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Rating: "The symbiosis
Of murder and lies
What do I see looking through your disguise?
Fourth reich dementia
Subversion ideals
God only knows what your secret conceals
Who'll be the first offender?
Who will be victimized?
In your perverse agenda
My jekyll doesn't hide"
(Ozzy Osbourne - My Jekyll Doesn't Hide)
In the relentless becoming of time, man spends his days chasing a purpose, a fluttering of wings in the hectic flow of a maddened life, a disoriented compass that in vain seeks a reference, a hold, that still gives meaning to the feeble vanity of everything.
Lost amongst a thousand trivial stimuli and enticing paths, he surrounds himself with icons, pliable figures of fragile human will, placing in them the reconstruction of his Ego, the fortification of his desires, the illusory justification of his actions, a useful lure for lost souls.
In the identity of the Myth, man synthesizes his identity as a Man, peppering his journey with multiple symbols and images, a distorted mirror of reality, which he compulsively feels the need for, the urgent necessity.
Immersed in a universe of multifaceted but predictable sounds and ideas, the subversive dimension of Rock acknowledges, towards the end of the 1960s, its most sincere and genuine archetype: the free expression of the soul's darkness, embodied in the laconic figures of four boys from Birmingham, whose blood pact called Black Sabbath revealed for the first time never-before-played cards, black truths of the absurdity of living, in a world of dandy notes drenched in false benevolence and superficial rhetoric. An innate tension towards inner torment and the tragic perception of existence characterizes, in fact, the early extraordinary albums of Black Sabbath, the most credible and honest acknowledgment of a dark and unhappy reality, which annihilates life and demeans man, who just in those years measured, with maddened pride, the intangibility of a progress-driven society that was quickly shattering.
Brilliant bard of anguish, death, and mystery, the Sabbath diadem recognized in the man John Michael Osbourne, the group's singer, the iconic support of these dreaded values, within a complex, deeply disturbed, profoundly insecure, and alienated personality, in whose past sad memories of poverty and violence, never truly understood, reside. But senseless pain consumes the flesh, devours the spirit, and in the excesses of vice, drugs, and luxury, disintegration takes shape, and annihilation becomes evident, which will lead the man to the glory of the Myth (Ozzy), but that will distance reason from that raw carnal inspiration that had found comfort and sensitive emotional participation in the black art of Black Sabbath. Only oblivion remains, the terrifying solitude companion to the end; when at the end of the 1970s, the man disguised as a myth, Ozzy Osbourne, expelled from that musical group in which he had laboriously reconstructed his very identity as a better man, once again discovers the sense of a forgotten failure. The indissoluble certainty of a wasted life.
But within destiny exist incomprehensible rules that weave secret threads, dismantling certainties and rebuilding castles of hope, and before the abyss consumes everything, Ozzy the man rises again and participates in a choir that at that time seems to honorably pay him tribute (Heavy Metal). The first discs of our protagonist ("Blizzard Of Ozz" and "Diary Of A Madman"), still mindful of that much-feared "discomfort," but never so much artistically inspirational, have forged in splendor a Hard Rock born of melancholy and heartfelt human visceralness, thanks also (and above all) to the unexpected genius of guitarist Randy Rhoads, who more than anyone knew how to give concreteness to the existential paranoias of the Ozzy man-myth. But soon the great castle of hopes and blinding dreams crumbles, in the hands of that mysterious and mocking fate that had shaped its foundations, and which now vanishes like ash before the cold breath of Death, which in the violence of disaster and fire tears away its most important pillar, the lamented friend Randy.
To Ozzy the man, only the Myth he disguised himself with remains, to continue serving a meal made of increasingly self-celebratory and sensationalistic dishes (still excellent in quality, thanks especially to the great expressive potential of guitarist Jake'E'Lee), but unfortunately not as genuine in the emotional sincerity that those first two albums had so indelibly marked in their nature. A taste for horror and the grotesque (never banal or predictable, nevertheless) invades the aesthetic-conceptual imagery of Ozzy ("Bark At The Moon," "The Ultimate Sin," "No Rest For The Wicked"), a creature of spectacle now increasingly Myth and less Man, at the mercy of a "costume" thus forced that overrides his excellent (at times outstanding) compositional vein, at least until the "character" finds himself tired and perhaps aged but consciously mature, intelligently adult.
