Five essential Ozzy Osbourne tracks for your playlistpublished at 02:00 British Summer Time
Mark Savage
Music correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesAs a solo artist and as part of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne sold more than 100 million records worldwide – so it’s almost impossible to distil their catalogue into a digestible list. But here are five songs that should be on everyone’s playlists.
1) Paranoid
Written as a last-minute “filler” for Black Sabbath’s second album, the group accidentally created their biggest hit: The story of a man battling his inner voices, set to one of rock’s most powerful riffs.
“Every now and then you get a song from nowhere,” said Osbourne. “It’s a gift.”
2) Crazy Train
The song that launched Osbourne’s solo career, it’s almost atypically upbeat – shrugging off Cold War paranoia and declaring: “Maybe it’s not too late to learn how to love.” It’s only the maniacal laughter in the fading bars that suggests this outlook is the purview of a madman.
3) Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
Black Sabbath’s reputation for darkness often overshadowed their melodic capabilities – but Osbourne was a passionate fan of the Beatles. You can hear their influence on the pastoral chorus of this song, before Tony Iommi powers in with a growling guitar line. John Lennon would undoubtedly have approved of Osbourne’s seething critique of the music industry, summed up in the line: “Bog blast all of you”.
4) Changes
Sabbath revealed their soft underbelly on this 1972 piano ballad, written about a break-up that drummer Bill Ward was experiencing. “I thought the song was brilliant from the moment we first recorded it,” said Osbourne, who later re-recorded it as a duet with his daughter, Kelly, and scored a UK number one.
5) Mr Crowley
Inspired by notorious occultist Aleister Crowley, this track from 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz allowed Osbourne to play up to his mock-satanic image. But is also helped him escape from the shadow of Black Sabbath, with a swirling, heavy-psychedelic sound, capped off by a blistering solo from his new foil, guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads.
Further listening: War Pigs and Iron Man are all-time classics; while Diary of a Madman and Suicide Solution are crucial chapters in Osbourne’s solo songbook. Also check out Patient Number 9, the title track of his final album, which ended his career on a high.
