zakk wylde

REVIEW: Ozzy Osbourne – Just Say Ozzy (1990 EP)

OZZY OSBOURNE – Just Say Ozzy (1990 Epic EP)

Nobody was shocked when Ozzy Osbourne, the man who said he hated live albums, put out his fourth (!) solo live release in 1990. (His other three live releases were the Mr. Crowley EP, Speak of the Devil, and Randy Rhoads Tribute. This does not include the Ultimate Live Ozzy EP which was…not live.) The liner note by Ozzy attempts to justify its release. “Firstly, ‘Shot in the Dark’,” begins Ozzy. “I am happier with this version than the original.” (Oooh, sick burn on Jake.) Ozzy continues, “Secondly, the Sabbath songs – To have recorded them one last time with Geezer Butler, Zakk and Randy says it all for me. It’s a chapter of my musical career I can now close.”

What the fuck did that mean?

Was Ozzy going to stop playing Sabbath songs?  Did anyone actually believe that?  The bitter liner notes accompany a front cover emblazoned with all four band members’ names, in the same sized font as Ozzy’s.  And on the front cover is not Ozzy Osbourne, but guitarist Zakk Wylde! (Albeit from behind so you can’t see his face, and he’s just in one corner of the cover.)  It all seems to deliver a message of “I am focused on the present, not my past.”  This quartet was fully expected to record the next Ozzy studio album together, athough ultimately that did not happen.  Geezer left in 1991 for a reunited Dio-era Black Sabbath.  So much for not looking back!

JUST SAY OZZY_0005

Just Say Ozzy functioned as a stopgap.  Ozzy would take his time with the next LP (which at that time was tentatively titled No Dogs Allowed, then Don’t Blame Me), but No Rest for the Wicked was already two years past.  They had to release something, so here it is.  One careful listen will reveal a lot of studio trickery was employed afterwards. Indeed, if one focuses on the crowd noise you can hear edits everywhere. Billboard magazine revealed that the music for this album was re-recorded in the studio with audience noise overdubbed.

Having said that, if this kind of trickery doesn’t bother you (and if you own Kiss Alive! or Frampton Comes Alive then it shouldn’t too much) then this is a great EP. Just Say Ozzy‘s meager six songs feature the only recordings of the brief Osbourne/Wylde/Butler/Castillo lineup. I was always a fan of those particular guys and there’s something to be said when you have two original Black Sabbath members in the band, while Black Sabbath only had one.

Since this EP was from the No Rest tour, three of its heaviest songs were showcased: the single “Miracle Man”, “Tattooed Dancer”, and “Bloodbath in Paradise”. No ballads.  These three songs are nice to have, but are not even close to competing with the better known hits.

From The Ultimate Sin comes “Shot In The Dark”…yes, Ozzy’s so-called “preferred version”.  And it is indeed very good.  Zakk Wylde was a talented kid even then, and I love the youthful “go for it” attitude in his playing. “Shot in the Dark” features an extended solo that established Zakk’s place with his axe predecessors.  Then, a deuce of Sabbath: a smokin’ “Sweet Leaf” and probably the best live version of “War Pigs” that I have ever heard.

Yeah, that’s what I said.

This Zakk-infused version of “War Pigs” is, in this humble writer’s opinion, the best live version ever released. Zakk’s guitar digs deep into the strings with those nice wide vibratos. It’s just monstrous, plus with Geez on bass, it has that slink it needs.  Randy Castillo (RIP) was certainly no slouch, and his relentless fills here are solidly entertaining.

3/5 stars.  Shame about that crappy cover art though.

Tracklist:

  1. “Miracle Man”
  2. “Bloodbath in Paradise”
  3. “Shot in the Dark”
  4. “Tattooed Dancer”
  5. “Sweet Leaf”
  6. “War Pigs”

REVIEW: Ozzy Osbourne – Best of Ozz (1989 Japanese exlusive)

Second of an Ozzy double shot! For the other review, Randy Rhoads Tribute, click here.  