"No More Tears" marks a colossal turning point, a perilous reversal (but wonderfully welcomed) towards the recovered identity of a Man, and much less of a Myth, by virtue of a lyrically-musical concreteness pragmatically human and profoundly interior (thanks also to the contribution of the feral and inspired guitarist Zakk Wilde), free from those horror-spectacular manifestos that had cemented his fortune (but also fueled so much dissent). However, a new radiant sun seems overshadowed by the terrible news of a deadly and demoralizing illness: Alzheimer's disease diagnosed to him (erroneously, but he would know this much later...) immediately after recording the album, and from that moment, nothing would be the same again. What many think was a shrewd commercial move, namely "No More Tours" (the last concert season meant to announce the end of his career), was actually more a courageous stance of a Man who did not want to spend his final years away from the sacredness of family affection, of which he now felt the need more than ever.
But the tedium of a domestic existence, though comfortable but forced, in whose spirals the final toll of the end was not yet visible, forced him to reconsider his actual expressive and human possibilities. One certainty had by then taken shape, the awareness of wanting to die "living" by music, consuming himself in it. The real "osmosis" between Man and Myth will definitively materialize in the full revelation of the self, in the most intimate nakedness of the soul that rediscovers itself fragile and perishable, in that beautiful diary of profoundly "human" emotions, so full of enveloping carnal sensations and poetic spiritual dissertations, which is the album "Ozzmosis" (a fusion of the words Ozzy and Osmosis).
An entire work dominated by turmoil, the deep melancholy of a man who has glimpsed his limit and bears the consequences, but still casts one last angry glance at the increasingly sad world around him, revealing its innermost hypocrisies and inconsistencies ("Perry Mason", "Thunder Underground", "Tomorrow", "My Jekyll Doesn't Hide"), enveloping it all in a vortex of broken emotions, desperate cries of multiple increasingly isolated facets of the soul, that in the poignant embrace of an ancient love ("I Just Want You", "Ghost Behind My Eyes", "Old L.A. Tonight"), and in the passionate, heart-rending "testament" of a father ("Denial", "My Little Man", but also the spectacular bonus track "Aimee"), rediscover that primordial freshness and genuine emotionality that only his best works contained within them. Above all, there hovers the terrible sensation of the imminent fall, the unconscious fear of the precipice, the thin boundary line that separates everything, but which in the most extraordinary feeling that exists finds the way, revives hope, and rediscovers peace ("See You On The Other Side").
A dirty and dark Hard Rock language, delineated by trusted masters Zakk Wilde (guitar) and Geezer Butler (bass), plus other excellent companions in the venture like Deen Castronovo (drums), underscores a universe made of heavy, raw sounds, but also tender and passionate, a sincere and credible mirror of a man no longer myth who unknowingly writes some of the most obscure and touching pages of his own life.
When it then becomes apparent that the end will not be so near, the strange mechanisms of inertia will take over the remnants of the flesh and the consumed spirit, when that fortifying love in which he had always believed deems it appropriate to "exploit" the dark image and ancient nature to the core, perhaps to stoke a "mythology" now lost and vanished in the labyrinths of youth who do not know, and the less young who forget too quickly.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Perry Mason (05:54)
On his way to dinner when it took him by surprise
And with one pull of the trigger he would vanish overnight
Dancing by the roadside, holding on for dear life
Then a gun from out of nowhere made a widow of his wife
I don't mind
Single file down the runway
Feelin' fine
And I'll see you my friend
Over and over again
Who can we get on the case?
We need Perry Mason
Someone to put you in place
Calling Perry Mason again
Riding painted horses, oh, the kids, they love it so
You can see it on their faces, how they love the wind to blow
Minding my own business, like my mamma always said
But if I don't try to help 'em, they could wind up on the front page
I don't mind
Draw the line, then draw me an arrow
Feelin' fine
Then I'll see you my friend
Over and over again
Who can we get on the case?
We need Perry Mason
someone to put you in place
Calling Perry Mason again, again
Wake me when it's over
Tell me it's all right
Just keep on talking baby
I've been doing this all night
How much did you give me?
Tell me it'll be all right
Then I'll see you my friend
Over and over again
Who can we get on the case?
We need Perry Mason
someone to put you in place
Calling Perry Mason again, again, again, again
04 Thunder Underground (06:30)
Your thoughts are compromising
Self-centered, patronizing
Your image supersedes your soul
You find me mystifying
So human, so annoying
You can't have me under control
You think you'll live forever
You don't find that profound
You won't think you're so clever
When you hear thunder underground
All right now
Your morbid fear of losing
Destroys the lives you're using
You only have one point of view
The stigma of delusion
Confirms your self illusion
And after all this could be you
You think you'll live forever
You don't find that profound
You won't think you're so clever
When you hear thunder underground
Here we go now
Could it be that I have found my mind, or have I gone insane?
