Ozzy Osbourne, frontman for metal pioneers Black Sabbath and rock elder, has a long list of iconic songs. In addition to his illustrious career with Sabbath, the Prince of Darkness has released a total of 13 solo albums during his career. For decades, rock fans and metalheads have debated his best work. But Ozzy recently shared his thoughts on what he considers to be his worst work.
As the lead singer and founding member of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne had a significant impact on the development and popularization of metal music. The band sacked Ozzy from the band in 1979 after eight studio albums of varying quality. It was due to his problems with drugs and alcohol.
Known for their wild behavior and excess of drugs and alcohol, guitarist Tony Iommi later revealed, “We were getting 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, and everybody’s playing a different thing.”
After dusting himself off, the metal godfather wasted no time in getting back to work on his solo career. Despite being downtrodden, the Prince of Darkness began his solo career by shutting himself away, fueling himself with alcohol and cocaine, and writing songs. 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.
The album is one of the greatest metal records of all time. Thanks in part to smash hits like ‘Crazy Train’. It was enough to keep Ozzy from returning home to the Midlands to sign on. Blizzard of Ozz marked the start of the songwriter’s long and successful solo career. It has seen numerous hit albums and charting singles, establishing Ozzy as a household name.
Osbourne previously stated that his favorite solo work is a tie between his debut and its follow-up, Diary of a Madman. However, he recently discussed his least favorite solo album, The Ultimate Sin from 1986. Despite being a top ten album in both the UK and the US, Ozzy believes Ron Nevison’s production let the record down. “[He] didn’t do a great production job,” Osbourne told Kerrang. “The recording of the songs was just unusual, not bad.” Everything felt and sounded the same. There was no creativity. If there was ever an album that I wanted to remix and improve on, it would be The Ultimate Sin.”
It is unlikely that fans will ever get to hear a remix of the double platinum album. It is with the singer retiring from touring at the beginning of 2023. Nevertheless, Ozzy’s long and illustrious career leaves little to be desired. It is with countless iconic tracks to revisit time and time.