OZZY OSBOURNE – Best of Ozz (1989 CBS Japan exclusive)

Japanese releases are such interesting things.  Sometimes they are chock full of bonus tracks and additional goodies, and sometimes they are not.  This CD is one that is not.

Even though this album came out after No Rest for the Wicked (1988),  this Best Of Ozz includes no songs from that album or with guitarist Zakk Wylde.  The songs are drawn from the first four Ozzy studio albums only, and the CD contains only 10 tracks.  You have to shrug your shoulders at some of the song selections.  “Secret Loser” and “Centre of Eternity” are on this, but not “Suicide Solution” or “I Don’t Know”.

Those two aside, however, this ain’t a bad but brief run through the land of Ozz.  “Crazy Train”: check.  “Bark at the Moon”: check.  “Mr. Crowley”: check.  “Shot in the Dark”: check.  They get some bonus points for deeper cuts such as “Diary of a Madman”, “Over the Mountain” and “Goodbye to Romance”.   I’m also glad “The Ulimate Sin” was included, as that song has sort of been erased from Ozzy’s canon since then, in a manner of speaking.  He doesn’t like reissuing any songs from that album.

Interestingly, each track alternates guitar players: Randy, Jake, Randy, Jake, through the whole BEST OF OZZ_0005album.  The result is an uneven listen.  I don’t know why they did that.

The tracks are most likely the original CD masters.  There are no liner notes indicating they had been remastered and I think it would be highly unlikely.  Since there is nothing exclusive to be had on Best of Ozz, and since it is limited to just 10 tracks and lacks Zakk Wylde, this CD is nothing more than a collectible to me.  I don’t remember what I paid for it, but I bought it from T-Rev’s store.  I probably paid about $16.99 or so.  The CD itself is scratched a little bit, but not bad enough to skip or play defectively.  Most appealing to me, the original obi strip was intact, and there’s a lyric sheet with Japanese writing and amusing sketches.  Bizarrely, some of these sketches are of Zakk Wylde, even though he’s not on the album.

I’ve listened to Best of Ozz exactly twice: when I purchased it, and when I reviewed it.

2/5 stars

REVIEW: Zakk Wylde – Book of Shadows (reissue)

ZAKK_0001

ZAKK WYLDE – Book of Shadows (1996, 1999 Spitfire reissue with bonus tracks)

There are many albums in my collection that I have bought more than once, just because I love them so much. Kiss Alive for example I’ve owned on LP and CD every time its been reissued. Likewise, Book of Shadows. When this album was issued with the 3 bonus tracks on an extra CD, I made sure I added it to my collection, because this is such an amazing collection of songs and I needed more.

Book of Shadows, Zakk’s second album outside Ozzy (Pride And Glory being the first) was a departure. Every song is largely acoustic, and electric guitar is usually only heard distantly in the mix, or in some of the solos. Instead of shredding, this album is driven by Zakk’s soulful voice, electrifying lyrics (very underrated!) and songwriting excellence.

I recall playing this for Tom and T-Rev when I first picked it up.  Tom’s immediate first reaction was, “This sounds like Hootie and the Blowfish.” The reason for that is Zakk’s deep voice, and the fact that these are mostly mellow acoustic songs. However a few more minutes in, and it was clear that this was a Zakk album. Especially when that first electric guitar solo kicked in. By the time the albums ends on the electric, grinding, Sabbathy-outro to “I Thank You Child”, we had been thoroughly blown away.

Zakk’s lyrics run the gamut from philosophical to funny. “The Things You Do”, for example, seems to be about an ex-girlfriend and contains the lyric, “How do you do the things you do? You make Satan look like Christ, you know it’s true.” Elsewhere, “Way Beyond Empty” is a powerful, mournful song with a chorus so good that it will not let you go. I also enjoyed “Throwin’ It All Away” for its drama and orchestration.  The three bonus tracks are just as good as anything else on the album, particularly “The Color Green”, an indictment of modern greed.  Lyrically the bonus tracks are more topical than the album in general.  They are “Evil Ways”, “The Color Green”, and “Peddlers of Death”.  A vastly different re-recorded version of “Peddlers of Death” later appeared on Black Label Society’s debut album Sonic Brew.

