And then... it wasn’t. And while for the most part a return of Ozzy Osbourne not only to recording new music but also to touring was celebrated by fans everywhere, there was also a feeling in the pit of the stomach that the con had been on. Some felt it had all been a money spinning idea for the Osbourne clan, before springing up and saying “Surprise! I haven’t actually gone anywhere! I’m back!” Whether this was true or not wasn’t the key factor in the announcement that Ozzy would be returning to music, the fans were still happy. And without disregarding the previous statement entirely, it is also reasonably fair to assess given Ozzy’s actions over the years since that he DID actually just become bored, and wanted to be out there creating music and performing it on stage once again.
The writing and recording process took on several different forms. Guitarist Steve Vai has come out in recent years and suggested he is still sitting on almost a full album of material he wrote for an Ozzy / Vai album, the concept of which only fell apart prior to this album being released. Several stories exist of this, one which suggests the record company nixed the idea as they had just wanted one track from Vai and not an album, another suggests it collapsed because of a disagreement between Vai and Osbourne. Either way, only the song “My Little Man” remains here from those sessions. The album was also helmed for some time by super producer Michael Wagener, with some songs produced by him and recorded by both Mike Inez on bass and Randy Castillo on drums, with a sound similar to what had been produced on the “No More Tears” album. It was during this time that, allegedly, the record company deemed they wanted a different sound, and brought in Michael Beinhorn, better known for producing bands such as Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Soundgarden, Hole, Korn and Marilyn Manson, to take over. In an interview with Classic Rock in 2002, Ozzy was quoted saying "After doing Ozzmosis with Michael Beinhorn producing, I didn't care if I never made another album again. There'd be these fucking mind games. He'd have me singing all day, and then I'd get three-quarters through and he'd go, 'Your voice sounds tired. Let's pick it up tomorrow.' And I knew that the next day he'd go, 'Your voice has changed. Let's start again.'".
The album took almost 12 months to come together with these things playing out in the background, before the world got a new taste of the un-retired Ozzy Osbourne, with the appropriately titled “Ozzmosis”.
The opening two tracks of the album are the huge, big, heavy hitters, the ones that appear to have been obviously placed here to draw in even the most sceptical of listeners and have them believe that there is a greatness that follows. Utilising the excellent skills of Rick Wakeman on the mellotron, the opening two songs are still the ones most people remember most when they think of “Ozzmosis”. “Perry Mason” is just an outstanding song, the utilisation of the opening music to the TV show at the beginning of the song, into the keyboard then bass riff to follow, and the drums crashing in before Zakk lets rip with his guitar riff is as good an opening to an album as you could possibly imagine. And then when Ozzy finally joins the party, it is fabulous stuff. Singing along to the chorus, trying to hit those notes that Ozzy does, is as much fun as you can have while singing off key and being unable to match that tune. The bounce and fun of the track, while singing about murders and TV prosecutors trying to solve them, drives the song. Geezer Butler’s bassline here is the winner, and Zakk’s almost off the rail’s solo through the back of the track, are the highlights of a superb opening track. This is followed by what is, for all intents and purposes, a quasi-power ballad, the high intensity and emotional “I Just Want You”. Lyrically it is one of the most powerful songs of the Ozzy Osbourne catalogue. Just the opening passage itself is telling:
“There are no unlockable doors, there are no unwinnable wars
There are no unrightable wrongs or unsingable songs
There are no unbeatable odds, there are no believable Gods
There are no unnameable names, shall I say it again, yeah?
There are no impossible dreams, there are no invisible seams
Each night when the day is through
I don't ask much
I just want you”
That emotion though, that truly comes through at the end of the track, as we go up a notch into:
“There are no unachievable goals there are no unsaveable souls
No legitimate Kings or Queens do you know what I mean, yeah
There are no indisputable truths and there ain't no fountain of youth
Each night when the day is through
I don't ask much, I just want you”
And then into “I just WANT you!” - Ozzy just excels on this song. Those lyrics come home, probably more as I grow older and reflect on their wisdom, as I watch the world around me and the way it seems that evil is triumphing over good, and that in the long run, all you can hope for are people around you who you care for and that care for you. This song has had a massive impact on me ever since I first heard it. It is a song that draws a lot of emotion from me, while also giving me a mantra to chant at the end of every day. Outstanding - (and just as a side note - I’ve often wondered in the weeks since his passing if, over the last few years he has reflected on the lyrics here, in particular - “I'm sick and tired of begin' sick and tired, I used to go to bed so high and wired”).
“Ghost Behind My Eyes” plays off the magnificence of the previous two tracks, this one driven mostly by the lyrical content of the song and Ozzy’s incredible way of drawing the mood as only he can do. The laid back tempo gives the song a slower pace and highlights the emoting of Ozzy’s vocals. “Thunder Underground” does not increase the tempo but does add a heavier feel to the song, Deen Castronovo’s heavy thumping drums and Zakk’s chugging guitar riff create a different vibe, as does Ozzy’s chanting singing style. This is the first of two songs co-written with Geezer Butler, and the mood changes are noticeable from the outset, you can hear the doom of bass and guitar, and the menacing undertones of the music and vocals. Terrific stuff. This is followed by “See You on The Other Side”, another co-composition from Lemmy Kilmister, who had given so much to the previous album. This is fairly typical of an Ozzy and Lemmy collaboration both musically and lyrically.
