Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
#559
By Rob Haneisen
November 7 1981
Ozzy Osbourne
Diary of a Madman
Genre: Classic metal
Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Rob’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Highlights: Randy Rhoads
By 1981, the branches of the heavy metal and hard rock tree were already sprouting new niches – some of which bore bountiful fruit and others ultimate became a bit stunted.
And so we have the coincidence of Ozzy Osbourne’s second solo studio album coming out within days of Black Sabbath’s second studio album fronted by his replacement, Ronnie James Dio. “Mob Rules” and “Diary of a Madman” are equally great (I prefer Sabbath’s album) but represent two bands headed in different stylistic directions, and for different levels of popularity.
“Diary of a Madman” was coming hot of the success of his first effort “Blizzard of Oz” and Ozzy again put the ridiculously talented guitarist Randy Rhoads front and center. Rhoads’s unfortunate death in a plane crash while touring for this album in Florida was tragic but his volume of work on Ozzy’s two albums is something to behold. Music afficionados and guitar geeks will marvel at his infusion of neo-classical style with rock and metal. They will rave about his technical wizardry and technique, but let’s be frank: the kid just plain shreds the guitar with the kind of melody, speed and creativity that blows away his contemporaries. Ozzy owes his career to Rhoads because frankly Osbourne’s singing on this album is the only weak link in the armor.
It’s not that it is bad. I just think he sounds on some songs like he is really pushing the upper limits of his range and it’s a bit of a strain. Ozzy’s voice is a high-pitched iconic sound and distinctive. It works damn fine on so many songs. But I kind of grew tired of hearing it by the end of this album.
And Ozzy’s songs don’t really fit the personae on display. Look at the gory, crazed album cover. Look at Ozzy’s moniker as the “Prince of Darkness” or his antics like biting the head off a bat, or a bird or whatever. All of that hoopla doesn’t really match the songs or the content. These are poppy, hard rock songs infused with just enough metal muscle to be called mainstream metal. It’s not hair metal but it’s a style that led to that genre.
It’s also pretty damn radio-friendly. Big hits on this album included “Over the Mountain” “You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll” and “Flying High Again”, the latter song I first heard as a kid on a K-Tel cassette called “Nu-Rock” that also included such edgy material as Loverboy and 38 Special.
Just listen to the song “Tonight” from this Ozzy album and imagine Elton John singing it. Very little would change, just add more piano.
The song “S.A.T.O.” has a nice sinister vibe to it, and “Believer” and the title track pack a bit more punch and emotional depth. But the rest of this album doesn’t exactly match the devil-horned reputation all those worrisome parents of impressionable kids were screaming mad about.
So those two paths? Well, Sabbath kind of faded into its own murk whereas Ozzy rode waves of popularity, the rise of metal on MTV, hair metal, pop metal, and continued radio play. His ear for pop music helped inspire a rotating cadre of musicians that played with him to write some awesome songs.
Listen this album to hear Rhoads and see the pop star behind Ozzy’s mask. There’s really no madman lurking here.
https://open.spotify.com/album/4xiRrFE0Gq4Si9mAfPB3hZ?si=QKMdErR4S6Wi78BICiXZpg
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