. he does the solos as well as the other guitarists, sometimes making them better by adding his own. Buy this album if you're new to Ozzy, or if you wanna hear some awesome music.

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Ozzy Osbourne - Live & Loud (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)i really love the sound of ozzy since the days of BS. it was even better together with randy and then the the time together with zakk - it was great - live & loud is one of the best albums ever ... BUT !!!
who the hell is the editor of this video ?
i want to see zakk mistreating his guitar - but what do you see in this video. one cut per second. in one guitar solo, you see zakk with 3 different guitars, ozzy pulling water on the crowd, ozzy with pony-hair, ozzy with a shirt, ozzy half-naked, 2 times michael, and randy playing another song ... - AND EVERYTHING IN JUST ONE 15s - GUITAR SOLO !!!
technical this dvd is also diappointing: 2 sides - turn around at halftime - like old vinyl. no subtitels to sing along for newbees.
i really like the way ACDCs "no bull" is made. the concert without any trash. you can see angus and his gibson and brian talking to the crowd. just one concert at a beautiful arena. you can hear it as often you want without getting bored of interviews. the interviews are on a second track on the dvd. that is the way it should be.

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LIVE & LOUD - DVD Movie

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No Rest for the Wicked Review

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(More customer reviews)After 1986's hair metal album The Ultimate Sin album Guitarist Jake E. Lee quit and Bassist Phil Soussan quit the band and were replaced by Zakk Wylde and Bob Daisley...how was the album?
1.Miracle Man- 10/10 A great catchy fast opener with an awesome riff and a blazing solo. Some interesting lyrics about Jimmy Swaggert. A good rocker overall.
2.Devil's Daughter (Holy War)- 10/10 4 great riffs in this song! Some creepy lyrics and vocals at the start of the song. The only problem with this song is the hair metal chorus which doesn't quite fit but the great solo by Zakk Wylde makes up for that. Zakk's tapping in this song is just excellent.
3.Crazy Babies- 8/10 A great trademark Zakk Wylde riff with some great pinch harmonics. The lyrics here are really what brings this song down. A good party type song from Ozzy here as Ozzy continues the hair metal sound. Another excellent solo from Zakk Wylde too!
4.Breakin' All the Rules- 10/10 HANDS DOWN THE BEST TRACK ON THE ALBUM! It has everything a MONSTER riff, Excellent Vocals, Another Monster Riff, Excellent Drummer, A great guitar fill in, Awesome Lyrics, A catchy chorus, And An AMAZING Solo From Zakk who shreds away and bends the guitar around like no one else. This is no doubt the heaviest "hair metal" riff ever! The ending part of the song is great too with a demonic sounding voice coming it.
5.Bloodbath in Paradise- Creepy intro with the backwards words! And 2 more MONSTER riffs from Zakk. Brilliant lyrics about the Mansen family murders! Ozzy's vocals are great once again too. Ozzy stays away from the hair metal thing completley with this fast track. Another great blazing solo from Zakk who shreds away like no one else once again.
6.Fire in the Sky- 10/10 A great melodic riff for this softer melodic track from Ozzy. A great riff during the bridge which leads into another brilliant solo from Zakk Wylde!
7.Tattooed Dancer- 9/10 Another monster riff from Zakk which leads into a fast paced rocker with amazing drummeing.
8.Demon Alcohol- 10/10 Some more monster riffs here! One of the best songs on the album with some great lyrics. The lyrics are kind of like a follow up to Suicide Solution in a way. This much faster and much more catchy and has another monster solo. One verse is "Don't Speak Of Suicide Solutions"
9.Hero- 9/10 A very commercial song...not much really goes on in this one but it's still a good song with interesting lyrics.
Overall this is a very good album. A bit heavier than The Ultimate Sin but this album didn't sell quite aswell. if you like Ozzy than get this album because this is vintage Ozzy.
Ozzy Osbourne- Vocals
Zakk Wylde- Guitar
Randy Castillo- Drums
Bob Daisley- Bass

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Import exclusive two-disc set combines Ozzy's 1989 album No Rest For The Wicked with his 1986 ambum Ultimate Sin. Two standard jewel cases housed in a slip case. Sony/BMG. 2005.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Diary of a Madman Review

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(More customer reviews)This is, perhaps, the second best Ozzy album musically, but the late remaster is HORRIBLE! Buy a used copy of the remaster with the little bitty album cover on the front. The later copy has redone bass and drum parts and isn't worth listening to, much less paying money to listen to it.
That said, enjoy Randy Rhoads, great bass and drums and Ozzy in his prime.

