Ozzy Osbourne Reveals Which of His Solo Albums He Likes the Least
Ozzy Osbourne is releasing a massive, career-spanning vinyl box set in November. It’s called See You on the Other Side, which seems like a weird title to me, because a) “See You on the Other Side” is nobody’s favorite Ozzy song and b) the title implies that Ozzy is dying, not just retiring.
But whatever! It looks like a nice package for Ozzy completists. I’ll put all the relevant details down at the bottom of this post because I don’t really have anything else to say about it.
What I do have lots to say about, though, is Ozzy’s new Rolling Stone interview about the box set, in which he reveals that 1986’s The Ultimate Sin is his least favorite of his solo albums:
“[Producer] Ron Nevison didn’t really do a great production job. The songs weren’t bad; they were just put down weird. Everything felt and sounded the fucking same. There was no imagination. If there was ever an album I’d like to remix and do better, it would be ‘The Ultimate Sin.’”
I don’t think The Ultimate Sin is all that great — it’s definitely not in the top five of Ozzy’s strongest solo releases — but to suggest that any of his albums are worse than 2007’s Black Rain or 2010’s Scream is ludicrous. Those albums are so goddamn boring I put them on when I’m having trouble falling asleep at night.
ANYWAY, Ozzy also says that it’s a tie between his first two solo offerings, Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), for his favorite release. Which are great choices. Although I wish everyone in the world would just admit that No More Tears is an unfuckwithable classic already.
As promised, here are the details for the See You on the Other Side box set:
For the first time in his solo career, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy®-winning singer and songwriter OZZY OSBOURNE will be celebrated with the first-ever definitive vinyl collection of all his original solo material. Due out Friday, November 29 on Sony Legacy, fans can pre-order the box set here. Watch a clip about the set here with special guest star Zakk Wylde. The box set is titled SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE and includes:
VINYL: 173 songs total on 16 albums, each of which is 150-gram, hand-pressed multi-colored splatter vinyl, making each pressing unique. Many of the albums are previously unavailable or are currently out of print on vinyl. The collection also includes Flippin’ The B Side, a new collection of non-album tracks, which has never been pressed to vinyl. In addition, Black Rain, Down to Earth and Scream have never been pressed in the U.S.,while No More Tears was remastered from the original flat analog album masters and is offered as a two-LP setwhich will allow the album’s songs to be uncompressed for the very first time ever on vinyl. (Full list of albums is below.)
ART: 10 newly designed 24”X36” posters (including some never-before-seen images) each accompany the 10 studio albums released between 1981-2010.
AR: Twelve AR (Augmented Reality) experiences will be included throughout the package. Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks.
SIGNED CERTIFICATE: Each collection features an individually numbered vellum certificate of authenticity hand-signed by OZZY.
“This one’s the most elaborate collection so far,” OZZY says. “It’s very well thought-out and well put together. It’s got everything in there that you possibly could want and some surprises along the way. The sound of a vinyl record is different, and I do believe that vinyl sounds better.”
The full list of vinyl (all of which contain the original track-listings) is as follows:
Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980
Mr. Crowley (EP), 45 RPM 1980
Diary Of A Madman,1981
Bark At The Moon, 1983
The Ultimate Sin, 1986
Tribute (2 LPs), 1987
No Rest For The Wicked, 1988
Just Say Ozzy (EP), 1990
No More Tears, 1991
Live & Loud (3 LPs), 1993
Ozzmosis (2 LPs), 1995
Down To Earth, 2001
Live At Budokan, (2 LPs) 2002
Black Rain (2 LPs), 2007
Scream (2 LPs), 2010
Bonus features include:
Flippin’ The B Side (a new collection of non-LP tracks)
Side A
“You Looking At Me Looking At You
Originally from the “Crazy Train” UK 7” single, released 1980
“One Up The B Side”
Originally from “Bark At The Moon” 7” single, released 1983
“Spiders”
Originally from “Bark At The Moon,” 7” single, released 1983
“Hero”
Originally a hidden track from the “No Rest For The Wicked” US CD and cassette release, released 1988
“The Liar”
Originally from the “Miracle Man” UK 12” single, released 1988
“Don’t Blame Me”
Originally from the “Mama I’m Coming Home” UK 7” single, released 1991
Side B
“Party With The Animals”
Originally from the “Mama I’m Coming Home” US CD single, released 1992
“Living With The Enemy”
Originally from the “Perry Mason” UK CD single, released 1995
“Voodoo Dancer”
Originally from the “I Just Want You” UK CD single, released 1996
“Back On Earth”
Originally from “The Ozzman Cometh” compilation, released 1997
“No Place For Angels”
Originally from the “Gets Me Through” CD single, released 2001
“Walk On Water”
Originally released on “Prince Of Darkness,” released 2005
Flexi Disc, 7” (45 RPM)
Unreleased version of “See You On The Other Side” (Demo)
