First New Sabbath Single Coming Friday

I am getting truly fired up for this new Ozzy-led Sabbath album due to the handful of "In the Studio" videos the band has been releasing.

The new album, called 13, is set for release on June 10. The first single, God is Dead?, is set for release on April 19 (Friday). And in a move that some see as controversial but that I see as just a necessary evil in this day and age of record company languish, the song The End Of The Beginning will debut in the close of TV show CSI next month. I imagine in edited form, as it's an eight minute track!

Again, it's impossible to get a feel for a whole album from little snips, but I am hearing a serious old school Sabbath vibe in these video clips.

13 tracklist
1. End Of The Beginning (8:07)
2. God Is Dead? (8:54)
3. Loner (5:06)
4. Zeitgeist (4:28)
5. Age Of Reason (7:02)
6. Live Forever (4:49)
7. Damaged Soul (7:43)
8. Dear Father (7:06)

Sabbath Soap Opera Maybe Not As Frothy As We Think

Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler finally broke silence on the Bill Ward drama, basically saying that the other guys in the band were unaware of Ward's displeasure with the proposed contract until Ward had gone public with it:

Geezer posted to his website:

“None of us knew how Tony was going to respond to his intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Ozzy and myself flew to England to be with Tony, and on his ‘good’ days, we’d meet at his home studio and put ideas together for the upcoming album, all sitting down together, no drummer involved, just three of us quietly putting together ideas. We thought when we had enough songs together for a full band rehearsal, we’d move back to LA and put the whole thing together with Bill.

“To our surprise, Bill issued a statement on his site saying he’d been offered an un-signable contract. He hadn’t told any one of us he was having contractual problems, and frankly those things are worked out between our representatives, and never between the four of us – let alone in public.”

Check out the post for all the details. Nice to hear Geezer's side because up until yesterday Sabbath looked like absolute assholes, even wiping Ward's image off the band's website.

According to ClassicRock.com, that was at Ward's request! D'oh!

In the meantime, the band played a warm-up show in Birmingham this weekend for 3,000 lucky motherfuckers.

Dig this setlist:
Into The Void
Under The Sun
Snowblind
War Pigs
Wheels of Confusion
Electric Funeral
Black Sabbath
The Wizard
Behind The Wall of Sleep
NIB
Fairies Wear Boots
Tomorrow’s Dream
Sweet Leaf
Symptom of The Universe/Drum Solo
Iron Man
Dirty Women
Children of The Grave
ENCORE:
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Paranoid

Nice to see Iommi is doing well enough to play a gig and to go through what must have been a lot of rehearsing to pull it off. Reviews have been positive and here is a video:



I think Ozzy sounds out of key, and I do miss Ward here. I was lucky enough to catch the original four on Ozzfest with Iron Maiden a few years ago. And even though Ozzy sounded like crap then too, it was cool to see the original band.

What is semi-exciting about this is the notion of a new album, and the fact that the band is digging deeper into its Ozzy era albums on the setlist. But I doubt I would go see this show if it came to my town. Not without Ward and even then, not sure.

But you know who I really miss here? Ronnie James Dio.

Black Sabbath Erase Bill Ward From History

This is such bullshit. For anyone not following the latest parade of insanity in the Black Sabbath camp, here is a re-cap:

--Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward announce that the original lineup of Sabbath is re-forming to record a new album and do a world tour
--Tony Iommi diagnosed with cancer
--Band moves recording sessions to the UK to accommodate Iommi's treatment
--Drummer Bill Ward makes a statement to fans that his bags are packed but that he is not going to the UK until he is presented with a 'signable' contract
--No comment from Black Sabbath except to say they wish he was there but they are carrying on without him
--Sabbath tour re-named Ozzy Osbourne and friends
--Handful of actual Sabbath dates announced
--Bill Ward this week verifying he is not taking part in any of the Sabbath dates and the door is closed - he is not in the Sabbath reunion at all, nor will he be in the future

Today's bullet point? Sabbath has removed all images of Ward from every single photo on the band's website.

OK up to this point, I can chalk it up as a classic contractual dispute, where Ward wanted a certain amount of cash but Sharon Osb...I mean the band did not agree to the figure. Ward went rogue by taking it to the fans.

But Sabbath retaliating by taking his photo off the Sabbath website? That is utter bullshit. This is exactly like when Sharon Osbourne replaced the original drum and bass tracks from Ozzy's first two solo albums because those musicians had sued Ozzy for royalties.

Or like when Van Halen airbrushed Michael Anthony off of its website.

You can't fuck with history, people. The fans don't like it and it will do nothing but tarnish your legacy. This is a dark, dark moment in Sabbath's history. You'd think that with Iommi fighting cancer, they'd grow up and work this shit out.

Here is a screen capture of the website gallery page this morning:

Pathetic.

