What is your favorite Ozzy Osbourne studio album?

[Shamrocker]

When I first got into playing electric guitar, one of the solos that I wasted to learn is the out from Bark at the Moon.

I thought Jake was excellent.

You dig Jake?How about Badlands?Fuckin' killer band imo!

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

You dig Jake?How about Badlands?Fuckin' killer band imo!

I wasn't a fan of the material but definitely his playing.
I'm really picky when it comes to metal. There are deal breakers... overactive drummers, annoying lead singers, guitarists with canned or just lousy chops - metal leads are supposed to be a display of skill and musicality.
Terrible lyrics are common. For as much as I love metal, there are a lot of bands I don't like, I'm more a fan of the instrumentalists.

But then again, "95% of everything is crap."

 

[Blackjack]

Don't know shit about no Gus G.

Truth be told, Ozzy was never a very good lead singer, live recordings verify. He drops lyrics, has a hard time with his limited range. And good God, if he was drunk, and he often was, it was a real struggle.

His major saving grace is that he hired great guitar players.

He also is a limited songwriter. Ozzy didn't write the lyrics or the riffs in Sabbath - Butler did the lyrics and Iommi wrote the riffs. With Randy Rhoads he had a musical genius who wrote lots of tremendous songs and as good as Blizzard was, Diary was another step forward. Nothing touches the title track of Diary for combining classical with heavy metal at that time period. Later, Yngwie took it further on his Rising Force album and obviously raised the bar for technique by a tremendous margin despite Randy having good technique.

I don't think Diary had any weak songs whereas Blizzard had "No Bone Movies." Diary side one is unrivaled: Over The mountain, Flying High Again, You Can't Kill Rock 'n Roll, and Believer. That is just stunning.

 

[Shamrocker]

I wasn't a fan of the material but definitely his playing.
I'm really picky when it comes to metal. There are deal breakers... overactive drummers, annoying lead singers, guitarists with canned or just lousy chops - metal leads are supposed to be a display of skill and musicality.
Terrible lyrics are common. For as much as I love metal, there are a lot of bands I don't like, I'm more a fan of the instrumentalists.

But then again, "95% of everything is crap."

Well well well I think we've a "metal snob" here if there is such a thing.
Nah m8 I understand your point.Back in the day when I was just getting into playing I knew lads that wouldn't listen to certain metal because they believed the musicians chops weren't up to snuff.Queensryche was ok but Anthrax wasn't type of shit.To each their own,it's all just music in the end.

 

[Blackjack]

Well well well I think we've a "metal snob" here if there is such a thing.
Nah m8 I understand your point.Back in the day when I was just getting into playing I knew lads that wouldn't listen to certain metal because they believed the musicians chops weren't up to snuff.Queensryche was ok but Anthrax wasn't type of shit.To each their own,it's all just music in the end.

Queensryche wrote some beautiful heavy metal music with one of the to vocalists in all of metal. Some of this is opinion but even music can still be judged by objective standards. Anything that exists in reality can be. Tate had tremendous range (Anthrax vocalists fall short here), tremendous vibrato and pitch control (again these are qualities which can be objectively evaluated), melodicism ( not even a contest between Tate and any Anthrax vocalist), and dynamics which went from a whisper to a full out scream (again, Anthrax vocalists lack the dynamic range of Tate as well). Tate wasn't even confined to metal as he proved on his renditions of "Silent Lucidity" and "Scarborough Fair."I don't look at it as snobbery; it's about having high standards and fapreciating a band that meets or exceeds those standards.

I bought some Anthrax records and when I was a teenager or in my early 20s I found them entertaining to a point but I never was blown away by anything they did nor would I have called it "great art." It was music to release energy to while listening to it but it certainly didn't cover the range or the depth of emotions Queensryche in their prime did.

 

[Philo-Publius]

He also is a limited songwriter. Ozzy didn't write the lyrics or the riffs in Sabbath - Butler did the lyrics and Iommi wrote the riffs. With Randy Rhoads he had a musical genius who wrote lots of tremendous songs and as good as Blizzard was, Diary was another step forward. Nothing touches the title track of Diary for combining classical with heavy metal at that time period. Later, Yngwie took it further on his Rising Force album and obviously raised the bar for technique by a tremendous margin despite Randy having good technique.

I don't think Diary had any weak songs whereas Blizzard had "No Bone Movies." Diary side one is unrivaled: Over The mountain, Flying High Again, You Can't Kill Rock 'n Roll, and Believer. That is just stunning.

Ozzy was definitely blessed to be surrounded by great song-writers for his entire career, and he feuded with some that he didn't credit on the albums. One thing he definitely had going for him though was that, in a genre where there are lots of imitators, no one was able to imitate Ozzy.

Also, Blizzard of Oz > Diary of a Madman.

 

[Blackjack]

Ozzy was definitely blessed to be surrounded by great song-writers for his entire career, and he feuded with some that he didn't credit on the albums. One thing he definitely had going for him though was that, in a genre where there are lots of imitators, no one was able to imitate Ozzy.

