Ozzy Osbourne Live At Budokan
By
Sefany Jones,
Contributing Editor
Tuesday, June 25, 2002 @ 11:05 AM
| (Epic)
|
 |
|
“I wanna hear you go fucking craaaaaaaazzzzzzzyyyyyy!”
You’ve all heard it before -- Ozzy’s signature crowd-rouser. And now he’s back again, with Live at Budokan, to get you to going even crazier!
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Another live Ozzy album? But I already have The Ozman Cometh, Live and Loud, and the Randy Rhoads Tribute album, etc. Why would I need this?” Well, believe me, you do, because you haven’t any albums with the live tracks off Ozzy’s 2001 release, Down To Earth.
On Live At Budokan, madman vocalist Ozzy, guitarist extraordinaire Zakk Wylde, bass-thumper Robert Trujillo, skin-basher Mike Bordin, and keyboardist John Sinclair bust out Down To Earth tracks “That I Never Had,” “Junkie” and “Gets Me Through.” The Prince Of Darkness commands his vocals with the same strength and voracity he’s always maintained. These sultry power rockers will have you front row at Ozzfest.
“No More Tears,” “I Don’t Want To Change the World,” “Road To Nowhere,” and “Mama I’m Coming Home” are beloved tunes from the Randy Castillo-era No More Tears album, circa 1991.
Randy Rhoads-era classic tracks “Mr. Crowley,” “I Don’t Know” and “Crazy Train,” from the Blizzard of Ozz album, along with Diary of a Madman’s “Believer,” will have you singing at the top of your lungs, remembering the first time you ever witnessed the Oz Man in action -- Rhoads, too, perhaps if you were lucky enough.
The only Black Sabbath tune on the album is “Paranoid,” from the 1970 release Paranoid. Damn, I really would have like to have seen “Children of the Grave” or “Sweet Leaf” on here, too.
Live At Budokan was recorded on February 15th at the Budokan Hall, in Tokyo, Japan. The CD (for Windows or Mac) includes a bonus 4-minute “sneak-peek” look at behind the scenes in Japan, from the forthcoming DVD.
The very best part of this live album is this: IT SOUNDS LIVE! What a concept! Although the CD is mastered to perfection, you still get to hear the raw, edgy, imperfections -- close your eyes and you shall be transformed directly into a mass crowd of sweaty headbangers, getting doused with buckets of water by none other than Ozzy himself.
So, although it’s not a new concept for Mr. Osbourne to do a live album, this does have a cool mix of tunes, including the newest hits. Overall, if you’re an Ozzy fan (and who isn’t) then this is a great one to pop into your CD player anytime, anywhere -- hard rocking tunes from start to finish!
****1/2
|
