Ozzy Osbourne Album by Album Thread.

I missed this. Will post something about this ASAP.

 

I always thought Ozzmosis had the most Sabbathy vibe of all Ozzy's solo albums. In fact i kind of hoped a new Sabbath album would sound similar. Most of the songs have a good groove, Zakk's guitar has a nice tone and the ballads are some of Ozzy's best.

For a long time this was my favourite Ozzy album. A close friend of mine and I used to listen to this a lot until he died. Songs like Tomorrow, See you on the other side and Old LA tonight remind me of him and those times.

The B-side The whole worlds falling down is a great song too.

 

'Down To Earth'

Released 16th October 2001


1. Gets Me Through 05:04
2. Facing Hell 04:26
3. Dreamer 04:45
4. No Easy Way Out 05:06
5. That I Never Had 04:23
6. You Know... (Pt. 1) 01:07
7. Junkie 04:28
8. Running Out of Time 05:06
9. Black Illusion 04:21
10. Alive 04:54
11. Can You Hear Them? 04:59
48:39


Line Up:

Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
Zakk Wylde – guitars[4]
Robert Trujillo – bass
Mike Bordin – drums

Producer:
Tim Palmer

Wiki...
Down to Earth is the eighth studio album by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. Released on 16 October 2001, the album reached number 19 on the UK Albums Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. Down to Earth spawned just two singles, although both reached the top-ten of the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. The album was certified Platinum and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]
Down to Earth is Osbourne's only studio album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo, who left the group to join Metallica in 2003 that wasn't a re-recording of earlier material. It was the first Osbourne album to feature drummer Mike Bordin, previously of Faith No More. Though he plays on the album, guitarist Zakk Wylde did not contribute as a songwriter for the first time since joining Osbourne's band in 1988 and this was due to many of the songs being written before Wylde rejoined the band. Osbourne's previous guitarist Joe Holmes was involved in the writing process and also Osbourne instead chose to utilise outside songwriters such as Tim Palmer and Marti Frederiksen.

 

'Down To Earth' (2001)

Now then.....after the overwhelming response to Ozzmosis, I am not expecting much here.

Having been pleasantly surprised by revisiting Ozzmosis, I have struggled more with this album which came 6 years after.
Not sure if 'With The Osbourne's' or whatever it was called had hit mainstream TV at the time but I remember losing total interest after watching a couple of episodes.....
Let's just say I don't think it did Ozzy any favours.....

Facing Hell is a rather splendid track and for once Wylde's pinch harmonic squeel's actually fit here, but jazus he does it second nature......
Dreamer reminds me of So Tired and its not a bad stab at a ballad.
Biggest problem for me here Ozzy sounds almost 'synthetic'. God knows what 'processor' or voice gizzmo they are using to help Ozzy here but there is something here.
That I Never Had has an almost Randy Rhoads type groove going, which I find rather nice.

The rest are average.....no real stinkers...just average.

Next.

6/10

 

Gram... I was actually going to post about Ozzmosis... just got so busy... let's linger here just a little longer - I'll chip in on both albums over the next couple of days. I'll definitely have a review for Black Rain which I enjoy quite a bit.

 

No worries ace....
Not really a Ozzy completest, mainly did the thread at peoples request.
I have decided to just do an album a week......input or not.

My biggest problem here is The Rolling Stones Album Thread....It seems to have took over everything !!
Certainly learning a thing or 2 there !!! Incredible how quick that thread has developed. Just a little one too many experts for my taste if truth be told tho......glad a few old sweat's from the Sabbath Threads are posting on it at least.


Looking forward to the Lizzy Thread getting back on track...as well as Bears Megadeth Thread.


Yam.

 

Yeah... that RS thread moves way too quickly though for anyone who's got a busy week....

Lizzy will remain on track... I just really don't want to rush it, because I kind of want it to be something that someone who likes the band can discover in the future and find a wealth of info in it... so, I'd rather take another week with this or that album and get more responses in and more questions answered... all the regulars seem to come around every time, so I think the pace is right!

 

If truth be told The Stones thread is very frustrating! It has racial and other topics coming in to play killing what is important the music. I wish I would have got in on the Lizzy thread at the beginning. I miss all you guys!

