Ozzy Ozbourne - Diary of a Madman (1981)
This album is pretty durn close to
Blizzard of Ozz in both quality and content, but there are some actual differences.
Blizzard didn't contain much variety beyond a couple ****ty ballads and "Mr. Crowley", whereas this album actually shows more maturity from Randy Rhoads (do the rest of the band matter?), and he branches out into territory beyond anthemic/awesome cheese. His riffs are still a ball of fun, but they allow for moods beyond just "fun".
"Over the Mountain", easily the standout, has a touch of the epic about it, and is even a tad, dare I say it, threatening? Ozzy even steps up to the plate and sounds just a bit more like Sabbath-Ozzy. I guess all he needs are killer riffs with atmosphere to step back and not try to dominate the track with his cornball persona. An Ozzy track I would say deserves legit respect and not just mindless enjoyment, and I suspect it all begins with Randy Rhoads learning to branch out.
"Believer" is another cool track that showcases Randy's ability to marry anthemic riffs with atmosphere. Ozzy is a bit more on point than usual but still kinda holds the song back with his one-dimensional approach. The title track is another that steps beyond the pale and switches between tepid balladry that is surprisingly justified by a bit of hardhitting yet stately metal that seems to presage Iron Maiden's "Hallowed By Thy Name" (though the Ozzy track is definitely made obsolete by the latter).
The drawback of the relative pullback in big dumb fun is that when Ozzy does go more for
Blizzard-style schlock it is at times somewhat more restrained as well, so that the highs on
Diary can be pretty high, and even one of the two goofy ballads is kind of nice ("You Can't Kill Rock and Roll"), the filler just isn't as fun and makes the album not
pop in the same way. I'm honestly not sure which album I'd choose over the other, but I suppose they both have their strengths and weaknesses and I'll just skip the dross on either.
Honestly I'd be curious just what Randy Rhoads could have accomplished had he A.) not died, and B.) not been saddled with a jaded rock star just out to jump on the next musical zeitgeist. I don't think he'd have been suitable with a truly out-there-for-the-time band like Slayer or Candlemass or Bathory, but I think 70s Judas Priest or 70s Scorpions might have been an interesting fit. Hell, maybe if he'd lived he might have been able to put a fire under Ozzy's ass to be something other than a caricature of himself and release something with the aim to equal his output with Sabbath. Nah though he probably still would have released
The Ultimate Sin. But I'll still give this album a solid...
7/10