Classic Rock Bottom

There's a few CDs I have that I haven't or hadn't gotten around to listening to yet. Whether they are too "old" or I end up not really having much to say about them, I'm not doing a full on review.

Instead, I'm just putting in a sentence or two about what I thought of them. I'll probably keep updating this thread as I get around to various albums that have been sitting waiting for me to play them.

Joe Bonamassa - Blues of Desperation - While there were a couple of tracks I wasn't all that enamored with, overall this album was another winning blues solo album from Bonamassa.

Boneyard Dog - Bluesbound Train - Another bluesy rock and roll record, this debut album was pretty much kicking my ass each time I listened to it.

U2 - The Joshua Tree 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition - Sadly, while I absolutely love the album itself (it is one of my all-time favorites), the anniversary edition isn't much to write home about. Disc 1 is the original album while Disc 2 is a live concert from the Joshua Tree tour. It's not bad, but there's nothing special about it really.

Inglorious - S/T - I was really kind of hyped up about this album but I think the fact I've already sold it off on eBay might give you a hint about my final reaction to the album. Okay, that might be slightly unfair but after listening to the album four times and I couldn't really pick a single memorable song out of it, there's obviously something of a disconnect.

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Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon (1983 / 2002 Reissue)

Surprising as it may seem I never owned this album before. Yes I love the title cut but I never bothered to buy the album. Thanks yet again to a store closing sale however, I got my hands on the 2002 reissue. According to what I read online, there is some unrest over the reissue because the album was remixed and some changes were made.

That aside, I really loved this album! The main 8 tracks on the disc are all superb. In fact, the one song that I thought was the weakest, the ballad "So Tired", is actually still quite decent.

Okay, the two bonus tracks are merely okay but wow, considering this was the first time I'd heard the album in full, it is like I'm falling in musical love with Ozzy's solo work all over again. Maybe it has something to do with this being Jake E. Lee's first time recording as the new Ozzy guitarist (my favorite album from Ozzy is The Ultimate Sin), but was overwhelmingly entertained by the disc and can't wait to throw this one in the player again!

Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears (1991 / 2002 Reissue)

Another one of the store closing CD purchases for me was this Ozzy album. I was kind of surprised to learn just how many great songs that I knew from the radio were actually on this release. I never got around to buying the album but listened intently to a number of the tracks.

The songs that I knew were: "Mr. Tinkertrain" (which I love the solo, and for some reason forgot that it ends rather abruptly), "I Don't Want To Change The World", "Mama, I'm Coming Home", "No More Tears", "Time After Time" and "Road To Nowhere". That's a pretty fair amount considering the original album had only 11 songs on it.

The more surprising thing to me was that I liked most of the songs that weren't already known to me. The song "Zombie Stomp" is the only one that I didn't really care for at all. Even the bonus tracks on this reissued editon, "Don't Blame Me" and "Party With The Animals" are rousingly endearing.

Lemmy Kilmister co-wrote four of the songs on the album and my favorite contribution of his has to be the song "I Don't Want To Change The World".

I really have no idea why I never got around to picking up these three Ozzy albums I've reviewed in recent days but I am certainly glad that I did.

I think this one got an Album of the Week treatment a couple years back and I recall enjoying it quite a bit but never pulled the trigger.  Funny thing happened while you are posting all these Ozzy solo records.  I went back and listened to the first two on Amazon Music and I'm kinda thinking "eh", I get to Bark at the Moon and this one and I'm listening!  Hmm... whodda thunk it!

Plus were all snowed in here North Carolina so I have some time!

Well, I'm done with the Ozzy solo albums for now. I don't have any more unless I find more when I go back to the store that is closing.

Actually, I accidentally lied. I have one more Ozzy solo CD to write about when I get the chance to listen to it.

And now I have a couple more of Ozzy's albums after a trip to the closing store tonight.

Kiss - Crazy Nights (1987 / 1998 Remaster)

I ordered this album on eBay. It is part of The Remasters series for Kiss and is apparently the last album that received this treatment according to what I read on Wikipedia at least.

This was the first Kiss album I ever bought. I owned it on cassette for years. When that wore out, I was without it for a long time. I bought a cheap vinyl copy but when I saw a cheap price on a CD edition, I had to get it.

Partially because it was MY first Kiss album, it remains my favorite release from the band. Now I'm sure arguments can be made against that statement but I don't care. I love this album. Given that songs were co-written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, it isn't much of a surprise that this went platinum.

