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The floodgates of hell opened up
Louder Sound has a few quotes from the Classic Rock feature on Turning to Crime.
Steve Morse, talking about covering Ozzy songs with Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake for the Living Loud project:
We tried out some different things with the songs, which Bob really liked, and ended up with something a little bit different. And my God, the floodgates of Hell opened up! Some people absolutely lost their minds, and we received all manner of abuse.
So, having been through that once, I’m prepared for some backlash again. But there‘s always the possibility that some people might like it, I suppose.
Ian Gillan is, as usual, fairly upbeat about the release:
I really love this record. You can always tell if you feel proud of a record if you play it a few times afterwards and really listen to it, which isn’t that case with all the records that I’ve made! But I have played this one, and I’ve played it to my pals, and I played it in a bar, and I’m very happy with it. It’s harking back to why we do what we.
Thanks to Louder Sound for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Regarding the cover songs from Ozzy Osbourne’s first 2 albums, it may have had something to do with the vocalist, perhaps? Woeful that was & predictable. Cheers.
December 5th, 2021 at 21:24I agree, the vocals were a let-down on that album, no one can credibly copy Ozzy – limited as he is and as Glenn Hughes can attest to: “People laugh about Ozzy’s vocal style, but it’s the hardest thing in the world to get that equal emphasis of his doomsday voice on every note and word right, I found it extremely difficult.”
That whole idea of covering those songs was a bad one, as bad as Ozzy’s (and/or Sharon’s) idea to wipe Bob and Lee from those first two albums and have their parts rerecorded on later releases (which eventually they – wisely – gave up on).
Randy Rhoads, due to his tragic death at a young age, has by now become a mythological figure. But I remember seeing him in the early eighties when Ozzy was opening for Whitesnake. Let me say this (and his fan legions will pounce on me for this): He had a polka dot guitar, looked the part (i.e. much like Mick Ronson I thought then and still think now) and his guitar playing was all over the place like an excited little puppy peeing on the rug. To my ears, he was then not (yet) in a Blackmore, Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, EvH, Steve Morse or (even very young) Yngwie Malmsteen virtuoso league, not even in a Marsden/Moody one as far as accuracy and tastefulness go. And if truth be told, I preferred his successor, Jake E. Lee, as a lead guitarist with Ozzy for exactly those reasons. There I said it, now stone me.
I’m sure Randy would have developed further as a guitarist had he lived on, but the adulation he receives today is a bit dewy-eyed.
Back to Purple: No one will attack Steve for the new album and quite rightly so. He plays beautifully on it, with taste and respect for the originals, without ever aping someone.
December 6th, 2021 at 12:52Yes indeed, Ozzy is very unique in his voice & singing & a very melodic vocalist also. I tried to listen to the cover of one song from Living Loud as I was interested in Steve Morse & his take on it. Always loathing Barnes as a so called vocalist, it was always going to make me cringe & it did. I wonder if there are instrumental versions of the songs somewhere? Regarding those first 2 albums, for me it was the quality of the songs & the playing of course, that I really liked & still do. That combination of Rhoads, Daisley & Kerslake did work well for a brief time. I have only heard Rhoads live in a limited way, a live album a friend had years ago & online clips etc. He seemed ok for me. But on the night at a live gig could be different I guess. I did reluctantly buy Bark at the Moon when it was released, however that songwriting team was gone so I called it quits. It did have some good songs mind & Lee was a fine guitarist, but the magic wasn’t there & we all know how well a certain lineup in a band can work out so well, compared to other lineups. I still rate Randy Rhoads highly though, incredibly melodic player & I would rate him above all those guitarist you mentioned except for the Man in Black of course & Morse also. Although I am not that familiar with Schenker & Uli Roth, I have only heard some of their playing here & there. A great tragedy what happened to Rhoads & he was heading back to classical music apparently, as the Osbourne circus was getting to him & it did eventually, in a terrible way. Regarding the despicable act that the Osbourne’s did to those first two albums, removing the bass & drums from the original recordings, well enough said there! The lowest of the low & I still cannot imagine why any musician would agree to partake in that. Money I suppose, pure evil that act was. Regarding your review of Rhoad’s live guitar playing Uwe, I think you are ‘safe’ here at THS. Are there any rabid Ozzy supporters lurking in the depths of darkness, time will tell. Cheers.
December 6th, 2021 at 21:15MacGregor & Uwe re 1, 2 & 3;
Good points all. Ozzy is a vocal stylist more than an accomplished singer but it works for him, and his fans.
Randy Rhoads was a fine guitarist. I saw him with Ozzy at the Montreal show in 1981 and was amazed at his playing. He impressed me greatly, however he was not even close to the player Blackmore was at that time, the latter whom I had just seen a couple of months before in Vancouver.
Given time, Rhoads may very well have continued to grow into an even greater guitarist. Unfortunately fate dealt him a a mortal blow.
As for the adulation heaped upon Rhoads….well that is the typical overdriven music media hype machine at work once again. The Kurt Cobain effect.
December 7th, 2021 at 17:41DeeperPurps @ 4 – yes indeed some people get really emotional in regards to a fallen hero, so to speak. Regarding Rhoads & those 2 albums, I was aware of a new recording back then & of course who the other 3 musicians were, so I bought it & really enjoyed it. By the time the 2nd album was released here in Oz, Rhoad’s was gone, shocking news. The 2nd album is better than the first in many ways to my ears. He was a quiet & humble young man who did not fit with the madness of Osbourne & his antics. According to his brother, he wanted out & but was worried about how & when to break it to the intimidating bosses, so to speak. Well words to that effect from what I have read over the years. He would have loathed how Daisley & Kerslake were treated & the signs were already on the wall by then. Back to classical music & his real pursuit & he would have been a wonderful addition to the ranks no doubt.
December 7th, 2021 at 20:16Uwe @ 2 – In regards to EVH & Schenker & Uli Roth, all superb guitarist but I often wonder with them how they would have gone in bands with stronger songs etc, especially Van Halen. Some musicians excel when involved with a cracking songwriting team or individual, where as in their own set up, they sort of miss out in a way. I mean they could have been even better in a certain way, it is a difficult one to describe. As for Yngwie, there is a perfect example. Gary Moore wrote some good songs & was a fine singer also, I enjoyed his earlier recordings, Dirty Fingers, Corridors of Power & Victims of the Future. Before he commercialised, a fine guitarist in his rock days. Cheers.
MacGregor @5. Good point re EVH. He was a superb guitarist but somehow I have this nagging feeling that he did not realize his full potential. He and his group wrote / played some good songs, some of them very popular; but he never wrote anything EPIC. Sure his signature solo Eruption is noteworthy. but beyond that it just seems his talent was squandered on little ditties. A guitarist of his calibre, given the right material and musicians around him, could have created something majestic.
December 7th, 2021 at 21:07I am not a guitarist so I hesitate to say that one accomplished guitatist is better than another on a technical level. To me it’s hard to separate song writing, sound, and talent, but when all three are there it is apparent. What I will say is that other than an odd song here or there I don’t like much of Ozzy’s work outside of Black Sabbath and those 1st two solo albums. How much of that is Tony, Geezer, & Bill and Randy, Bob, & Lee? Probably a lot.
Now to the question of who can pull off singing Ozzy songs, just listen to the live stuff from the Born Again tour. Gillan was masterful with the slow methodical doomsday parts and then added screams, wails, & cackles to make it his own. Hos perfomance of the song Black Sabbath is the best version that I’ve ever heard.
December 9th, 2021 at 05:10