Cinema of the Damned

   

Ozzy Osbourne – Speak of the Devil: Live From the Irvine Meadows ‘82

2012 – Eagle Rock Entertainment

Muthas, less than three months after the tragic death of guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoades, Ozzy Osbourne filmed a concert for a future broadcast on the fledgling MTV. Thirty years later this concert has finally gotten an official release on DVD after years of being only available as a crappy bootleg. As this concert was before the “Sharon Osbourne (aka Yoko Ono) fucking everything up with her soulless bullshit” days, it’s pure gold. Ozzy is in terrific voice here and his stage banter is kept to a bare minimum.  There is hardly an f-bomb to be heard in the entire set.  It’s refreshing to see a non-addled Ozzy owning the stage as a healthy, younger man.

Along for the ride with Ozzy are Rudy Sarzo on bass, Don Airey on keyboards, Tommy Aldridge on drums and Brad Gillis on guitar.  Brad had big shoes to fill; he pulls off Randy’s solos effortlessly and shreds like a maniac throughout the festivities. It’s sad that Gillis departed for Night Ranger shortly after this concert as it would have been cool to hear what he could have come up with on the next studio album.  Tommy Aldridge is his always excellent self, and Rudy Sarzo does his usual goofball bass antics.  Don Airey is up in the second floor(!) of the stage and is dressed in a hooded robe like a monk.  He adds all the proper keyboard textures and accompaniment without drenching the proceedings in poofery.  

It should be mentioned that even though this DVD is entitled Speak of the Devil, it has a completely different setlist from the album Speak of The Devil.  That was a quick live album of all Black Sabbath cuts hurriedly issued to compete with Sabbath’s 1982 live album Live Evil.  It also featured Brad Gillis on guitar so don’t be fooled into thinking the DVD is a companion to the live album of the same name. The setlist is your fairly standard early Ozzy affair, with all the hits from his first two solo albums. There are also three Black Sabbath cuts at the end of the concert – “Iron Man,” “Children of the Grave,” and “Paranoid.”  One superb track is the “Guitar/Drum Solo” which is a blistering instrumental affair with all the band members sans Ozzy.  It ends with Aldridge bashing his kit with his bare hands!  Now that’s Metal!  

The concert featured a massive two-level stage, pyro, lasers and even a dwarf named "Ronnie.”  Gosh, I wonder who that could have been referred to? Unbelievably, “Ronnie” hangs himself during “Goodbye To Romance” and can be seen swinging in the background from a noose!  You could do crazy shit like that in the 80s and nobody cared.

The video quality is decent but it must be remembered that this was shot on tape (not film), back in 1982, and as such is in no way hi-def.  If you are expecting some jump cut, multiple camera affair you are going to be sorely disappointed.  There are shots from the crowd and shots from the back of the stage, behind the band, as well as a few close-ups and longer shots, with a grand total of three cameras being used.  There are  zero extras on the DVD and an essay in the liner notes by Rudy Sarzo.

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The Bottom Line:  If you want to see Ozzy in his prime and hear the guitar wizardry of Brad Gillis, you need this DVD.  It’s a little time capsule back to the days when MTV actually played music and a man could wear blue tights with a red studded belt.  Well, he could if that man was Ozzy. 

Tales From The Crypt

Black Sabbath - Live In Paris 1970

Check out this live show in HD from Paris way back in 1970. In fact, this was filmed a scant two months after Paranoid was released. The quality is excellent and the band is one fire here. Watch this and witness the originators of Heavy Metal laying it down at the beginning of the genre.

Blizzard In A Box

Ozzy Osbourne –

Blizzard Of Ozz / Diary Of A Madman

30^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Box Set

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Back on June 5, 2011 The Metal Blog Of Metal reviewed both the Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman reissues and promised to review the box set in the future. Well my brothers, the future is now and the box set has arrived here in Midgard. The box itself is very well made and thick and features Randy’s signature polka dots along two edges.

Here’s what you get for your cool $149.99:

• Blizzard Of Ozz – CD Expanded Edition
• Diary Of A Madman – CD Legacy Edition
• Ozzy Live – CD
• Blizzard Of Ozz – LP
• Diary Of A Madman – LP
• Thirty Years After The Blizzard – DVD
• 100 Page Coffee Table Photo Book
• Double Sided Poster
• Replica Of Ozzy’s Cross

The CDs have already been discussed in the previous reviews and the discs in the box set are identical to the standard versions you can get anywhere. The LPs are heavy 180 gram black vinyl and they are packaged in a gatefold. The gatefolds each house the appropriate LP and they also contain the CDs and the DVD in slots in one gate. The LPs are replicas of the pressing on Jet Records and as such they have the original Jet packaging right down to the labels. The LPs are only the original material and don’t have any of the CD bonus tracks.

