The short-lived period where I preferred Ozzy's solo career over Black Sabbath ended as soon as I heard more than a couple of their songs, but he was still good for a fun retro session every now and then. But with a revolving door of so many talented musicians, there must be some substance to the discography, right? Here are my Top 13 Ozzy "Solo" Albums, now I've given them a listen.
Guitar key:
- Randy Rhoads
- Jake E. Lee
- Zakk Wylde
- Jerry Cantrell
- Gus G
- Various
Ozzy sings unremarkable karaoke, backed by his random band. It's not a proper album, I only included it to respect the 13.
Fave: N/A
12. Down to Earth (2001)
Although chronologically my era, I always felt there was less point keeping up with latter-day Ozzy than catching up on the classics, so never listened to it. Now it's older than those were, it was due for an appraisal. It wasn't worth the wait.
Fave: Dreamer
Zakk Wylde provides a generically modern metal sound to fit in with the Ozzfest crowd, which Ozzy tops off with cringy, self-aggrandising anthems and boring ballads. The 80s might have been daft, but they were more fun than this post-apocalyptic slog.
Fave: Lay Your World on Me
As disposable as the rest of the modern albums, but the new temp guitarist is a bit more to my melodic taste when he's allowed to be. But I'm not putting too much thought into the precise ranking of these ones I wasn't interested in at the time and won't listen to again.
Fave: I Want It More
A large collaborative effort to squeeze out an unnecessary album, the shift from metal back to hard rock made it a smoother listen for the most part, until the intrusion of other vocalists ruined it. It's called "Ozzy Osbourne," you twats.
Fave: Goodbye
Zakk returns along with a generally higher calibre of guests for what would turn out to be the final outing. Consistently okay is about as enthusiastic as I've been for a 21st-century Ozzy release.
Fave: No Escape from Now
7. No More Tears (1991)
We've moved beyond glam demons and werewolves to an earnest angel singing about his feelings. Shame. Zakk also calms down for some reason. This is the boring bits of the other albums as an album.
Fave: Road to Nowhere
6. No Rest for the Wicked (1988)
The ridiculously young Zakk Wydle makes an impression with heavy riffs bolstered by whoever the drummer was (I did look it up, but it's not like I'll remember). The least impressive element is Ozzy himself at this point, and these songs have never stuck in my memory. It's always given me this weird impression of being more of a B-sides collection than a legitimate album.
Fave: Fire in the Sky
5. Diary of a Madman (1981)
Ay, there's the prompt decline. A step down into forgettable mundanity breaks the spell and is always the point where I notice his singing voice is actually kind of annoying. People love this one though, so I guess I'm the madman here.
Fave: Flying High Again
4. The Ultimate Sin (1986)
Enchanted by 'Shot in the Dark' as a teenager, I might have listened to this more than any of the other 80s albums, but I can't disagree with the criticisms of its general blandness. There's a nagging sense that the album only exists because he hadn't done one for a while. Still glad he bothered though. And get a load of that cover!
Fave: Shot in the Dark
3. Bark at the Moon (1983)
Better than I'd ever given it credit for, probably because it improves as it goes along and I rarely made it that far. It doesn't claw its way back up to classic status, but in moving forward and embracing synths more fully, it has that escapist 80s appeal going for it, which isn't to be undervalued.
Fave: Waiting for Darkness
2. Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
Ozzy's new band debuting at the same time as Dio Black Sabbath is the sort of creative rivalry where everyone wins. The opening track encapsulated my struggle to choose between those albums, until I remembered how good 'Mr. Crowley' is and Ozzy won.
Fave: Mr. Crowley
1. Ozzmosis (1995)
Adapting to the 90s as well as he did the 80s, this was my introduction to the Ozzman, and it took some time for the songs that didn't have instantly, insanely catchy choruses about fictional lawyers to ozzmose, but now I'm very fond of all of it. I'm even thinking about making it number one. What's that, a previously unheard bonus track with my daughter's name? Sold!
Fave: Old LA Tonight
