Diary of a Madman | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1981 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Studio | Ridge Farm Studio, Rusper, England | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 43:19 | |||
Label | Jet | |||
Producer | Max Norman, Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley | |||
Ozzy Osbourne chronology | ||||
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Singles from Diary of a Madman | ||||
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Diary of a Madman is the second studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released in October 1981, and re-issued on CD on 22 August 1995. This is the last Osbourne studio album to feature guitarist Randy Rhoads and drummer Lee Kerslake. An altered version appeared in 2002 with the original bass and drum parts removed and re-recorded. In 2011, a Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition was released with all original parts restored. To date, the album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. [4]
Diary of a Madman was supported by the Diary of a Madman Tour, which began on November 5, 1981, and ended August 8, 1982, spanning Europe, North America, and Asia. On March 19, 1982, during the North American leg of the tour, Rhoads died in a plane crash in Leesburg, Florida; after a two-week break, the tour continued with guitarist Bernie Tormé performing several shows in place of Rhoads before in turn being replaced by Brad Gillis.
Diary of a Madman is the final album recorded with late guitarist Randy Rhoads. Although bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge are credited in the liner notes and pictured on the inner sleeve for the American vinyl and cassette release and later CD re-issues, it was bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake who performed all bass and drum parts on the original release. Aldridge has stated of the album, "I think it's pretty obvious that it's not my drumming on that album. I have never taken credit for that recording and have always given Lee Kerslake, whenever asked or interviewed, the credit he rightly deserves." [5]
Daisley provided significant contributions to the album's songwriting, having written some of the music and most of the lyrics. Kerslake claims to have also had a hand in the writing of the album, even performing lead vocals on some of the original demo recordings. "'Flying High Again' was one of my ideas, 'Over the Mountain' was another. The basic (demo) tracks were just Bob's words, my vocals—though some of the words I wrote—and Randy's playing. It was unreal. And then we got Don Airey to come in and do the keyboards", he stated in 2009. Kerslake says he used a piano in the studio to write many of the songs with guitarist Randy Rhoads. [6] Daisley and Kerslake were not given credit for their performance or songwriting contributions, a situation which resulted in a later lawsuit.
During the album's recording, Kerslake says the band members were given no money to live on, prompting them to approach management. Shortly after, both Kerslake and Daisley were fired. "Everything was working fine," said Kerslake. "It was only when Sharon (Osbourne) came in that we had a problem. When she started managing—taking over—she wasn't the manager until Diary of a Madman. Before that was her brother, David. He didn't really want to handle it. He had too much to do for Don [Arden] in the office. So she came in and it started to get edgy. But we never suspected a thing until we went away on holiday. Next minute, they're rehearsing with Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo, and going to America." [7]
Although Don Airey is credited as keyboardist on the album, it was in fact a musician named Johnny Cook (who had worked with Daisley in Mungo Jerry in the 1970s) who actually recorded the keyboard parts. Airey was on tour as a member of Rainbow at the time of recording and was thus unavailable. [8]
The album's cover art features Osbourne's son Louis to his side, with Osbourne himself posing in theatrical make-up. [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
MusicHound Rock | [12] |
Martin Popoff | [13] |
Rolling Stone | [14] |
Reception of the album has been generally positive. In particular, the neo-classical guitar work of Randy Rhoads has received much praise. [13] [15] Steve Huey of AllMusic stated that "it's not uncommon to find fans who prefer Diary to Blizzard , since it sets an even more mystical, eerie mood, and since Rhoads' playing is progressing to an even higher level". [10] BBC Music referred to the album as "a classic rock record in every way", "lifted out of the ordinary by the legendary rock axe god, Randy Rhoads". [16] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff called Diary of a Madman "a lasting classic that stands as the definitive showcase for Randy Rhoads." [13]
Though the album is regarded quite favorably today, reviews upon its 1981 release were often less than enthusiastic. J. D. Considine of Rolling Stone , for example, opined upon the album's original release that "the songs here are little more than riffs with a vocal line pasted on top" and referred to Rhoads as "a junior-league Eddie Van Halen – bustling with chops but somewhat short on imagination". [14] The magazine, however, would change its tune and later rank the album 15th on its 2017 list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". [17]
The 2002 Diary of a Madman reissue was derided by fans due to the removal of Daisley and Kerslake's original bass and drum tracks. The re-issue featured re-recorded bass and drum tracks contributed by Osbourne's then-bassist and drummer Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin, respectively. The move was suspected of being retaliatory in nature, as Daisley and Kerslake had successfully sued Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon in court, winning songwriting credits and royalties for their contributions to Diary of a Madman.
