OZZY OSBOURNE – Black Rain Tour Edition

It’s been six years since The Ozzman Cometh… with all new material, of course. Seems eons ago since the release of Down To Earth, Ozzy’s last release with original material. Needless to say it had some moments, but never really showed up on anyone’s radar as “Classic Ozzy.” It’s now 2007 and the Oz released new material earlier this year, May 22nd to be exact, entitled Black Rain. It was a world event release as it signaled the start of a (still in progress) world tour that began in Moscow five days after the album hit the stores. It’s now six months later, and as most devote fans who already bought the original release dread … another “version” of Black Rain appears and hits the shelves looking for more of their money. This one is quite simply entitled: Black Rain Tour Edition. The “catch” this time around? The tour edition features a bonus CD containing three live tracks and three “B-side” tracks.

THE ALBUM

If you didn’t get a chance to buy Black Rain the first time around, you might like to know what to expect. As far as the band’s performance is concerned, including Ozzy, their musicianship seems to fire on all cylinders on this release. It’s amazing how well Ozzy’s voice sounds and how Zakk has many moments of grandeur and his guitar playing here is some of his finest in years.

The downfall is that all the songs are not as strong or memorable as say “I Don’t Wanna Stop,” which was the first single and one hell of a tune … a bit of melody, great riff, tasteful false harmonics by Zakk, and a great chorus! This track is also reaching out to a new generation of fans as a lot of teenage Metallers are loading this track into their iPod playlists along with the timeless “Crazy Train!” “Not Going Away,” which opens the album isn’t as strong, but it’s a decent rocker that should please most Ozzy fans. The other highlight of the release is the track “11 Silver” where Zakk puts down one hell of a great solo, which is also accompanied by a mean bass line by Blasko, who tries to give Zakk a run for his money!

There’s also a few of the standard Ozzy ballads on the release, as it feels like Ozzy’s still basking in the glow of the popular success of “Mama I’m Coming Home” from years ago. If you liked “Mama,” then the two ballads here should be digestible.

The album’s writing seems to indicate that perhaps Ozzy is making some social statements about his state of mind and/or health with tracks that have lyrical themes like “Not Going Away,” “I Don’t Wanna Stop,” and “Here For You.”

THE BONUS CD

The bonus CD with six tracks in total makes for quite a nice EP. The three live cuts are actually tracks off of Black Rain and were recorded last summer on the Black Rain tour.

The three live tracks include the caffeine fueled “I Don’t Wanna Stop,” “Not Going Away,” and one of those popular Ozzy ballads in “Here For You.” The band, including Ozzy, sound great and it’s pretty cool to have live tracks from a tour not even completed yet. Additionally, it’s pure joy to hear Ozzy crank out classic “Ozzy-isms” like “tonight’s motto is … the crazier you go, the crazier I go!” That’s only half the story!

The three included “B-side” studio tracks are gems, not just “fillers.” Each track is a Rocker unto itself; no ballads included. In fact, these tracks are so strong that if had they been included on the original Black Rain release, they would have made that release a stronger offering. “Nightmare,” for example, has some cool Classical piano coupled with a nice melody, a strong chorus, and bridge that harkens back to Ozzy’s The Ultimate Sin era! The chorus spouts great lyrics like “I’m running fast and getting nowhere, I see the light but I never get there …” “I Can’t Save You” and “Love To Hate” are both riff-laden gems, not as strong on the choruses, but just as infectious!

BOTTOM LINE

This is one special edition worth owning, as the bonus material contains no “fluff” or “fillers” at all. For devote Ozzy fans, it’ll be worth spending the extra copper to purchase this tour edition! Certainly a no-brainer purchase if you’ve been thinking of buying Black Rain and haven’t yet!!!

Lineup

Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals
Zakk Wylde – Guitars, Keyboards
Mike Bordin – Drums, Percussion
Blasko – Bass