If you are a Zakk fan, obviously this purchase is a must. If you’re not a Zakk fan but you happen to stumble upon this review, do what you can to hear it.  I’m firmly convinced that if Book of Shadows had a larger overall awareness, it could have been a hit album with multiple successful singles.

Band lineup:
Zakk Wylde – lead vocals, guitars, piano
Joe Vitale – drums, keyboards
James Lomenzo – bass

5/5 stars

WTF Search Terms: McGangBang edition

Kyle makes a McGangBang sandwich. One Junior Chicken + one McDouble and some assembly required.

WTF Search Terms XIII:  McGangBang edition

Welcome to WTF Search Terms on your Monday morning.  There seems to be a clear forerunner in search terms that lead people to mikeladano.com this time:  dirty things!

    1. porn video lebrani gay
    2. wwwsexvedia.google.com
    3. sineplex sex mouvie
    4. cum disgrace
    5. www. fuk sexcom
    6. raging shemale tumblr
    7. top 10 classic japan porn. 1990
    8. flashing tits, san diego, 2013
    9. b cock.com
    10. tits añd sd
    11. don’t go alone porn
    12. that is my jovy,, i’m voyeur
    13. sex lebrain
    14. rio warner fetish
    15. hande sex starpicture
    16. german leather ass
    17. painvexen.com
    18. fuaking gali
    19. douche tales
    20. ane budi fuk me eyse le sexy store

If you liked this, you may also enjoy:  WTF Search Terms XI: Health & Safety edition

MCGANG BANG

Part 204: An Introduction to sHEAVY

sHEAVY_0002

Back then in the olden days, you were actually expected to type that whole url into your browser!

RECORD STORE TALES Part 204:  An Introduction to sHEAVY

MARCH, 2000.  Saturday night.  One of our store owners was throwing a house party.  Tom, being the usual musical selector at parties, put a cassette on for me.  He rewound to the beginning and hit “play”.

“Mike,” he said, wild-eyed with excitement.  “One of my customers gave me this tape.  It’s the new Ozzy.  It’s not out yet.  This is a bootleg copy.”

This intense, guitar heavy distortion faded in.  The voice, also distorted and processed, was a dead ringer for a young Ozzy!

“Ozzy’s singing great, isn’t he?” Tom inquired mischievously.

“That’s not Zakk Wylde on guitar,” I retorted.  “I’d know if it was Zakk, and that guy’s not Zakk.”

Tom faltered.  “That’s, uhhh, the new guy.”

I called bullshit.  “This isn’t Ozzy.  It sounds a hell of a lot like early Sabbath, and it’s really good, but it’s not Ozzy.”

“Fuck!” Tom spat out.  “I can’t believe you got it so fast.  When I heard it, I truly thought it was new Ozzy at first.  At least the way the new Ozzy should be, you know what I mean?  Hear all that fuckin’ Sabbath going on there?”

I did indeed hear all the Sabbath going on.  In fact, of all the bands that people hyped to me as being “Sabbath-y”, this band came closest.

The band is from St John’s, Canada, and they are called Sheavy.  They kicked serious ass.  The album we were listening to was 1998’s The Electric Sleep.  The song:  “Virtual Machine”.  Often found on many bit torrent sites as a “lost” Black Sabbath reunion song.  It is not.  It is Sheavy, and that’s how close they nail the vintage Black Sabbath sound.

sHEAVY_0003The singer is a fellow named Steve Hennessey, and according to the CD booklet, he once had an audition with Tony Iommi and Black Sabbath’s then-producer, Bob Marlette!  What could that have been for?  An Iommi solo album, or Sabbath itself?  The CD doesn’t reveal.  “Special thanks to Tony Iommi, Bob Marlette, Ralph Baker and Paul Loasby for the audition and an experience I will never forget,” is all it says!  He nails every inflection that Ozzy used to do, it’s that uncanny.

