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Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman review



Reviewer:
7.0

579 users:
8.56
Band: Ozzy Osbourne
Album: Diary Of A Madman
Release date: November 1981


Disc I
01. Over The Mountain
02. Flying High Again
03. You Can't Kill Rock And Roll
04. Believer
05. Little Dolls
06. Tonight
07. S.A.T.O.
08. Diary Of A Madman
09. I Don't Know [live] [2002 remaster bonus]

Disc II [Blizzard Ozz Tour live bonus]
01. Don't Know
02. Crazy Train
03. Believer
04. Mr. Crowley
05. Flying High Again
06. Revelation (Mother Earth)
07. Steal Away (The Night)
08. Suicide Solution
09. Iron Man [Black Sabbath cover]
10. Children Of The Grave [Black Sabbath cover]
11. Paranoid [Black Sabbath cover]

If anyone had cautioned guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake about the notoriously difficult second album, they clearly weren't listening. While not as commercially successful as Blizzard Of Ozz or No More Tears in America, Diary Of A Madman is often regarded as the crowning achievement of Ozzy Osbourne's solo career by fans, and it's not hard to see or hear why.

Later re-released without crediting Daisley and Kerslake, who then successfully sued in retaliation, Ozzy's bandmates deserve nearly all the credit for the artistic success of Diary. More of a vehicle for the music than a songwriter, Ozzy has always looked better when surrounded by talent. Geezer Butler would write the lyrics for Black Sabbath, and Ozzy would deliver them with his trademark panache and pitching. A similar situation kicked off his solo career, with Daisley pulling off a darn good imitation of Butler-style introspection and cosmic curiosity: "Where did I wander? / Where'd you think I wander to? / I've seen life's magic / Astral plane I've travelled through". But the obvious highlight in the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums is the guitarwork of Randy Rhoads, which often borders on virtuosity.

It's usually in the technical wizardry of solos where guitarists like Rhoads shine brightest, but Diary is full of catchy, impressive riffs - especially in "Believer" and "S.A.T.O." - that showcase the young Rhoads as a quality songwriter as well. Whether working in the context of high-octane rockers ("Over The Mountain") or ballads ("You Can't Kill Rock And Roll" and "Tonight"), Rhoads adapts and plays incredibly well alongside Daisley and Kerslake ("Little Dolls" and "S.A.T.O." give the rhythm section a bit more to do).

Diary is tight at eight tracks and, unlike Blizzard Of Ozz with "No Bone Movies", is devoid of a real clunker. That said, it is far from flawless. Probably more of a pet peeve of mine, Diary falls victim to the too-common reliance on fading out tracks with a "Well, we don't really know how to end this song, so?" vibe. The tracks that don't resort to this - "Over The Mountain", "S.A.T.O." and "Diary Of A Madman" - sound a lot better because of it, and these are among the better compositions overall, if not the three best altogether. And the technique works a little better on the ballads, but there's still a trace of laziness when concluding and transitioning. There's also a mishmash of styles, which - to be sure - isn't a problem in its own right. But when "Flying High Again" sounds more like a Van Halen song and "You Can't Kill Rock And Roll" anticipates some of the American glam metal that would follow, they sound a bit strange alongside the dynamic and complex "Diary Of A Madman", which, like "Mr. Crowley", is among the best tracks by any heavy band at the time.

This would, unfortunately, be Randy Rhoads' final album before his untimely, unfair death. Ozzy would recover musically and continue to release mostly solid albums through to 1991's No More Tears, but there is an understandably high amount of nostalgia for the first two releases, and questions of "What if?" will always surround his career. As far as unintentional swansongs go, though, nearly anybody could do a lot worse than Rhoads did with "Diary Of A Madman", and the album's placement at the top of the Ozzy mountain is a fine testament to his short, great legacy.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 8
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 8

Written by SeanC | 15.09.2019




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 5   Visited by: 35 users
15.09.2019 - 21:35
Rating: 7
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Maybe my fav his solo album
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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15.09.2019 - 21:56
SeanC

Written by Bad English on 15.09.2019 at 21:35

Maybe my fav his solo album


Mine as well! Although, it feels like I've listened to The Ultimate Sin more in the last decade.
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15.09.2019 - 22:09
Rating: 8
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Yeah, I don't listen to his solo work as much anymore, but I remember liking this one the most
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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15.09.2019 - 22:11
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Wait, Ozzy was making music before he was discovered by Post Malone?
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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16.09.2019 - 06:45
Rating: 9
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Good review, enjoyed that.
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The sun shines over The Fool...
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