Ozzy Will Always be Great, Even if His New Album Isn’t

Ozzy Osbourne is the greatest frontman, if not the greatest figure, in metal history.

Go ahead, tell yourself that Tony Iommi was the brains behind Ozzy’s band which single-handedly founded the genre of metal music. Tell yourself that Ozzy’s solo records were only as good as Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde made them, or as bad as Jake E. Lee made them. And tell yourself that Ozzy is a joke nowadays; a bumbling, bewildered rock institution run by his business-minded wife and overexposed kids.

Truth is that Ozzy is the rarest kind of genius, the kind Richard Hell spoke of in his comparison of Wittgenstein and Elvis. Ozzy’s brilliance is something he was born with—that inimitable banshee wail of a voice, the larger than life, alternately lovable and terrifying stage persona, and the horde of excessive rock lifestyle stories that even made Mötley Crüe members uncomfortable. Rhoads, Wylde, and especially Iommi are three of the most accomplished musicians in metal history, and no one can debate their respective places in the music world, but compared to Ozzy, their brilliance seems almost accessible. Someone who spends 10 hours a day shredding on their Gibson Les Paul could plausibly take a sideman position next to the Ozzman, but no sort of practice can attain a genius like Ozzy’s. It’s just there.

The way Ozzy’s perceived today by the general public also stands as part of his brilliance. Far more articulate and intelligent than most people believe him to be, Ozzy was never oblivious to the buffoonish persona ‘The Osbournes’ made him out to be. Unlike the self-conscious demon worshippers who spend more times trying to shock audiences and rack up record sales than write a good song, Ozzy does not care what you think of him. And this is positively what makes him badass—it doesn’t matter to him that he’s perceived as the Prince of Darkness or PMRC Enemy No. 1. How the world views him is not his problem—Ozzy has one of the greatest bodies of work in music history and a loving, supportive family, and approaching his 60th birthday, he can still rock harder than most guys in their 20s.

All that being said, Ozzy’s newest album, Black Rain, is just alright.

Black Rain sees Ozzy’s asserting his relevance (as if he needed to!) on the first two tracks, the plodding ‘Not Going Away’ and the first single, the mega-riffed ‘I Don’t Want to Stop.’ Halfway through the next song, the politically charged title track, it sounds like Ozzy’s made his best record since No More Tears. Then comes ‘Lay Your World on Me,’ a horribly overproduced power ballad with lyrics that even modern day Aerosmith would find sappy. The next time Wylde calls out Metallica or Pearl Jam for wussing out, he should remember he partook on this song.

Elsewhere, Ozzy and Zakk Wylde use their distinct, unmatched talents to make even forgettable material sound good, but by the time the time the record ends you’ll hope the first three songs are on Ozzy’s next ‘best-of.’

Inconsistency has always been a factor in Ozzy’s solo career; Ozzy himself is first to admit it. Like most of the greatest, risk-taking artists, including Elvis, Prince, and Johnny Cash, Ozzy’s released his share of crap, especially the late-80s disasters which preceded his finest solo outing, the electrifying No More Tears. Since then, his records have ranged from great to mediocre, and Black Rain fits into the latter category. It’s not awful or even bad by any means, but it doesn’t live up to the standard set by the slew of great albums, singles, and live shows Ozzy’s given us.

I’ve written much more about Ozzy than I have about Black Rain because there’s more to say one of the world’s most fascinating entertainers than his unremarkable new release. However, this is Ozzy we’re talking about, who rebounded from Technical Ecstasy with Blizzard of Ozz, and survived the Ultimate Sin to bring us No More Tears. As with all legends, we can never count him out, and as long as we’re lucky to have him alive, it will be a pleasure to hear the next set of debauchery he inflicts on the world.