Poor Ozzy

Filed under: Uncategorized — dpenn @ 8:28 am

I can remember back to a time when just hearing the name “Ozzy Osbourne” conjured up feelings of insanity, dread and some of the best metal ever recorded. Today, Ozzy is just a sad parody of himself, led by puppeteer and spouse, Sharon.

My first introduction to Ozzy was in 1982, seeing him on MTV performing “Iron Man” on the Speak of the Devil Tour. I was 9 years old then, but still clearly remember being totally transfixed by what I saw. Soon after, my grandfather purchased Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” and “Blizzard of Ozz” for me. From then on, I was hooked. Ozzy was a frightening character indeed, spewing out some of the most harrowing metal and metal anthems ever written.

So…when did Ozzy start to transform from the Prince of Darkness into the Prince of Commercialism? Right after “The Ultimate Sin.” Jakes departure from the band symbolized a departure from the old school and into a new realm of trying to purposely appeal to the masses. With the entrance of Zack, a new slick sound was brought to the table, and Ozzy lost that edge and underlying demonic force that once made him a force to be reckoned with. With each successive album after the Ultimate Sin, the productions got more slick and the music became more commercial. Most of all, it was though Ozzy was just going through the motions. I didn’t buy what he was selling, and he didn’t scare me anymore.

The final nail in the coffin, obviously, was that TV show. Now we got to see Ozzy as just a buffoon. Any last lingering notion of the Prince of Darkness was gone.

The real sad thing with Ozzy is that through all his drug, alcohol, and prescriptions, he became a malleable brain dead zombie that could be 100% guided by Sharon into any money making business venture. When was the last time that Ozzy TRULY was involved in writing music? His new album “Scream” just sounds like formulaic stadium rock that is so slickly produced that it sucks any humanism that was ever in it. Does Ozzy care? Doubt it. He just does what he’s told, and that’s sad. Personally, I would like to see Ozzy dump everyone in his life, hook up with a raw and hungry bunch of backing musicians, and, for good or bad, just write whatever came out of HIM. I want to hear HIM. Not a bunch of formula driven composers. Is he capable of it? Not sure, but he should definitely give it a try.

Now, of course none of his success would have come without Sharon’s guiding. She is obviously a brilliant woman, and I have nothing but pure respect and admiration for her from a BUSINESS standpoint. BUT, she killed Ozzy, the Prince of Darkness. Now it’s just John Michael Osbourne playing the part of Ozzy, doing what Sharon. SAD.

Well…people like me who grew up with the old Ozzy can still revel in what once was, but I for one have no desire to follow Ozzy 2.0 – the marketing years.

PS – on a side note, I’d LOVE to see Gene Simons and Sharon hook up and have offspring. They could name their child Conglomerate Chaim Simons. That kid would rule (or at least merchandise) the world.