Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz
Joe Siegler
- AllMyVinyl #33
- Band: Ozzy Osbourne
- Album Title: Blizzard of Ozz
- Release Date: 20 Sep 1980 (UK, 27 Mar 1981 – US)
- Date purchased: N/A
- Location purchased: Label comp
- Color of vinyl: black
- Number of discs: 1
- Links: [ Wikipedia | Discogs | Band Website | Complete album on Youtube ]
This album is a fucking masterpiece. The end.
Yeah, OK, I can’t leave it at that, but I can’t lie, I was tempted to take the shortcut. But it really is a masterpiece. And a tragedy. That we got just this and Diary with Randy is a crime. But it’s all stories we’ve all been down and thoughts we’ve all had. Sure there’s two albums with Quiet Riot, but it’s not in the same league as these. It also feels really bloody weird that as I write this in September of 2024, the Blizzard album is only six years away from being FIFTY YEARS OLD. I mean how is that reality?
I didn’t get this album when it was new. In fact, it wasn’t even the first Ozzy album I got. The first Black Sabbath album I ever bought was Mob Rules which was out in Nov 1981, and I bought Diary of a Madman as that was also newly released. Got Blizzard a little after that as that first year of being a Sabbath (and family) fan I had a lot of stuff purchased in a short period of time. I originally bought this on cassette tape (which I no longer have). Later on I got it on CD (the standard US domestic release). In 2002, I got that godawful version on CD from a record label (w/o Daisley & Kerslake), and then in 2011 for the 30th (ish) anniversary (I got what I am playing today) – the “Blizzard of Ozz/Diary of a Madman 30th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set”. That version contained properly restored/remastered versions of the album with Daisley & Kerslake, but on both LP & CD. The LP’s are the standard album running orders that we knew, but the CD’s had some bonus tracks, and another disc of a live show from back then (with Sarzo & Aldridge). The vinyls in this set were interesting, though as there was just a single disc in there, but they still came in a gatefold format. The other side is where the CD’s were – I thought it was a cool distribution idea – I’ve included a picture of that below. I wonder why others haven’t used this idea more. But that’s what we’re playing today – the vinyl from the 30th anniversary box set.
… and as I said before, it’s a masterpiece. Most people expected Ozzy to well, drink himself to death (something that was visually depicted in the excellent video for the 2019 song “Under the Graveyard“). But he found a way forward (Sharon basically) and rebounded in such a way nobody could have seen it coming. Blizzard of Ozz is a musical masterpiece which was the national breakout by guitar wizard Randy Rhoads who is one of the primary reasons this album (and the next) were as good as they were. Of course, this was also brought together by the rhythm section of Bob Daisley & Lee Kerslake – whose contributions CANNOT be overlooked. The combination of these four men produced something is generally listed at the top of everyone’s list of best albums.
Parts of it have passed into the mindset of the culture in general. I mean even most non metal fans know the main riff from Crazy Train. It’s become one of the most recognizable songs of all time. I still her it played at sporting events – in fact just this year I heard it played in stadium at a Dallas Jackals rugby match. The reach of this album is everywhere.
As for the individual songs… I’ve kind of burnt out a little on Suicide Solution – it’s a good enough song, but all the controversy around it turned me off, and while I don’t think it’s bad, I usually don’t get anything out of it. Oddly Crazy Train despite its MONSTER overplay still works for me. But I tend to like the other cuts a bit more. Always had a thing for “No Bone Movies”, an underrated track in Ozzy’s catalog. I also REALLY love Revelation – to me it’s the best song on the album, and feels like it was expanded on for the next album’s title track. They remind me of each other a bit.
There were no music videos for this album produced when it was new, but later on there were some back created. There was a video created for Crazy Train when the 1987 live album Tribute came out. There was an animated video for Crazy Train created in 2020 for the 40th anniversary of the album. I’ve included both below. There was also a song that only exists as a live track (You Said it All) which is also included below.
Bottom line. If you’re reading this, I’ll lay money you own this album and like it. It’s a masterpiece, but I don’t need to tell you that. Go listen to it again (just not the 2002 version). I played the vinyl twice in full in writing all this.
P.S. Something I learned NEW today that I never knew before. I was reading a bit of the Wikipedia page for Blizzard of Ozz, and I saw someone had referred to a “Sharon Levy”. I went “Hang on, is that the Sharon I know about?” So I clicked through and it went to her page. I’ve known about this woman since I first started following all this music back in 1981ish. I know a LOT about Black Sabbath and the people connected to it. But it wasn’t until 28 Sep 2024 that I found out that Sharon’s birth name was Sharon Levy. The page calls her this: “Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden)”.
Apparently, her father Don Arden, who we know about had the birth name of Harry Levy. He was born on 4 Jan 1926, and in 1944, he legally changed his name from Harry Levy to Don Arden. Why? Don’t know that, but apparently that’s when it happened. Now Sharon was born on 9 Oct 1952, and as such her father had already been calling himself “Don Arden”. So calling Sharon “Sharon Levy” is probably someone looking to create something that didn’t exist. I have no idea why Sharon’s birth name would be Levy if her father had already legally stopped using that name eight years prior.
