Published on May 18, 1998
Most double-live albums are exercises in self-indulgence. A live
album is rough enough. But, with rare artists such as Ani DiFranco,
Cowboy Junkies and….Ozzy Osbourne, the experience can sometimes
yield beautiful results.
Even for heavy metal haters,
Tribute is an album that you can’t dismiss. Yes, it’s Ozzy,
but it also is a requium for a very talented guitarist who could
have very well changed the face of heavy metal music:Randy Rhoads.
Before joining Ozzy’s solo band, Rhoads helped co-found Quiet Riot.
He was 16 at the time.
His technique was a unique mix of guitar god theatrics and
restraint classic guitar prose. And, for a guitar lover,
Tribute has tons of guitar solos from Rhoads. The most
notable guitar solo, “Suicide Solution” was a nice slap in the face
for censors of Mr. Osbourne in the mid 80s. While the solo might
not have been as spectacular as some of the other songs on the
double-live album, it was a listed solo on the liner notes, next to
the song that was a calling card to the right wing zelots who
wanted Ozzy banned from the record bins.
If you were going to knock “Suicide Solution”, you were knocking
Randy Rhoads. And I personally ask Mr. Dobbs or Mr. Falwell to
knock Osborne after looking at the liner photos in the album’s
inner sleeve. Or the touching tribute written by Randy Rhoads’s
mum. It was not an 8-ball that killed Rhoads. It was not an over
dose of any substance. It was a senseless plane crash. And Rhoads’s
talent spoke for itself. For a scapegoat, Osbourne is way too human
of a person to have any of that shit stick.
But
Tribute rarely resorts to mushy sentiment. Heavy metal is
clear and present in all its cartoony glory. From the operatic
opening of “I Don’t Know” to the Beavis and Butthead thunder of
“Iron Man”. It’s also quite a funny listen. See,
Tribute was my first Osbourne purchase. I was expecting the
devil-worshipping, bat-munchin’ madman. Instead I get this pushing
40 hippie yell out “I love you all!” and “you’re beautiful
people”.
Some things you outgrow, I realize that. “Mr. Crowley” and the
wincingly sappy, “Goodbye to Romance” do precious little to me at
the age of 25. A lot different when I listened to this when I was
15. Other songs, such as “Revelation (Mother Earth)” and “Children
Of The Grave” are mediocre at best.
Still, the live versions of these songs beat the LP versions all
to hell, save for the vintage Black Sabbath songs. With the amps
pumped, it seemed like Randy Rhoads took his guitar playing to the
next level, utilizing all of the fuzz and the feedback that live
recordings/performances offer.
The album closes with “Dee”, studio out-takes from Rhoads.
There, you hear a shy, vulnerable musician try to decipher which
version of his performance to keep. It’s all acoustic. You hear him
laugh, you hear simple suggestions, you hear his voice. And it’s a
tragic loss.
All that said,
Tribute has to get an approval from me. It elevates some of
Ozzy’s solo work, which sometimes didn’t translate to tape very
well. It gave us a better understanding of Rhoads’s talent. And, it
was a fitting retrospect to an artist who was still growing when he
died in 1982. Yes, a heavy metal fan should have some Black Sabbath
in their collection, but if you’re looking for Osbourne’s best
moments on record, look no further than this double-live album
extravaganza. Scary, eh?