I just watched the VH1 documentary about the making of Ozzy’s first two solo albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Some really good stuff. It’s as much an homage to Randy Rhoads as anything else, and there a lot of material that hasn’t been made public before/ Live footage of Ozzy with Randy, but also (what I liked) some outtakes of Randy in the sudio that haven’t been heard before. There’s one take in particular that is a recording of Randy continuing on afterthe end of a take, just jamming and noodling that goes on and on and is just amazing (he randomly works in a little bit of the “William Tell Overture” at one point. Ozzy is shown listening to it, and he’s never even heard this himself, and he’s just shaking his head with wonder at it, and keeps saying over and over again what a “great player” Randy was, sort of overtaken with emotion.
I loved Randy Rhoads back in the day, not just for his chops, but for his compositional sense. He was one of the first to bring a classical sensibility to metal, and no one ever did it better. It wasn’t just technique with him, it his entire compositional ability. There was a sophistication to his writing, an understanding of melody and harmony, that transcended his genre and was miles above any of the neo-classicists that follwed in his wake. Hearing those old studio takes (and VH1 lets us hear a lot of his tracks in isolation, so you just hear Randy and nothing else) made me marvel at his talent all over again. I’d forgotten how good he was, and how tragic his loss was. I think if he’d lived, he’d have been the best ever.
Anyway, if you like Randy Rhoads, and you can catch this show in a replay, or online or on OnDemand or something, it’s definitely worth your time.
ETA I forgot, you also get to see Zakk Wylde playing several of Randy’s solos note for note. Pretty cool.
What was the title of the documentary? I’m definitely interested in trying to find it on Netflix or something.
The title is Ozzy Osbourne: 30 Years After the Blizzard.
My favorite metal player. Every once in a while it’s time to dust off the “Tribute” CD for a refill.
Remembering when, after the first Ozzy album came out, a local music critic referred to RR as a “minor league Eddie Van Halen”. It seemed like such an injustice that he got labeled that way, and never quite got out of the shadow. Much as I like Eddie’s playing, I’d say that in most ways, Randy was the better guitarist.
Also, it’s nice how publicly reverential Zakk Wylde is toward Randy’s memory - he’s a good player in his own right.
As great as Randy RHoads was, I admit to being surprised that Ozzy has remained as productive and has made as many good records as he has SINCE Randy’s death.
I’d always assumed that Ozzy was a master showman but bit of a dope. But whatever his flaws, he’s been able to find and attract talented people to work with him for decades. That’s no small feat.
Cool; I will look for this. Thanks for the heads up.
About 3 feet from me right now is the ticket stub from the show in Orlando that was to be Randy’s next performance, and the reason he was in Florida. He died about 10 miles from my house at the time, and I was one crushed 15-year-old. Wish the greats didn’t have such a propensity to die young, but I guess that’s the way the world works.
I actually attended Ozzy’s first show after the death of Randy Rhoads, at Madison Square Garden, in the Spring of 1982.
UFO was the opening act, and they did a great set.
Ozzy had brought in Bernie Torme as a replacement guitarist. But rumors abounded that Randy’s death was a hoax, and that Ozzy was planning to “resurrect” him on stage that night. All through the show, a large percentage of the crowd expected some big moment when Randy would magically appear on stage unharmed.
Hence, even though Ozzy did a perfectly fine show, there was a very gloomy feel as the crowd filed out at the end. Because everyone finally knew for sure, “It was no hoax. He’s really dead. Shit.”