“Tomorrow’ is a wonderfully moody song, allowing Ozzy to wade around in the lower key he is able to reach, and the understated guitar and bass, before bursting into the energetic and powerful pre-chorus and chorus, where Ozzy almost reaches a scream through his rising efforts. This song takes us through the gear changes, and Zakk squeezes everything out of his instrument in draining the most he can from the song. “Denial” goes through a similar song arrangement, which is interesting given the different writers for both tracks. This one doesn’t have the same breakout in music and vocals that “Tomorrow” does, it tends to sit in its constrained outer reaches. Ozzy uses some vocal tricks and techniques while Zakk’s solo piece is also somewhat contained by the limits of the song. It sits at the back of the queue if you are sorting most interesting tracks to least interesting. “My Little Man” is the contribution of Steve Vai to the album, corresponding to the tale told in the opening of the episode. Though Zakk plays guitar here, you can immediately hear the Vai influence on it. And yes, it is a lovely song with great lyrics and that unusual flair that Steve Vai is known for. What interests me most is that THIS was the song chosen from the Vai writing sessions for the album. I’ve always wondered just what other styles may still be locked away that we don’t know about.
“My Jekyll Doesn’t Hide” is immediately the most Sabbath song on this album, and when you see the writers on the track – Osbourne, Wylde and Butler – it then comes as no surprise. The opening riff from Zakk is so Iommi it is hard to believe he didn’t write it or play it. And suddenly Geezer’s bass guitar comes booming back into the mix. It is hard to believe that Geezer was brought back to participate on this album, and yet his signature bass is mostly missing or in the background.
The album’s closing track follows a similar kind of path to the previous album’s “Road to Nowhere”. The piano opening of “Old LA Tonight” doesn’t have a huge traditional metal feel about it. It is a combination of “Road to Nowhere” and “Mama I’m Coming Home”. Ozzy’s vocals soar with that emotional outpouring, the piano does dominate musically while Zakk has his moment to shine. Is there a bit of Zakk’s “Book of Shadows” album about this as well? Just a tad I’d suggest, and even some mid-years Black Label Society before that band ever existed. It’s the Ozzy electric ballad, bringing the album to a close, an album that has had mixed reactions from critics and fans ever since its release.
Do you remember when this album was released? I do very much. It was in that year that I will be glad to see the back of once these podcast episodes are completed at the end of this year, the year of 1995. The black hole year. However, by October of 1995 things were beginning to calm down, and I had gotten into a head space where I could start doing normal things again, and one of those things was buying albums. And in October of 1995 I bought five albums all at once on a trip to Utopia Records in Sydney, that had been released in that month. This was one of those albums, that I listened to as a part of that conglomerate. And of those five albums, this was the one that really captured the ear immediately. The great thing about it was that it was Ozzy Osbourne, it was unmistakable. And he had Zakk Wylde on guitar, which was unmistakable. And he had Geezer Butler on bass, which was unmistakable. And those songs – I mean, “Perry Mason” from the outset was just transfixing. How could you listen to that song, and not want to listen to what followed it? And then it is followed by “I Just Want You”? Those two songs, for two different reasons, are incredible, as good as anything Ozzy has ever performed. So hell yes, I wanted to listen to the rest of the album!
The result was that this became a favourite of mine during that period, despite being a bit on my lonesome in that regard. Perhaps the most amusing thing that came out of this album for me was when I was listening to it at work one day, and a colleague came up and asked me what I was playing. “Oh, it’s Ozzy Osbourne’s latest album”. “Really? I didn’t know he had a new album!” So I made a cassette copy for him, and within a couple of weeks, he asked if I wanted to play drums in an Ozzy Osbourne tribute band he was putting together. I said ‘great! Sounds awesome!’ thinking we’d just be jamming together and having a great time. Nope. He was dead serious, recruited a keyboardist and a bass player who had actually played in ‘real’ bands, and was preparing gigs. This was way beyond what I was prepared for, and after two jams I was called up (not by my work colleague, he didn’t want to confront me) and told I wasn’t professional enough for the gig, and was moved on. No big deal, though my wife Helen never forgave him. Turns out, the band lasted one gig before falling apart. Oh well. Anyway, for its short existence, we played “Perry Mason” and “Thunder Underground” as part of the show, so it was fun to learn those songs on drums. For two jam sessions.
Better news came when I saw Ozzy live for the one and only time after the tour for this album. Ozzy toured Australia with a greatest hits setlist in 1998, with Zakk, Randy Castillo and Mike Inez, and it was unbelievably awesome.
Revisiting this album this last two weeks has been absolutely fantastic. Ozzy of course passed on just a couple of months ago, and it is amazing the emotion of some of these tracks here that come back in waves when listening to the album and thinking of his passing. In many ways this is the great forgotten album of Ozzy Osbourne’s catalogue. Coming as it did after the ‘retirement’, and prior to the cumbersome and lengthy attempt to reform the original line up of Black Sabbath, it does sometimes get forgotten. And yet the songwriting and performance of the players, and yes, the production despite Ozzy’s dislike of how it all went about, it quite magnificent. There is not a song on this album that I don’t like. And some of them are absolute classics. Sure – in retrospect, I can see and hear what some fans don’t like about it. It really is the next logical step beyond “No More Tears”, it channels much of what made that album so great, and brings it into focus here as well. It also delves into the mood of heavy music of the era and slows tempos down to a minimum in places, which is a new introspection from Ozzy. Beyond this, Ozzy’s vocals are sublime, Zakk and Geezer as brilliant as always, and Castronovo's drumming is superb. Prior to his last album released just a couple of years ago, this stood as the last truly great Ozzy Osbourne album. Those that followed all have moments that don’t quite hold true to the excellence that is shown on those before them. They aren’t bad albums, but they aren’t great. This one was a beacon of light for me in a black hole year, and still shines just as brightly today as a reminder that not all traditional heavy metal was eradicated in the 1990’s. And thank Ozzy for that.
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