Monday, December 24, 2007

Ozzy Ozbourne - Black Rain

When I was thinking about the worst albums of 2007 and the biggest let downs, one album never came to mind, and it was Ozzy's album Black Rain.

That's because it was that damn forgettable.

About 10 years ago, to point out the flaws in Ozzy's musical reach was considered blasphemy in metal. That, despite the fact that we all knew a few facts; First, Ozzy rarely writes his own songs, reducing him to the level of most pop stars. Second, the material written either for him or by him tends to be radio-friendly hard rock than good 'ol fashioned metal. Third, Ozzy has a damn good voice and live show, and that's it.

That's not to say Ozzy sucks and doesn't deserve any credit; quite the contrary, he is an incredible singer who, much like Elton John, is more of a great performer than artist. That isn't to detract from Ozzy, just put him in a better context.

So, now that you can at least see what I mean, let's get to the review then, shall we?

After 5 years, we're left with the latest Ozzy record, Black Rain. Released before Ozzfest tickets went on sale, the album included a free code so you could get your tickets earlier than everyone else and score some better seats. Thus, this album sold incredibly well despite it's lack of being... well, good. Ozzy has been reduced to a mere shell of himself, and even the political and religious points he brings out are only sub-par.

Honest to god, this album just plain sucks. Yet, for some odd reason, I can't sell it. What can I say, I must have a soft spot for bad Ozzy albums.

2 out of 10. Ozzy, get with Lemmy again and write something brilliant.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great work.

Anonymous said...

Can we at least agree that "I Don't Wanna Stop" has some degree of listen-ability (and that Zakk Wylde totally rips on this thing?)

Mark Skull said...

It took a while, but yeah, "I Don't Wanna Stop" was pretty good.