Ozzy Osbourne
Live at Budokan

THE REVIEW

Hello to all the DeBaseriani! This is my first review, and how could I not start with the madman and my favorite singer, Ozzy Osbourne? I practically listen only to Ozzy because, in my opinion, his is true music, catchy yet hard and romantic at the same time. But let's get to the album... Live At Budokan is the latest live album released by Ozzy and is certainly one of the best of his career (and also Zakk's).

Ozzy starts with his classic "Let's Go Fucking Crazy" and dives into the typical I Don't Know where Zakk immediately shows what he's made of, making us forget, even if just for a moment, the nostalgia for Randy Rhoads. Songs follow like the new Down To Earth track That I Never Had (in my opinion the best from Down To Earth), the dated Diary of a Madman Believer and Junkey. After four great tracks as a taste, we reach the splendid Mr. Crowley, where John Sinclair's keyboard intro is followed by a pause before the fateful "Mister Crowley," during which Ozzy offers the audience a series of truly moving choruses. After this masterpiece comes the "newbie" Gets Me Through and No More Tears, which, in my opinion, doesn't render as well live but is still one of Ozzy's best songs. We then find I Don't Want To Change The World, perhaps the least successful track in this live because it's not the same as the studio version on No More Tears. As we move forward, the listener's excitement rises more and more with the two stunning ballads, Road To Nowhere and Mama, I'm Coming Home, truly touching and deep.

Among the two "soft" songs, however, let's not overlook Crazy Train with Zakk Wylde's solos channeling Randy Rhoads and perhaps even better, bringing to mind the masterpiece Tribute. The show finally closes with Bark At The Moon and the classic Paranoid. I can conclude by highlighting Ozzy's good performance, considering his age, but most of all by saying that Zakk Wylde really pulled out all his great talent, managing in some parts to play better than Rhoads. Also excellent are the bassist, now with Metallica, Robert Trujillo, and the drummer Mike Bordin. Live At Budokan dates back to 2002 and is definitely an excellent live album and is my favorite, especially because of Wylde's performance.

I hope you enjoyed my review, but if you didn't, please forgive me because it’s my first... Greetings to all the fans of Ozzy and Black Sabbath!!