Metal Overview: Ozzy Osbourne (Part 2)

Welcome back to the Blizzard of Ozz fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Where we last left things, I looked at Ozzy’s career in the 1980s. The period of time where he built his solo career, and used it to launch himself into the stratosphere. Now, we’re in the 1990s, and as I hinted at the end of part 1, it’s going to be the shortest part of this look at his career. In fact, he only managed to get out 2 albums in the 90s. 2 releases that definitely divided fans back then, and even now there’s still some division. So, without further delay, here’s part 2 of my look at Ozzy Osbourne. Let’s begin!

No More Tears (1991)

Have a successful career in the 1980s, the dawn of the 90s seemed like a new horizon for the Blizzard Of Ozz, and No More Tears was a sign of this potential. Released on the 17th of September, 1991, NMT marks the first time that Ozzy brought in outside composers to help pen his solo material, rather than rely on immediate writers. In the case of this album, new guitarist Zakk Wylde provided some songwriting, as did the legend himself in the form Of Lemmy Kilmister! He wrote the lyrics for six songs, but only 4 were ultimately used. Although Mike Inez would appear in the videos and promotional tours for No More Tears, long-time collaborator Bob Daisley played bass instead. Inez is credited as a writer for the title track, and although he does not perform on the actual recording, the intro bass riff was composed by him.   

However, this would also begin a period of personal struggle for Ozzy. By 1993, a live album called Live & Loud on June the 28th of that year, and it was originally supposed to be his final record. What irony then, as it would go platinum 4 times over, and got to number 10 on that year’s Billboard rock charts. At that point, Ozzy expressed his fatigue with touring (Drugs probably didn’t help matters), and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was short-lived btw). It was called "No More Tours", which was a pun on his last album from 2 years prior. This whole retirement thing would crop up again, but I’ll get to that a little bit later.

No More Tears would be received pretty positively upon it’s release, and is considered by many to be one of Ozzy’s best albums. Loudwire ranked NMT no. 22 on their "Top 90 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the '90s" list. Ultimate Classic Rock included No More Tears on their "Top 100 '90s Rock Albums"list, and they also considered it to be Osbourne's third best album (Only behind his first two albums), also considered it to be Osbourne's third best album period. It would reach no. 10 on the Billboard 200, and it would eventually go 4 times Platinum.

Best Track? Hellraiser! Ozzy & Lemmy’s collab is flat-out awesome, though there is one caveat. Lemmy would sing this song on March or Die a year later, and for whatever reason I don’t think it’s as good (Ironic, since I said it was one of the best songs on that mostly awful album). Ozzy’s version is better, and I think that has to do with Osbourne’s vocal work. The instrumentation between both versions I believe is the exact same, but Ozzy’s vocal work for whatever reason somehow works better. It’s kind of hard to describe, so take a listen below to see what I mean. 

Hellraiser

Worst Track? There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the songs per se, but No More Tears’s only fault among some listeners is that it comes across as similar to that of No Rest For The Wicked. Not completely, as Ozzy & the gang do try enough different things to separate this release from that one, but there’s enough NRFTW vibes on this album to make someone believe that the songs on here may have been extras left off of No Rest For The Wicked. I don’t have an issue with that since I liked NRFTW, and I like No More Tears too.

No More Tears. It might be a little similar to No Rest For The Wicked, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s more than enough new things here that made it different enough, and enough of a different feel. If you were a fan of that NRFTW, then you might enjoy this one. Next album!

Ozzmosis (1995)

Ozzmosis. If there was ever an album from the Blizzard of Ozz that certainly divided fans to an extent, it is this one. Released on October the 23rd, 1995, the album came during interesting times. After the release of No More Tears & the subsequent touring, Ozzy had checked into rehab on account of the drugs maybe taking too much of a hold on his life at that point. Coupled with the failed retirement still somewhat fresh in his brain come close to 1995, Osbourne was definitely feeling the strain of his career & life in general. Come 1995 itself, and things began to turn around. For starters, his entire back catalogue was re-released, and once Ozzmosis itself came out, him & the gang would go on what would be dubbed "The Retirement Sucks Tour".

