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Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Solid gold slaying
Just in case you need convincing of Ozzy Osbourne's genius, here are 10 of his essential songs, writes Mikael Wood. A balladeer in the body of a headbanger, Ozzy Osbourne brought soul and emotion to the heavy metal genre he helped invent as the frontman of Black Sabbath and which he turned into a global force as an outrage-courting solo act. Osbourne, who died this week at 76 — just weeks after he gave what he billed as his final performance in his hometown of Birmingham, England — sold tens of millions of albums, was twice inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and late in life found an unlikely second career as a pioneering reality-television star. Here, in the order they were released, are 10 of his essential songs. BLACK SABBATH, PARANOID (1970) As heavy as Black Sabbath was, the band could also be remarkably light on its feet, as in the group's zippy breakout single, which hit No.4 on the UK pop chart. Paranoid is narrated by a depressed young man who ''can't see the things that make true happiness'', as Osbourne sings against Tony Iommi's chugging guitar riff. Yet the song keeps hurtling forward with a kind of dogged determination. BLACK SABBATH, WAR PIGS (1970) An anti-war protest song as pointed as John Fogerty's Fortunate Son, War Pigs couches its musings on the mendacity of Vietnam's architects in images of witches and sorcerers poisoning brainwashed minds. The disgust in Osbourne's sneering vocal is still palpable. BLACK SABBATH, IRON MAN (1970) Leave it to Osbourne to find the empathy in this bludgeoning yet weirdly tender account of a guy who travels through time to save humanity only to be ''turned to steel in the great magnetic field'' on his return trip. ''Nobody wants him/ They just turn their heads,'' he sings, ''Nobody helps him/ Now he has his revenge.'' BLACK SABBATH, SWEET LEAF (1971) A love song addressed to weed? Osbourne stretches the bit about as far as it can go as Iommi cranks out the sludgy lick that would later be sampled prominently by the Beastie Boys in their Rhymin & Stealin. BLACK SABBATH, CHANGES (1972) Osbourne's most touching vocal performance came in this woebegone piano ballad from Black Sabbath's fourth album; he sings with so much agony about a romantic breakup that the song doesn't even bother with guitar or drums. In 2003, Osbourne recut Changes as a duet with his then-19-year-old daughter Kelly; a decade later, the soul singer Charles Bradley recorded a wrenching cover not long before he died. CRAZY TRAIN (1980) Osbourne got the boot from Black Sabbath in 1979 after his bandmates tired of his drug and alcohol abuse. Yet Osbourne quickly rebounded as a solo act, scoring a Top 10 rock radio hit on his first try with Crazy Train, which he wrote and recorded with guitarist Randy Rhoads. Lyrically, Crazy Train contemplates the ''millions of people living as foes'' amid the Cold War — a dark theme that somehow led to Osbourne's most euphoric song. MR. CROWLEY (1980) To follow up Crazy Train, Osbourne and Rhoads revived Black Sabbath's preoccupation with the occult for this mid-tempo jam about the self-styled prophet Aleister Crowley. NO MORE TEARS (1991) Unlike many heavy-metal elders, Osbourne stayed relevant into the grunge era with hits like the bleakly hypnotic title track from his quadruple-platinum No More Tears LP, which showcased his close collaboration with guitarist Zakk Wylde. MAMA, I'M COMING HOME (1991) No More Tears yielded another staple of early-'90s MTV in this soaring power ballad that Osbourne and Wylde wrote with Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead. POST MALONE FEATURING OZZY OSBOURNE AND TRAVIS SCOTT, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT (2019) At 70, Osbourne surprised many with his robust vocal cameo in this trap-metal pile-up from Post Malone's smash Hollywood's Bleeding LP. — TCA
The Journal
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne dies at the age of 76 weeks after farewell show
BLACK SABBATH SINGER Ozzy Osbourne has died at the age of 76, his family has announced. A statement from his family said: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. 'We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.' He had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019. Advertisement Earlier this month he bid a farewell to fans with a Black Sabbath reunion, telling thousands of heavy metal enthusiasts at Villa Park, Birmingham – a stone's throw from where Black Sabbath was formed in 1968 – that it was 'so good to be on this stage' as he performed his last set from a large black throne. Osbourne and his fellow original Black Sabbath members – Tony Iommi, Terence 'Geezer' Butler and Bill Ward – were the last to appear on stage as part of a star-studded line-up for the Back to the Beginning concert. Also among the bands performing were Anthrax, Metallica and Guns N' Roses, and there were messages of thanks from other celebrities, including Jack Black, Ricky Gervais and Dolly Parton. As frontman of Black Sabbath, he was at the forefront of the heavy metal scene – a deeper, darker offshoot of hard rock. His theatrical stage presence, including once biting off the head of a bat, and styling himself as the Prince of Darkness marked him out as a controversial figure. Born John Michael Osbourne on 3 December 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, he left school at 15 and did odd jobs including factory work before teaming up with school friend Geezer Butler in several bands.