Also, Blizzard of Oz > Diary of a Madman.

What specifically do you ike better about Billiard compared to Diary? I chose Diary as his best solo album because the first side of that record has 4 great songs that in general I think are better than even the best songs on Blizzard except for maybe "Mr. Crowley" and "I Don't Know." I think "Over The Mountain" is the most intense, high energy song of any on either of those two albums because of the speed, intensity and great riffs and cool vocal melody. For emotional intensity and excellent playing all around, the title track of Diary is what I consider the best of Ozzy's solo career. "You Can't Kill Rock 'n Roll is a beautiful, yet still heavy song with great lyrics and guitar playing. Maybe the best lyrics of Ozzy's solo career are in "Believer" which also has some monster riffs and is just awesome. "Flying High Again" is the Ozzy solo song that makes me feel the happiest of any of his songs and it has a great guitar solo too! I believe it's better than any of his other solo albums and I'd rank Blizzard second on that list.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

Queensryche wrote some beautiful heavy metal music with one of the to vocalists in all of metal. Some of this is opinion but even music can still be judged by objective standards. Anything that exists in reality can be. Tate had tremendous range (Anthrax vocalists fall short here), tremendous vibrato and pitch control (again these are qualities which can be objectively evaluated), melodicism ( not even a contest between Tate and any Anthrax vocalist), and dynamics which went from a whisper to a full out scream (again, Anthrax vocalists lack the dynamic range of Tate as well). Tate wasn't even confined to metal as he proved on his renditions of "Silent Lucidity" and "Scarborough Fair."I don't look at it as snobbery; it's about having high standards and fapreciating a band that meets or exceeds those standards.

I bought some Anthrax records and when I was a teenager or in my early 20s I found them entertaining to a point but I never was blown away by anything they did nor would I have called it "great art." It was music to release energy to while listening to it but it certainly didn't cover the range or the depth of emotions Queensryche in their prime did.

Yes Tate was one of those vocalists that although I didn't care for his voice, I thought he had a great set of pipes.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

To add to the Blizz versus Diary discussion...
Blizzard has a special place in my heart:
Despite not agreeing with my interest in heavy metal, because my ma was super Christian, on Christmas morning the year it came out Blizzard was sitting under the Christmas tree.
I always play it on Christmas day every year.

I felt like Diary was a step up though, it had more compelling music in my opinion and better production.
And I spent hours looking at the album cover, trying to see the rumored hidden but visible demons drawn into the shadows, that don't exist.

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

What specifically do you ike better about Billiard compared to Diary? I chose Diary as his best solo album because the first side of that record has 4 great songs that in general I think are better than even the best songs on Blizzard except for maybe "Mr. Crowley" and "I Don't Know." I think "Over The Mountain" is the most intense, high energy song of any on either of those two albums because of the speed, intensity and great riffs and cool vocal melody. For emotional intensity and excellent playing all around, the title track of Diary is what I consider the best of Ozzy's solo career. "You Can't Kill Rock 'n Roll is a beautiful, yet still heavy song with great lyrics and guitar playing. Maybe the best lyrics of Ozzy's solo career are in "Believer" which also has some monster riffs and is just awesome. "Flying High Again" is the Ozzy solo song that makes me feel the happiest of any of his songs and it has a great guitar solo too! I believe it's better than any of his other solo albums and I'd rank Blizzard second on that list.

My personal favorite song from the Randy era is SATO.
That track and the solos just have this great tension like a storm breaking

 

[Granite Wall]

Blizzard of Oz.

 

[Philo-Publius]

What specifically do you ike better about Billiard compared to Diary? I chose Diary as his best solo album because the first side of that record has 4 great songs that in general I think are better than even the best songs on Blizzard except for maybe "Mr. Crowley" and "I Don't Know." I think "Over The Mountain" is the most intense, high energy song of any on either of those two albums because of the speed, intensity and great riffs and cool vocal melody. For emotional intensity and excellent playing all around, the title track of Diary is what I consider the best of Ozzy's solo career. "You Can't Kill Rock 'n Roll is a beautiful, yet still heavy song with great lyrics and guitar playing. Maybe the best lyrics of Ozzy's solo career are in "Believer" which also has some monster riffs and is just awesome. "Flying High Again" is the Ozzy solo song that makes me feel the happiest of any of his songs and it has a great guitar solo too! I believe it's better than any of his other solo albums and I'd rank Blizzard second on that list.

It all comes down to personal preference obviously, but I personally weight the tracks on each album this way:

Blizzard:
Great tracks-

• I Don't Know
• Crazy Train (probably one of his best top 5 songs ever)
• Suicide Solution
• Mr. Crowley
• No Bone Movies

Good tracks-

• Steal Away (The Night)
• Revelation (Mother Earth)

Okay tracks-

• Goodbye to Romance
• Dee

Diary:
Great tracks-

• Flying High Again
• Believer

Good tracks -

• You Can't Kill Rock and Roll
• Over the Mountain
• S.A.T.O.
• Diary of a Madman

Okay tracks -

• Little Dolls
• Tonight