Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute

On March 19, 1982 a guitar ledgend died when a small plane slammed into the side of a house. Not only did the world lose Randy Rhoads' amazing gift for the guitar, but Ozzy Osbourne lost one of his best friends.

Randy Rhoads was only able to play on two studio albums with Ozzy, Blizzard Of Oz and Diary Of A Madman, before his very untimely death. So, how does one pay homage to their friend and musical partner? They release a live album featuring the guitar god doing what he does best. But don't worry, this album has much more than just live tracks from two albums. You'll have to excuse my lack of talking about the lyrics on this one. This album is about Randy, and this review will reflect that. The album opens with I Don't Know.

From there it's on to Rhoads' most famous riff. The opening of Crazy Train is one of those guitar riffs that everyone knows. Hell, they have made commercials featuring children performing this one in a car, without any instruments. This is the song that made Ozzy a successful solo artist, and made Randy a household name.

After that comes Believer. I will admit that I have never owned a copy of Diary Of a Madman, so I don't know this song that well, except for on this album. I'm personally good with that, since this track is fantastic on here. In fact the sound quality of this entire album is pretty impressive. If I hadn't known better, I would have almost sworn that these songs were live studio tracks. The best part about this song is the way Randy let's it breathe. Sure he plays a blistering fast solo, but for the most part he just let's the song take it's own shape.

Mr. Crowley is one of those songs that is fantastic, and can never be overlooked. However, it can be overplayed, and thus loses it's magical effect. But none of that matters when you hit the two minute marker and all of a sudden this solo just starts to fly out of the speakers like some type of night bird soaring to infinite freedom. Then around the 3:18 point, he does the exact opposite with his solo at first. Letting it go low and almost dig itself into the ground slowly. That doesn't last long though, because he opens it right back up again and keeps his fingers dancing across the fretboard until the song ends.

Until I picked up this album I had always thought Flying High Again was post Randy. That was corrected by the time I was fourteen, and too much damage could be done. My dad was a Sabbath fan, not so much an Ozzy fan, so I didn't learn much about the solo stuff until I ventured into music on my own. However, the reason I didn't know this was a Randy song at first was due to this tune being pretty basic for him.

I'm not a fan of Revelation (Mother Earth). I'm not sure why, and I don't have a good explanation as to why. However, the classical guitar work that Randy pulls out here takes me to places that only Chris De Burgh has ever been able to transport me to. Those small little village cafes in Europe, where the world of music is just different, and magical. To me the best part of this song is the last minute or so, when Randy starts letting his fingers run on the guitar.

Steal Away (The Night) (With Drum Solo) is fast furious and exciting. Rhoads works the guitar as perfectly as he does on the studio version, but there's more of an energy and vibe to this live track. On Blizzard Of Oz I normally skip this track, because it's not a favourite of mine, however on this live disc it's another story. I enjoy this version so much better, although the drum solo isn't anything spectacular, and I find it surprising that it was included in an album that's a tribute to a fallen guitarist. Personally I would have left the solo off, and included a version of Over The Mountain if possible.

After that it's on to Ozzy's most contreversial song, Suicide Solution. I'm a fan, but I like the studio version better, except for the wicked Guitar Solo towards the end of the song. This time when I say solo, I mean a classic he's out there by himself solo. This is some classic guitar wanking and yanking. However, I prefer his normal solos, they have more feeling to them. This one is just flashy showboat stuff.

Next it's on to a short version of Iron Man. I hate the fact that the song ends before it gets to the good parts. However, instead it quickly moves into a high speed version of Children Of The Grave. This is my favourite Black Sabbath song, and it's the only song I ever took the time to learn on guitar (minus solo). This is a great version, and I love Randy's take on it, but it's not the song that I love. Then it's on to Paranoid, and it sounds like it always does. Sure it has Rhoads' flair and pizzaz, but it's still just Paranoid.

After that it's on to two more songs I was never a fan of, Goodbye To Romance and No Bone Movies. I do prefer the latter one, out of the two, but for the most part they are both pretty stock.

The album ends with the studio out takes for Randy's classical piece Dee. As a fan, this is great, and the perfect way to end the album. As a casual listener, it's still enjoyable, but it's nothing to write about.

Over all I really like this album, but I wish there would have been more from Diary Of A Madman. I'm not sure if I would suggest this album to your basic listener, but I would suggest it to anyone that's a fan of Ozzy Osbourne and loves great guitar work.

8/10 - content 7/10 - production 7/10 - personal bias