The Toy Box: Ozzy Osbourne

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Retro Spins: Make A Difference Foundation - Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell

The Moscow Peace Festival which took place in August 1989, brought hair and metal bands together under one venue for a night of rock across the USSR. Cinderella, Gorky Park, Nuance, Brigade S, Scorpions, Skid Row, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Bon Jovi, and special guest, Jason Bonham, would all take respective turns performing a selection of their hits, all broadcast live across fifty-nine nations. The event would go on to inspire the hit, Winds Of Change by Scorpions.

This was followed by the compilation, Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell, released under the banner, Make A Difference Foundation, which featured studio performances of cover hits by most of the folks noted above. All album proceeds would be split between Make a Difference and the Soviet Union's All-Union Society for Sobriety.

Now I'll be the first to tell you that most covers never hold a candle to the original, but there are exceptions. What's surprising is that all of them on this compilation fall under the exception. They're amazing!

Each respective artist brings their all, in only the style they know how. With amps cranked up to eleven, and bellowing vocals that would scare a pack of wolves away. Part hair band, part metal, all loud.

It's awesome to hear some of my favorite artists from the 80's performing "new" material, like an old friend come to visit again. While each artist performs their own studio cover, it wraps up with a three-part live performance "jam" from the event with everyone involved performing Hound Dog, Long Tall Sally, Blue Suede Shoes, and Rock & Roll.

Though it was never released on DVD, you can also get a two-volume VHS set from 1989 of The Moscow Peace Festival, though volume one is far rarer than two for some reason. While I wish it was on DVD, this is still a great way to enjoy the show.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest For The Wicked

Today, I finish up my 80's journey through Ozzy Osbourne. If there's one thing that baffles me, it's that despite having their contributions negated, and a loss of credit and royalties as a result, several artists continued to come back to the Osbourne well.

Guitarist Jake E. Lee, who for some reason came back after 1983's Bark At The Moon to be part of 1986's The Ultimate Sin, was replaced by Zakk Wylde for No Rest For The Wicked. Bassist Bob Daisley, who came and went throughout Ozzy's earlier albums, sometimes being fired, would return for the album, but then be fired again. He'd be replaced by Black Sabbath bassist, Geezer Butler for subsequent touring.

While I dig a lot of tracks on No Rest For The Wicked, what particularly stands out for me is the groundwork it lays for the forthcoming No More Tears. Despite being three years out, there's a lot of familiarity in the sound.

With that said, I'd be remis to not mention the standout tracks here. For me, those encompass Miracle Man, Crazy Babies, Breaking All The Rules, and Fire In The Sky, the latter possibly being my favorite from the album. It changes based on my mood. However, that's not to say the rest isn't enjoyable. Devil's Daughter, Bloodbath In Paradise, Demon Alcohol, Tattooed Dancer are all decent tracks. I guess I would go so far as to say that No Rest For The Wicked might be a good one to have on vinyl.

CD and cassette releases got the bonus track, Hero, which isn't bad. If you managed to pick up the Japanese version, you'd net yourself an additional song, Liar. It's a decent bonus, but not necessarily one I would say is worth tracking a Japanese version down for.

This wraps up my Ozzy journey. I mean, I guess I could say you should listen to No More Tears (1991). That's an amazing album. Despite being touted as his retirement tour, before he came back for another thirty years, I'd even recommend 1993's Live & Loud. Things past that I can't say much about. I do own 1995's Ozzmosis, and think it's okay, but I've not heard anything past that. I'm considering checking them out though.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
October 27, 1984

Retro Spins: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon

Picking up in my own personal Ozzfest, I come to 1983's Bark At The Moon. It's an album that as a teenager I remember no liking very much. As such, when it came time for this review, I felt it appropriate to listen to it again before putting my final thoughts down.

The album sees a change in musical styles for Ozzy with the inclusion of synthesizers. It adds a more synth-pop sound to the mix of the once straight up hard rock / heavy metal sound, but it works in moderation. It's also the first to feature guitarist Jake E. Lee, and drummer Tommy Aldridge. Oddly, recently fired bassist, Bob Daisley, would also return to the album.

Depending on the version you picked up, European, or USA, would determine what tracks you got, as well as the order they appeared. Slow Down, which was included on the USA release, was replaced by Spiders for the European edition. Additionally, Centre Of Eternity was renamed to Forever on the European release. Interestingly, when Ozzy refers to the song in concerts, he called it Forever. So, I'm going to lean to that being the actual title.

