Published on Jul 1, 1997
Way back in 1985, I received my first CD player as a gift. The
very first CD I bought was Ozzy Osbourne’s latest at that time,
The Ultimate Sin. Osbourne had made a solid impression on my
mind with the first single “Shot In The Dark” (and no, it wasn’t
the body of the female star that made me want to buy the album, it
was the song)… and besides, the CD I received with the player was
getting lonely. (One day I’ll get to reviewing that one.)
It’s now twelve years since that day. Osbourne has had several
dry spells and battles with the bottle since this time, has
retired, has un-retired (thanks a lot, Magic Johnson), has
occasionally reunited with Black Sabbath, and has started his own
record label. I, meanwhile, have expanded my musical tastes past
the metal which dominated my adolescence, though I still like to
slam my head against the plaster now and then. (Memo to my new
landlord: Just kidding.)
But
The Ultimate Sin still can make me smile, even if some of
its messages are a tad dated, and this remains one of the few
guilty pleasures I still allow myself.
This album proved to be the swansong for guitarist Jake E. Lee,
who had come into Osbourne’s band following the tragic death of
Randy Rhodes. And while Lee may never have replaced Osbourne’s
favorite guitar player, he managed to carve out his own niche quite
well. As for the rest of the crew, well, neither bassist Phil
Soussan or drummer Randy Castillo put out enough power to light a
fire underneath me.
“Shot In The Dark” still remains one of Osbourne’s solo career
highlights, while “Lightning Strikes” is a little more fast-paced
and intense – kind of like Osbourne himself. Probably one of the
best tracks on the album is “Secret Loser,” though Osbourne’s
vocals are restrained. And while he never was much of a screamer in
his solo career, I kind of keep hoping he’ll abandon the control
and cut loose with a killer vocal.
Osbourne does come close once on
The Ultimate Sin– too bad it’s on the laughable “Thank God
For The Bomb” (end of the chorus: “Nuke ya / Nuke ya” – give me a
fuckin’ break). And while Osbourne sings about the “glories” of the
atomic age on one cut, he laments the damage it can do on “Killer
Of Giants,” which is one of the most beautiful metal songs I can
remember ever being recorded.
But for every hit
The Ultimate Sin has on it, there is a song whose
firecracker failed to go off. “Never Know Why” was supposedly an
answer to all the charges levelled against Osbourne around that
time (“You’ve missed the message that says it all”), but it just
doesn’t have the anger that I think it was supposed to. (Give
Osbourne some credit for dealing creatively with his detractors,
however.) Two other songs, “Never” and “Fool Like You,” have
similar sounds, and neither works very well. As for the title
track, it’s not bad, though Castillo’s drumming shows its limits.
(I thought Osbourne didn’t like drummers who sounded like the video
game Space Invaders.)
Despite the weaknesses,
The Ultimate Sin is not a bad album, and is enjoyable for an
occasional spin on the CD player. It is not, however, one which
you’d want to keep available on a regular basis, and it ranks in
the “average” category of Osbourne’s career. Still, I can think of
worse ways to spend an hour.