All the Ozzy-era Sabbath albums are good, although Technical Ecstasy is the weakest.

Flawed gods, maybe, but gods just the same.

I read Ozzy’s memoir a few years ago, and it amused the hell out of me while I was reading it. The dude was legitimately funny and always had been. But it left a bad taste in my mouth after I’d finished it. His “lovable fuckup” persona seems a lot uglier when you consider all the people who had to clean up the messes he’d left. He also beat up his wife so badly that she ended up in the hospital—the wife who played the role of the public villain whenever he screwed over former bandmates.

So I’m not going to shit on the guy necessary, and those early Sabbath records are monumental, but several of the memorials I’ve read too easily accept the public face of Ozzy. (The same thing happened with Kobe Bryant.)

On a related note, it’s kinda funny to think that Ozzy was one of the most famous “messes” in rock/pop music, and yet he’d still rank below two others who died this year, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson.

I only saw one or two episodes of The Osbornes so I never developed a parasocial relationship with Ozzy. 99.999% of people don’t really know what he was really like, and it’s pointless to speculate or mythologize.

All of the really bad stuff was covered in his VH1 Behind the Music in the '90s. Doesn't make it better, but they were open about it and worked through it (he went to jail, then got clean). The reality show seemed a little exploitive knowing (possibly revealed later) he was on heavy antidepressants during it all. Addiction is a helluva thing ya know?

I like some of the work from Ozzy and some Black Sabbath, but he's not really a direct influence or interest to me. I can't deny all the tangential influence his work has had in my life, though. I don't watch reality TV, so I don't know much about the Osbournes other than whatever floats to the surface. I don't know his personal life, nor should we care all that much about what an artist does personally unless it's horrifically fucked up where they should be shunned from society. If that were the case, we'd probably have barely have any art, because artists are inherently fucked up. I know he wasn't the picture of the perfect human and that he was majorly flawed in many ways. I'm sure he's paid a heavy price for some of his mistakes. It also looks like he tried to reconcile some of that, which is not an easy thing to do, especially publicly.

Vibracobra wrote: Wed Jul 23, 2025 12:57 am Never cared for his solo stuff... BUT those sabbath records, man. RIP

I prefer his early solo records to Sabbath and I love Sabbath.

Got turned on to Ozzy/Sabbath via Speak of the Devil, one of the very first records I owned. Had to of been about 11 or 12 years old. "NIB" was my jam. Sarzo was bassin it up! Saw Ozzy w/Metallica on support in 85 or 86. The story goes I cried during "Mr. Crowley." I wouldn't necessarily say that tears were shed, but I got verklempt. There's alchemy happening in that solo and Jake E Lee nailed it. The best version of that solo is on Tribute with the melodic interplay between Daisley and Rhoads becoming otherworldly. Gosh, Ozzy had some pretty music. I've been trying to learn Airey's piano interlude to "Revelation (Mother Earth)" by ear for decades. Good coda on that one too and then BAM it immediately goes into one of Ozzy's most invigorating and life-affirming rock songs "Steal Away (The Night)."

I'm a Blizzard of Ozz guy, but, fuck if the vibes on Diary of a Madman don't beat all. "Tonight" is a glorious tune, but for my money "S.A.T.O." is the business. Randy Rhoads's playing during the third act is mindbending. I hate what Daisley and Kerslake went through during this period but the Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, Kerslake material is Ozzy's finest material.

Showing love to the monster hook in "Bark at the Moon" and the prettiness of "So Tired."

"Shot in the Dark" is a great riding-in-car song.

His musics meant the world to me. Still does. Rest easy, madman.

I just remembered that Ozzy Osbourne urinated on the Texan enslaver memorial Alamo Cenotaph while wearing Sharon's dress. Ozzy is, at a minimum, doubly eternally not crap forever.


PISS ON THE ALAMO
REST IN PEACE

In addition to pissing on the Alamo, Ozzy also lit Zakk Wylde's Confederate flag guitar on fire.

This isn't a shot at him, but the lineup at that farewell concert was balls. Sabbath were the founding fathers of doom. Where were Candlemass and Sleep? Bunch of shitty Nu-Metal plus Slayer and Anthrax.

Krev wrote: In addition to pissing on the Alamo, Ozzy also lit Zakk Wylde's Confederate flag guitar on fire.

Learning this redeemed all the reality show stuff for me

ChudFusk wrote: Wed Jul 23, 2025 9:47 am I only saw one or two episodes of The Osbornes so I never developed a parasocial relationship with Ozzy. 99.999% of people don’t really know what he was really like, and it’s pointless to speculate or mythologize.

Wood Goblin wrote: Wed Jul 23, 2025 9:19 am I read Ozzy’s memoir a few years ago, and it amused the hell out of me while I was reading it. The dude was legitimately funny and always had been. But it left a bad taste in my mouth after I’d finished it. His “lovable fuckup” persona seems a lot uglier when you consider all the people who had to clean up the messes he’d left. He also beat up his wife so badly that she ended up in the hospital—the wife who played the role of the public villain whenever he screwed over former bandmates.

So I’m not going to shit on the guy necessary, and those early Sabbath records are monumental, but several of the memorials I’ve read too easily accept the public face of Ozzy. (The same thing happened with Kobe Bryant.)

On a related note, it’s kinda funny to think that Ozzy was one of the most famous “messes” in rock/pop music, and yet he’d still rank below two others who died this year, Sly Stone and Brian Wilson.

truth.
i'm surprised this one hit me hard.