I have never been a Black Sabbath or Ozzy Osbourne fan, so the release of 13 the first Black Sabbath album in 35 years to feature Ozzy really did nothing for me. But we were going to a picnic at the shore today, about an hour plus away, and both my son Nick and wife like Ozzy, so I went to Mog and put the album on the iPhone. Now while I am not an Ozzy fan, I did enjoy the first season or two of The Osbournes, mostly to laugh at Ozzy’s incoherence. So I was surprised, as we listened to the album, that Ozzy’s vocals were really good, and more importantly for the most part I could understand the lyrics!! On the way back, I put the album on again and commented that I didn’t understand how an incoherent Ozzy could perform like this! Nick said some people are saying that there’s been some auto tuning with Ozzy’s vocals, but my wife explained it by saying when he’s singing he doesn’t have to think! He just reads and sings and doesn’t have to form coherent sentences! Like a stutterer who can sing without stuttering. Anyway, I’ve heard enough Ozzy over the years to know that overall this album is pretty close to vintage Ozzy and Black Sabbath. I did enjoy Tommy Iommi’s guitar work and the overall sound of the band. So I think that most of the band’s fans will like this album a lot! I know my wife liked it! From Ultimate Classic Rock’s:Black Sabbath, ’13′ – Album Review”
Here’s the rundown on ’13,’ Ozzy Osbourne‘s first full-length album with Black Sabbath in 35 years: It’s not embarrassing in the least. In fact, it’s pretty darn good and at times it’s great.
It’s unfair to ask, and highly unlikely, that ’13′ will ever achieve any kind of equal footing alongside the group’s masterful six first albums. But it’s definitely cut from the right cloth, and it’s probably the best effort from anybody on either side of this camp since Osbourne’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ (R.I.P. Randy Rhoads!) and his former bandmates’ ‘Mob Rules‘ came out in 1981.
It’s definitely the most mature thing Ozzy’s been a part of in years. His vocal range is diminished, but he uses what he’s got wisely, and it’s great to see him playing songs made for adults instead of trying to get the kids at Hot Topic to ‘Scream‘ along with him. It’s also wonderful to hear him together with guitarist Tony Iommi again — the re-ignition of their chemistry is obvious from the very start of the album Continue Reading
So let’s go “Into the Darkness” (and there’s a lot of it on the album) with Black Sabbath and “God is Dead”
