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Too often, we tend to judge the "big" names in metal like Ozzy Osbourne (but also Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Helloween, Megadeth, to name a few) based on their glorious past. It becomes very easy to attack an old glory, accusing them of being a mere copy of themselves, of producing only just adequate albums, and doing it for the cursed money. If only we were less pretentious and more objective, the true meaning of each record would reveal itself through its notes.
Ozzy's "Down To Earth," his latest studio work dated 2001, doesn't sound like the announced return to Sabbath's origins, it's true, but it's not a bad album for that reason. "Down To Earth" has only one real and major flaw: the fact that Zakk Wilde wasn't involved in the writing, yet it remains a good album. It starts with one of the most convincing episodes, "Gets Me Through," opened by a piano and exploding into a warm metal riff. Ozzy sings well, especially in the chorus, and the song flows smoothly to the end, particularly due to the good solo and the guitars in general. Partially, the dark-sound of Sabbath is revisited with the introduction of the subsequent "Facing Hell," a cadenced metal/rock track, neither remarkable nor forgettable, pleasant, and fits Ozzy's "standard" style with very thick and angry guitars. One of the most beautiful and engaging tracks on the album is "Dreamer", although very predictable, with this piano-ballad Ozzy focuses heavily on the emotional factor with a very composed voice (and from a certain point of view "Dreamer" could have come from the sessions of "Vol. 4" of Sabbath, right?).
"No Easy Way Out" features nice riffs and an emotional chorus, again playing heavily on the emotional level, beautiful. "That I Never Had" indeed has great guitar work, amazing riffs and solo, reminiscent of the sound of Zakk's Black Label Society, while "You Know (Part 1)" is a rather negligible acoustic interlude. "Junkie" is banal and overly predictable in its riffs and chorus, it is easily skipped for the subsequent "Running Out Of Time", another ballad dominated by acoustic guitars, Ozzy's voice is emotional and he sings excellently, especially in the very intense chorus, this song is the masterpiece of the album. Another track reminiscent of the BLS is "Black Illusion", solid heavy rock with particularly lovely riffs and incisive drumming. The concluding "Alive" and "Can You Hear Them" are good tracks of cadenced and compact metal/rock, although the latter and final track is much more expressive.
In summary, it's a good metal/rock product in the typical Ozzy Osbourne style that relies heavily on emotions and engaging choruses. Sure, if comparisons are made, it is inferior to works like "Blizzard Of Ozz" or "Diary of A Madman," but it is certainly not a mediocre album. If only Zakk had contributed, it would have been a masterpiece.
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