I marveled at the music, and decided to buy it the next day.  I ordered it from Amazon along with Jalamanta, the first solo album from then-Fu Manchu drummer Brant Bjork.  (Even though I worked in a record store, there was no point in trying to order obscurities like these through our supplier.)  When they arrived, I was blown away by both.  I occasionally brought Sheavy to the store to play at work, and many people asked if this was the new Sabbath or the new Ozzy.  “Nope,” I’d say.  “This is a band from Newfoundland and Labrador called Sheavy.  They’re awesome.”

Unfortunately for a Canadian band, their albums were really hard to find!  A little while later, I picked up the next album, Celestial Hi-Fi, on Japanese import, from HMV.  The bonus track “Nine December” is an asskicker that made it worth the extra cash.  They’re just an awesome band, and they grew past the Sabbath-clone tag after a couple albums.  Unfortunately, toiling away in relative obscurity for almost 20 years has taken its toll, and the band’s future is uncertain.  For that reason I’m grateful they’ve left many great albums behind.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at The Electric Sleep in a detailed review.  Check back soon.

REVIEW: Bill Ward – Ward One: Along the Way (1990)

A companion piece to my previous Record Store Tale, a video blog, seen above!

BILL WARD – Ward One: Along the Way (1990)

To date, since leaving Black Sabbath (the first time) in 1980, Bill Ward has released precisely two full solo albums (plus the single “Straws”).   This is especially unfortunate, since both solo albums are particularly fine pieces of work.  The finest and most noteworthy was his first, Ward One: Along the Way, released a decade after his Sabbath departure.  A long time in the making doesn’t begin to sum it up.

Bill himself provides drums, lead vocals, and piano, but not on all tracks.  Some tracks feature guest vocalists (Ozzy Osbourne, Jack Bruce, guitarist Rue Philips) and a guest drummer (Eric Singer, also ex-Sabbath, but best known for being in Kiss).  Other notables include Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake), Lanny Cordola (House of Lords), Gordon Copley (Black Sabbath), Bob Daisley and Zakk Wylde (both of Ozzy’s bands).  Jack Bruce of course also plays bass!  It’s a smorgasbord of integrity.

Aside from some production issues (this album could use a nice, clear remix) this is among the best solo products issued by any ex-member of Black Sabbath, including Dio and Ozzy.  It has its Sabbathesque moments (a few crushing guitar chords, pounding drums, peacenik lyrics) but it truly is an animal of its own.   Bill Ward received a co-writing credit on every original Black Sabbath song, and it’s clear why.  The man has a vivid imagination, creating swirling soundscapes of music.  There is nothing here that is outright commercial, nothing straightforward, everything is just slightly fucked up.  I think most likely it was Bill that gave Black Sabbath its oddball experimental edge in the early days.  An edge they have lost now that they have given him the boot.

The obvious standout track is “Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays)”, the thunderous single featuring none other than Ozzy himself on lead vocals.  But even that is strange and offputting, as the pitch of Ozzy’s voice is manipulated in the mix, giving him an otherworldly sound at times.

But there’s nothing wrong with Bill’s own soft vocals (aside from being mixed too low), as he proves on the standout tracks “(Mobile) Shooting Gallery” and “Pink Clouds An Island”.  He often layers his vocals, thickening them up, but it’s a pleasing effect  “Pink Clouds” is a particularly great track, featuring some nice unusual percussion and vocal bits.

Jack Bruce’s “Light Up the Candles (Let There Be Peace Tonight)” is a beautiful song with a great little guitar melody that weaves in and out, but Jack really delivers on the vocal.  If you hate lyrics about world peace, avoid this album!  “Snakes and Ladders” is another standout track, perhaps the closest thing to a straightforward rock song, although Marco Mendoza’s fluid bass keeps it slightly off-kilter.

Ozzy returns to sing lead on “Jack’s Land”.  I heard a while ago that a reissue of this album was being planned, sans the two Ozzy tracks.  What a shame that would be.  Must be due to rights.  “Jack’s Land”  is a driving song, made all the more powerful with Ozzy behind the mic.  Once again, his voice is manipulated for effect.