Bark At The Moon, much like its predecessor isn't exempt from drama, and also like it seems to be the result of Sharon Osbourne. Guitarist Jake E. Lee has stated in interviews how he was robbed of royalties after being presented a contract upon completion of the album by Sharon. She allegedly stated that the guitarist needed to sign the contract, forego all his credit on the album, and in return he'd be allowed to continue working with Ozzy. Without it, his work would be stripped from the album, and his parts re-recorded. Lee states he signed it because he had no legal representation, and felt that he'd be fired if he didn't comply.

Daisley's lyrics for Now You See It (Now You Don't), were a jab directly at Sharon, and the bassist has stated his surprise that it was included on the album. The opening lyrics, "Overbearing woman makin' it so hard for me," set the whole tone, and Daisley doesn't hold back.

Playing through Bark At The Moon is more favorable now than it's been in the past. While back in my teen years, I would have told you the only salvageable tracks were the title song, Slow Down, and on occasion, So Tired, I now have a better appreciation for it as a whole. It makes me wonder if the overly used synthesizers were perhaps a hang up for me during my more hard rock / metal days.

Its not a perfect album. There's songs I prefer over others. In fact, it's still the title track and Slow Down, but the rest aren't as bad as I remembered them. I do think this album would have gotten more playtime with me back in the day if I had the perspective I have now.

There's more going on my shuffle list as of today, You're No Different, Now You See It (Now You Don't), and Waiting For Darkness. Whether or not they will become among the skippable is yet to be determined.

From there, I close the book on Bark At The Moon, and will finish everything up tomorrow with 1988's No Rest For The Wicked. Stop by if you're feeling like it.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
October 26, 1985

Retro Spins: Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman

Upon hearing of the death of Ozzy Osbourne I found myself admittedly sadder than I thought I would be. While I hadn't kept up with him since his 1995 Ozzmossis album, nor really paid much attention to his prior albums in quite some time, I still felt the impact of a world that would no longer have Ozzy in it.

This prompted me to go back through my albums, and in doing so, I realized that despite having listened to them numerous times, I'd never done a Retro Spin for the majority of them. I started back in 2021 with his 1980 debut, Blizzard Of Ozz, and then again in 2022 with 1986's The Ultimate Sin, and then simply moved on to other things. Well, over the next few days, I thought it would be appropriate to rectify that. So, if you'll excuse me while I deviate from Elton John (again), and dive into some of the Oz Man.

1981's Diary Of A Madman would be the beginning of numerous behind the scenes issues, all commencing with the coming of Sharon Osbourne as Ozzy's new manager. His wife took the position once held by her brother, and with it came a slew of problems and turmoil. While the most talked about was the death of guitarist Randy Rhoads on March 19, 1982, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

One such often uncited incident was with bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer, Lee Kerslake, who contributed to the majority of the music development and writing of the lyrics, even going so far as to produce their own demos, which were then utilized by Osbourne. However, the two were originally given no credit for their contributions, and were ultimately fired from the band shortly after the album's release. The two would later sue, and win royalties and be given noted credit in future releases.

Kerslake has also stated that during the recording of the album that band members were given no money to live off of. This prompted him and Daisely to complain to management, which is suspected as being the reason they were let go. While members were away on holiday, suddenly new drummer, Tommy Aldridge and bassist, Rudy Sarzo, and shortly thereafter, headed off to America.

Sharon was apparently so bitter with the two, that in 2002 she would see to the commission and re-release of Diary Of A Madman which removed the two's original contributions, and re-recorded them. This was met by fan outrage, and eventually a sticker was added to the cover to denote that the music was not the original format. Ozzy himself stated in his 2009 autobiography that he had nothing to do with the decisions made by Sharon to do this.

When the 30th anniversary edition was released in 2011, the original bass and drums were restored to the album. So clearer heads would prevail in the end.

As for my own personal opinions on the album, it's definitely solid. I'd say it probably ranks number three in my top three Ozzy albums from the 80's. First being The Ultimate Sin, and second being Blizzard Of Ozz.

Songs, Over The Mountain, Flying High Again, You Can't Kill Rock And Roll, Tonight, SATO, and Diary Of A Madman, are awesome, and frankly encompass all but two of the songs on the album. They're also staples on my shuffle list.

However, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that Ozzy has kind of run his course with me. Don't get me wrong. I like the music. It was a major part of my high school years. But, these days, it's simply not a go to anymore. Partly because it's been overplayed for me, and partly because I've moved on. Ozzy was a phase for me. One that dissipated rapidly when he became a television personality.

Regardless, I'm not going to diminish his contributions to music, and frankly if I'd seen him on the street I'd have still been like, "Wow! That's Ozzy Osbourne!" He had presence, he had the music, and he was one of the leaders of heavy metal way back when with Black Sabbath. His career spanned over fifty years, and he went out doing what he loved. Performing for the fans. What more of a legacy could you ask for?

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
October 25, 1980

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
October 25, 1986

Retro Spins: Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears

1993 was my introduction to Ozzy Osbourne. It was a fascinating venture into the growing genre of heavy metal. To me, Ozzy was new, fresh, raw and with a solid album in No More Tears (which was actually released in 1991). It blew my mind to see that he had so many albums prior to it. How could I have never heard of the man? The doorway was kicked wide open as I was soon exposed to classics such as Blizzard of Oz, Diary of A Madman, and my personal, and the most unappreciated album in his catalog, The Ultimate Sin.

Over the course of my life, I've gone in and out of phases for bands / singers, and for me, this era was all about Ozzy. He had dethroned artists such as Prince, Guns N' Roses and Ozzy Osborune. He would later be dethroned by Rush, which would lead to my all time favorite group of all time, Queen. While I've since then expanded even further into other music, they remain at the top of that list to this day.

But I digress. Let's step back in time to Ozzy's 1991 album, No More Tears.

When I first heard it, I had a great appreciation for the first half of the record. Mr. Tinkertrain, I Don't Want To Change The World, Mama I'm Coming Home, Desire, No More Tears and S.I.N. were my favorites of that point in history. However, after giving them their fair chance much later down the road, I grew to enjoy several tracks from the back half of the album. Not all of them, but most of them.

However, as I sit down to listen to this album today, while I still like the songs from it, they are admittedly very "loud". I don't know if this is because I've grown older or if perhaps I'm just not in the mood for something like this. It's admittedly been a rather frustrating day. So in that regard, the timing may not have been right for it. Of course, the other viable problem could be that I've simply listened to this album too much over the years and I'm just over it. Whatever the reason was, I eventually turned it off.

Regardless of where I'm at today that prevented me from getting through it, this album holds a special place in my mind to me. It transports me back to a time when life was a bit easier, living at home, going through high school and having the final years of my responsibility free life before really learning what it meant to be an adult.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

Retro Spins: Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

"I don't need no f*%ing Black Sabbath! Sharon!" - Ozzy Osbourne....Probably.

I feel like Ozzy Osbourne's The Ultimate Sin doesn't get the love it deserves in his overall catalog of music. I remember it always being the most difficult one to find in his entire discography. As if nobody wanted to stock it because it didn't have any of his "hits" on it - Which could actually explain why I like it so much.

The Ultimate Sin doesn't suffer from being overplayed. Well, unless you take into consideration how many times I blared it. I love this album, from start to finish. It's one of the very few I'd pick up on vinyl if I came across it. For those of you who don't know what I'm getting at with that statement, I'll explain. I only buy albums on vinyl that I know I'll listen to from start to finish - Because skipping songs on a record is a pain to do. It's because of this that I actually have very few albums on vinyl.

Out of all the tracks, Shot In The Dark was the only song to touch the charts, and it didn't do very well. In March of '86 it debut at number ninety-five, and then disappeared the following week. There were no other songs from the album which charted, and it eventually faded away into obscurity.

This is odd, because at the time of its release, The Ultimate Sin was actually the highest charting album of Osbourne's career. However, many contribute this to the surge in popularity of metal albums during this particular time of the 80's. It was, after all, the year of Metallica's Master Of Puppets, Megadeth's Peace Sells But Who's Buying, Queensryche's Rage For Order, Europe's The Final Countdown, Cinderella's Night Songs, Van Halen's 5150, Poison's Look What The Cat Dragged In and Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet. I know, many of those wouldn't constitute as metal these days, but they did back then.

I could sit here and tell you what my favorite tracks are from the album, but like I've said already, I like the entire album. As such, that would be a bit futile, and a waste of everyone's time. Suffice to say, you should check this one out.