Ozzmosis would go on to achieve a nice amount of commercial success. It would reach number 22 on the UK Albums Chart, five spots lower than No More Tears, and three spots lower than the album that would come after it. It achieved it’s greatest success in the United States, reaching no. 4 on the Billboard 200, which would be Ozzy’s highest charting album at time. Ozzmosis also reached the top ten in Finland and Sweden, top 30 in Germany, New Zealand and Norway, top 40 in Switzerland, and the top 50 in Australia. By the end of 95, the album would be certified Platinum, and Double Platinum by April of 1999. According to Billboard magazine, Ozzmosis sold in excess of 3 million copies in total, and as of the 2010 release of Scream, it’s the latest Ozzy album to be certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.

However, the view of Ozzmosis from the opinion of critics would be more mixed. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic criticized it, with a focus on what he said was it’s lack of evolution from Ozzy’s previous 2 releases. Despite praising guitarist Zakk Wylde, Erlewine condemned the "modern-rock conscious" production style of producer Michael Beinhorn, which he claimed was the cause of Ozzmosis's main problem – that "on the surface, the music is hard and loud, but it actually sounds smooth and processed." Entertainment Weekly critic Chuck Eddy claimed that because of the length of the tracks on the album, it "feels like a parody of the most overinflated opera".

Best Track? I Just Want You just hits hard! There’s another song I’ll talk about in a moment, but like that song, Ozzy is pouring his heart out. I can only guess that he’s singing about Sharon in this song, as the lyric “I Just Want You” was probably written for her. Outside of that, Ozzy’s singing comes across like someone who’s heart is bleeding, and is calling out for the one he loves to come to him. The instrumentation is hazy like fog in your mind, but it’s powerful as well, and adds to gothic-like atmosphere that I Just Want You makes. Certainly an interesting song at the very least!

I Just Want You

Another great track would be the ode to his son, in the form of My Little Man. It starts out a little hokey, but that all goes away when Ozzy starts singing. It’s very obvious that he loves his son Jack quite a bit, as he’s pouring his heart out. He sings how much he loves him, how much he’ll protect him from the horrors of the world, and how life can sometimes be hard. All of this    is accompanied by instrumentation that sounds like something out of a dream, and captivates the listener in some way. If any of you are a parent, then I suspect that this might be your favorite song off of Ozzmosis!

My Little Man

Outside of the previously mentioned songs, another positive of Ozzmosis would be the incredible amount of emotion in each & every track. To me, this is Ozzy’s equivalent of Still Not Black Enough: it’s Ozzy at his most open, and it’s Ozzy at his most vulnerable. The Prince of Darkness is laying out everything he was feeling on the table, and letting the listener see all of it. Not only that, but there’s this mind fantasy vibe across the entire album, and it’s almost like if Ozzy is adding something fantastical to the reality he’s presenting. It’s all still real, but there’s something in the background that adds BTW, it’s funny that I mention Still Not Black Enough, as Ozzmosis was coincidentally released 18 days after W.A.S.P. put out the previously mentioned record.

Worst Track? Ozzmosis’s only major flaw is that the entire record is made of nothing but ballads. Now, I got nothing wrong with Ozzy doing a ballad or two on an album (Maybe even 3), but to have a release be completely composed of ballads would mean that Osbourne & the band would have to bring their A-Game.....and they don’t. Ozzy’s voice for the most part sounds fantastic, but there is a song or two where they for whatever reason change up how it sounds, and it’s kind of annoying. The instrumentation also sounds great for a majority of the album, but every once in a while it either sounds like they’re just trying to follow what’s popular, or there’s something about the production that ever so slightly screws things up.

Ozzmosis. Not the hideous abomination like many critics & reviewers says, but the flaws are obvious enough that they can potentially drown out what is genuinely good about this release. If you are looking for Ozzy Osbourne at his most personal & emotional, you mind want to take a listen to what’s on here. You might not regret it!

And that was my 2nd look at Ozzy Osbourne’s career. Given that I looked at just 2 albums here, I can understand why it feels like there wasn’t much to digest with this, and given the reputation these records have, I can understand why some of you would simply ignore this. However, there’s some genuinely great material underneath the issues. Now, we leave the 1990s, and head into the new millennium. Does Ozzy get back onto his feet? Only time will tell, but beforehand, I got a spooky anime to review. See you soon!

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If you’re curious about listening to these albums, then click on the links below:

No More Tears

Ozzmosis

Also, if you didn’t catch my first look at Ozzy, then click on the link below:

Metal Overview: Ozzy Osbourne (Part 1)