The core riff of “Living Naked” could have found a home on many a Sab platter, but the song is otherwise very different from anything Sabbath have done.  This flows directly into “Music For A Raw Nerve Ending”, one of three songs written solely by Bill.  While there is a chugging guitar audible beneath the layers of vocals, piano and bass, it is not the driving force of the song.  Bill’s hypnotic vocal is.  And this song melds directly into “Tall Stories”, which continues the key hooks, adding Jack Bruce, even more hooks, and a soulful female backing vocal. There’s even a frickin’ didgery doo!

“Sweep” (also written solely by Bill) is a bright, fast little number, perhaps the most mainstream track on the album.  Bill’s speedy little drum pattern propels the song forward, all punctuated with an oddball guitar solo by Richard Ward (any relation?).   While the album is loaded with great tracks, it closes with one of the best, “Along the Way”, followed by Bill’s haunting “goodbye”.

There’s nothing straightforward about this album, but there’s plenty to be enjoyed.  Bill clearly had plenty of ideas to get off his chest, and often he chooses to load many ideas within a single song.  I remember it was one of the first major releases of 1990 and it definitely started the year off correctly.  (Thankfully, Bruce Dickinson followed it with his excellent solo album a couple months later!)

5/5 stars

Part 142: VIDEO BLOG! Quest For Bill Ward

RECORD STORE TALES PART 142:  Quest For Bill Ward

Full review of this CD coming soon…

Most Unrightfully Ignored Albums of the 1990s – LeBrain’s List Part 3

In alphabetical order, here’s Part 3:  88 albums that meant the world to me in the 1990′s but never got the respect I felt they deserved.  

King’s X – Faith Hope Love (most KX discs didn’t get the attention they deserved!)
King’s X – Dogman
King’s X – Ear Candy
King’s X – Tape Head
Kiss – Carnival of Souls (while you can’t argue it wasn’t a sellout, it sure wasn’t wimpy!)
Leadfoot – Bring It On (Karl Agell and Phil Swisher ex-COC)
Marillion – Brave (what a brave, brave album)
Marillion – Radiation (a lot of people don’t like this one, but I consider it a highlight for them)
Duff McKagan – Believe In Me (diverse, fun and pissed off)
Kim Mitchell – Aural Fixations (a little soft, but Kim in the 1990’s was scarce indeed)
Kim Mitchell – Kimosabe
Motley Crue – Motley Crue (they were better without Vince, honestly)
Vince Neil – Exposed (…and Vince wasn’t doing too badly himself)
Ozzy Osbourne – Ozzmosis (it sold by the buckets, but I think today it’s ignored which is a shame)
Poison – Native Tongue (Ritchie Kotzen took them to a new level of maturity and virtuosity)

Pride & Glory – Pride & Glory (Zakk Wykde’s first album without Ozzy, and one of the best)
Queen – Innuendo (in North America, most of what Queen did went ignored before Freddie passed)
Queensryche – Promised Land (spacey and mature)
Queensryche – Q2k (riffy)
Quiet Riot – Terrified (the only thing they’ve done since the 80’s worth playing)
David Lee Roth – Your Filthy Little Mouth (I didn’t need to hear Dave do reggae but it ain’t bad)
David Lee Roth – DLR Band (John 5 on lead guitar…crank it up)

Part 131: Quagmire

RECORD STORE TALES PART 131:  Quagmire

We used to have piles and piles of CDs, stacked on a unit behind the counter.  Due to lack of space, this is where we put stock that was:

1. on hold for staff
2. on hold for customers
3. being sent elsewhere for customer orders

Unfortunately these stacks were visible to customers, although not available for sale to the general public.  Sometimes you’d have a situation like this:

“Cool!  I can see OK Computer by Radiohead!  Is that for sale?”

And it wasn’t, which you’d explain.  If the CD was on hold for someone, they’d often ask how long it was on hold for so they could be next in line, provided the other person didn’t pick it up.

