Ozzy Osbourne : Blizzard of Ozz (2011 Expanded Edition) ..and More
MAYBE IT'S NOT TO LATE
TO LEARN HOW TO LOVE
AND FORGET ABOUT HATE
is the debut
studio album
by English
Heavy Metal singer
released on
September,12th 1980
in the UK
and on
March, 27th 1981
in the US.
The album was
Osbourne's first release
following his firing
from
Black Sabbath
in 1979.
Blizzard of Ozz
is the first
of two
studio albums
Osbourne recorded
with guitarist
Randy Rhoads
prior to
in 1982.
In 2017,
it was ranked 9th
on
Rolling Stone's
list of "
100 Greatest
Metal Albums of All Time".
Much of the album was written by
guitarist
bassist
Bob Daisley,
and
Ozzy Osbourne
while staying at
the Monnow Valley Studio
near Monmouth, Wales,
with a friend of
Osbourne's named
Barry Scrannage
performing as the
group's drummer
.Scrannage was
never considered
as a candidate
to be the group's
permanent drummer
and was not involved
in the
songwriting process at all.
The band recorded demos
of the songs
"I Don't Know"
which became
Osbourne's second
most-performed song,
"Crazy Train"
(the most performed one),
"Goodbye to Romance",
and
"You Looking at Me Looking at You"
in Birmingham in early 1980
with ex-Lone Star
drummer
Dixie Lee.
They had hoped Lee
would be a
permanent member but
"he wasn't the final piece
of the puzzle",
bassist
Daisley recalls.
After auditioning several drummers,
ex-Uriah Heep member
Lee Kerslake
was hired as the
permanent drummer.
The completed lineup
retreated to
Clearwell Castle
in Gloucestershire
for six days to rehearse
and give Kerslake
an opportunity to learn
the new songs.
A week later,
they travelled to
Ridge Farm Studio
to commence recording.
The first track written
for the album was
"Goodbye to Romance".
Osbourne has stated that
the song was his way
of saying goodbye
to his former band
Black Sabbath,
as he had thought his
career was over
after leaving the band.
After performing a show
in Birmingham,
the band hastily returned
to Ridge Farm to remix
"Goodbye to Romance"
for a single.
The next morning
they were informed
that their label
Jet Records
instead wanted a
brand new song
to release as a single.
Rhoads,
Daisley,
and Kerslake
quickly put together
the song
"You Said It All",
with drummer
Kerslake
performing the
guide vocal
at soundcheck
while a drunken
Osbourne slept under
the drum riser.
The song was ultimately
never recorded,
though a
live version
was released on
in 1980.
"No Bone Movies",
which was originally intended
to be used only as a
B-side
but was added
to the album
in order to give
Kerslake
a writing credit,
as all the other material
had been written
before he
joined the band.
Its lyrics were written by
Daisley to
express his dislike
for porn films.
Keyboardist
Don Airey claims
that parts of
"Revelation (Mother Earth)"
as well as the intro to
"Mr. Crowley"
were written by him
in the studio,
though he never
received writing credit
for these contributions.
"Revelation"
discusses climate change,
using biblical imaginary
to criticize humankind's
damage towards
the planet.
The instrumental
"Dee"
was written
by Rhoads
as a tribute to his mother,
Dolores.
"Steal Away (The Night)"
was left as the
closing track because,
according to Osbourne,
"I've always liked the idea
of ending the album
with an up tempo song,
like ending the
live set with
'Paranoid'."
Chris Tsangarides
was originally hired
to produce the album,
with Max Norman
to serve as studio engineer.
Osbourne and the band
were very unhappy with
Tsangarides' production
and he was fired
and replaced
with Norman,
who stepped in to
complete producing
and engineering.
Norman's production
work on
Blizzard of Ozz
is uncredited,
though he did go on to
produce all of
Osbourne's albums
prior to
1986's
The Ultimate Sin.
At the time of the
album's recording,
the band itself was billed as
"The Blizzard of Ozz"
.The band members were expecting
the album to be credited to
the band with
Osbourne's name
in smaller print,
just as it appeared on the
"Crazy Train" single
released several days prior.
The back cover
of the first pressing of the
"Crazy Train" single
stated that the track
came from a forthcoming
Jet Records album
entitled
Ozzy Osbourne/ Blizzard of Ozz Vol. 1.
In fact,
when the band appeared
at the Reading Festival
in 1980
they were billed simply as
"Ossie Osborne's New Band".
According to Daisley,
"When the album was released
the words
'Ozzy Osbourne'
were in
bigger print than
'The Blizzard of Ozz'
which made it look like an
Ozzy Osbourne album called
The Blizzard of Ozz.
