Blizzard and Diary Expanded Vinyl in April??

[Seshmeister]

Why modify the vocal track but not pixelate the home made logo on the front of Ozzy's shirt?

If this is her work then you can see why the unfortunate band seamstress also killed in the plane crash is not mentioned so often.

[binnie]

These releases made BBC news this morning.

Pretty mad: Ozzy was a pariah when those records came out the first time.

[Jagermeister]

Kick Ass I got it! Just picked it up. This thing is pretty damn cool. The packaging is not what I expected. The records open up like a double LP and the discs are just tucked in a sleeve. They were not in plastic like I thought they would be ans there is no case for the discs. The cross is in a red colored foam holder in the botton of the box. Very cool. I am going to watch the DVD just for the hell of it. Well worth the money already and I have not even listened to it.

[tojoro]

Overall, I'm happy with what I have. By having a friend who works for a local chain use his discount, I got the box for $119.
The doc...well, what can I say? It's revisionist history at best, not only are the obvious suspects ignored, (Bob & Lee), but how about Don Airey and Johnny Cook, (keys on Blizzard and Diary respectively), or Randy's brother or sister speaking on his behalf? Where is Max Norman, and why is Kevin Churko sitting there? He was in junior high, like me when these albums were made.
The standout moments were Randy's isolated tracks on stuff like RME and DOAM. Finally hearing the rest of where "Tonight" faded out was the tits, but the two of them kept yapping.
Boy, Sharon is big on the terms "I" and "We", eh? She returned from business in the States in August of 1980, after Blizzard was completed.
I digress...
The two albums sound fantastic...better than the 1995 reissues. On the downside, just as Dee is fading, there is a warble of some sort on the note Randy lets ring out, right before Suicide Solution kicks in. A minor quibble, sure, but it's noticeable when you've got it cranked, and obviously wasn't there on the original.
The book is pretty cool. Lots of good photos from that era, many I hadn't seen previous. Photos are placed strategically or cropped to obscure or omit Daisley & Kerslake.
The back cover of the Blizzard vinyl is the photo from the UK release, (with Ozz wearing the denim jacket/jeans, beard and belly poking out of red shirt.), this is the only pic of the Mach I lineup in the entire set.
The inner sleeve of Diary is still the Mach II lineup photo on the steps at Disney World. Sarzo and Aldridge still named on bass/drums.
The cross is so bitchen...I hope they do a documentary on it and show unreleased footage from the foundry!
The extras on the DVD...
A few MTV interview clips from MTV showing a young and coherent Ozzy. He might be gakked...his eyes are bugging the fuck out of his head!
The Palladium footage. Yep, it's grainy. Yep, the audio is tired. Yep, it's Super 8, so a bunch of the songs cut out before or mid solo. I knew going in it was amatuer-shot, and that was the technology of the day, but it's more footage than I had yesterday of the guy, so, I'll take it.
The Diary footage from New Mexico was great! We get Over the Mountain and Mr Crowley in their entirety...supposedly it is b-roll the local news team shot to go with the short feature, which is included.
Obviously, everyone saw the angle, from Sarzo's end of the stage, so Randy is way down the far end, plus, the camera guy was clueless, focusing on Sarzo or Aldridge during portions of the solos, but again, it's quality Diary footage with him working the stage, so, cool beans.
The news anchor in the feature referred to Ozzy as a "punk rocker".
Concerning the Crazy Train edit in After Hours, the video dissolves to a quick slo-mo of Ozzy headbanging, when normally, we saw his voice give out on the "listen to my words" lyric and he shakes his head in frustration.
The bonus audio? No one over in the Rhoads community can seem to pin down the show's source, and the box liner notes make no mention of date or venue. It's a pretty fuckin good show though.
Another goddamn Aldridge drum solo...
Ozzy's voice is good and rough...some folks wonder if anything was done in the studio with it, but I shit you not, the dumb bitch sings the "speculation of the wise" lyric on all three verses!
The guitar/voc mix of GTR was nice. Like others mentioned, it gave a good example of a lot of subtle stuff Randy was laying down with the bass, keys and vocals.
YLAMLAY is cool. Nice to have the original version available on disc.
The piece RR is a scary piece of work that you heard part of on the doc, where Churko said he found it at the end of a reel. Randy should have done that in his live spot, as opposed to aping 'Eruption'.
Lastly, when they're talking about the Diary stage in the doc, they show a shot from the back of the stadium from the MTV/Gillis/Irvine Meadows footage and there is a black blob where Brad should be standing. It's a 2-second shot and they digitally turn Brad into a space amoeba!
Sorry this review is all over the place, but hopefully, it'll give some folks a bit of insight into this beast of a release.
There's certainly a lot of missed opportunity, as the Southampton gig, YSIA, the extended tracks and the studio demo/session tapes Daisley offered were excluded because Sharon is allowing personal feelings to get the better of her reputed great business sense, but, it is what it is.
~T.

