Ozzy Osboune - <em>Black Rain</em> CD Review ~ BrooklynRocks: NYC Music Blog

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Ozzy Osboune - Black Rain CD Review

I have been putting off writing this review as this CD just didn't 'catch me' and I have been trying to figure out why. After a couple listens to the disc, I think the reason is that Ozzy breaks no new ground. None of the songs on this disc are really distinctive and very few songs bare repeated play. To be blunt, without Ozzy's distinctive vocals, this disc could easily be mistaken for the work of an unknown bar band. I have read some reviews of this CD that talk about Zakk Wylde's guitar work. Unfortunately, I don't hear anything special or out of the ordinary.

I don't mean to say that this is a terrible CD. It isn't like I am going to throw out this disc -- I just won't play it often. A point of comparison would be Alice Cooper's solo work in the mid-70's. After breaking up the Alice Cooper Group, tracks like Only Women Bleed were a bit of a shock. There are two ballads Ozzy's new CD that really invite a comparison to this era of Alice Cooper's career.

Anyone who is a fan of Ozzy's Down to Earth release will probably like this one as well. Anyone new to Ozzy's solo career would be better served by starting with Bark at the Moon.