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Bark at the Moon Review

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(More customer reviews)The 2002 remastered "Bark at the Moon" CD is actually more of a remix than a remaster. Needless to say, a side by side comparison will show that the music itself (not just the tonal quality) sounds different from all previous releases of this album. If you're a young fan who's brand new to Ozzy's music and thus have never really heard the "Bark at the Moon" album, you might like this somewhat modern-sounding remix. Otherwise, if you're a long-time fan who knows the original album inside and out, you may be totally repulsed by the difference in the CD's music.
Ozzy re-re-released his first two solo albums on CD in 2002, but without any mention on the outside packaging that they were actually RE-RECORDINGS done with different musicians! In an attempt to get out of paying royalties to the musicians who played on the original album, Ozzy had the original bass and drum tracks re-recorded by his current band mates. (Quite an insulting way to treat the remaining band who not only made the late Randy Rhodes' a legend, but also helped bring Ozzy out of Black Sabbath's shadow -- if not reverse that situation entirely.)
The 2002 "Bark at the Moon" CD is essentially a remix of the 1983 original, not a re-recording. But you'd have no way of knowing from reading the outside packaging or even the CD booklet. In and of itself, the remixed album admittedly sounds rather good in places. Although in a few other places it sounds like Ozzy's singing behind a wall (which is not an uncommon side effect found on badly produced metal albums). Overall the CD music is very cohesive sounding, unlike what you get when you, oh say, try to re-record drums. Here there's a little more boominess, different guitar and drum fills, more rhythm guitar and less keyboards. It's now a somewhat modern-sounding metal album.
But is this what people expect when they buy a "remaster"? For the long-time Ozzy fans: please be aware that this simply isn't the same "Bark at the Moon" you bought in the 80s! If, like me, you've become very familiar with "Bark at the Moon" after years of listening, then listening to the remixed album might come as a shock. Not that it's been remixed as a dance album or anything extreme like that, but gone are all those little fills and solos your ears have come to learn. The bell tolling at the start of "Center of Eternity" sounds like it's been shifted down an octave, like somebody throwing a rock at a pot of water.
If you still need a replacement for your scratchy vinyl or warbled cassette copy of "Bark At The Moon", try to get the 1995 remaster instead. It will sound like what a remastered CD should sound like: just as you remembered it musically, but with superior audio quality.

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Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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Ozzy Osbourne - Live at Budokan (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ozzy has made many great live DVD but I think this the best. This DVD captures the live power that Ozzy has. Many of the songs have been made in 80's and some even in 70's but they sound now as fresh as they sound then. Ozzy seems to enjoy the live concerts very much. Also Zakk Wylde and others are really well present in this concert. The solos and the songs are great. I was quite disappointment on "Live & Loud" but this DVD has a place in my metal heart. Great live concert!
1)I Don't Know
2)That I Never had
3)Believer
4)Junkie
5)Mr. Crowley
6)Gets Me Througfh
7)Suicide Solution
8)No More Tears
9)I Don't Want to Change the World
10)Road to Nowhere
11)Crazy Train
12)Mama, I'm Coming Home
13)Bark at the Moon
14)Paranoid

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Studio: Sony MusicRelease Date: 06/25/2002

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Tribute Review

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(More customer reviews)Musicians dying before their time is nothing unique in rock'n'roll history. SRV, Hendrix, Joplin, Holly, Morrison, etc.. However, there was always an innocence attached to Randy Rhoads. Here was a classically trained guitarist that was interested in incorporating brilliant and complex guitar arraingments with popular music. He took an alcohilc and believed to be washed-up rocker like Ozzy and helped him to produce his two greatest works ever. You know, a lot of players sound great in the studio, when they can triple track their recordings, but here, Rhoads shreds in fluid beauty, live and in person. Just incredible playing. The only man that could make Ozzy take a backseat on stage, God Bless him.

