GOD BLESS OZZY OSBOURNE - DOCUMENTARY REVIEW

I finally caught the Ozzy Osbourne documentary, God Bless Ozzy Osbourne. I imagine some people would be skeptical about how deep this doc would go, given that it is "presented" by Jack Osbourne, who is one of the producers (and Sharon Osbourne is the executive producer).

I think they did a good job: this isn't a fluff piece or a marketing tool.  Jack, his siblings and his half siblings have lots of justified issues with their rock star dad, and they all vent quite a bit (even Aimee, who famously declined to have any involvement with The Osbournes show on MTV).  While the film makes no bones about his incredible musical impact, it also doesn't flinch from his tragic flaws, and there are many. It was difficult to watch Sharon discuss some of their more violent moments (and there are pictures of her with the bruises to prove it).  It was heartbreaking to watch Jack and Ozzy (separately) discuss an argument that became a turning point for Ozzy.  Ozzy yelled at Jack, saying he's given him everything he ever asked for, and Jack countered with the point that he wanted a father. There are stories from the other children detailing the forgotten birthdays (in one scene, Ozzy struggles to remember what year his first child was born in), the drug and alcohol abuses and more. The story seems to end well: according to the narrative, Ozzy has been clean and sober for five years at the time of the filming. I really hope that that is true.  I can say that when I saw Ozzy in concert a year ago, he seemed to be in great shape and he sounded better than he had the last time I'd seen him, nearly a decade earlier.  As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I'd love to see him when he tours with Black Sabbath in 2012.

I thought that a more well-rounded story would have included more of Sharon's involvement.  I realize that the story is about Ozzy, but like her or not, he most likely would not have had a solo career without her.  Her love, determination and toughness probably has as much to do with his post-Sabbath success as anything he's done.   Even the part where Ozzy talks about Ozzfest (which Sharon started when Lollapalooza wouldn't book Ozzy) is just a bonus feature. On the other hand, The Osbournes seems to be referred to as something that happened to the family, not something executive produced by Sharon. If the show gave a negative impression of Ozzy, or exploited his illnesses or weaknesses for laughs... well, there's no acknowledgement that maybe they shouldn't have been doing it.

The doc spends a bit of time on the story of Sabbath and on Ozzy's first guitarist, the late Randy Rhoads. Henry Rollins, Metallica's Robert Trujilio (Ozzy's former bassist) and even Sir Paul McCartney weigh in on Sabbath and Ozzy's impact.   Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Tony Iommi are all interviewed.  I think that a lot of the footage here could be re-used for a full-on Black Sabbath documentary, which could tell their story and show their impact.  Sort of like a combination of The Beatles Anthology and Rush Beyond The Lighted Stage. I realize that there are legal and emotional issues there, but what a great story that would be.

OZZY OSBOURNE "BLIZZARD OF OZZ" AND "DIARY OF A MADMAN" REISSUES

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about how Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums - 1980's Blizzard Of Ozz and 1981's Diary Of A Madman (both classics) - were going to be reissued.

Both were recorded with the late, great Randy Rhoads on guitar, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake. Daisley and Kerslake were beefin' with Ozzy over royalties in the '90s, and Sharon Osbourne smacked them down by reissuing the albums with new bass and drum tracks recorded by the guys who were in Ozzy's band at that time (Robert Trujilio and Mike Bordin). Sharon doesn't play around! She is definitely not someone you want to mess with. On the other hand, I hated that she did that, she was messing with two seriously classic albums, that should be more important than personal beefs.

Whatever.  The two albums are now back out in their original form, with remastered sound (which was definitely needed, I still have the original CD releases, which don't sound great). The albums are total classics.

Blizzard  features a few bonus tracks, including a song I hadn't heard before, "You Looking At Me, Me Looking At You."  It's fine. But the real deal is you're hearing these incredible songs by the guys who played them with incredible sound. Period.  Diary is a bit more bonus-riffic.   It's two discs: the first disc is the original album, the second disc is a concert from the tour (the band featured Ozzy, Randy, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Tommy Adlridge on drums) which features songs from both albums and a few Black Sabbath classics. Both of these albums, in this form, are essential to hard rock, heavy metal and classic rock fans.  They also make a great argument for Randy Rhoads being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman.

RANDY RHOADS - THE ARGUMENT

Inspired by the news that Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums are going to finally be reissued in remastered, and original form, I've been thinking about Randy Rhoads. (Here's my post on those albums.) A friend of mine (Noa from the blog Metal Injection) asked me why Randy isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I think he should be.

But, he can't be voted in as a regular artist, as he never released a record under his own name. They used to have a "sideman" category, which they replaced this year, with the Award for Recording Excellence, which went to the very deserving Leon Russell. I think Randy Rhoads should get it next year.

Whatever you think of heavy metal, the guy was one of the most influential guitarists of the '80s, along with Eddie Van Halen. Did he inspire a lot of pointy guitar fretboard tapping speed demon guitarists who forgot about the song in the quest for flash? Sure. But he also played on two of the greatest metal albums ever, 1980's Blizzard of Ozz and 1981's Diary of a Madman. I actually think that Ozzy deserves to be inducted for his solo career based on those albums - but I don't mind if that doesn't happen, Oz is already a Hall of Famer as a member of Black Sabbath.  I just think Randy deserves his due for his incredible playing on these albums, and the influence he's had.

GOOD NEWS FOR OZZY FANS

Most Ozzy Osbourne fans know that Oz is getting ready to release a new album, Scream, next month. It features a brand new band: the guitarist's name is Gus G. and the new drummer is Tommy Clufetos (formerly of Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper's bands) and returning on bass is another former Rob Zombie guy, Blasko. Ozzy says that long time guitarist Zakk Wylde was making the record sound more like his band, Black Label Society, and drummer Mike Bordin is of course touring with the reunited Faith No More. Ozzy is also headlining an eight date Ozzfest, which will also feature Motley Crue and Rob Halford.

But for the old school fans, here's a really exciting bit of info. Ozzy is releasing 30th anniversary editions of his first two solo albums, Blizzard Of Oz and Diary Of A Madman. Why is that exciting?  Well, a couple of years back, Ozzy and Sharon were in a legal battle with the rhythm section from those albums, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake. Sharon is a formidable enemy, and in response, she had Ozzy's then-current rhythm section, Mike Bordin and bassist Robert Trujilio, re-record the bass and drum tracks, and re-issued the albums like that. I didn't dig that, and neither did lots of other fans. I don't know what the lawsuit was about, and I don't care, don't mess with history like that. Anyway, now they're reissuing the remastered albums (the only albums featuring the legendary Randy Rhoads, who should get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a sideman) with the original rhythm tracks.