Ozzy Osbourne: Diary of a Madman (1981)

Flying high again after the success of his debut, Ozzy returns to familiar haunts on this followup.

Kronomyth 2.0: The end of the rhoads.

You won’t get an elegy for Ozzy Osbourne or Hulk Hogan from me. Both received more than the fifteen minutes of fame they deserved, and spending another fifteen minutes of your time rehashing their lives in the limelight seems both cruel and unnecessary. If you think I’m being cold, think of Randy Rhoads. I realize this is a shitty introduction to a review of Ozzy’s second album, but I don’t care. Seriously, you don’t need me to tell you this is an awesome album. You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll, Flying High Again, Believer, S.A.T.O.… that’s the top-shelf tequila of 80s heavy metal. It wasn’t as heavy as Black Sabbath, with Osbourne showing a real gift for writing catchy melodies (Tonight, Little Dolls) that revealed a higher reverence for The Beatles than Beelzebub. The sparkplug in all this metal machinery is, of course, Randy Rhoads. His guitar solos are canon in the metalverse. Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake were integral to the group’s sound, but they could be replaced—and were, literally, when Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin re-recorded the album’s bass and drum tracks for the remasters after a falling out with Daisley and Kerslake over royalties. Rhoads, however, was irreplaceable. As the last studio album to feature Randy Rhoads, Diary of a Madman marks the end of an era; an end that was probably inevitable, given Osbourne’s mercurial personality. That said, it’s hard to imagine a classier ending than Diary of a Madman, an epic closer that’s an ambitious as anything Tony Iommi cooked up. The first two albums from Ozzy and Dio are required listening for metal fans. If you want to split hairs over who was the better post-Sabbath solo artist, have at it—I don’t have any hairs left to split. Both made brilliant metal, both paid court to the devil, and both are now dead. If you want to believe that Ozzy and Dio are in heaven making music together, I’ll grant you it’s a pretty lie, but you didn’t hear it from me.

Original elpee version

A1. Over the Mountain (4:31)
A2. Flying High Again (4:44)
A3. You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll (Ozzy Osbourne/Randall Rhoads/Robert Daisley) (6:59)
A4. Believer (Ozzy Osbourne/Randall Rhoads/Robert Daisley) (5:15)
B1. Little Dolls (5:39)
B2. Tonight (5:51)
B3. S.A.T.O. (4:07)
B4. Diary of a Madman (6:16)

All songs written by Ozzy Osbourne/Randall Rhoads/Robert Daisley/Lee Kerslake unless noted.

CD reissue bonus track
9. I Don’t Know (live)

The Players

Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Robert Daisley (bass), Lee Kerslake (drums), Randy Rhoads (guitar) with Johnny Cook (keyboards), Louis Clark (string arrangement on B4). The bass/drum parts were later re-recorded by Robert Trujillo (drums) and Mike Bordin (bass). Produced by Max Norman, Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads; engineered by Max Norman.

The Pictures

Design by Steve “Skull” Joule. Set by Ernie Spruce/Denise Richardson. Make up by Cheryl Hubbard. Photography by Fin Costello and Tony Harrison. Remaster art direction and cover design by David Coleman; design by Hooshik; photography by Paul Natkin, Neal Preston and Greg Maston.

The Plastic

Released on elpee and cassette in October 1981 in the UK (Jet, JETLP/JETCA 237), the US and Canada (CBS/Jet, FZ/FZT 37492), Australia (Jet, JT6028), Brazil (Epic, 144828), Japan (Jet, 25AP-2237), the Netherlands (Epic, 4630 861) and South Africa (CBS, ASF-2708) with lyrics innersleeve. Reached #14 on the UK charts and #16 on the US charts (RIAA-certified triple platinum record).

1. Re-issued on 22-bit remastered compact disc in 1995 in the US (Epic, EK 67236).
2. Re-packaged w. No Rest for the Wicked on 2-for-1 compact disc in 1998 in Russia (CD-Maximum, CDM 798-158).
3. Re-issued on compact disc in 2000 in Brazil (Epic, 746019).
4. Re-issued on expanded, remastered compact disc on April 2, 2002 in the US (Epic, 85249) and in 2002 in the EEC (Epic, 502041) with one bonus track.
5. Re-issued on expanded, remastered compact disc in Japan (Sony, SICP-8036) with one bonus track.