Search - Ozzy Osbourne :: Ozzman Cometh

Misses the mark

Graveyard Boots | 04/16/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"The versions of "Black Sabbath" and "War Pigs" actually comprise half of Black Sabbath's appearance on the April 26, 1970 edition of John Peel's 'Sunday Show.' "Black Sabbath" features a unique third verse that appears on no other officially released version of the song. "War Pigs" is actually "Walpurgis," an earlier incarnation of the song featuring entirely different lyrics. Incidentally, the other two songs from that broadcast, "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Behind the Wall of Sleep," were released as bonus tracks on the supplemental disc issued with the first pressings of the original 1997 release. All four of these tracks, while fascinating, don't rightfully belong on this collection, as this disc intends to highlight Ozzy Osbourne's career as a solo artist. For that reason, the live version of "Paranoid" that appears on this set is equally unnecessary.



Those songs are frustrating inclusions on an Ozzy Osbourne greatest hits album, particularly since they come at the apparent exclusion of some of Ozzy's biggest hits and/or notable tracks such as "Flying High Again," "Shot in the Dark," "I Don't Know," "Breaking All the Rules," or "Road to Nowhere."



To add to the confusion, some of the solo-era material included here isn't exactly what it purports to be. Ozzy has been the subject of a number of recent legal disputes over writing and performance royalties. These disputes ostensibly prompted Ozzy to reissue his back catalog in 2002 with, in some cases, re-recorded tracks. The 'Blizzard of Ozz' and 'Diary of a Madman' albums now feature pointlessly re-recorded rhythm parts, presumably as a snub to the original rhythm section of Lee Kerslacke (drums) and Bob Daisley (bass), who, incidentally, wrote the lyrics to almost every Ozzy solo track from 'Blizzard of Ozz' through 'No More Tears.' The 'Bark at the Moon' album, while not re-recorded, was most certainly remixed. It is the re-recorded versions of the 'Blizzard of Ozz' and 'Diary of a Madman' tracks and the remixed version of the 'Bark at the Moon' track that appear on the current edition of this collection. Finally, the version of "No More Tears" is actually the video edit, not the album version.



In addition, due to one of the disputes mentioned above, 'The Ultimate Sin' album was not selected for remastering in 2002 and has subsequently been dropped from Ozzy's catalog. That album's biggest hit, "Shot in the Dark," which appeared on the original 1997 release of this collection, has now been replaced with "Miracle Man" from 'No Rest for the Wicked.' Along these lines, the 'Just Say Ozzy' live EP and the double-disc live album, 'Live and Loud,' both of which contain a live version of "Shot in the Dark," have also been deleted from Ozzy's catalog. Not even 'The Essential Ozzy Osbourne,' a double-disc collection covering Ozzy's entire solo career, features a single song from 'The Ultimate Sin.' The ultimate sin, indeed.



My recommendation is to avoid this collection (and the 2002 remasters) and instead search for the 1995 remasters or, better yet, search for the original albums on vinyl."