Published on May 13, 2001
Ozzy Osbourne has possibly gotten one of the worst reputations
in the music industry, even if a lot of it was his own doing. But
there’s one thing that all the stories, public relations nightmares
and whatnot can’t take away from the man: his genius often shows
its face in his music.
Take
Diary Of A Madman, Osbourne’s 1981 release. If people
thought Osbourne was washed up following his dismissal from Black
Sabbath, his solo debut
Blizzard Of Ozz marked a shaky return to the limelight for
Osbourne, despite the solid power of some songs and a bolt of
electricity in the form of guitarist Randy Rhoads.
Diary Of A Madman took all the lessons learned from
Osbourne’s first solo outing and, with only one mistake, turned out
quite possibly Osbourne’s most solid solo effort of his career.
Featuring two new band members (bassist Rudy Sarzo – who later
went on to Quiet Riot – and drummer Tommy Aldridge) and a much
better production job, Osbourne is clearly at the top of his game
on this disc – and lets the listener know he’s pulling no punches
from the start with “Over The Mountain”. While this one might not
be one of Osbourne’s best-known tracks, it set the standard for
this album – namely, that mediocrity would not be tolerated.
Well, that isn’t totally true – only one song, “S.A.T.O.,”
doesn’t live up to the high expectations that Osbourne and his band
created on
Diary Of A Madman. This particular track just doesn’t seem
to come together from the start, with a meandering rhythm part and
vocals that don’t seem to quite match the feel of this track. But
it’s the only half-baked concept on the entire record, marking a
major improvement for Osbourne.
The rest of
Diary Of A Madman, simply put, is a masterpiece. You’ve got
the all-out rocker “Flying High Again,” featuring a solo from
Rhoads which tops even the barn-burner he laid down for “Crazy
Train” – remarkable! You’ve got the two ballads “You Can’t Kill
Rock And Roll” and “Tonight” which show just how much power
Osbourne and crew could have when the intensity was turned down a
notch or two. (Osbourne seems to have a knack for these kinds of
songs – witness “So Tired” from
Bark At The Moon or “Mama, I’m Coming Home” from
No More Tears – all of them absolute wonders.)
Even the lesser-known tracks, such as “Believer,” “Little Dolls”
and the title track are powerful examples of how good this band
could be – never mind the fact that the music was written by the
previous incarnation of Osbourne’s band. Osbourne had finally
gotten a group that had turned into something magical – albeit
transitory, as Rhoads would be killed in a tragic airplane mishap
in 1982.
If anything,
Diary Of A Madman stands not only as a testimonial of
Rhoads’s guitar mastery, but to the rebirth of Osbourne as a
singer, songwriter and band leader. Although he’s created some
other wonderful songs in the nearly 20 years since this record was
released, quite possibly Osbourne reached his creative peak with
Diary Of A Madman.