 

Down to Earth is a solid album. I played it a lot when it was first released but haven't listen to it in several years. Unfortunately I think I associate it now with the horrible Osbournes reality show that premiered a few months after the album was released so I don't have any real desire to pick it up again.

Having said that, Gets Me Through is a great song, probably my favorite on the album, with its heavy groove. No Easy Way Out and That I Never Had are also highlights. I'm not crazy about Dreamer but none of the songs are really bad. Say what you will about Ozzy, his albums are of a consistently good quality, with very few out-and-out bad tracks. This thread has served to reinforce my high opinion of his catalog, with all of the albums having excellent singles and good album tracks.

 

Plenty of time still left sir... stay with us - we've got seven more studio and two solo Lynott albums coming up

 

Sounds very good, will do just that! Thanks again.

 

Frankly, Down to Earth was the first Ozzy solo studio album where nothing grabbed me positively (at least Ozzmosis had Perry Mason). At the time, I was angry that instead of finishing the Black Sabbath album, Ozzy instead put together a solo album.

Allowing for the possibility that my perspective was colored at the time, I recently gave DTE another listen, but still I was REALLY unimpressed. 2/10.

 

I really would have liked to have heard what he could've done with Steve Vai (the only song he is credited on is "My Little Man"). I do like Zakk a lot (pinched harmonics and all) but Steve Vai is probably my favorite guitarist after Randy Rhoads. Otherwise, it's a good album but I don't visit it too much.

 

I felt exactly the same at the time. Instead of doing that stupid show and solo album, he could have kept the Sabbath momentum going with a new album. It still would have had Bill Ward also.

 

So true!!!!

 

1. Gets Me Through - Does sound very Sabbathy and I agree that I wish "13" had been a bit more like this song than what it was.

2. Facing Hell - It's a good track but I feel that he was trying to go for a bit of a Rob Zombie sound on this track. It has a good groove but it also has that "I feel like I've heard it before" vibe to it as well.

3. Dreamer - "Changes" meets "So Tired."

4. No Easy Way Out - A completely forgettable song. Even as I'm listening to it I'm struggling to come up with anything to say about it. The best part of it is the bridge.

5. That I Never Had - A good riff ruined by an unimaginative vocal melody.

6. You Know... (Pt. 1) - Ozzy trying to be the Beatles?

7. Junkie - More unimaginative lyrics from Ozzy but the song does sound like a BLS castoff. It almost seems like he was trying to write "Suicide Solution pt 2"

8. Running Out of Time - Sounds like another BLS castoff (this one being one of Zakk's piano ballads).

9. Black Illusion - ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

10. Alive - Almost reminds me of Alice in Chains but the song goes nowhere.

11. Can You Hear Them? - My favorite track on the album; almost epic sounding when the riff kicks in. It's a shame that you have to wait 7 tracks since Dreamer to come up with something to wake you up.

12. No Place For Angels - I'm not sure if this was from the single for "Gets Me Through" that I tacked on to the album for my iPod or if it's on the Japanese version. It's not a great song but it would've been a better choice to go on the album than Black Illusion.

13. Black Skies - Like the previous track, not sure if this was single only or tacked onto the Japanese version but I love this song. Funny that he does a song written by Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw but it would've been the second best song on the album after "Can You Hear Them." It's got a good, driving rhythm to it and hooks all over the place. Maybe Jack and Tommy should've written the entire album instead of Joe Homes?

 

Quick thoughts on Ozzmosis - played it recently on youtube. Pretty much how I remembered it, a huge disappointment after NRftW and NMT. Some filler, Perry Mason is a weird opener (what exactly did Ozzy set out to accomplish with this song?) setting totally the wrong tone for the album, and I Just Want You is just lame. The two best songs to me are Ghost Behind My Eyes and My Little Man - both ballads, and both quirky enough to distinguish them from the blandness that fills the rest of the album (the fact that Steve Vai had a hand in writing the latter certainly helps). So I guess Ozzy had become a better pop songwriter than a rocker, not good news. The best rocker is Thunder Underground and it sounds... safe. As in, we're gonna lay down this huge meaty riff and chant a Sabbathy vocal with apocalyptic lyrics over it. The rest is worse... much worse.

