Ozzy Osbourne — Diary of a Madman
Author: tracysigler | Posted: June 20th, 2007 | | Tags: 1981, heavy metal, music, Ozzfest, Ozzy Osbourne, vinyl | 1 Comment »
- Artist: Ozzy Osbourne
- Title: Diary of a Madman
- Year: 1981
- Format: Vinyl 12 in.
- Rating (1-10): 6
- Owner: Tracy and Bob
- Acquired: 2005 – Inherited from Bob Bobala when he moved to California
- Keeper: Yes
Usually, I only post a concert ticket stub if it’s from a tour that supported the album I’m discussing. That’s not the case here, but there are some connections to my Ozzfest 2001 ticket stub and this copy of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman. Both were given to me by my friend Bob Bobala.
Bob scored some killer tickets for the show at Nissan Pavilion. They were really close to the stage, in the shade, and not cheap. I bought Bob a shirt at the show, a lot cheaper. It was a long day of metal chaos and social observing. Black Sabbath with all the original members was, of course, the highlight; they blew everyone else away. By the end of the show we were getting pelted with ketchup packs and drink bottles by the jealous riffraff sitting on the grass, but it was worth it to see Sabbath up close.
Then, when Bob moved away he gave me quite a few records. This was one of them. I’ve always been a big fan of Sabbath but I never really followed Osbourne’s solo work. I have to admit I was kind of disappointed with the album as a whole. The big hit “Flying High Again” is excellent, but there is little else that comes close.
This was the last album Randy Rhoads recorded before he died. There’s also some interesting controversy about the credits for bass and drums. Sarzo and Aldridge pictured on the liner below didn’t play on the record.
I’m still a little surprised Bob didn’t keep this record when he moved. I’m going to take good care of it for him.
Tracy, you’re right about the concert. Seeing Sabbath ranks right up there among my best concert experiences. In fact, it may be the best, given my sentimental connection to it – after years of assuming seeing a Sabbath reunion just wouldn’t be a possibility, reliving the music I clung to as a malcontent in junior high, etc. Oh the memories. They did a tight, loud, sober set. Just blistering. My heart was thundering when Iomma started on “NIB” for the opener and didn’t slow down, even when we got hit in the head with the ketchup packets. But I think “Diary of a Madman” holds up. It was the last decent work that Ozzy did. You can’t discount the deeper tracks like “Believer,” “Over the Mountain” (a tour de force), and the title song. That marked the end of a great collaboration. One can only wonder how much better the Oz may have been if Rhoads had not bit it on that plane. We might have been spared “The Osbournes” years later and actually had some decent albums to add to the canon.