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Diary of a Madman Review

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(More customer reviews)Ozzy has never produced a bad album in his career... Until now. I have to say that this tampered-with version of an iconic metal masterpiece is a big dissapointment. They have taken away the epic "wall-of-sound" mix of Max Norman's production, drained it of reverb and worst of all, TURNED DOWN RANDY RHOAD'S REVERED GUITAR PLAYING IN THE MIX!!! For Godsakes, that's the last thing I would have thought an Ozzy-approved production would allow. Most of the sting and bite of Randy's lead solo's have been dried out and E-Qued down. Bassist Bob Daisley and Drummer Lee Kerslake also don't fare well, THEY'VE ACTUALLY BEEN REPLACED WITH SESSION GUYS!! Daisley's melodic, crucial basslines in "Tonight" haven't been copied very well. And even Ozzy's vocals have had much of the processing and double-tracking stripped back to give him a more natural-sounding performance. It is this aspect that I am in two minds about. I always thought his voice was a bit too processed on his early solo albums anyway.
But LOOK: You guys in the Ozzy and Sharon camp, I don't know what your were thinking, altering this classic, iconic album. Although it's yours to tamper with as you please, you MUST consider the millions of fans, myself included, who grew up with this recording and loved Randy Rhoads. You have drained all color and life from "Diary Of A Madman". A simple remastering to boost quality and signal-to-noise levels would have sufficed. For examples on how to do re-mastering properly, just listen to the Judas Priest re-master series to hear how it SHOULD be done.
My rating gives 2 stars purely as nostalgia for the music itself. I would have given 5 stars if this had been done properly.

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Diary of a Madman [Bonus Track](Remastered) Ozzy Osbourne Label: Sony Release Date: 4/2/20021 Over the Mountain - 4:312 Flying High Again - 4:503 You Can't Kill Rock and Roll - 6:594 Believer - 5:175 Little Dolls - 5:386 Tonight - 5:507 S.A.T.O. - 4:078 Diary of a Madman - 6:179 I Don't Know [Live][*] - 5:38

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Blizzard of Ozz Review

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(More customer reviews)I recently heard that two of my all-time favorite albums, Ozzy Osbourne's "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman," had undergone a 24-bit remastering process, and were to be re-released on CD. I couldn't wait to check them out, and I purchased them the moment they became available.
The first clue that something was wrong came while I was leafing through the booklet for "Blizzard." The old back cover photo of Ozzy on stage with guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist (and lyricist) Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake had been doctored so that only Ozzy was now visible. Strange, I thought.
Then I sat down to listen. My first reaction to "Blizzard" was that the drumming sounded sloppier than I remembered. Skipping from track to track, I noticed some things were sounding very different, and that the album seemed to have not only been remastered, but had been completely remixed from the original multi-track tapes.
Giving the liner notes a closer look, I discoved that all of the bass and drum tracks for both albums have been re-recorded by current Ozzy sidemen Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin, respectively.
I'm not kidding.
At this point I began to get pretty upset. The bass and drum tracks have been re-recorded in such a way as to mimic the original sound of the albums, but it doesn't work: Trujillo's bass is actually noticeably out-of-tune on a couple of numbers, and Bordin's drumming never matches the feel of the original tracks. Of course, "Blizzard of Ozz" was a somewhat lo-fi album to begin with. What about "Diary of a Madman," the album I've long characterized as the "Sgt. Pepper" of Heavy Metal?
In my opinion, "Diary" has been ruined. From the opening drum triplets of "Over the Mountain" everything is wrong, wrong, wrong. Every ounce of magic the album had has been sucked out of it. Randy's guitar tones are completely messed up. Some of his solos and fills are barely audible, and his various effects and textures have been replaced with a dry, shrill tone in many spots. The new mix retains none of the charm, atmosphere, or detail of the original. Even "Flying High Again" sounds awful. Why on earth would Ozzy tamper with one of the greatest sounding albums in hard rock history?
Well, according to Sharon Osbourne, Daisley and Kerslake have been removed from the albums because they have been "harassing" the Osbourne family. The truth is that Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake are suing Ozzy for non-payment of royalties and for crediting others (Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge) for their work on "Diary of a Madman." By removing them from the recordings, Ozzy can ensure that Daisley and Kerslake will receive no future mechanical royalties from his back catalog. This is simply an act of monumental greed and arrogance, and I implore you not to support Ozzy in this shameful endeavor.
These CD's are being promoted as "original recording remastered," with no outward indication to the buyer that they have been re-recorded with sidemen Randy Rhoads never even met. It is an unforgivable affront to Randy's memory, and it is deliberately misleading to Ozzy's longtime fans. Unfortunately, these will soon be the only versions of these albums you can buy, so get the 1995 22-bit remasters while you still can: They sound fantastic and are the only authentic versions of these hard rock masterpieces.