Sharon later stated that Ozzy and not herself was responsible for the decision to re-record the parts, stating "because of Daisley and Kerslake's abusive and unjust behavior, Ozzy wanted to remove them from these recordings. We turned a negative into a positive by adding a fresh sound to the original albums." [18] However, Osbourne contradicted this claim in his 2009 autobiography, stating that the decision to re-record the original bass and drum parts was strictly Sharon's decision, and that "I didn't have anything to do with that decision." [19] He said his wife "just snapped" and had it done without his knowledge. [19] He also stated that "a sticker was put on the covers telling everyone about it", [19] though in fact the sticker was not initially placed on the re-issue and was only placed on the covers at a later date due to fan outcry over the altered recordings.
In May 2011, Sony Legacy released its Deluxe 30th Anniversary Editions of Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Ozz with the original bass and drum tracks. These releases also featured bonus tracks and previously unreleased live material featuring guitarist Rhoads – Diary of a Madman features a second CD entitled Ozzy Live, featuring previously-unreleased concert performances from the Blizzard of Ozz 1981 US tour. [20] A box set was also released which included the remastered editions of both albums on CD as well as vinyl, and a DVD documentary entitled Thirty Years After The Blizzard. Ozzy Live was also separately released as a double 180g vinyl exclusively on Record Store Day 2012.
All songs by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Over the Mountain" | 4:31 | |
2. | "Flying High Again" | 4:43 | |
3. | "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" |
| 6:58 |
4. | "Believer" |
| 5:17 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Little Dolls" | 5:39 |
2. | "Tonight" | 5:50 |
3. | "S.A.T.O." | 4:06 |
4. | "Diary of a Madman" | 6:15 |
Total length: | 43:19 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
9. | "I Don't Know" (live) |
| 4:56 |
All songs recorded live during the second leg of the Blizzard of Ozz Tour.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recorded at | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Don't Know" |
| 4:50 | |
2. | "Crazy Train" |
| 5:26 | |
3. | "Believer" |
| 5:37 | |
4. | "Mr Crowley" |
| 6:32 | |
5. | "Flying High Again" |
| St. Denis Theatre, Montreal, Quebec, 28 July 1981 | 4:17 |
6. | "Revelation (Mother Earth)" |
| 5:58 | |
7. | "Steal Away (The Night)" |
| 8:00 | |
8. | "Suicide Solution" |
| Palladium, New York City, New York, 2 May 1981 | 7:30 |
9. | "Iron Man" |
| 4:09 | |
10. | "Children of the Grave" |
| 5:42 | |
11. | "Paranoid" |
| 3:23 |
Ozzy Live | |
---|---|
Live album by | |
Released | 21 April 2012 |
Recorded | 1981 |
Genre | Heavy metal, hard rock |
Length | 61:24 |
Label | Epic |
Disc 2 of the 2011 Legacy Edition of Diary of a Madman was also released as a limited edition standalone double-180g vinyl entitled "Ozzy Live". Sides one, two, and three contained the live material released on the Diary of a Madman Legacy Edition, while side four contained two bonus tracks that had been previously released on the 2011 reissue of Blizzard of Ozz . The vinyl was released exclusively for Record Store Day 2012, and also released as a 7" vinyl reissue of the song "Believer".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Don't Know" |
| 4:50 |
2. | "Crazy Train" |
| 5:26 |
3. | "Believer" |
| 5:37 |
4. | "Mr. Crowley" |
| 6:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
5. | "Flying High Again" |
| 4:17 |
6. | "Revelation (Mother Earth)" |
| 5:58 |
7. | "Steal Away (The Night)" |
| 8:00 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
8. | "Suicide Solution" |
| 7:30 |
9. | "Iron Man" |
| 4:09 |
10. | "Children of the Grave" |
| 5:42 |
11. | "Paranoid" |
| 3:23 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Goodbye to Romance (2010 Guitar & Vocal Mix)" |
| 5:42 |
13. | "RR (Outtake from "Blizzard of Ozz" Sessions)" | Rhoads | 1:13 |
Chart (1981-1982) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [24] | 17 |
UK Albums (OCC) [25] | 14 |
US Billboard 200 [26] | 16 |
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
---|---|
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [27] | 42 |
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [28] | 11 |
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [29] | 24 |
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) [30] | 3 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [31] | 9 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [32] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [33] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Blizzard of Ozz is the debut studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 12 September 1980 in the UK and on 27 March 1981 in the US. The album was Osbourne's first release following his firing from Black Sabbath in 1979. Blizzard of Ozz is the first of two studio albums Osbourne recorded with guitarist Randy Rhoads prior to Rhoads' death in 1982. In 2017, it was ranked 9th on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".
