OZZY OSBOURNE
Black Rain
Epic Records

Back from the town I lived in, Birmingham [UK] was a 20-minute train ride away. That was far enough as far as I’m concerned. If you’ve never visited B’Ham, you ain’t missing much. Imagine all the worst aspects of New York, add grey skies, 1970s concrete architecture, and constant rain and you might be close.

Now you’d think that coming from such a dismal city someone like Ozzy Osbourne would be able to draw on this and use it to great effect. Perhaps he wants to forget.

He used the media’s perception of him to great effect with his debut and subsequent albums at the beginning of his post-Sabbath career, but something has happened along the way I can’t quite explain.

With his latest magnum opus Black Rain, the signs are showing and telling. Do not get me wrong, this album kicks veritable ass, if you can picture yourself pulling up to the lights in your pick-up truck laughing maniacally out your window at the sports-gear-wearing white trash and their ‘Modded’ penis-extension of a Fiat Punto as you play this thing loud. But content wise, the album suffers.

To be brutally honest, Ozzy’s lyrical ability may not be up to par, but given his age, simplicity might be the best if not the only option. He does talk about “The Almighty Dollar,” war, climate change, and with Track 4 “Lay Your World on Me” he uses the lyric “I haven’t been there when you needed me” — with what is he talking about? His kids in rehab? His wife’s problems? As far I’m concerned, his vast wealth contradicts any normal family problems we, the common man, may have … but as long as it suits the rhyming couplets then its fine.

Taking into consideration the songs:

Tracks 1, 2 & 3: Sound the same.

Tracks 4 & 8: Ballads.

Track 5: “The Almighty Dollar” contains the line “Success, Excess,” a decidedly 80s-tinged expression that seems to be a whole theme running through the album.

Track 6: “11 Silver,” the only stand-out track of the album.

The rest of the album continues on with the 80s cock-rock epic feel to it, suitable perhaps twenty years ago.

As many other critics have noted, Pro-Tools may have had a hand to play in Ozzy’s voice … but what I see more is that his voice has become decidedly more Amercanized. Hey it might be a plus point for some or maybe American artists, but not for this listener.

Then there are the Ballads. What?! The creator of all that is Heavy Metal does ballads. Skip those tracks.

Zakk Wylde’s playing is great on this record, but it is as though he has re-recorded his own album with Black Label Society Shot To Hell using Ozzy as the lead singer. The similarities between these two albums are uncanny.

Black Rain? More like Overcast Skies.