OZZY OSBOURNE — Live At Budokan (review)

OZZY OSBOURNE — Live At Budokan album cover Live album · 2002 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Pekka
Ozzy Osbourne's studio albums from the last 25 years haven't necessarily been universally praised artistic achievements, but as live draws go, he's still among the very best. This live recording, from Tokyo's Budokan as the title suggests, concentrates slightly on the Zakk Wylde era, with four tracks from No More Tears and three from the then newest solo effort Down to Earth, but the debut Blizzard of Ozz gets three songs on the setlist as well, with a fourth cut from the CD release but appearing on the DVD.

The core band on this release consists of Zakk Wylde on guitar, Rob Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on drums, world class master players all of them. And their playing is absolutely fantastic, updating the 80s material with massively heavy renditions. I especially love how the band comes in after the intro of Mr. Crowley. Heavier than lead. Zakk Wylde has been much criticized for his over-use of pinch harmonics, but on this release they work like a charm, as do the other fills and squeaks he often inserts between the familiar riffs. The band's über solid performance, with Ozzy himself in fine form as well, makes up for many of the flaws that song selection might bring.

All five tracks from the first three Ozzy albums are solid gold, flawlessly executed, but the emphasis on No More Tears brings many momentst that pale in comparison. The title track is an excellent piece based on a cool bass groove, but the three others have never been to my liking. I would have preferred hearing for example Desire or Hellraiser from that album. Luckily we get Crazy Train in the middle of the NMT marathon. Earlier in the set the band plays three new tunes, two of which are just ok, but Gets Me Through I value higher than most of the Ozzy material I've heard, the bridge especially being very enjoyable. Paranoid is always Paranoid, but the band brings a fresh new heavier angle to it making it a worthwhile ending to the set.

Since this time all the major players in Ozzy's band have changed, first went Rob Trujillo to Metallica, then Mike Bordin back to Faith No More, and last and definitely not least Zakk Wylde departed for reasons that have never been explained to me clearly. This is an excellent document of this particular lineup, if the idea of plenty post-80s material doesn't turn you off.
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