Ozzy Osbourne. Overrated?

axisus

Obviously, some of the early Black Sabbath is proper classic material, but I've always thought of Ozzy as being somewhat overrated as an artist. I certainly like the guy, but it seems to me that most of his solo career has been heavily propped up by very good guitar players. The albums that I've had in the past I didn't greatly care for a lot of the songs, I didn't really like the singing, it was only really the guitar solos that I was much interested in. Probably why I sold them!

Is he worth his weight as an artist, or is he carried by people's fondness of him (and other factors)?

StanleyAccrington

I agree. I've never seen him as a good singer. Think he winged it with Sabbath because he had 'the look' and rock persona to go with it. The Sabbath years were all about the guitar playing to me too. I do like him though...in a Spinal Tap kinda way.

fnpt

His voice was perfect for Sabath, a kind of desperation and anguish which fitted the mood of the songs perfectly. And as far as I remember, he was the one coming up with the vocal melodies for the songs which together with the mighty riffs from Mr. Tony Iommi were the most memorable parts of the songs.

As for his solo work, I don't really rate it much beyond what he did with Randy Rhoads and even that is not on pair with Sabath.

bingefeller

I'm not keen on Ozzy era Black Sabbath, I prefer the Dio stuff.  

As for his solo work, I think the albums he did with Jake E Lee are better than the Randy Rhoads stuff and the Zakk Wylde albums, No Rest For The Wicked, No More Tears and Ozzmosis are all my favourites from that era.  I think Ozzmosis was the last good album studio album he recorded.  No More Tears is his best album I reckon and the best album Zakk has ever played on.  

I think when the reality TV stuff took off for Ozzy, and Sharon became a celebrity, his music just wasn't the same.  It's like he wasn't trying as hard.  

monquixote

He isn't the best singer in the world, but putting an excellent group of musicians together and inspiring them to create great music is a skill in itself and it's something he has managed on multiple occasions. 

He is also a great frontman which again is a skill in itself.

hugbot

I don't think he is massively "rated" tbh, just famous which isnt the same thing. 

lasermonkey

The Ozzy period Sabbath was a perfect storm, IMHO. Certainly, from the first LP to Sabotage. Just the right amount of hurt and desperation in his voice to perfectly complement the music.
i never liked any of his solo stuff, or any post-Ozzy Sabbath.

scrumhalf

monquixote said:

He isn't the best singer in the world, but putting an excellent group of musicians together and inspiring them to create great music is a skill in itself and it's something he has managed on multiple occasions. 

He is also a great frontman which again is a skill in itself.

Have a wiz, you've summed it up perfectly.

His voice suits early Sabbath material perfectly. Can you imagine an operatic rocker's vocals on Black Sabbath or War Pigs? They need the Ozzy wail.

octatonic

Never really be interested in Ozzy and he is essentially the antithesis of the sort of metal musician I hold in high regard.

But he's one of the originators of the metal genre and without Sabbath we might not have some of the bands that I rate and love.

xSkarloey

I have a Best Of and like more or less everything on it. 

Nothing especially stands out past the RR era but it's decent metal-edge pop and balladry. 

equalsql

lasermonkey said:

The Ozzy period Sabbath was a perfect storm, IMHO. Certainly, from the first LP to Sabotage. Just the right amount of hurt and desperation in his voice to perfectly complement the music.
i never liked any of his solo stuff, or any post-Ozzy Sabbath.

On the money @lasermonkey. Ozzie's vocals were the perfect match for Iomni's soupy guitar.
His cut-glass voice just pearced those early heavy metal tones.  When Ozzie was replaced by RJD, Sabbath ended up sounding like every other HM band out there.  Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was a masterpiece.. and Vol 4 wasn't far behind.

Bucket

I actually think some of Ozzy's vocal talents are underrated - he was pretty bloody good on some of his later albums with Sabbath. "Sabotage" in particular.

I'm not wild about most of his solo material though no, and I do mostly listen to it for the guitar.

mudslide73

His Sabbath stuff (even Never Say Die!) gives him a free pass imo. Blizzard and Madman are a massive bonus and anything good after that is an even bigger bonus. He's done more than a lot of blokes,  and then done it again. 

Wheels of Confusion on Vol 4 ftw.

I love Ronnie era Sabbath too.

Haych

I did go through an Ozzy (solo Ozzy, never really 'got' BS) phase but yes totally over-rated.  He's been riding on the coat-tails of good musicians and songwriters for years and has enjoyed ruthless management to keep everyone in check.

I don't even get why people go see him live.  Every time I've seen live concert footage of him, from whatever period - young Ozzy or mature Ozzy, it's the same old thing - pacing up and down the stage looking a bit vague and lost, I find it embarrassing to watch.

earwighoney

I really like Ozzy's vocals with Sabbath.  I think they suit the riffs perfectly and add the music a touch of vulnerability.  It's the juxtaposition between the powerful riffing and the vocals which make Sabbath so majestic (IMO). 

boogieman

The first Sabbath album is immense, and a fair bit of that is down to Ozzy. His vocals are sublime on it. His voice sounds really strong and it's a perfect match for the doomy riffs. He was doing most of the lyrics back then too; some of them are laughable but it's still memorable stuff.

 I think his later solo stuff is nowhere as good, although they've got some good riffs... he sounds like he's on helium sometimes. 

Reverend

Dio was obviously far better but there is a magic with the original Sabbath line up that is irreplaceable. Ozzy was not a great singer but no one could replace him. 

Octahedron

He is overrated in all situations.
He's not bad, he's just overrated.