[Mr Walker]

http://www.bravewords.com/features/1000971

[Jagermeister]

The piece RR is a scary piece of work that you heard part of on the doc, where Churko said he found it at the end of a reel. Randy should have done that in his live spot, as opposed to aping 'Eruption'.

Yeah that was cool. Very cool. Makes you wonder what else the guy heard.

[Jagermeister]

You know what pisses me off after watching that? Why did we as fans of Randy Rhodes have to wait 30 fucking years to get this small amount of material? It just makes me sick. R.I.P. RR.

[indeedido]

Sure wish "You Said It All" would have made it into here somewhere.

[indeedido]

Unboxing the box set, see what it all looks like

http://www.guitarworld.com/video-ozzy-osbourne-checks-out-new-blizzard-ozzdiary-madman-box-set

[Jagermeister]

Unboxing the box set, see what it all looks like

http://www.guitarworld.com/video-ozz...madman-box-set

Kinda gives you a woody huh?

[Jagermeister]

You know what pisses me off after watching that? Why did we as fans of Randy Rhodes have to wait 30 fucking years to get this small amount of material? It just makes me sick. R.I.P. RR.

PS. Thanks Ozzy

PSS. Fuck You Sharon!

[tojoro]

Though we never got a look at a setlist, I would guess YSIA would have been part of that Southampton disc as it was recorded during that day's soundcheck, with crowd noise added later, so it would make sense that it would have been part of that disc.
An interview from last month with Bob...he touches on his book, the box and the material he had to offer. It's a bit lengthy, so I'll just provide the link for those interested.

http://www.bravewords.com/news/162794

[indeedido]

Kinda gives you a woody huh?

Nothing like seeing it for the first time, just like Ozzy is!

[Jagermeister]

BraveWords.com: You've mentioned that you have rehearsal tapes and writing tapes and other historical audio documents of those years. Can those be released?

Bob Daisley: "It's a legal issue with somebody's performance. You have to get them to sign off on their performance. I have Ozzy singing and Randy playing and I have to say, fans of that music would love this stuff. Even though the actual quality is not bad but not studio quality. I went to my manager who went to their representative, and told them I had all of these recordings of rehearsals, writing sessions, songs that no has heard, sections that did not get used tonnes of stuff. For the 30th anniversary, why not do a deal and release all this stuff. But they didn't want to do it. All Sharon wanted to do was to buy everything for a measly sum and then release it. I said no way, this stuff's gold. You either do it my way, meaning I get a royalty this time, but I should have always got a royalty. They wouldn't do it. I said I am not handing it over to you to make a fortune. The main reason was they could have edited it, taken us out of it again or pieced it together and go about rewriting history once again. Ozzy and Randy did everything is what they will have you believe. It's too bad this unreleased stuff that I have has been unheard by anyone for 30 years


Damn shame indeed. The Grail shall see the light someday and all RR fans shall rejoice.

[Jagermeister]

I saw Ozzy on the Diary tour not long after Randy died. I just barely missed getting to see Randy live. I remember to this day how upset I was that Brad Gillis was playing this stuff. It was crushing.