The opening "Crazy Crazy Night and "Reason To Live" are probably the best remembered songs from the album but there were a number of really cool tracks. I liked "Hell Or High Water", "Good Girl Gone Bad", "I'll Fight Hell To Hold You" and "Thief of the Night."

I wasn't crazy about "Bang Bang You" even back when I first heard the song. And while "No No No" is both fast and a bit heavier sounding, I didn't get into it that much.

Given that I was generally a contrary 16 year old when this album came out, you can probably imagine how much I loved the song "My Way". The chorus pretty much how I delusionally saw myself back then. I still love the song now though I'm nowhere close to being that kind of rebellious any more.

The notable thing for me outside of the music was that this album was produced by Ron Nevison. The reason I mention this is because he's produced a number of albums that I own and really love. He did Ozzy's The Ultimate Sin which is my favorite Ozzy record. He produced three Survivor albums, two of which are my favorites. Heart's 1985 self-titled album and the follow-up Bad Animals are on his discography too. Those are my two favorite Heart albums. The rest of his catalog reads like a who's who of rock and pop: UFO, Thin Lizzy, Jefferson Starship, Europe, Damn Yankees, Michael Schenker Group, Chicago, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more.

So yes, this is a commercially accessible sound for the album as well as being quite successful in the sales arena. And yes, I say again, it remains my personal favorite Kiss album.

For the most part, I agree with your song assessment on this album.  But I really don't care for Crazy Crazy Nights. It's really cheesy if you ask me.  Funny thing is, I heard it on Ozzy's Boneyard on the way home tonight.  The two Gene songs you mentioned (Hell or High Water and Good Girl Gone Bad) are two of his better 80's songs.

At its release date I was stunned by how good this was.  Now in 2018?  eh...  It holds up just OK but still its a fun nostalgic listen.  I do still love My Way and Reason To Live, those seem to be the timeless tracks IMO

Thanks for reading the entry Scott!

Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest For The Wicked (1988 / 2002 Reissue)

The first album to feature Zakk Wylde on guitar, No Rest For The Wicked starts off quite strongly.

The four tracks that lead off the album include "Miracle Man", "Devil's Daughter (Holy War)", "Crazy Babies" and "Breakin' All The Rules". Two of those were big video songs back in the day so anyone with even a passing interest in Ozzy's music should know them at the very least.

I had this album when it was first released but it disappeared from my collection at some point. I vaguely remember the song "Bloodbath In Paradise" but when hearing it this time around, it didn't sound the same as I recollected. It's still decent though. While I thought "Fire In The Sky" and "Hero" were a little weak, I loved hearing "Tattooed Dancer" because I had no memory of that track and it was like hearing it again for the very first time. And I love the track "Demon Alcohol".

Since the version I got at the store closing sale was the 2002 reissued edition, there are a couple of bonus tracks. I didn't care for the "new" studio track "The Liar". It's mostly a ballad type song and while Ozzy does do that kind of track well at times, this was just week. The live version of "Miracle Man" included a shout out of sorts to disgraced religious fraud Jimmy Swaggart and all these years later, that still made me chuckle.

I'm pretty sure that this was the last Ozzy studio album I bought upon initial release. Of course, if you have been reading this thread you know I've been rectifying that. No Rest For The Wicked is a really good album with some strong material that still manages to resonate with me to this day.

By the way, does anyone know what ever happened to the scary creepy girls featured on the cover of the album and the video for "Crazy Babies"?

Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin (1986 / 1995 Remaster)

I'm not sure exactly what the term 22 Bit SBM Digital Remaster means, but given that the only version of Ozzy's album The Ultimate Sin that seems to be readily available is this one, I picked it up off ebay for a song a couple weeks back. I had the same remastered version on cassette but given the kick of Ozzy solo albums I've been on, I wanted it on CD.

I've stated in previous other brief reviews of Ozzy's albums that this was my first Ozzy album and still is my favorite. The album opens and closes with the title track and "Shot In The Dark", the two best known songs from the album. Both are phenomenal to say the least, but far from the only worthy tracks. 

Thematically, "Thank God For The Bomb" and "Killer of Giants" are similar songs but both are outstanding. I loved "Lightning Strikes" as well.  "Secret Loser" is another winner.

I enjoyed most of "Never Know Why" but for some reason the repetition of "We Rock" in the chorus grew tiresome.

I've been playing this album a lot over the last few days and for me it still stands up as one of his best solo album. It is a tad bit ironic considering this is the only solo album that was not given the reissue treatment in 2002 and is largely a forgotten album these days.

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