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Speak of the Devil Review

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(More customer reviews)This awesome DVD is a must for all Ozzy fans! Ozzy Osbourne- Speak Of The Devil is an entire concert filmed back in 1982. This is the same concert that was aired on MTV in the same year. Unfortunately, at that time, I had no VCR to tape the concert with and this concert was never released on tape or DVD until 2 months ago. This is very puzzling because this concert is really sweet. Unlike the Ozzy Osbourne CD- Speak Of The Devil (which is Ozzy's band performing all Black Sabbath songs) this DVD is Ozzy's band performing songs from his first two solo albums, Blizzard Of Ozz, and Diary Of A Madman plus 3 Black Sabbath songs. This concert was filmed just months after the horrible, tragic death of Ozzy's guitarist and great friend Randy Rhoads during the Diary Of A Madman tour. The very talented lead guitarist Brad Gillis was kind enough to join Ozzy and help him finish the tour and record Speak Of The Devil. Songs performed on the DVD include Over The Mountain, Mr. Crowley, Crazy Train, Revelation (Mother Earth), Steal Away The Night, Believer, I Don't Know, Goodbye To Romance, Flying High Again, Suicide Solution, and Black Sabbath songs Iron Man, Children Of The Grave, and Paranoid (the encore). The musicians in Ozzy's band at this time are some of the best in the business. Along with the aforementioned Brad Gillis are Rudy Sarzo on bass, Don Airey on keyboards, and the phenomenal Tommy Aldridge on drums. There is a section near the middle of the concert where Ozzy goes off stage and lets the musicians do their stuff. A sweet little instrumental jam between the 4 musicians, as well as an awesome guitar solo by Brad Gillis and an absolutely killer drum solo by the great Tommy Aldridge. One of the reasons I like this concert so much is because it is really good to see Ozzy bouncing back from the awful Randy Rhoads tragedy. He has been through so much pain over the course of his life and the death of his friend Randy could have really pushed him over the edge. But clearly in this DVD, Ozzy is having fun on stage and really getting the crowd to have fun with him, which he does so very well. If you are a big fan of Ozzy, you will want to watch this video over and over. Only a few minor criticisms of this DVD. The moments in between the songs are mostly edited out. When this concert aired on MTV, there was no editing. It was cool to see Ozzy talk to the crowd in between songs and get them all fired up and rowdy. Also, Ozzy's voice in the concert was looped for much of the songs. There are moments where his voice and his mouth movements don't match up. In one moment, it looks like on stage he has forgotten a line of lyrics and is singing something completely different from what you are hearing. (Give him a break, it happens to all singers at one time or another....lol) Also there are no shots of the crowd, practically, only from the back. Unfortunately, there are no bonus or special features on the DVD. Even with these criticisms, I still give this DVD the highest rating. It is truly a classic despite the minor flaws. To my knowledge, this is the earliest concert footage of Ozzy on his own. This concert blows away all other later live concert videos of Ozzy. As I said earlier, it is a MUST for all Ozzy fans! Hope you enjoy and treasure it as much as I do - Mike