Roller coaster of the madness and there's only me to blame
The ever faithful hand of doom will take the pain away
I'll never know the answer to it all 'til my dying day
Your bullshit culture licking
Can't stop the deathwatch ticking
You're only mortal after all
Your appetite for power
Subverts your every hour
But every time the mighty fall
You think you'll live forever
You don't find that profound
You won't think you're so clever
When you hear thunder underground
Here we go now
05 See You on the Other Side (06:10)
Voices, A thousand, thousand voices.
Whispering, The time has passed for choices.
Golden days are passing over, yea.
I can't seem to see you baby,
Although my eyes are open wide
But I know I'll see you once more
When I see you, I'll see you on the other side
Yes I'll see you, I'll see you on the other side
Leaving, I hate to see you cry.
Grieving, I hate to say good-bye
Dust and ash forever, yeah
Though I know we must be parted
As sure as stars are in the sky.
I'm gonna see when it comes to glory.
And I'll see you, I'll see you on the other side.
Yes I'll see you, I'll see you on the other side
Never thought I'd feel like this,
Strange to be alone, yeah
But we'll be together,
Carved in stone, Carved in stone, Carved in stone.
Hold me, Hold me tight I'm falling.
Far away, Distant voices calling
I'm so cold, I need you darling, yeah
I was down, but now I'm flying.
Straight across the great divide.
I know you're crying, but I'll stop you crying.
When I see you, I see you on the other side.
Yes, I'll see you, see you on the other side.
I'm gonna see you, see you on the other side
God knows I'll see you, see you on the other side, yeah
I'll see you, see you on the other side
I'm gonna see you, see you on the other side.
God knows I'll see you, see you on the other side
I wanna see you, yeah yeah yeah, see you on the other side
God knows I'll see you, see you on the other side
I'm gonna see you, see you on the other side
06 Tomorrow (06:36)
Have you read the message,
The writing on the wall
Could it be the answer,
The answer to it all
What's going down in Heaven,
I'm playing with your head
Don't believe it when they tell you,
You'd be better off dead
Living in a thunder
Driving me insane
Can I get a witness
To take away the pain?
Walking on the water
Going nowhere fast
Feeling like I'm walking with no shoes on broken glass.
You don't have to leave the lights on
I'm so used to being blind,
No more good-byes or yesterdays
So it's, I'll see you
Tomorrow
I'll see you
Tomorrow.
Welcome to the sideshow,
I'll cut it to the chase
Yeah I can hear you thinking
It's going all to waste
I don't mean to offend you
When I look you in the eyes
What's all this commotion?
It leaves me mystified
Chasing all the rainbows
Falling from the sky
I know your intentions
Are all a bunch of lies
I'm running out of patience,
Falling off track
You better start to worry,
'Cause I may not make it back
All right now
You don't have to leave the lights on
I'm so used to being blind,
One good reason to blow me away
So it's,
I'll see you tomorrow,
I'll see you tomorrow
[Can't wait till tomorrow...
Tomorrow comes...
I never killed anybody...
It was a Gun! Hahahahaha!] (background)
Living in the big house,
Dying by the rail
If I wanted your opinion
I'd call you up in hell
Could that be the mailman
Knockin' at the door
Or just another lightweight
Finally evening the score
You know it
You don't have to leave the lights on
I'm so used to being blind,
No more good-byes or yesterdays
So it's,
I'll see you tomorrow
No more reasons to blow you away
So it's,
I'll see you tomorrow
07 Denial (05:12)
You are my only daughter,
I guess I made you twice
You look inside my other,
He'll give you bad advice
I will tell you I'm OK,
But deep inside I'm afraid
I don't drink holy water,
I'm not the son of Christ
I ain't no black messiah,
And I don't load my dice
You can tell me you're all right,
But why are you so afraid?
You're in denial,
You never will believe it's you
Denial,
You always hide behind the truth
You'll never believe it,
You'll never believe it's you
I don't think I'm amazing,
In fact I'm quite insane
To live inside my bucket,
With all my plastic chains
People tell me every time,
I look at the wrong all right
You're in denial,
You never will believe it's you
Denial,
You always hide behind the truth
You'll never believe it,
You'll never believe it's you
You'll never believe it,
You never believe it
Secrets told you,
Dreamland holds you,
Secrets told you
You wouldn't believe it,
You couldn't conceive it
Secrets told you . . . . . . . . . . . .
