Born in 1948 as John Michael Osbourne (perhaps his parents were 'Peter Pan' fans?), Ozzy became famous in the 70s as the vocalist of heavy metal forerunners, Black Sabbath - and renowed for living the ideal rock n roll lifestyle of sex, drugs and heavy metal. In more recent years he has become a reality tv star famous for his litany of curse words; shambling, mumbled speech and rebellious teenagers. Of course, the whole family have amtured somewhat now, and probably about half of what we saw on screen was pure Hollywood. I never watched the show - finding it almost an embarrassment, but my brother has read Ozzy's biography and reports him as being an intelligent fellow.
His solo career took a less heavy flavour than Sabbath, more melodic and radio-friendly hard rock. He released a number of solo albums and I own several of them.
In High School (in the early 90s) we had to do a project on a famous person and I chose Ozzy. This was a lot harder in those days - before the tv show, the biography or even the internet, and my research consisted of old fashioned media such as books, my copious collection of metal magazines and a couple of video interviews. At that stage Ozzy was more famous of bring the somewhat creepy guy who bit the head off a pigeon in a meeting with his recording studio. He also bit the head off a bat in another incident - but he thought it was fake (someone threw it on stage, the sick b**tard). He had to get a rabies jab for that one! It was an effort to find the names of his children, let alone any information abotu them (unlike now, when one only has to pick up the weekly mags).
I saw Ozzy live in Wellington a few years ago. It was pretty exciting, but Ozzy seemed to consider himself a little too "high and mighty" compared to early acts in the evening, like Poison and lacked the stage presence. Also, he kept shouting "I can't hear you" to the crowd - which admittedly was not as big as the promoters would have liked, but possibly it was because he is going deaf - the curse of all musicians that do not take proper precautions when being around very loud music. And the bane of music fans that attend too many live concerts too! (That's why I limit myself to a couple a year).
Anyhow, on to this album. The cover is a monochromatic affair, featuring the silhouette of a naked man, with teeth and eyes superimposed across his body. Inside the cover folds out, revealing the lyrics on one side, and various moody photos of Ozzy and assorted oddments on the other.
The album begins with a track about detective "Perry Mason". It starts with a melancholic orchaestral arrangement (sounds like strings, but could be a keyboard) before cracking into this well-paced rock song. Ozzy has a very powerful voice - soaring and melodic, but with a razor edge to it.
Again the melancholic orcheastral arrangements, slower this time, as we move into the moody "I Just Want You". It has a powerful feel, but the lyrics seem a little lacklustre:
"...I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, I used to go to bed so high and wired..."Still, it is not like Ozzy is a young man anymore and this album perhaps reflects a more mature, subdued attitude.
Delicate guitar ushers us into the power ballad "Ghost Behind My Eyes". The music is very polished and quite atmopsheric, but it is quite a lightweight song, very radio friendly. One cannot help but feel that Ozzy was going through something of a nostalgic, wistful time when he wrote this one.
The base thrumms us into the industrial sounding* "Thunder Underground", the music as apt as the name, for it almost resembles a great train booming along the tracks.
Another mellow number, "See You On The Other Side" is another melodic song loaded with melancholy and a little longing.
A slightly eerie opening welcomes us into the echoing first verse of "Tomorrow". A slightly heavier track but still somewhat edged with darkness and longing.
This feeling continues onwards too, in "Denial". There is a slight urgency to the vocals, the music a somewhat uneasy churning rhythm. One cannot help but feel the words they're hearing.
I have always suspected "My Little Man" is about Ozzy's son Jack - who would have been about ten when this album was released. Somewhat repetitive lyrics, and a little sickeningly sentimental.
"My Jeckyll Doesn't Hide" picks up the pass a little, with the vocals moving more into urgency and getting closer to the Ozzy we know and love.
Another ballad - this time with piano, is "Old LA Tonight". It's a lovely power ballad, but seems decidedly un-Ozzy.
In conclusion, this is quite a gloomy album. Most of the songs are slow, melancholic and steeped in a sort of wistful longing, tinged with nostalgia, as though Ozzy were being brought, rather reluctantly, to face reality and grow up. The song arrangements are nicely done, and quite emotional, but it lacks the energy and passion of earlier albums. All in all, it feels a bit lacklustre. Also, I am in a bit of a gloomy mood at any case, and I think it is feeding that glumness. I should really be listening to something a bit more upbeat.
Even though I really do like the tunes, I'm going to give it 6.5/10.
* No, it's not the genre known as "industrial" - just industrial sounding - like a train. Okay? And not a train tooting, but a train chugging.
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