Sabbath Reunion with Ozzy - Terrible Idea

No one I know was really shocked to hear the news last Friday that Ozzy is getting back together with the rest of Sabbath for a 2012 tour and yes even a new album -- the first album since 1978's Never Say Die. It was the worst kept secret of the month, and something about the Spinal Tap-ish announcement on 11-11-11 seemed appropriate.

The response has been generally positive from what I have seen and people seem genuinely supportive. Me? I think this idea sucks. Ozzy jumped the shark 15 - 20 years ago and I guarantee the new album will be a piece of crap and the tour will descend into Sabbath playing the same ten songs they always play with Ozzy.

You want proof? See this Ozzfest show from 1999. You think Ozzy is going sound any better with these guys 13 years later? Dream on.
 

Contrast that with the STELLAR Dio reunion and Iommi and crew should have just gone out on a high note.
  Call me a curmudgeonly old fart but I dunno...

CD Review – Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of A Madman, Blizzard of Oz

I didn’t think I’d review these CDs but I do feel the urge to post something. Basically, I had not bought the previous versions on CD because of the atrocious decision by Sharon Osbourne to replace the original bass and drums by Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake in 2002 with new recordings by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin who were in Ozzy’s band at the time. Daisley and Kerslake had sued Osbourne for unpaid royalties and this was Sharon’s big F-U.

I read that the new versions in 2002 sounded horrible, and I just couldn’t support that decision anyway. I mean, who does that? Would Pete Townshend go back and replace all of John Entwistle’s bass parts on Quadrophenia if the former Mrs. Entwistle sued Pete for more money? God I hope not.

Or maybe is was continued business genius on Sharon’s part, who let’s be fair saved Ozzy from certain death to forge a very successful solo career with her firmly in charge. Maybe she knew people would buy these discs twice – once in 2002 and again when the original music had been restored.

Well, I didn’t. But I did get these new remasters and I have to say, I am impressed. I actually hadn’t listened to these two releases all the way through in years, due to the aforementioned issue of not being able to get a good version on CD. They stand up very, very well over the years. The songs are Ozzy’s best by far and stand up against a lot of 70s Sabbath if you ask me.

Whose responsibility was that? Guitarist Randy Rhodes.

Now, I was always the first guy in high school to dismiss Rhodes as a totally overrated guitar player who only got so famous because he burned up in a plane crash. But I have to say, hearing these CDs with fresh ears gives me a whole new take on the young man.

While all the tracks on Blizzard are credited to Osbourne, Rhodes and Daisley, and the same plus Kerslake on Diary (result of the aforementioned lawsuit), I can only imagine Ozzy and Randy sitting down to put these tunes together. Rhodes had fantastic musical ideas and Ozzy somehow put together lyrics that spoke to what was going on in his life at the time.

With a lot of stuff, the image outshines the music – but get rid of those lame album covers of Ozzy looking crazy and you have a collection of fantastic songs – I Don’t Know, Crazy Train, Over The Mountain, You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll, Flying High Again, Diary of A Madman, Mr. Crowley, Tonight. I mean come on, that is a seriously good two-album run of classic tunes.

Blizzard of Oz is a great solo debut, but Diary is an even better CD than Blizzard – the songs are more developed and Rhodes’ music ranges from heavy to classical. And on the reissue, you get a bunch of live tunes from the Blizzard tour. This is where Rhodes really shines.

Pretty sure this is the classic Ozzy, Rhodes, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldridge lineup on these live songs. I have no idea how much of it was cleaned up in the studio, but Rhodes’ performance is pretty spectacular. Made me realize, for better or worse, that all those 80s hair metal guitar players were not trying to be Eddie Van Halen – they were trying to be Randy Rhodes.

I mean, you can’t really do EVH – he is one of a kind. But Rhodes took Eddie’s tapping and whammy bar dives, made them his own and added that classical scale shredding thing that became mandatory in every heavy band in the 80s. Which sucks, because most of it was crap – just an exercise in how fast you could play a scale. But it came from Rhodes who actually used it well and put some soul into his playing overall.

Ozzy’s voice is strong on these two albums and as I said, the songs are true heavy rock classics. It reminded me that outside of the bickering between parties, what a win-win that happened when Ozzy got kicked out of Sabbath. We got Rhodes-era Ozzy, and we got Dio-era Sabbath. With Dio’s death and the recent Heaven and Hell concerts and releases, it’s been great reliving and enjoying that Dio Sabbath. But now we can go back and refresh our memories on what Ozzy was doing between pissing on the Alamo, eating bird heads in board meetings and snorting ants. He was making great music with Randy Rhodes.

Sharon Osbourne Sucks - Ozzy Confirms It

As seen on ClassicRock.com this morning, Ozzy confirms in an interview with Pulse Radio that he was against the idea of replacing Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake’s work on his first two solo albums. I blogged about this issue here earlier.

