Happy November fellow Otaku & Metalheads!
It’s time for a little bit of self reflection once again everybody. Last year I began a tradition of taking a look at some of the albums from a year prior, and seeing if I still liked them as much as I did when I first sat down & listened to them. 2021 is no different, as I got some behemoths to look at from the plague-ridden year that was 2020. As awful as that year was, some of the best Heavy Metal of the beginning of this decade (Maybe even of this decade period by the end of it) came out. Today is the honorable mention review, and it’s one that I wish wasn’t one. The musician in question has been around for 50 years at this point, and he’s certainly made a legacy for himself. So, get a glass of wine, toast to all the good times you’ve had, and take a look at my review of Ozzy Osburne’s 12th studio album, Ordinary Man. Let’s begin.
Background
Taken from Wikipedia:
“Ordinary Man is Osbourne's first studio album as a solo artist in ten years following Scream (2010). It is also his first album overall since he reunited with Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler for their final album 13 (2013), with him as lead singer. After the release of 13, they went on a farewell tour titled The End Tour, which ended in Birmingham, England on 4 February 2017. After Black Sabbath concluded their farewell tour, Osbourne kept working on new material. In September 2019, he was featured alongside American rapper Travis Scott on American rapper Post Malone's "Take What You Want", from Malone's third studio album Hollywood's Bleeding, which went on to become Osbourne's first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 in over 30 years, thus making it the longest gap between top 10 appearances in the chart's history. On 8 November 2019, it was revealed that Osbourne had worked with Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith on the album. Speaking about the recording, he commented that the entire album process is done "in just a short time", adding "Duff and Chad came in and we would go in and jam during the day and I would go work out the songs in the evenings. I previously had said to Sharon I should be doing an album, but in the back of my mind I was going, 'I haven't got the fucking strength.' But Andrew pulled it out of me. I really hope people listen to it and enjoy it, because I put my heart and soul into this album."”
Ordinary Man would be met with mostly high praise upon it’s release. AllMusic critic Fred Thomas gave the record an almost positive review, writing “The production is huge but the energy is spontaneous, sounding like it was as fun to make as it is to listen to. 71 years old at the time Ordinary Man was released, Osbourne's voice is in great shape, sounding more or less like he always has. How he's making music this strong after riding the crazy train for more than half-a-century is anyone's guess, but the better songs here rank among his best.” Josh Gray of Clash magazine said that “Ordinary Man is far from perfect, but all Ozzy Osbourne's solo releases tend to reflect their creator's flaws to one degree or another. It does, however, absolutely succeed on its own terms, serving its purpose by reminding the world just what we'll miss when this titan among titans finally departs us for good.”
Ordinary Man would debut at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with 77,000 equivalent units, including 65,000 pure album sales. The release is Ozzy’s eighth top ten album on the chart as a solo artist, and would also debut at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.
Basic Description
Ozzmosis’s spiritual successor.
That might sound like a bad thing for some, given the reputation of that release. However, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Sure, Ozzmosis was a album composed entirely of ballads, but it also was perhaps Ozzy’s most self-reflective at the time. Ordinary Man is much the same way: an album devoted to looking at one’s past, sprinkled with little bits of fantasy to give the record a dream-like feel at times. Perhaps the biggest difference from Ozzmosis however, is that there’s more variety on here. You got fast-paced tracks, you got middle-of-the-road tracks, and you’ve got some slower-paced songs also. This variety in song speeds gives Ordinary Man more of a unique personality than it’s 1995 counterpart, and because of that endears me to the album.
Best Track
The title track is definitely the juggernaut of the album. Looking into his past once again, Ozzy really pours his heart out, and offers another introspective look into his life. The piano that plays throughout a giant portion of the track adds a big melancholy vibe, and the instrumentation reflects this as well. Even Elton John, despite being a guest singer for just a portion of the song (He’s also the guy playing the piano), adds some of his own self-reflection to the tune. It’s hard not to feel the age of these two musical legends, as they’ve certainly gone through some pretty big trials & tribulations throughout their exceptionally long lives. Again, the juggernaut of the album.
Ordinary Man
However, I do want to briefly talk about his collab with Post Malone. It’s A Raid is the exact opposite of the album’s title track: fast, energetic, and is a hell of a lot of fun. Post in particular provides a youthful energy with his voice, and on the surface you’d think his presence wouldn’t work, but somehow it does. Ozzy’s gruff voice, combined with Posty’s surprisingly clean vocal delivery, makes for an entertaining Yin/Yang kind of feel. This is a track you shouldn’t skip.....period.
It’s A Raid
Worst Track
There isn’t a bad song on Ordinary Man per se, but it’s more of a collection of things that hurt what otherwise could have been something incredible. For starters, there’s Ozzy’s voice. To play a little bit of devil’s advocate, he was having some health issues at the time (He found out about his Parkinson’s during the recording or after the album came out. I can’t remember.), and as such it would be understandable if his singing wasn’t up to snuff. Still, there’s a lot of auto-tune on this album, and it shows up in odd places across the entire record. The second, and perhaps the most shocking, is that there are a horde of people on Ordinary Man. Despite being a solo record, there are 54 additional musicians brought on to help, some of which are pretty damn notable. Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slash from Guns & Roses, Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, and Post Malone (Perhaps the most important guest musician weirdly enough) on vocals for two songs and composition. Those are just some of the big names that came onto this record. Finally, and to bounce off of the big amount of additional musicians, there were 26 additional people that worked on the engineering, mixing, production, and recording. That’s a lot of people to work on a record, and you can sometimes gets some hiccups because of said amount of individuals. There’s a few more issues, but these 3 are the ones that are the most notable to me.
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:
Ordinary Man
Overall Impression & Rating
Ordinary Man is certainly Ozzy. There’s absolutely no question about it. From beginning to end, you’re treated to a kind of rollercoaster that only the Blizzard of Ozz could provide, and it’s a hell of a ride. However, it’s got some dents in it’s armor, and it obvious that Ozzy sort of needed the help on this record. Still, there’s definitely some material on here that’s absolutely fantastic, and many of the tracks are absolute bangers. I can understand why some people might not like this release, but if you put that dislike aside, you can definitely find something great.....with being ordinary.
Ordinary Man is a 6 to 6.5 out of 10, but I enjoyed it as if it was an 8 out of 10.
And that was Ordinary Man. Certainly not a dumpster fire like some of the negative critics have said it was (Go over to Metal Archives, and you’ll see what I mean), but it definitely isn’t top tear either. Still, for whatever reason I dig the hell out of this album whenever I play it, as there’s definitely something badass here. Still, Ozzy could have done better, but at the same time this definitely isn’t an awful way to end a career on if it’s the case. Well, before we take a look at one of my number 1 albums of last year (I had 3 no. 1 albums in 2020 if you recall), it’s time for a 10 top list that I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. See you next week!
***
If you're curious about what honorable mention I looked at last year, then click on the link below:
Album Review: A Pale Horse Named Death's When The World Becomes Undone
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