4/10

 

Down To Earth - an over processed, over-thought out mess. I think the rift between Ozzy and Zakk started with Zakk going to the press saying the writers who were brought in sucked...that Dave Grohl should not be writing Ozzy songs. That said, I think Facing Hell is a really classic Ozzy tune, and I like That I Never Had a lot.

The demo for Facing Hell, Bang Bang (You're Dead) is very good too.

 

Wow...do I disagree...I think Perry Mason is a phenomenal opener, and I Just Want You is one of the best songs in Ozzy's catalog...and it's everything after that that is weak. Thunder Underground is interesting, but drags.

 

'Live At Budokan'

Released 25th June 2002


1. I Don't Know 05:51
2. That I Never Had 04:13
3. Believer 04:56
4. Junkie 04:17
5. Mr. Crowley 06:45
6. Gets Me Through 04:15
7. No More Tears 07:14
8. I Don't Want to Change the World 04:14
9. Road to Nowhere 05:52
10. Crazy Train 06:01
11. Mama, I'm Coming Home 04:37
12. Bark at the Moon 04:30
13. Paranoid 03:39
01:06:24

Line up:

Ozzy Osbourne Vocals
Mike Bordin Drums
Robert Trujillo Bass
Zakk Wylde Guitars

Live at Budokan is a CD/DVD combination released by heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne on June 25, 2002. It was recorded at the Nippon Budokan Hall on February 15, 2002 in Tokyo, Japan.

 

'Live At Budokan' (2002)

Never bothered with the CD....just borrowed my mates DVD of the concert out of curiosity.
Uninspired, average and tired springs to mind.
Next....

4/10

 

I'm listening to Ozzmosis now and I have to say, for the most part, this might be the best record I've heard since The Ultimate Sin. There's just something very different about this one. It seems Wylde was reigned in a bit and the songs seem to have more substance to them. A bit more layered, if you will. I'm on track 7 now ("Denial") and haven't hit a stinker yet. Surprisingly, I thought this album was completely foreign to me, but I have heard "Perry Mason" before, but it must have been on the radio because I don't recall spinning this one before and I just bought a copy of this for cheap for this thread.

 

'Under Cover'

Released 1st November 2005



1. Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh) 04:32
2. In My Life (The Beatles) 03:30
3. Mississippi Queen (Mountain) 04:11
4. Go Now (Moody Blues) 03:42
5. Woman (John Lennon) 03:45
6. 21st Century Schizoid Man (King Crimson) 03:53
7. All the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople) 04:34
8. For What It's Worth (Buffalo Springfield) 03:21
9. Good Times (Eric Burdon) 03:45
10. Sunshine of your Love (Cream) 05:10
11. Fire (Arthur Brown) 04:09
12. Working Class Hero (John Lennon) 03:22
13. Sympathy for the Devil (Rolling Stones) 07:11
55:05

Band Line Up:

Mike Bordin Drums
Chris Wyse Bass
Jerry Cantrell Guitars
Ozzy Osbourne Vocals


Wiki

Under Cover is the ninth studio album by heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. The album consists entirely of cover songs. This is Osbourne's first and only album to feature cover songs from various artists. In 1982, Osbourne released Speak of the Devil which featured renditions of songs from his time with Black Sabbath. All but 3 songs were originally released in the box set Prince of Darkness. The additional songs on this album which are not featured in the Prince of Darkness are "Rocky Mountain Way" "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Go Now".[3]


Under Cover is the only Osbourne album to feature the work of Alice in Chains' guitarist Jerry Cantrell, and the final Osbourne album to feature bassist Chris Wyse. Ten of the album's thirteen tracks were also released as part of the four-disc compilation Prince of Darkness, released earlier the same year.

The album is also available in DualDisc format. This version contains the bonus track "Changes" (originally by Black Sabbath), performed by Osbourne and his daughter Kelly Osbourne. The DVD side contains all the songs in enhanced stereo, a documentary entitled Dinner with Ozzy and Friends, and a video for the song "In My Life".

"Mississippi Queen" was released as a single and peaked at number 10 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.[4]

 

'Under Cover' (2005)

I have only ever listened to this album twice...and that was enough.
Any fans of it, and what he was trying to achieve ?

4/10

 

Although I love artist album threads, I must remember to do ones of artists I actually love. Mean something to me.
Doing these as a request / favour don't really work.

My next one will surprise, and be a true labour of love.