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At the peak of his career, Ozzy made this unforgettable show in California in 1982. With exciting performances of his solo career's greatest hits, like 'Mr Crowley', 'Suicide Solution' & 'Crazy Train', the singer shows here how to conquer an audience that

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Scream: Tour Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Ozzy released this tenth solo album Scream in June of 2010, now he comes out with a "Tour Edition" of the same album. A second disc has been added to the original album containing an unreleased song (Hand of the Enemy), an Itunes exclusive (One More Time), a Japanese exclusive (Jump the Moon) and 4 live songs making 7 songs overall. It's not the first time that he's done this; some of you may remember when Oz released a tour edition of Black Rain back in 2007 in November of that same year. Now I'm not going to review the album Scream, I already did when the album initially came out, if you want to read reviews of the album go on the normal edition of Scream's page and you will find excellent reviews. I'm rather going to look at the contents of this special edition.
I really like Scream, I think it has some of the best Ozzy songs in a while and it's a strong album. "Hand of the Enemy" is a really cool song, heavy riff and good lyrics; I don't know why it didn't make it on Scream. "One More Time" is a good song, I love Gus `solo here. "Jump The Moon" I'm not fan of, I don't know it just doesn't reach me, it's certainly not terrible but that's how I feel. The version of "Let Me Hear You Scream" found here sounds almost exactly like the one on the Itunes Festival EP (which I also bought) released exclusively on Itunes in the summer of 2010. The first live song "Bark At The Moon" is an excellent live performance of the song, this being one of my favorite Ozzy songs it's nice to see it here and played so great! Excellent guitar work by Gus and Ozzy sounds awesome. The version of "No More Tears" found here is a very good one, I prefer the version from the Live & Loud (1993) and perhaps even the Live At Budokan (2002) version but it's pretty good, plus Gus's guitar playing on it makes this version different. It's nice to see "Fairies Wear Boots" as a live Black Sabbath song instead of the usual "War Pigs" or "Paranoid" found on most live Ozzy albums. I would have liked Oz to play another obscure Sabbath song (if there is such a thing to Sabbath fans of the Ozzy era) but just the fact that it's not the usual ones makes it that much better, plus it's played really well I must say. While I'm talking about the live song choices, I know Ozzy started doing "Shot In The Dark" and "Killer of Giants" again during his shows, now those two are my absolute favorite Ozzy tracks and it would've been so great to get live performances of those on this Tour Edition. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying it would have been cool to get those songs here. Oh and the black flag that was on the original version of Scream has here been replaces by an American flag.
If you have not bought Scream yet I'd say you're better off buying this edition, (for 1$ more than the regular edition on amazon) but unless you're a fan like me who wants everything you're better off to keep your original copy of Scream and not bother with this Tour Edition. I think there should have been more new content included as it would have been more valuable to those who already bought Scream, I like the new content but re-purchasing it for this isn't all that worth it. I'm still looking forward to the reissues of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman though. 2 stars.


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Scream is Ozzy Osbourne's first album in three years and 10th studio album overall. The album was produced by OZZY and Kevin Churko, both of whom did the same honors for OZZY's 2007 worldwide million-seller Black Rain, the album. The multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer recorded most of the album at his Los Angeles home studio, The Bunker, and co-wrote all the songs, primarily with Churko. Notably, the album marks the first appearance of OZZY's new guitar player, Gus G. OZZY's band also features bassist Blasko, drummer Tommy Clufetos and keyboardist Adam Wakeman.This tour edition is limited and contains a second CD with seven bonus tracks as well as video content which can be viewed on your computer when the CD is inserted. Video content includes the video for Let Me Hear You Scream, the making of the Let Me Hear You Scream video, and the making of the album Scream.

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