The solo album Ozzy Osbourne was always disappointed with and the man who let him down: “There was no imagination”
Frontman for metal pioneers Black Sabbath and rock elder Ozzy Osbourne had no shortage of iconic tracks. On top of his illustrious career with Sabbath, the Prince of Darkness also released a grand total of 13 solo albums during his time in the industry. The debate over his best work has been argued among rock fans and metal heads for decades, but Ozzy himself once gave his two cents on what he considered to be his worst work.
It might seem like a difficult stance to take, but true artists will find it easier to share their worst releases than confirm what they believe to be their best. The very nature of art is to constantly evolve and move forward, which leads to strong internal criticism and an unwilingness ot rest on your laurels. So across the musical spectrum, you will find seriously talented people claiming their own work is below standard.
And Osbouren had high standards. The leading member of black Sabbath, Osbourne’s position as one of metal’s ultimate pioneers didn’t happen overnight. Rising to the top of rock as the lead singer and founding member of Black Sabbath, Osbourne had a huge impact on the development and popularisation of metal music. After eight studio albums of varying quality, Ozzy was sacked from the band in 1979 due to his problems with drugs and alcohol.
Known for their wild behaviour and excess of drugs and alcohol, guitarist Tony Iommi later revealed, “We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We’d go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned; we’d have to stop. Nobody could get anything right, we were all over the place, everybody’s playing a different thing.”
Dusting himself off, the godfather of metal wasted no time in getting to work on his solo career. Nevertheless downtrodden, his solo career began with the Prince of Darkness shutting himself away, fuelling himself with alcohol and cocaine, and writing tunes. As Ozzy put it himself, “My thinking was, ‘This is my last party, because after this I’m going back to Birmingham and the dole”. The result of this self-imposed isolation was 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz.
Regarded as one of the greatest metal records of all time, thanks in part to smash hits like ‘Crazy Train’, the album was enough to keep Ozzy from trudging back home to the Midlands to sign on. Blizzard of Ozz was the beginning of the songwriter’s long and successful solo career, which has witnessed a great deal of hit albums and charting singles, making Ozzy a household name.
Osbourne had previously revealed that his favourite solo work is tied between the aforementioned debut and its follow-up, Diary of a Madman. However, he recently spoke about his least favourite solo album too, citing 1986’s The Ultimate Sin. Despite being a top ten album in both the UK and US, Ozzy feels that the production of Ron Nevison let the record down. “[He] didn’t really do a great production job,” Osbourne explained to Kerrang. “The songs weren’t bad; they were just put down weird. Everything felt and sounded the fucking same. There was no imagination. If there was ever an album I’d like to remix and do better, it would be The Ultimate Sin.”
Having a worst album is expected. Not everything can be delivered in your peak, and there have to be some valleys to welcome the mountainous peaks of Osbourne’s career. What is perhaps most impressive is that for some lucky soul out there, The Ultimate Sin will still be their favourite. And that is a measure of Osbourne’s talent.
It is unlikely that fans will ever get to hear a remix of the double platinum album, with the singer having effectively retired from touring at the beginning of 2023. Nevertheless, Ozzy’s long and illustrious career leaves little to be desired, with countless iconic tracks to revisit time and time again.
