Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Take on The Prince of Darkness

We've been thinking about doing this for years and finally getting to it.

I love top 10 lists and have agonized over many throughout my life for
the sake of discussion but none will be more important than today as
TOR goes into the mind of a madman, the legend born as John but known
to the world as Ozzy. There is probably nobody more important to
heavy-metal than Ozzy who with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward
created the sound that would spawn thousands of other bands. It was
Butler's baseline and Ward's tempo which kept it together and Iommi's
the three finger cords which created the sound but it was never
complete until Ozzy whispered "I am Ironman" that Sabbath became
Sabbath.

TOR reveals the definitive best Ozzy Osbourne songs of all times.
Our only rules are that the song must
- be an Ozzy solo original no Sabbath stuff
- absolutely rip



10) Mama I'm coming home.
The song that brought Ozzy to the mainstream for many, this ballad can
most closely be compared to Sabbath's 'Changes' which has ways been
one of the greatest songs ever written and showed the world that Ozzy
was capable of a lot more than screaming into a microphone. Lyrically
this song is fantastic but it shows again that what Ozzy does is break
barriers.

9- Bark at the Moon
Catchy, quick and well structured, this song will make you fall in
love with the way metal was meant to be played.

8- Mr. Tinkertrain. A very underrated song from the second generation
of solo Ozzy. Fantastic sequenced uptempo beat and classic Ozzy in
that you just feel it crescendo to the guitar solo. I never quite
understood why it got so little love but it is probably the closest
thrash metal song in Ozzy's entire repertoire


7- I Don't Know
It wouldn't shock me if people would have heard the first track off of
the Blizzard of Ozz album and not known immediately it would stand up.
Randy Rhoades is featured promo rely with his heavy cords early on
and a classic riff and very quickly the world knew that Sabbath was
more Ozzy than Ozzy was Sabbath.


6- I close my eyes forever - with Lita Ford
This might be a bit of a copout because it does sort of startle the
line in terms of our own preset rules but how can you put a top Ozzy
list together without the song that exposed him to the MTV audience.
Ford is fantastic but it's when Ozzy comes on that this song goes from
good to great. The best power ballad duet of all time.

5- No More Tears
Randy Rhoades will never be replaced but on this entire album it
became abundantly clear that Zakk Wylde could fill in. His Solo on NMT
is Fantastic, the entire track which starts slowly builds up to a solo
where Wylde absolutely destroys it, great chops on the guitar combined
with a lyrics destined to go down as some of the most telling for a
man who once bit the head off a bat

4- Goodbye to Romance.
Severely underrated probably because the hard core Ozzy fan may find
the ballad to soft but there really isn't a better tune and it brings
that entire album to a mellow spot before taking off like a rocket
again. I always assumed this was a love song her wrote for Sharon
knowing that one day his Demons would get the better of him


3- Suicide Solution
Wine is fine but whiskey's quicker...forget the rumors you've heard
about kids killing themselves, this song rocks. It's what heavy metal
was all about as a kid...it made you want to crash into walls, grow
your hair long and headband. Heavy bass, great guitar, awesome voice
and lyrics you knew would make your grandma cringe.


2- Crazy Train.
There is no better song and nothing more iconic than Ozzy screaming
"all aboard" as the song starts out. Randy Rhoades just rips on this
track, from the first solo to the final cord and reminds you how much
he left behind when e took that fateful airplane joyride. Crazy Train
is everything that Ozzy does best by allowing his band to take center
stage while he works the magic over top. I'd guess that it's ever
Ozzy fan's favorite Ozzy track and for good reason but still the best
Ozzy song is....

1- Mr. Crowley. I kid you not when I say that the best Ozzy Osbourn
song is not Crazy Train but Mr. Crowley. The back and forth between
the lead vocals and the lead guitar is mesmerizing and melodic. The
melody shows off Ozzy's chops, the solos are fantastic and the lyrics
remind the world that he was not just a great frontman but that the
battles he faces internally will forever haunt him. I am shocked
that he's still alive

3 comments:

  1. You have now gone full goatee and khakis.

    In your own way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, not a Black Sabbath fan.

    Besides, heavy metal is long dead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm catching up on my TOR backlog... what a welcome surprise to find some in-depth metal discussion. Also, Mr. Crowley had no business being in the Top 10. It's a decent song, but far too lumbering. "Road to Nowhere" would have been an acceptable inclusion.

    ReplyDelete