You wanna receive it,
You gotta believe it's you
You're on a trip already,
I'm tripping out all right
I'll get there slow and steady,
Just sit and hold on tight
You're in denial,
You never will believe it's you
Denial,
You always hide behind the truth, yeah, yeah
Behind the truth
It's true, yeah, yeah
Behind the truth, yeah, yeah
It's you, yeah, yeah
Behind the truth, yeah, yeah
It's gonna be all right,
Just hold on tight
It's gonna be all right,
Just hold on tight
09 My Jekyll Doesn't Hide (06:34)
Condemned to violence
Arrested by pain
Inside the soul lies a man insane
Conceived in anger
Addict to hate
The mutant child of a twisted state
Beware the contradiction
Beneath the crimson void
'Cos in the would of fiction
My Jekyll doesn't hide
A killer's smile with
A psycho star dream
Behind the mask
Things aren't what they seem
Unholy soldier
Disciple of sin
What kind of mind are you living in
You're preaching revolution
Don't you mean genocide?
Behind this resolution
My Jekyll doesn't hide
Waiting to die for the very first time
All right, that's right
Waiting to die for the very first time
I don't give a damn,
'Cos I think it's my time, my time
The symbiosis
Of murder and lies
What do I see looking through your disguise?
Fourth Reich dementia
Subversion ideals
God only knows what your secret conceals
Who'll be the first offender?
Who will be victimized?
In your perverse agenda
My Jekyll doesn't hide
12 Walk on Water (04:20)
I met a magic man,
who had a daughter
She learned her lessons well,
but still i taught her
She followed willingly,
as lambs to slaughter
We shared forbiden fruits,
and things i brought her
You may say i'm a miracle mannequin,
Here i come with my mystical plan again,
Although you think i can, i'm just a man
And I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I followed willingly,
a sweet temptation
She had me hypnotized,
and still i'm waiting
My dromedary dreams
as wet as oceans
With sand dunes bearing seeds
she set in motion
You may say i'm a cynical charlatan
There i go with my whimsical ways again
Although you think i can, i'm just a man
And i don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
Kaliedoscopial eyes
as you look in the mirror
And the long is getting
shorter as the far is now nearer
Are you just a mirror
standing in front of me?
Am i blind,
can my eyes really see?
You may say i'm a miracle mannequin,
Here i come with my mystical plan again,
Although you think i can, i'm just a man
And i don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
I don't walk on water (oh no)
My dromedary dreams
as wet as oceans
With sand dunes bearing seeds
she set in motion
My dromedary dreams
My dromedary dreams
My dromedary dreams
14 No More Tears (05:54)
The light in the window is a crack in the sky
A stairway to darkness in the blink of an eye
A levee of tears to learn she'll never be coming back
The man in the dark will bring another attack
Your momma told you that you're not supposed to talk to strangers
Look in the mirror and tell me do you think your life's in danger yeah
CHORUS
No more tears (echo) (x4)
Another day passes as the night closes in
The red light goes on to say it's time to begin
I see the man around the corner waiting, can he see me?
I close my eyes and wait to hear the sound of someone screaming here
CHORUS
It's just a sign of the times
Going forward in reverse
Still
He who laughs last
Is just a hand in the bush
So now that it's over can we just say goodbye?
(I'd like)
(I'd like)
I'd like to move on and make the most of the night
Maybe a kiss before I leave you this way
Your lips are so cold I don't know what else to say
I never wanted it to end this way my love my darling
Believe me when I say to you in love I think I'm falling here
CHORUS
Is just a hand in the bush (echo w/ fadeout)
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Other reviews
By aniel
It was the first (and I emphasize first) metal album I ever listened to.
Decent work by Ozzy, not excellent, but certainly worthy of nods and a hint of modernity in his sound.
By CRAZY TRAIN
I believe Ozzy... has matured, a more reflective and less impulsive man, always attentive though to the stylistic precision.
I think this album is quite underrated... a more sophisticated work, a work where the search for reflection and introspection by the artist emerges.
By Salv79
Ozzy’s vocal color, his power, passion, and the emotion in his voice have marked the history of hard rock and heavy metal.
'Perry Mason' is a track for the annals, a piece that fantastically opens the album with one of Zakk Wylde’s best riffs.
