Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Ozz (1980)

After his unceremonious exit from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne decided to reinvent himself as a solo artist. It was a stroke of genius plan with his then manager Sharon (later his wife) that he should do so. Although all the members of Ozzy’s solo band were each great musicians in their own way, legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads was hired immediately for Ozzy’s band within seconds of him auditioning for the band. No joke. Obviously feeling fresh and inspired, these guys delivered this album and it has been hailed as Heavy Metal classic. Let’s hear it.

We kick off with I Don’t Know which has a very Black Sabbath sort of electronic intro, before launching into furious and energetic Metal guitars. Ozzy begins singing in his legendary voice here, and this whole thing sounds amazing. It’s an interesting listen and one can definitely hear the chemistry here, especially by Ozzy and Randy Rhoads. A really excellent piece of energetic Heavy music, this sounds awesome and legendary here. The chorus is quite infectious as well. There is a bit of a twist here in the middle, where there are some gorgeous and interesting multitracked guitars here, before going into Rock awesomeness. A loud, fast and blistering guitar solo is here, no doubt influencing the likes of Metallica and others after its release. Great music here, if you haven’t heard this already, you should. A brilliant, awesome and powerful listen here, this is nothing short of truly inspirational. Great beginning to this album.

Following is the legendary piece Crazy Train which begins with Ozzy screaming maniacally, before going into a groove based piece. Randy Rhoads then gets playing nicely, and this piece gets going. A good piece about the high life, and a really awesome piece of music, for new listeners and older ones, too. A very amazing tune, this song proves that Eddie Van Halen had some serious competition out there, and the whole thing sounds top. A fiery, energetic and passionate piece of music that sounds really excellent, this is a highlight of Ozzy Osbourne’s career. A brilliant piece with a really awesome guitar solo here, this is ridiculously good. This song and album no doubt influenced and inspired many throughout the 1980s and beyond. A truly great piece of music, with some expertly played instrumentation, this is a great song, without question. Awesome, it concludes with drum rolls and some pitch shifted up laughing. Great.

Goodbye to Romance is next here. Beginning with some slower and different guitar parts, before launching into a piece about being broken hearted. A bit of an oddity in retrospect, but very good and different on this album, and a very memorable piece of music. This sounds really fresh, melodic and wonderful as a piece of music that sounds as good today as it did back in 1980. This release sure sounds energetic and focused, and is a great song for those who are lonely. A supercharged guitar solo emerges here, which is excellently played and cleverly utilized by Randy Rhoads here. All in all, a piece of music that shows that Ozzy Osbourne had some tricks up his sleeve that even Black Sabbath didn’t recognize. Some great lyricism is here and it is simply gorgeous music. A keyboard solo here is towards the end of this song, continuing to the fade out. Awesome stuff.

Dee is less than a minute long. It has some interlude based classical style guitar by Randy Rhoads which is awesome. Nice to hear, and a good example of how excellent he was as a player. Great listening.

Next here is the controversial Suicide Solution. It’s actually (supposedly) not directly about suicide, but instead about alcoholism, namely via the story of AC/DC singer Bon Scott. It begins with some roaring loud guitars, and a great power to this song. A really great piece of music, it is surely a warning call to listeners out there about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, of which Ozzy was quite well aware of by this time. A really loud and catchy piece of music that is clever, musical and fantastic, this is a great song. Loud guitars edging on feedback, with many multitracked vocals are in the middle of the song here. Indeed, alcoholism and drug abuse can be very dangerous, and this is the point of this song. A very warped listen, there are some brilliant guitars at the end here, which make you want to hear more. Excellent stuff, Ozzy and Randy obviously had a real connection here. Classic tune.

Following is Mr. Crowley which begins with a very 1980s keyboard set of melodies here. It sounds rather eerie, but is interesting nonetheless. This goes on for some time, and is very suspenseful. Eventually, the song itself begins about an strange character here at work. The guitar playing here, once again, is really superb. It is a loud, rocking and interesting piece of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal glory. Some amazingly blistering guitar solos then emerge, which are really brilliant by Randy Rhoads, no doubt the world of music misses his influence. An excellent song, and a definite highlight of this album. There is something quite awesome about these songs. More interesting and cleverly played guitar parts enter, and some intricate playing is here to blow much of the music before it away. It finishes with a lengthy fade out. A really awesome song from start to finish.

No Bone Movies begins with a counted intro, before launching straight into a very good piece of Rock music. It certainly sounds powerful and energetic here, and it has some interesting lyrics to it as well. Ozzy’s singing is incredible here, and this piece of music just sounds wild and crazy, perfect for Rock and Metal fans out there. A semi wah-wah guitar solo emerges here, played with a slide. For those of you born after the year 2000, this is a good Rock song and record to listen back to when the mood strikes for some musical history. Excellent music and playing here, this is incredibly good. It gets very intense towards the end, with some dramatic drum rolls and guitar fills. Awesome tune.

Revelation (Mother Earth) is next, being the longest piece on this album at six minutes long. It begins with some gorgeous and odd fingerpicked acoustic guitars, loud and weird additional instrumentation and has Ozzy pleading with creation itself, looking towards Christian based concepts that are interesting. It goes into a chorus piece that sounds dark and odd here, with Ozzy staring into the crystal ball of the future. Randy Rhoads’s guitar playing here is excellent as per usual, and this is a powerful and unique sounding song. A really cool listen, evoking some doom and gloom, apocalypse style. In the second half, some piano joins the acoustic guitar playing and keyboards here for dramatic effect. A really awesome listen, the piano here is pseudo-Classical, showcasing a different and inventive side to the world of Ozzy Osbourne. Randy Rhoads then enters, sounding really interesting and amazing on guitar, launching into an amazing and intricate solo where he shreds away nicely. A great effort, this song grows gradually on one. It finishes with some interesting sounds, segueing straight into the last track.

Last here is Steal Away (The Night). It begins with loud, punchy and nicely executed guitars, before launching straight into a brilliant piece of singing by Ozzy. The whole group sound as though they are on fire musically here. A really awesome listening piece, this is musically incredible, lit on fire with Randy’s playing. Some unique guitar parts launch into a shred version of Metal that Black Sabbath could only ever dream of. A crazy sounding and blistering solo, it quickly goes back into the main part of the song here, sounding really amazing. Excellent conclusion to an awesome album, sounds like a musical revolution in effect. It finishes quickly.

A very great album, this one launched not only Ozzy Osbourne’s career, but also made Randy Rhoads a guitar virtuoso superstar and is a defining musical moment as an album, particularly of the 1980s. Unfortunately, legal wrangles with the other band members Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake resulted in a butchered re-release of this album being put out in 2002, of which the less said, the better. Thankfully, as Ozzy wished, the original has been restored for the most part on re-releases, which agreeably, is the correct thing to do. An amazing album and a classic without a doubt.

Interesting.

9/10