The 100 Page Coffee Table Photo Book is actually pretty nice. I assumed it would be crap but actually it has kick-ass photos, most of which I haven’t seen before. The content focuses almost exclusively on Randy and Ozzy. Also in the book are the lyrics and liner notes for everything and the end papers have Blizzard Of Ozz on them as well as bats.

The poster has two rather well known images of Ozzy on it but the paper is heavy stock so that’s cool. The poster is rather useless and I am not sure why it’s included.

Next is the replica of Ozzy’s cross. Um, really? Who cares about this? Not me, that’s who. The cross is housed in a foam cut out in the bottom of the box.

The real centerpiece of the set is the DVD and it is very well done. First up is the documentary Thirty Years After The Blizzard which tells the well known tale of the the Blizzard Of Ozz lineup, especially Randy’s story. We get the oft repeated stories of the dove, the bat and the Alamo. Also we get interviews with Nikki Sixx, Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde, Ozzy, Sharon (BLARRRGHHHHH!!!!), Bill Ward, Lemmy, Rob Halford and a few others. Really this documentary is nothing special. You’ve heard it all before on Behind The Music et al.

However the DVD does contain the absolutely amazing 5/2/1981 New York Palladium concert which has never been seen before. What’s so amazing about this show you ask? Well it just happens to be the first show Ozzy ever performed as a solo artist in the United States. He actually performed TWO shows that night at 8pm and 11:30pm. That’s right kids, bands used to do more than one show a night back in the day.

A film student by the name of George De Sota was in the front row with his Super 8 camera with sound and he filmed 10 reels of material. Unfortunately, Super 8 reels were only 3 minutes and twenty seconds long so none of these songs are complete and the film abruptly ends in the middle of many tracks. The picture and sound quality is not bad considering that the film is 30 years old.

Also on the DVD is the equally amazing After Hours show that was filmed in Rochester, New York on 05/08/1981. This show was performed for a couple of dozen people in a small room, but it was filmed with three cameras and has fantastic sound and video. Because of the multiple cameras there are close ups and different shots of all the players so you can really see everything. Check out a clip from the show:

It’s especially nice to have footage of Tommy Aldridge on the drums just bashing away. Tommy looks exactly the same now as he did then, and by that I mean he looks like a cadaver with an afro. One also notices just how tiny Randy really was – he might be all of 5’4” without shoes.

The Metal Blog of Metal notes that Rudy Sarzo has the most super amazing red leather pants and tank top along with knee high boots. Yes! Rudy is such a showman on the bass it’s ridiculous. He and Juan Croucier should get together and see who can win the award for most over the top bassmanship of all time.

Ozzy is in fine voice here and it’s good to be reminded that at one point Ozzy could actually sing and didn’t need somebody else behind the curtain “helping” him out – wink, wink. He’s also sporting bitchin’ white pants, white shoes, and a white fringed blue shirt that says Ozzy on it. White shoes are metal as hell, just ask Lemmy.

Finally the DVD has an MTV interview with Ozz from the same time period, as well as some news footage from Albuquerque and performances of “Mr. Crowley” and “Over The Mountain” which was filmed by the local television station.

So there you have it, Muthas, that’s the whole contents of the box set.

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THE BOTTOM LINE: Is it worth $149.99? I don’t really think so. At best this is worth $100. The essential element here is the DVD and that could be sold separately for $25. I would save your hard earned bucks and get the CD editions individually. They have everything you're ever gonna need, unless you are just dying to have an Ozzy replica cross, in which case I have one for sale for the low price of $139.99.

As always, MAKE MINE METAL.

Somewhere Back In Time

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman reissues

Epic/Legacy Records 2011

My fellow Bangers, take a trip with me now back to the mythic year of 2002. In that year Ozzy Osbourne released “remastered” and expanded editions of his back catalog. The Metal Blog of Metal strolled into the record shop and eagerly snapped up both Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman. Blizzard included the rare B-side “You Looking at Me, Looking at You” so it was a must purchase even though Blizzard and Diary were already in The Metal Blog of Metal’s extensive vaults.