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Retro Spins: Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard Of Ozz

"I don't need no f*#&ing Black f*@(ing Sabbath mother f*@^ing pieces of s*@^ as* mother f&!^ing s*#$ f*#& s&%#!" - Is what I imaging Ozzy said when he began penning his first solo album.

I was big into Ozzy in the early 90's, starting with his 1991 smash, No More Tears. From there, I worked my way backwards into his 1980's work, collecting all the albums up until that time. Ozzy was gearing up to be one of my all time favorite metal artists. Then, just as I was getting into it all, he announced he was retiring, went on a final set of tours and released the double Live and Loud album.

Then 1995 came, and a bored Ozzy suddenly reemerged with a new album, Ozzmosis. It was pretty bland in terms of what I had come to expect at this point, and pretty much signaled the end of my interest in anything further from him. Things didn't get better either. 2002 crept up on us, and suddenly the Osbourne family were "starring" in their own reality television show. Ozzy had moved from aging, failing metal artist (in my mind), to TV personality. A gimmick. A novelty act. A joke.

While he hadn't been someone I was steadily listening to at this point, it was still such a shame to see him envelop a household name persona when his prior musical works promoted anything but this. Old Ozzy was not as cool as young Ozzy. Old Ozzy...was kind of pathetic.

With no hope for a future from Ozzy in my musical library, I've found myself going back in time to his better, more creative works. Songs which were thought out, crafted meticulously to perfection, and not just released because old Ozzy was bored one day walking around his mansion. Albums such as his studio solo debut, Blizzard Of Ozz.

My friends, back in 1980, you didn't dare play Blizzard Of Ozz in front of your momma and papa. You didn't talk about it at church. You didn't ask your teacher what her favorite track was. No sir. Ozzy was the devil in most eyes of your average adult. A singer who promoted anarchy, violence and even suicide - Depending on who you asked. His music was raw, powerful and amazing! Especially with the backing of Randy Rhodes!

Blizzard Of Ozz says, "I Don't Know" to any questions you may have before throwing you on a "Crazy Train." It delivers hard with Suicide Solution, Mr. Crowley, No Bone Movies, Revelation and Steel Away The Night, while also showing Ozzy has a caring side in Goodbye To Romance. Randy Rhodes wails in the background on lead electric to every song, and then he too takes a step back to present his short masterpiece, Dee, as if to say, "It doesn't have to be all about metal."

The album is a perfect masterpiece in my eyes. It's solid from start to finish, showcasing Ozzy at his best. No, he don't need no f&^#ing Black Sabbath!

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"N" The Box (Art Asylum)

"N" The Box
Art Asylum
2001

Welcome to the 21st century Jack in the Box. Art Asylum's 2001 series based on some of the most iconic rockers, or in the case of Iron Maiden, their mascot, Eddie. They're unique, I'll give them that. I would have never thought adults would have an interest in Jack in the Box toys, but I suppose it makes sense. I mean, we collect everything, don't we?

Considered the Godfather of shock rock, Alice Cooper's career has spanned over fifty years. What most people don't know is that Alice Cooper used to be the name of the band. Under the name, the group released seven studio albums which included some of the singer's biggest hits. However, when the band broke up in 1975, singer Vincent Furnier assumed the persona of Alice Cooper, going on to a much larger career.

Eddie has been the mascot of British band, Iron Maiden, ever since their debut in February of 1980. Since then, the iconic character has gone on to perhaps be more recognizable than the actual band members themselves. Eddie has been incorporated into practically every piece of Iron Maiden merchandise to date.

The self professed prince of darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. Original lead singer of Black Sabbath turned solo act, he went from one of the top artists targeted by parent and activist groups to household novelty act reality TV host. Ozzy is definitely not the artist he used to be.

Rob Zombie took perhaps one of the greatest up and coming metal bands, White Zombie, and threw them away to pursue a highly successful solo career, and an equally successful movie career. Though he definitely leans more so towards the macabre style in his acts, it's one that has drawn in millions of fans of both heavy metal music and horror films.

I feel like Kiss is a go to far too often for companies looking to produce music based toys. It's ground which has been covered very abundantly, and really only serves to drive home the point that the band has become, or perhaps always was, nothing more than a novelty.

While Art Asylum produced quality work in their "toys", I think what contributed greatly to their decline was their consistent focus on statue based items. Their products serve little purpose beyond display pieces. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely less appealing to action figure collectors.

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