When stuff was on hold for staff (who usualy snagged the best stuff and held it for longer periods of time) I didn’t like the customers seeing it.  But we didn’t really have anywhere better to put it.  I proposed putting it in the back room but that didn’t last long.  So what we’d do is disguise it in some way.  Instead of having a pile labeled “Mike”, we’d change the name.  It sometimes threw the customers off the scent.

At one point, I had all the staff hold piles named after Canadian cities.  That way looked like stuff that was ordered by other stores.  So for example, we’d have a pile labeled “London” which would be a pile of stuff destined for that store.  Next to it was a pile labeled “Saskatoon”.  We didn’t have a store in Saskatoon, Saskatoon was a staff member’s pile.  We didn’t have stores in Yellowknife or Winnipeg either, but those labels threw customers off the scent.  They’d assume the stock was there for another store.

I liked this system, but the staff often preferred nicknames on the labels.  Some people liked their nicknames, some people didn’t.  There was a girl named Meredith — she really hated being caled Megadeth, for example (I assume that’s true of most Merediths out there).  I hated being called Cheeser — so named because I liked what other people refer to as “cheese metal” (although I think Zakk Wylde would be happy to punch somebody in the face for calling his music cheese metal).

Later on, someone had all the piles named after Family Guy characters.  At the time, I’d never seen an episode in my life, and I didn’t know it was a bad thing that my nickname was Quagmire!  Joke was on me I guess!

MOVIE REVIEW: God Bless Ozzy Osbourne

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne(blu-ray, 2011, 135 minutes)

The best metal documentaries are the ones with genuine emotion in them (Anvil, for example), and God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is loaded with all sorts of emotion.  Produced by the man’s son, Jack*, this blu-ray runs the gamut of emotions.  From hilarious stories with Tommy Lee to some genuine anger and pain from Oz’s family, this movie goes deeper into the man himself, than the music.

The movie starts with Birmingham, and Black Sabbath.  Some of the classic footage from 1970  is incredible.  Ozzy was one of the most loved frontmen of the decade for a reason, and these clips show why.  They also reveal a young fiery Black Sabbath, playing tight fast versions of classic songs, Bill Ward hammering away on his kit like he is trying to destroy it.

After Sabbath, things become less about the music and more about the family man and the wild man.  You know those stories — the Alamo, the bat, the dove, the gross-out contests.  What’s new here is the raw emotion.  Rudy Sarzo recounts a particularly powerful moment the day that Randy Rhoads is killed.  New and old interview footage with Ozzy reveals deep wounds.

The Jake E. Lee years are pretty much completely skipped except for Ozz critiquing a few old videos from the 1980’s.  Zakk is barely mentioned at all.  In fact, another late Ozzy member, Randy Castillo, appears in many clips and is never even named.  And I’m sure it comes as no surprise that Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake do not appear at all.

From there we go to more downs, booze, pills, assault, pain, The Osbournes, more pain, and Ozzy’s eventual sobriety, 5 years straight when filmed.  Through it all, Ozzy remains one thing consistently: the clown.

Ozzy is constantly saying and doing things to keep people in stitches.  There’s a certain innocence in it.  Ozzy never seems to really mean to hurt anyone.  He’s just trying to entertain, whether to distract from his own insecurities or just because he was born to entertain, I can’t say.  Probably both.

Athough the movie isn’t overblown with big name cameos, you will hear from artists such as Henry Rollins, Tommy Lee, and Black Sabbath.

Bonus features:

  • Q & A with Ozzy and Jack
  • Deleted scenes
  • Tribeca film festival

4/5 stars.  More about the solo music would have been great.

*I want to briefly mention Jack’s struggle with multiple sclerosis, revealed this past Monday.  Being friends with a person who has MS, I sympathize with the Osbourne family and Jack, but I also know that this is an illness that can be fought!  There are many ways to be a part of the fight, but here’s a pretty cool one that might win you a bike.

http://www.freedomridetoendms.com/