The crux is that in 2002, bassist Daisley and drummer Kerslake were removed from the Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman albums, after they took legal action for unpaid royalties. Their parts were replaced by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin who were in Ozzy's band at the time.

Ozzy told Pulse Radio: “Believe me, it wasn’t my doing. I mean, I didn’t know that was being done, ’cause Sharon (Osbourne) was fighting all the legal things that were going down at the time. I said, ‘What did you do that for?’ And she said, ‘The only way I could stop everything was if it went to that level.’ And I said, ‘You know what, whatever the circumstances were, I want the original thing back.’ I mean, I wouldn’t have done that.”

Well, mistakes are mistakes and I am glad it's being fixed. Now I can actually get those albums on CD soon.

Sharon Osbourne Pulls Head Out Of Own Ass

Sharon Osbourne has seen the light. Her bogus, grave error of replacing the original bass and drum parts on Ozzy's first two albums due to a business dispute with Ozzy's then-band mates Bob Daisley (bass) and Lee Kerslake (drums), is about to be overturned with the upcoming 30th anniversary editions of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman.

At the time of the original sin, Osbourne explained it this way:

"Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake have harassed Ozzy and our family for several years," she said in 2002. "Because of their abusive and unjust behavior, Ozzy wanted to remove them from these recordings. We turned a negative into a positive by adding a fresh sound to the original albums."

What a bunch of shit. Those remasters sounded horrible, and I was so glad to have the vinyl records as a back up. There was no way I was going to buy those CDs. I have a feeling I was not the only one. And to blame this on Ozzy is equally bogus. This move has Sharon written all over it and to say otherwise is an insult to Ozzy's fans.

But later this year, the original bass and drums will be restored (I had read they had been erased, which really would have been an affront). According to an article on Gibson.com:

Sharon Osbourne told the website, “They definitely are coming out this year. They are coming out for [U.S.] Thanksgiving and they will be on the market then. It’s going back to the original recordings with [Bob] Daisley [bass] and [Lee] Kerslake [drums]. And there will be a lot of stuff that you haven’t heard before in the packages. Like certain conversations that were going on in the studio with the guys just messing around while the tape was still rolling. All of that will be added into it.”

Ozzy the Dumb Ass Sues Tony Iommi

This has Sharon Osbourne written all over it. According to the Associated Press, Ozzy is suing Tony Iommi, who owns the Black Sabbath name, for 50 percent ownership of same name.

Check out Sharon's full statement:

“It is with great regret that I had to resort to legal action against my long term partner, Tony Iommi, but after three years of trying to resolve this issue amicably, I feel I have no other recourse. As of the mid-1990’s, after constant and numerous changes in band members, the brand of "Black Sabbath" was literally in the toilet and Tony Iommi (touring under the name Black Sabbath) was reduced to performing in clubs. Since 1997 when Geezer, Bill and myself rejoined the band, Black Sabbath has returned to its former glory as we headlined sold-out arenas and amphitheatres playing to upwards of 50,000 people at each show around the world. We worked collectively to restore credibility and bring dignity back to the name “Black Sabbath” which lead to the band being inducted into the UK and US Rock & Roll Hall of Fames in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Throughout the last 12 years, it was my management representatives who oversaw the marketing and quality control of the “Black Sabbath” brand through OZZFEST, touring, merchandising and album reissues. The name "Black Sabbath" now has a worldwide prestige and merchandising value that it would not have had by continuing on the road it was on prior to the 1997 reunion tour. Tony, I am so sorry it’s had to get to this point by me having to take this action against you. I don’t have the right to speak for Geezer and Bill, but I feel that morally and ethically the trademark should be owned by the four of us equally. I hope that by me taking this first step that it will ultimately end up that way. We’ve all worked too hard and long in our careers to allow you to sell merchandise that features all our faces, old Black Sabbath album covers and band logos, and then you tell us that you own the copyright. We’re all in our 60’s now. The Black Sabbath legacy should live on long after we have all gone. Please do the right thing.”

Ooops, I meant Ozzy's statement.

Here is my take - I agree that Ozzy injected new life into the band when the original four Sabbath members reunited. I am sure he was paid very well on those tours. But here's the thing. I saw Sabbath with Ozzy a few years ago and they sucked. Well, Ozzy sucked. I was even impressed with Bill Ward - but Ozzy couldn't hack it. They did the same old songs they had been doing the last bunch of tours. Ozzy's voice went out and he threw the mic to the ground and stormed offstage. It was sad, actually.

Fast forward a few years. The band is touring with Dio, who is singing better than ever. Not only did they write three strong songs for a Dio retrospective CD set, they have a brand new album, which is not the greatest but at least they have a brand new album! According to Iommi, had they been trying to do an album with Ozzy, they wouldn't even have written the first song yet.

