Want to Know What You Meant.

By DeadSun

Following the release of Black Sabbath's Never Say Die (1978), Ozzy Osbourne left the pioneering metal outfit, and quickly found himself out on his own. What followed for Ozzy was--- essentially--- months of locking himself in a Los Angeles hotel room, sustaining his despair with a (rather) steady diet of alcohol and cocaine, with no sign of a rebound in sight. He had been knocked down, and at the time, it seemed like it would be but a matter of time before the public declared him down for the count, once and for all. That was, of course, before Sharon Arden--- daughter of Black Sabbath's ex-manager--- was able to pull Ozzy from the shipwreck of his own creation, and convinced him to form another band.

… and thus the search was on for a guitarist.

After auditioning countless throngs of Toni Iommi clones, Dana Strum introduced Ozzy to a 23 year-old, who had been making a lot of waves in the LA scene, and had garnered a reputation as a madman on the electric six-string. Legend has it this audition in particular lasted for roughly five minutes before Ozzy made up his mind, and is somewhat easy to believe, considering just who this axeman was--- Randy Rhoads. Further arming himself with a first-class rhythm section which consisted of Bob Daisley on bass, and Lee Kerslake behind the drum kit, Blizzard of Ozz became a reality in 1980, laid to tape in jolly old England, and released via Don Arden's JET Record label.

In terms of plain Rock and Roll, Blizzard of Ozz is, with little occurrence of dissention, what I refer to as a High Classic. This is an album which we were all expected to know--- cover to cover--- before we could pass "Rock and Roll Kindergarten". Who cannot--- in a matter of .005 seconds--- identify the first glorious notes to the opening riff on "Crazy Train", or not know the feeling brought on when hearing the guitar soloing on "Mr. Crowley"? Say what you will about the limitations of Ozzy's voice--- the man knew how to make the most out of what he was born with. The musicianship on this album held fast to the premiums that heavy metal fans have ALWAYS demanded of their listening choices. Randy Rhoads' playing, as brilliant as it was brief, inspired a generation of aspiring guitarists, in the manner of peer innovators such as Ritchie Blackmore and Eddie Van Halen. It was exciting, classically-laced, and stocked well with fresh perspective. Verily, on March 19th, 1982, the world forever lost one of it's most promising young musical talents--- one who probably deserves more credit for making Ozzy's comeback a reality than anyone else.

Rest in peace, Randy Rhoads (12.6.56 - 3.19.82).

Blizzard of Ozz, needless to say proved to the world that there was indeed a "life after Black Sabbath", as far as Ozzy was concerned, and has gone on to become a musical impetus behind the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal, as the two styles are presently performed and understood.

That having been said--- I think that what was done to both Blizzard of Ozz, as well as Diary of a Madman, back in 2002, was fraudulent, and downright CRIMINAL. I understand that Ozzy and Sharon have financial interests. I understand the legal controversies that are swirling around bassist Bob Daisley's seemingly legitimate claims to co-authoring many of the songs on those albums--- but I look upon the re-recording of Blizzard and Diary, replacing the original rhythm sections with "new" tracks, laid down by ex-Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, and ex-Suicidal Tendencies bassist Mike Trujillo, as an act of war. The Osbournes have taken two of heavy metal's most cherished musical sacraments, and tampered with them. This isn't pop music--- this is heavy metal, and heavy metal fans have long, long memories--- memories that will last longer than the fair-weather popularity the Osbournes are presently celebrating. The sound mix for Randy Rhoads' guitar tracks has been changed. The raw, informal feel of Max Norman's original production has been contaminated.

This will NOT do.

Do not--- I repeat--- DO NOT buy the re-recordings from 2002. The 2002 recordings are an insult to the memory of Randy Rhoads, and soil the integrity of the original recordings--- the recordings which, I'll remind you, got Ozzy where he is on this very day. If Blizzard of Ozz isn't already a part of your music library, it simply MUST be acquired. Look for the re-masters from 1995. They are easily distinguishable from the newer counterfeit remakes, in that "OZZY" is scrawled down the side of the front cover in very large letters.

Keep this High Classic pure.

Hear this High Classic as was intended to be heard by the world.

Insure that this High Classic REMAINS just that.

Note: Sharon told BW&BK earlier this year that there are plans to release remasters with the ORIGINAL tracks on it. The import is being release later this month, U.S. version is expected soon.

When it came time to make his mark as a solo artist, Ozzy played the game to win and he did. Ozzy may have only set out to prove that there was life after Sabbath but he achieved much more than that--he helped moved the metal genre forward into a new era and created a masterpiece.

A lot of the greatness that resulted from this recording can be attributed to the "Blizzard of Ozz" group, not just Ozzy. It was the perfect pairing of music visionaries. Don Airey gave the album a distinctive keyboard sound, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake provided the perfect backdrop and aided in the songwriting. But it was the young guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads that elevated this effort into a whole new realm.

Hard rock and metal to this point was primarily based on blues rock, just turned up to 11. Guitarists like Iommi, Blackmore and Van Halen brought their own unique touch to the genre and did employ various influences but the underpinning was always the blues. Randy Rhoads broke that mold when expanding the musical reach of metal by utilizing classical guitar. It was the perfect marriage of styles. Blackmore had introduced elements of classical music into metal previously, especially with his signature use of minor-key scales, but Rhoads took that into an entirely new realm. A gifted guitarist, Rhoads not only provided the music with mind-blowing solo work but his meticulous leads and classical influence really made the songs standout from all hard rock and metal that had come before.

Blizzard of Ozz was Ozzy's finest hour as a vocalist as well. While Ozzy has a truly unique voice and style, he isn't particular known as a virtuoso vocalist. But on Blizzard of Ozz he stretched his instrument to its limits and really showcased what he was capable of.

The thing that really sets Blizzard of Ozz apart from other recordings isn't so much the virtuosity, but how it was utilized to make the songs stronger. Plenty of virtuosos will go into overkill to highlight their skills and the songs suffer because of it. On this album, the pieces all fit together to make a greater whole and everyone shined as a result. The songwriting on this album is again some of Ozzy's finest. The range and depth is still pretty amazing to this day when you consider that this is considered a metal album, when it was so much more. Rockers like "Crazy Train" and "I Don't Know" are set against elegant ballads like "Revelation (Mother Earth)" and "Goodbye To Romance" and then the somber and powerful "Mr. Crowley" compliments Randy's classical showpiece "Dee".

Blizzard of Ozz is not only a classic; it is an absolutely essential part of any rock fan's collection. The reasons it stood out 25 years ago are still just as valid today, if not more so. When set against other metal releases and even rock releases of the past quarter century, there is a lot more depth to this album than most that came after. Perhaps Ozzy was hungry and needed to prove what he was made of and in choosing the right team to make that statement, he not only showed that there was life after Sabbath, he expanded the scope of metal while making the album of his career and one of greatest rock albums of all time.