15. Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk5giukr4Pk Track List: 1. I Don't Know 2. Crazy Train 3. Goodbye to Romance 4. Dee 5. Suicide Solution 6. Mr Crowley 7. No Bone Movies 8. Revelation (Mother Earth) 9. Steal Away (The Night) When Ozzy Osbourne released his solo debut record in 1980 it was obvious he was on fire, bouncing back from his Sabbath dismissal with an album brimming with quality state of the art Metal songs all played to perfection by a guitar prodigy and the first guitarist on the International stage to rival Eddie Van Halen; Randy Rhodes. Rhodes had been labouring in semi-obscurity, his band Quiet Riot yet to crack the American market (they hit the big time with Metal Health almost 4 years after his departure) when Ozzy Osbourne recruited him, gaining a guitarist whose pioneering, influential style of classical music influences meets shred would revolutionise Heavy Metal. Rhodes had a hand in writing every song on Blizzard of Ozz and his impact on the drug and alcohol-addled frontman was immediate. Unfortunately Randy's success was short-lived. He tragically passed away in a freak plane accident while on tour with Ozzy in Florida in 1982. The world lost an astonishing new talent but we were left with 1983's equally accomplished Diary of a Madman album and this astonishing debut. The album contains some of Osbournes most well known solo material, from Crazy Train to Mr Crowley and most controversially the song that Ozzy into a whole heap of trouble; "Suicide Solution", as in 1986, Ozzy found himself taken to court by the parents of John McCollum, a depressed teenager who committed suicide while listening to the song. Considering Ozzys well publicised lifelong battle with alcoholism it seems fairly clear that the title refers to his own self-destruction at the hands of his addiction and not an instruction manual on how to take your own life. The court case - more of an indictment of grieving parents looking for someone to blame than a serious threat to Ozzys freedom - eventually collapsed and Ozzy was cleared of all charges. It did transpire that mis-interpretation of lyrics regarding alcohol (the solution in the title) were the cause of Ozzys problems and he was not, obviously, encouraging his fans to kill themselves; a financially disastrous venture if ever there was one.
Christopher Jennings
Contributor
I love Heavy Metal, and generally anything that involves a guitar and loud noises, so I figured it was about time I put all the useless information in my head to good use and start writing a few things. Most of the time I'll be writing nonsense but occasionally I may surprise myself and appear half-way knowledgable.....but you can be the judge of that. Thanks for your fleeting attention!
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Christopher