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Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz

Blizzard of Ozz is the debut solo Album by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, released on 20 September 1980 in the UK and on 27 March 1981 in the US. The album was Osbourne's first release following his 1979 firing from Black Sabbath. Blizzard of Ozz is the first of two studio albums Osbourne recorded with guitarist Randy Rhoads prior to Rhoads' death in 1982.
The album tracks "Crazy Train" and "Mr Crowley" were released as singles in 1980. "Crazy Train" went on to peak that year at number 9 on Billboard's Top Tracks chart. In January 2009, the song achieved a 2× Platinum certification status. Though it received little radio airplay upon its initial release, "Crazy Train" has become one of Osbourne's signature songs and a staple of classic rock radio playlists over the ensuing years.
The album was a commercial success, being certified 4x Platinum in the U.S., a feat Osbourne would not achieve again until the release of No More Tears in 1991.The album has sold over 6,000,000 copies to date worldwide, making it Osbourne's best-selling solo album. In the UK, it was the first of four Osbourne albums to attain Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in August 1981. It also ranked 13th on a Guitar World readers poll. In his autobiography, Osbourne readily admitted that at the time the album was being recorded, he felt he was in direct competition with his former band, Black Sabbath.
Blizzard of Ozz was controversially re-released in 2002 with the original bass and drum tracks replaced by newly recorded parts from bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin; however, the original bass and drum tracks were reinstated for the 2011 release due to public outcry. A box set featuring both re-issued albums, the Blizzard of Ozz/Diary of a Madman 30th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set, was released, featuring both CD re-issues, 180-gram LP Vinyl versions of both albums (original album only), the "Thirty Years After the Blizzard" DVD Documentary, over 70 minutes of additional rare live performances and interviews, a replica of Ozzy's iconic cross, and a 2 sided poster.At the time of the album's recording, the band itself was billed as 'The Blizzard of Ozz', and the album was intended to be credited to the band with Osbourne's name in smaller print. In fact, when the band appeared at the Reading Festival in 1980 they were billed simply as "Ossie Osborne's (sic) New Band". According to Daisley, "When the album was released the words 'Ozzy Osbourne' were in bigger print than 'The Blizzard of Ozz' which made it look like an Ozzy Osbourne album called The Blizzard of Ozz. Randy (Rhoads) was never one to rock the boat. He knew he was in a situation which was a good opportunity for him being relatively unknown, so when Lee (Kerslake) and I were ousted, Randy had no allies and the act became 'Ozzy Osbourne' and no longer a band." Rhoads felt that he and Daisley were contributing the vast majority of the songwriting and arranging, and he had little interest in performing in a backing band for someone he felt wasn't contributing as much. Drummer Kerslake has maintained that Rhoads almost left the band in late 1981, due to this displeasure. "He didn't want to go (on tour with Osbourne). We told him we were thrown out. He said he was going to leave the band as he did not want to leave us behind. I told him not to be stupid but thanks for the sentiment," the drummer later recalled. Entertainment attorney Steven Machat, who was involved in the deal Osbourne signed with Jet Records, said in his 2011 book Gods, Gangsters and Honour: A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey that Osbourne's soon-to-be manager and wife Sharon Arden was not happy with the level of creative input that Rhoads, Daisley, and Kerslake had in the Blizzard of Ozz album and did not want them to share the credit. Album producer Max Norman concurs that Daisley and Kerslake made considerable songwriting contributions during their time in the band, while also noting that the Osbourne camp "might want to dispute that now."

Track Listing

  1. I Don't Know
  2. Crazy Train
  3. Goodbye To Romance
  4. Dee
  5. Suicide Solution
  6. Mr. Crowley
  7. No Bone Movies
  8. Revelation (Mother Earth)
  9. Steal Away (The Night)
  10. You Looking At Me, Looking At You (Non-LP B-Side) (Bonus Track)
  11. Goodbye To Romance (2010 Guitar & Vocal Mix) (Bonus Track)
  12. RR (Bonus Track)

Download Link

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz


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Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz

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