The new album, which goes by the name Heaven and Hell, by the way - not Black Sabbath - debuted at number 8 on the Billboard charts.

So of course Sharon is bitter and wants a piece of the pie. From reading Rudy Sarzo's book, she has always been this way, trying to get Ozzy to put out Speak of the Devil - a live album of Sabbath covers - before the real Sabbath could put out the Dio-fronted Live Evil.

Just get back to your reality shows, Sharon, and quit trying to roll Ozzy out on more tours. Let the man rest. And give credit where credit is due. I contend that if Iommi had skipped the Ozzy reunion and went right back to working with Dio in 1997, they'd be as big as ever.

Book Review - Off The Rails - By Rudy Sarzo

This week I finished Rudy Sarzo's book, Off The Rails. Put together by the heavy metal bassman himself while on the road, Sarzo says he wrote the book to answer a question he is asked daily, which is "What was Randy Rhoads like?" (Rhoads was Ozzy’s Osbourne’s songwriting partner and guitar player on his first two solo albums, and was killed in a plane crash in 1982, immediately granting him ‘dead legend’ status)

What emerges from page one is that Sarzo is not your archetypal partying stereotype 80s metalhead. He is thoughtful and observant and he even has a pretty deep seated belief in God, which is kind of a shocker given that he started his career with Ozzy and currently plays with Dio!

Actually, Sarzo met Rhoads in the original version of Quiet Riot, which made the rounds of LA clubs in the late 70s in search of a record deal that never came. The Quiet Riot that found success in the 80s (with Sarzo but not with Rhoads, who had already passed away) was re-formed by singer Kevin DuBrow, with Rhoads' approval on resurrecting the name.

But when Rhoads got the gig with Ozzy post Quiet Riot, he suggested Sarzo and the rest is history. Rhoads' first (and only) two albums with Ozzy had already been written and recorded when Sarzo joined, although Sarzo is pictured on the Diary of A Madman sleeve.

Anyway, the book goes into the year and half Sarzo toured with Ozzy and Rhoads and of course covers the tragic airplane accident that took Rhoads' life in March 1982.

Walking away from the book, I had two primary impressions. First, Ozzy was a train wreck from day one, and Sharon Osbourne was a manipulative nightmare from day two. Although she treated Sarzo and the band very well at the time.

But Ozzy was a raving alcoholic during this period. This was the era where he bit the head off the dove in the record company offices, bit the head off the bat onstage, and peed on the Alamo in Texas. From a couple of (rare) lucid conversations with Ozzy recounted by Sarzo, Ozzy was basically a very sad guy. He felt like part of the machine and was pretty much a lost soul. Once Rhoads died, he got much worse.

My second impression was that Rhoads was a very dedicated guitarist who was as into classical guitar as much as hard rock. Instead if getting wasted on tour, he would pop open the Yellow Pages and find a classical guitar teacher so he could take a quick lesson to keep growing in his skills. He was generous with his time with fans who would ask him how to play certain solos, and seemed very gracious and cool.

Rhoads had in fact already told Ozzy that after one more album and tour he was going to move on, to take further classical instruction.

Sarzo kept an extensive journal, which helped him write the book. That is great, because he pulls out a lot of detail. Remember, this all happened before 80s metal was around. For example, he talks about meeting Def Leppard on the band's first American tour (small clubs, no hit records yet).

But Sarzo also falls into the "school of using your journal as a reference" by listing tour dates a bit too frequently. "On March 12 we played at the Fruit Bowl in Somewhere, followed by two shows at the 1,200 capacity Turd Center in Anytown." And on and on. It's interesting at first but I found myself skipping those paragraphs as the book went on.

The primary thing Off The Rails accomplished for me was that it made me want to check out Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of A Madman again. Sadly, the recently re-released CDs of those albums are bastardizations. Sharon erased the original bass and drum parts and replaced them with rerecorded bass and drums from Ozzy's band at the time of the re-releases.

This was due to some kind of legal haggling with original bass player Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake. I think that is pathetic (see "Sharon was a manipulative nightmare from day two" above). To do that to these classic albums is unforgivable and I will never buy them. Luckily I have the vinyl.

But I digress. Sarzo did a great job laying out a detailed picture of who Randy Rhoads was. Prior to reading the book, I didn't really care. But now I see that his death was the tragic loss of a stellar musician at the front end of a life long devoted career that could have given us all much greatness.

Ozzy Blames Illegal Downloading For Poor Album Sales

According to this article, Ozzy is blaming poor sales of his new album Black Rain on illegal downloaders.

And about touring, Ozzy says, "I ain't getting any younger. Sharon says to me 'Just stand there.' I can't just fucking stand there! I'm a moving target. People would aim their can of beer at my head!"

Not sure what to tell Oz about taking care of himself on the road but in terms of poor album sales, how about releasing some decent music? That might help.