BLizzard of Ozz-Ozzy Osbourne

So I felt like doing some Ozzy after reading a biography of himso here we have Blizzard of Ozz. Some pretty nifty cover art by the way. Now you have to remember that when this came out Ozz had just come out of one of the hardest periods of his life having been dumped from his old band Black Sabbath due to alcohol issues.. He was filled with resentment and this album was critical to him staying as a musician. Luckily for him he found Randy Rhoads and his job as a musician stayed secure and we have a spectacular heavy metal album. The first song I Don't Know starts out hard, has a bit of a lull in the middle and then explodes into a solo that showcases the skill that is Rhoads. After listening to this album you can easily say, Rhoads saved Ozzy's career. The guitar is just so integral to this album and rocks so hard, and is just so generally amazing that you can't help but enjoy it as you hear each crashing power chord.

But really it is the next track that always blows me away. The incredible Crazy Train with its fantastic opening riff and guitar part defined what Ozzy was to become and is his signature song. Also it was the first riff I learned on guitar which is always cool. Crazy Train is far and away the best song on the album and when I looked at the track list I was like. What the heck why isn't Crazy Train first? That is the only real mistake on the album. Everything else rocks. Ozzy's voice is just so stereotypically Ozzy that you have to love it. But I have always found it unfair to call this group “Ozzy Osbourne” Ozzy's voice is one of the 2 key aspects. With no amazing guitarist it would suck. This is obvious when you compare this stuff to Jake Lee's year with Osbourne.

Truly Rhoads and Ozzy are the band. There is really nobody else of note in the band. They are replaceable. While good they are nothing special. But there is some real artistry on this album. There is brilliant contrast between the high-powered hard rockin' Crazy Train and the next track, the sad ballad Good Bye To Romance a rather sad song. The contrast is pretty spectacular, and truly showcases Ozzy's voice. He sings more on this record than he does on any previous record as he is now in charge of his own band. But the brilliant solos are there courtesy of the fabulous Rhoads.

This is a really great album but it does have some controversial bits, namely Suicide Solution. So as a whole this album is really amazing and makes me smile. It showcases one of metal's greatest voices and is spectacular. I love listening to it it has heavy metal and then beautiful slower tracks. This album just makes me smile and shows off a great genre and two great artists. There are some minor issues though which keep it from being perfect bt it is TOTALLY worth a listen I don't see how anybody could hate it, its just too good. It shows spectacular musicianship and a great blend of harder and lighter stuff. Go listen to it now you reader person.

OVERALL 9/10