Tribute is a live album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, featuring his work with hard rock guitarist Randy Rhoads, in whose honor the album was released. The album was released in April 1987 in the US and May 1987 in the UK, five years after the death of Rhoads, then it was reissued on 22 August 1995, and again remastered and reissued in 2002. It peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
Randall William Rhoads was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albums Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981). Rhoads was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021.
Prince of Darkness is a box set of four CDs by Ozzy Osbourne released in 2005. The first two CDs are Osbourne's solo work containing various studio recordings, live tracks, b-sides, demos and outtakes, and the last two CDs are collaborations, on disc three, and cover songs, on disc four. The cover versions were recorded for this box set compilation, but were released on a stand-alone album entitled Under Cover later in the year.
Best of Ozz is a compilation album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Released on 1 March 1989 by CBS/Sony in Japan only, it features songs from Osbourne's first four studio albums, ranging from 1980's Blizzard of Ozz to 1986's The Ultimate Sin.
"Crazy Train" is the debut solo single by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 1980 from his debut album as a solo artist, Blizzard of Ozz (1980). The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley. The lyrics deal with the subject of the Cold War and the fear of annihilation that existed during that period.
Living Loud was a supergroup which included bass player and songwriter Bob Daisley, Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake, guitarist Steve Morse of Deep Purple and Cold Chisel singer Jimmy Barnes. Deep Purple keyboards player Don Airey made a guest appearance.
Robert John Daisley is an Australian musician and songwriter. A bass guitarist, he is perhaps best known for his intermittent relationship with vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, co-production and songwriting throughout the 1980s. Daisley has also worked with prominent rock acts including Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Gary Moore, Chicken Shack and Uriah Heep, among others. In 2013, he published his autobiography entitled For Facts Sake which has received outstanding reviews.
Tommy Aldridge is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, Thin Lizzy, Vinnie Moore and Yngwie Malmsteen.
"Mr. Crowley" is a song by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, about English occultist Aleister Crowley. Written by Osbourne, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bass guitarist/lyricist Bob Daisley, it was released on Osbourne's debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz in September 1980 in the United Kingdom. A live version was released as a UK single in November 1980. In North America, the studio version was released as a single in 1981.
The Essential Ozzy Osbourne is a compilation album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 2003. It reached No. 81 on US charts and No. 21 in the UK. Tracks featured here from the first two albums are the re-recorded versions from recent reissues as well as the remixed Bark at the Moon tracks. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on 5 February 2005 with an excess of 500,000 copies sold, then certified Platinum by the RIAA on 3 March 2016. This compilation was re-released in 2009 as a Limited Edition 3.0 package with an additional disc of bonus songs that were not on the original release.
Lee Gary Kerslake was an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep and for his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s.
Ten Commandments is a compilation album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Released in 1990 by Priority Records and CBS Records, it contains songs from Osbourne's first four studio albums, ranging from Blizzard of Ozz (1980) to The Ultimate Sin (1986).
"Flying High Again" is a song performed by English heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne, who additionally was one of its songwriters. It came out in 1981 as a part of his second album as a solo artist, which Osbourne titled Diary of a Madman.
Ozzy Osbourne Live EP is a live EP released by Ozzy Osbourne in 1980. The EP contains live versions of the songs "Mr. Crowley" and "Suicide Solution", originally released on the 1980 studio album Blizzard of Ozz, as well as the previously unreleased track "You Said It All", all performed at a 1980 live performance in Southampton, England.
"Over the Mountain" is the opening track of heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne's album Diary of a Madman. The song debuted at number 42 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart and reached number 38. The song was written by Osbourne, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake and Randy Rhoads. The song was later included on the Ozzy Osbourne compilation albums, The Ozzman Cometh on 11 November 1997, The Essential Ozzy Osbourne on 11 February 2003 and Prince of Darkness on 22 March 2005.
Living Loud is the self-titled debut album by the hard rock project Living Loud, formed by bass guitarist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake in 2003. Both men had previously recorded with Ozzy Osbourne, writing and recording on the Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman albums. Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes and Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse were also part of the project. Keyboard player Don Airey, who also worked on Osbourne's albums with Kerslake and Daisley, recorded his parts of the album at his home studio in London. Half the songs were originals and half were covers from Osbourne's first two albums, which Kerslake and Daisley had co-written.
The Blizzard of Ozz Tour was the debut concert tour as a solo artist by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, who had been fired from the English group Black Sabbath a year prior. The tour started on 12 September 1980 and concluded on 13 September 1981.
Memoirs of a Madman is a CD/DVD compilation album by heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released by Epic Records and Legacy Recordings on 14 October 2014.
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