Ozzy Osbourne - "Blizzard Of Ozz" & "Diary Of A Madman" (DE's with ORIGINAL MIXES!!)

I'm praying for some live Rnady shows to see the light of day, I have a couple of 12" from back in the day with some live b-sides that rule, would love to hear some complete or near complete shows from that era

 

my vinyl is not going anywhere either - bands from that era rule on vinyl

 

It's about time.

 

I have a 12" 33-RPM "Live EP" with Mr. Crowley on the A-side, You Said it All and Suicide Solution on the B-Side, says it was recorded in 1980 UK Tour.

the 12" UK of Over the Mountain (Jet 12017) has "I Don't Know" live - NBC source, the 45"rpm of Flying High Again has the same b-side.

 

They should Recycle them all & make something usefull ...... those cd's were an insult to two classic albums that are VERY important rock & roll history .....

They could not have found players Farther form the originals if they tried , the replacement tracks were pretty awfull ........

 

+1 Those CDs were a crime against art.

 

Don't go dissin' Mike Bordin now. He is an amazing drummer and hopefully he feels like crap for what he did. I'm sure he's caught a lot of crap for the recordings. I'm also sure he couldn't just say no to the request and keep his job. Blame Sharon.

 

If there will be on Sony/Epic...let Vic Anesini master them.

A deluxe edition of Blizaard would be, if I were in charge:

Disc 1:

Original album, demos, alternate takes, mixes, and "You Lookin' at Me Lookin' at You". They need to listen to all of the tracking sessions for each song...might be some goodies lurking on those reels.



Disc 2:
The full show and sound check from the September 2, 1980 Southampton, UK gig... which the "Mr. Crowley Live" E.P. comes from. IIRC, the live versions of "Goodbye To Romance" and "No Bone Movies" on tribute some from this show.





As for Diary:

Disc 1:

Original album, demos, alternate takes, etc. Again, they need to listen to all of the tracking sessions for each song...might be some goodies lurking on those reels.



Disc 2:

Material from the May 11, 1981 Cleveland, Ohio and July 28, 1981 Montreal, Quebec shows. Both shows were used for Tribute. However, they should use the opposite/alternate stuff to what ended up on Tribute.

 

I never heard those overdubbed versions - because I never did and still don't want to hear them.

My impression of them when I heard it was being done and why it was being done, was that not only does it screw the surviving members (which was the intent) it also screws Randy Rhoads.

If the overdubs sound ill-fitting - and if everything I ever read about them is true, they do - it could make Randy sound anywhere from not nearly as good as he actually was to totally incompetent. "What's with that guitar player - he can't even lock in with the rhythm section?"

What a joke, and an insult to Randy's memory.

 

I remember getting those rerecorded remasters in at the store I worked at when they came out. We listened to them...and laughed. They were so awful. One co-worker said that since Randy was gone they may as well just replace the guitar parts with Zakk Wylde too and make the botch job complete.

 

I'm happy to hear about the Deluxe Editions, and I hope they're loaded with outtakes and the B-Sides ("You Looking At Me", "You Said It All") and also the Mr. Crowley live tracks, but I am worried they'll be brickwalled.

Best way to currently listen to the first two albums:
LP > Jet CD > 1995 Remasters > 2002 "Remasters"

The 1995 Remasters were mastered louder, but they weren't brickwalled to my ears. I thought I looked at the waveforms years ago and didn't see a lot of clipping.

I don't think the Jet CDs are miles better, but the original vinyl is as good as it gets. I've read comments where the UK first pressing of Blizzard is the one to get, but I can't verify as I don't have it.

The only thing I liked about the 2002 "Remasters" (I think that's an inaccurate term for these) was some of Randy's parts were more prominent in the mix and you could hear more of what was going on. I did wonder if I was also hearing some outtake bits spliced in here and there, but I dunno.

On Tribute: There's "footware" easily found of the the original concert(s) that was altered for the album (changes include: Randy's tone altered, drums with reverb, solo spliced in from another performance, a minor flub on Crazy Train fixed, etc).

I don't think doing this for Tribute was the same level of sacrilege as adding musicians Randy never met (AFAIK) to record over old parts. Besides, all major live releases are futzed with.

If only these albums could get the "breath of life"... what I would give for that.

 

The Rolling Stone Magazine article referenced by the OP:

"[Ozzy] will also release deluxe 30th-anniversary editions of his first two solo albums -- 1980's Blizzard of Ozz and 1981's Diary of a Madman -- with their original drum and bass tracks restored (Sharon had them replaced in 2001 to retaliate for a lawsuit brought by the players). The [upcoming 18-month] tour is likely to include full performances of those albums."

 

Right, I hear ya. Well, this used copy I have of 'Diary' doesn't skip, thank goodness. I also have a Holland pressing of it. To me, the US pressing sounds just as good if not better!

 

Cool, and I concur.

 

motorcityconcurdave

 

I. am. not. changing. my. name.

 

The multitracks, not the stereo master.

 

Surely they didn't actually record over the original tracks on the original multi-track?? If so, they are bigger fools than I imagined.:thumbsdn:

 

I don't know enough about his catalog to say, but I could swear I read that they did. Which is sickening, if true, for anyone's tapes. Maybe I misintepreted the wording previously. Hopefully they were preserved, and they just copied the multis elsewhere, then added the new tracks there.

 

Potentially good news. Those re-recordings are a disgrace.

 

Universal should hire Andy Pearce... maybe we get the same great remasters, he did on Black Sabbath, Vol.4, Sabotage, Heaven & Hell etc.

 

as a Randy disciple, and someone who enjoys those 2 records more than anything else Ozzy ever did, this is great news. i am HOPEFUL that the 2 DE's live up to their potential. 30 years...wow.

 

Ah, Now I remember. I'm glad there's a difference. Back when it was first announced I was thinking, "Well, they'll never be able to release the original again."

But it occurs to me, is it really likely that they actually recorded new bass and drums on analog tapes that were even then almost 30 years old? Isn't it more likely that they made a digital copy of the multitracks and re-recorded the bass/drums in the digital domain?

 

There's a great podcast/interview with Daisley where he mentions that "the master tapes were brought into the studio, and other guys parts were recorded over it." There's a link in the first post of this thread http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=198732&highlight=bob+daisley, to hear the interview. I think he mentions it about 10 minutes or so into the interview. Of course he doesn't get into specifics, but it would seem he is probably referring to the multi-tracks.

 

Because of mishandling by others (I lived in a communal situation for many years), my original Jet versions were ruined early on. I bought the 22 bit remasters just to have copies that didn't skip. I will definitely be buying these new versions, even if it's just to get Bob and Lee some royalty money. Those guys are unsung heroes who took part in creating two of the best metal albums ever to come out.