Anyway, this is the album I consider to have made the most impact on my musical tastes. AC/DC were first, but Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill - these are the guys that really made me the annoying metalhead bloke I am today! Throughout my teenage years I was something of an aspiring guitar player (I was never that great, the best I got was 'decent' by the time I was in college), so Iommi was the element of Black Sabbath I've always been most fond of, but there's no denying the impact Ozzy made on those first 8 Sabbath records too. And Geezer and Bill for that matter. Whatever! Point is, even though other legends like Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan and Tony Martin would eventually end up singing 'War Pigs' whilst Ozzy was enjoying his solo career, it was Mr. Osbourne himself who sang that song first. Others may do a good job of covering it (and lets be honest, most of the other guys had more vocal ability too), but Ozzy is the OG! I can't imagine Paranoid, Master of Reality, Vol. 4... any of those '70s Sabbath records without him!
As for my own personal favourite Ozzy album performance, I like him on the 1970 debut most. The very first metal album of all time, there's something really ominous about his voice on that record. I'm not criticising his later performances, but he's particularly special to me on that debut. He sang in a deeper tone throughout it, and the way he handles the spooky opening title track is so convincing, like he's genuinely being threatened by that "Big black shape with eyes of fire"!! He never sounded the same on anything else that came after. His vocal style shifted to a higher tone. Some people like to mock and say the bloke can't sing - even if he wasn't great from an ability perspective, it didn't matter with Sabbath's music. And anyway, I think he could sing quite well when he wanted to. Just listen to the entire Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album - he was hitting highs like he had never done before.
I regret not seeing him live. Even though I was only a very casual fan of his solo stuff (I think the only albums I have are Diary of a Madman and the live album Speak of the Devil), I think I'd have definitely enjoyed seeing him on stage. Sabbath toured again throughout the 2010s, but I only ever saw them twice with Dio the previous decade. In fact, I genuinely have no idea why I never saw him live during the Reunion and The End tours. I know I wasn't a fan of the 13 album, but still... what was I thinking?! Like Lemmy (who I did at least see live a handful of times), Ozzy always seemed like one of those indestructible guys who'd be with us forever. But alas, the man unexpectedly passed away just 3 days ago - barely 2 weeks after the Back to the Beginning show at Villa Park. I paid for the livestream and thought it was a hell of a show, and Sharon did a fantastic job of arranging it. Ozzy sounded legitimately good considering his condition with Parkinson's disease. It was a brilliant celebration of his life, and everyone involved did a fine job.
Well, there's not a lot else for me to say. I'll cherish those first 8 Black Sabbath records forever. Rest in Peace Ozzy, and farewell.
