The Ozzman Cometh

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The Ozzman Cometh
File:Ozzy Osbourne - The Ozzman Cometh.jpg
Compilation album by Ozzy Osbourne
Released 11 November 1997
Recorded 1970-1997
Genre Heavy metal,[1] hard rock[1]
Length 77:00
Label Epic
Producer Roy Thomas Baker
Duane Baron
Michael Beinhorn
Ron Nevison
Max Norman
Keith Olsen
Ozzy Osbourne
John Purdell
Randy Rhoads
Ozzy Osbourne chronology
Ozzmosis
(1995)Ozzmosis1995
The Ozzman Cometh
(1997)
Down to Earth
(2001)Down to Earth2001
Singles from The Ozzman Cometh
  1. "Back on Earth"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[2]

The Ozzman Cometh is a compilation album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne released in 1997. It is his third greatest hits collection. Its initial, limited edition 2-CD pressing contained five previously unreleased songs. Versions released in 2002 and later have only one disc, and the song "Shot in the Dark" is replaced by "Miracle Man". This was due to a legal action brought about by the song's co-writer, Phil Soussan, for unpaid royalties.

The tracks "Black Sabbath", "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots", and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" were performed by Osbourne previous band Black Sabbath, during a session for the BBC Radio 1 Sunday show "The John Peel Sessions", conducted by British DJ John Peel and dated 26 April 1970. "Fairies Wear Boots" and "War Pigs" are early versions of tracks that would finally be recorded on the band's second album Paranoid and thus have different lyrics.

The interview found on the second disc is from 1988, where Osbourne speaks about his latest album at the time (No Rest for the Wicked), about his new guitarist Zakk Wylde and his past days in Black Sabbath.

Note on versions post-2002: The album tracks are from the 2002 remasters, for which Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were partially re-recorded. The original drum and bass tracks were replaced with recordings by Osbourne's then-current bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin, as a management response to legal action by original bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake for unpaid royalty fees. Note also the deliberate misspelling of Daisley's and Soussan's names in this CD's sleeve notes: 'Bob Daisy', 'Bill Susan', as well as Rudy Sarzo's - 'Trudy Sarzo'. The tracks from Bark at the Moon are the original recordings, but later mixes of the songs.

The compilation won a 1997 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Best Hits or Compilation Album.[3]

Track listing

Disc one
No. Title Writer(s) Originally from Length
1. "Black Sabbath" (previously unreleased, featuring extra verse not on album Black Sabbath (1970)) Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 9:25
2. "War Pigs" (previously unreleased, early version titled "Walpurgis" with different lyrics) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 8:15
3. "Goodbye to Romance"   Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley Blizzard of Ozz (1980) 5:35
4. "Crazy Train"   Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley Blizzard of Ozz 4:51
5. "Mr Crowley"   Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley Blizzard of Ozz 4:56
6. "Over the Mountain"   Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, Lee Kerslake Diary of a Madman (1981) 4:32
7. "Paranoid" (live) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward Tribute (1987) 2:53
8. "Bark at the Moon"   Osbourne, Jake E. Lee, Daisley Bark at the Moon (1983) 4:17
9. "Shot in the Dark"   Osbourne, Phil Soussan The Ultimate Sin (1986) 3:44
10. "Crazy Babies"   Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Daisley, Randy Castillo No Rest for the Wicked (1988) 4:14
11. "No More Tears" (radio edit) Osbourne, Wylde, Mike Inez, Castillo, John Purdell No More Tears (1991) 5:54
12. "Mama, I'm Coming Home"   Osbourne, Wylde, Lemmy Kilmister No More Tears 4:11
13. "I Don't Want to Change the World" (live) Osbourne, Wylde, Castillo, Kilmister Live & Loud (1993) 4:00
14. "I Just Want You"   Osbourne, Jim Vallance Ozzmosis (1995) 4:57
15. "Back on Earth" (previously unreleased) Richard Supa, Taylor Rhodes Ozzmosis sessions 5:00
Disc two
No. Title Writer(s) Originally from Length
1. "Fairies Wear Boots" (previously unreleased) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 6:53
2. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (previously unreleased) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 5:09
3. "Walk on Water" (Japanese edition bonus track) Osbourne, Vallance Beavis and Butt-Head Do America soundtrack (1996) 4:19
4. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (Status Quo cover, recorded with Type O Negative, Japanese edition bonus track) Francis Rossi Private Parts: The Album (1997) 6:05
5. "1988 interview with Osbourne"       17:45

Charts

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 2001 2x Platinum (+ 2,000,000)[10]
Canada CRIA 1997 Platinum (+ 100,000)[11]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Allmusic: The Ozzman Cometh
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