Randy [Rhoads]
was never one to
rock the boat.
He knew he was in a situation
which was a
good opportunity
for him being
relatively unknown,
so when
Lee [Kerslake]
and I were ousted,
Randy had no allies
and the act became
'Ozzy Osbourne'
and no longer a band.
" Rhoads felt that he
and Daisley
were contributing
the vast majority
of the songwriting
and arranging,
and he had
little interest in
performing in a
backing band
for someone he felt wasn't
contributing as much.
Drummer
Kerslake
has maintained that
Rhoads almost left
the band in late 1981,
due to this displeasure.
"He didn't want to go
[on tour with Osbourne].
We told him we were
thrown out.
He said he was going
to leave the band
as he did not want to
leave us behind.
I told him not to
be stupid
but thanks for the sentiment",
the drummer later recalled.
Entertainment attorney
Steven Machat,
who was involved in
the deal
Osbourne signed with
Jet Records,
said in his 2011 book
Gods, Gangsters and Honour:
A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey
that Osbourne's
soon-to-be manager
and wife
Sharon Levy
was not happy with
the level of creative
input that Rhoads,
Daisley,
and
Kerslake had
in the
Blizzard of Ozz album
and did not want them
to share the credit.
Album producer
Max Norman concurs
that Daisley and Kerslake
made considerable
songwriting contributions
during their time in the band,
while also noting that the
Osbourne camp
"might want to dispute that now."
Although Sharon
has said that
the recording of
Blizzard of Ozz
was one of the best
experiences of her life,
she was in
Los Angeles
during recording
and not yet involved
with the band.
Osbourne's then-wife
Thelma
was present at
Ridge Farms Studios
for much of the recording.
Release
The album tracks
"Crazy Train"
and
"Mr. Crowley"
were released as singles
in 1980.
"Crazy Train"
made number 49
on the
UK Singles Chart
and was
moderately successful
in the United States,
reaching number 9
on the
Billboard
Top Tracks chart
and the single
peaked at number 6
on the
Billboard Bubbling
Under the
Hot 100 chart
in 1981.
Though it
received
little radio airplay
upon its initial release,
"Crazy Train"
has become one of
Osbourne's
signature songs
and a staple of
classic rock
radio playlists
over the ensuing years.
In January 2009,
the song achieved a
2× Platinum
certification status.
The album was a
commercial success,
being certified
4× Platinum
in the US
in 1997,
a feat Osbourne
would not achieve again
until
No More Tears
was certified
in 2000.
In 2019
it was certified
5× Platinum.
In the UK,
it was the first
of four
Osbourne albums
to attain
Silver certification
(60,000 units shipped)
by the
British Phonographic Industry,
achieving this in
August 1981.
It also ranked
13th on a
Guitar World
readers poll of the
"100 Greatest
Guitar Albums
of All Time".
In his autobiography,
Osbourne readily admitted
that at the time
the album was
being recorded,
he felt he was in
direct competition
with his former band,
Black Sabbath.
Blizzard of Ozz
was controversially
re-released in 2002
with the original
bass and drum tracks
replaced by
newly recorded parts
from bassist
Robert Trujillo
and drummer
Mike Bordin;
however,
the original bass
and drum tracks
were reinstated
for the
2011 release
due to public outcry.
The 2011 release
was certified Silver
by BPI in 2013.
A box set
featuring both
re-issued albums,
the
Blizzard of Ozz/Diary of a Madman
30th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set,
was released,
featuring both
CD re-issues,
180-gram
LP Vinyl versions
of both albums
(original album only),
the
"Thirty Years After the Blizzard"
DVD Documentary,
With
additional
rare live performances
and interviews,
a replica of
Ozzy's cross,
and a
2 sided poster.
TRACK LIST
(2011 Edition)
I Don't Know
Crazy Train
Goodbye To Romance
Dee
Suicide Solution
Mr. Crowley
No Bone Movies
Revelation
(Mother Earth)
Steal Away
(The Night)
You Looking at Me, Looking at You
(B-Side)
Goodbye To Romance
(guitar & vocal mix)
One Up The B-Side
I Don't Know
(Live)
You Said It All
(Live)
R.R.
(Outtake)
CD 2
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(Alternate Mixes)
I Don't Know
(Vocals and Guitar)
Crazy Train
(Just Guitar)
Goodbye To Romance
(Vocals and Guitar)
Suicide Solution
(Just Vocals)
Mr. Crowley
(Just Guitar)
No Bone Movies
(Drums and Guitar)
Revelation (Mother Earth)
(Just Guitar)
Steal Away
(The Night)
(Drums and Guitar)
CD 3
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DVD Documentary
(Audio Rip)
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