Upon reaching home, Blizzard was quickly slapped into the CD player and horror ensued. “What the hell is up with the bass and drum tracks?” exclaimed I. Well, it turns out that the perfidious Sharon Osbourne had been at work behind the scenes and these two classic albums had been irrevocably destroyed.

A close reading of the liner notes revealed the following: “Original album produced and performed by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake and Don Airey" but a little further down in the liner notes it said, “Reissue Information – Performed by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Robert Trujillo, and Mike Bordin.” WHAT THE FUCK???!!!!! Those assclowns re-recorded the drum and bass parts to avoid having to pay royalties to Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake who at the time were suing Ozzy for unpaid royalties. Unimaginable! This is from the same crew that is always yammering on about the sacred memory of Randy Rhoads. They felt no guilt over destroying Randy’s art though - so much for his fucking memory.

To make matters worse, Sharon said at the time that these were the preferred versions of Blizzard and Diary and that the fans wanted to hear updated versions. She most likely said this as she was shoveling another forkful of fresh baby arms into her gaping maw in her lair down in the sixth ring of hell. Poor, bumbling Ozzy was, as usual, creaking about unable to control his harridan of a wife. The Metal Blog of Metal retained the 2002 version of Blizzard so as to have the bonus track, “You Looking at Me, Looking at You.” Even that was suspect as it was unclear whose bass and drum tracks were on it.

Well my friends, finally this injustice has been righted and Blizzard and Diary have been reissued by Epic Records with restored bass and drum tracks as well as remastered sound, bonus tracks, and in the case of Blizzard, an entire bonus disc of live material from the Randy Rhoads era. The remastering job is very nice with crystal clear sound. Daisley’s, Kerslake’s and Airey’s contributions can all be clearly heard.

Blizzard Of Ozz features three bonus tracks, the first of which is the aforementioned “You Looking At Me, Looking At You.” This was originally released as the B-side to the “Crazy Train” single in both the UK and France. It’s quite a good track and stands up to any of the other material from Blizzard Of Ozz. The next bonus track is ”Goodbye To Romance (2010 Guitar and Vocal Mix)” which is merely the guitars and vocals from “Goodbye To Romance” isolated. It’s actually quite an interesting track as it turns that song into a nice little ballad.

Finally the last track is entitled simply “RR” and is a Randy Rhoads guitar solo outtake that is very good. It’s really great to hear Randy just playing around on the guitar and is a great example of the man’s mastery of the instrument. The CD booklet also includes some new photos and full lyrics to everything but “You Looking At Me, Looking At You.” This is the definitive edition of this album that everyone has been waiting for.

Diary Of A Madman comes housed in a tri-fold digipak with a plastic slipcase marked Legacy Edition. Again the original bass and drum tracks have been restored along with the same great remastering as heard on Blizzard Of Ozz. There are no bonus tracks to the original album but rather an entire bonus disc entitled Ozzy Live that consists of tracks recorded on the Blizzard Of Ozz tour.

We do get the usual Blizzard Of Ozz tracks such as “I Don’t Know,” “Mr. Crowley,” and “Crazy Train” but we also get two Diary Of A Madman tracks in “Flying High Again” and “Believer.” Ending the set are three Black Sabbath tracks, “Iron Man,” “Children Of The Grave,” and “Paranoid.” All in all it’s a nice collection of live tunes presented as a single concert rather than individual tracks that fade out a la AC/DC LIVE. Finally, the booklet is lavishly illustrated with photos and has the lyrics to everything.

The only missed opportunity is the failure to include the track “You Said It All” from the Live E.P. that was issued in 1980. To the best of my knowledge there is no studio version of this song. The Metal Blog Of Metal has this track in its collection on a bootleg Ozzy rarities collection called Live, Rare & Evil.

There is also a Blizzard Of Ozz / Diary Of A Madman 30^th Anniversary Collector’s Edition that is a box set of both albums on CD as well as both albums on 180 gram vinyl, a DVD entitled Thirty Years After The Blizzard, a 100 page coffee table book, a poster, and a replica of Ozzy’s cross (yawn). The Metal Blog Of Metal will be reviewing this set in the future with full photographs of the contents and a breakdown of the DVD.

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The Bottom Line: Finally the definitive editions of these two cornerstones of heavy metal have received the treatment they deserve. Blizzard is really nice but Diary is essential because of the live album. Get both and enjoy a trip back in time to when Ozzy really was the Prince of Darkness.

As always, MAKE MINE METAL.