Can you sink any lower?

Review Score:

(2/10)
[This review will cover ALL the flaws of this new remaster series.]

Ozzy Osbourne's solo debut album, Blizzard Of Ozz, has been referred to as a quintessential metal classic my a number of rock and roll fans. And in 2002, the record company announced plans to rerelease the entire Ozzy catalogue with BONUS TRACKS! Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

If you said yes, you're correct.

THE 2002 REISSUES OF BLIZZARD OF OZZ AND DIARY OF A MADMAN FEATURE RERECORDED DRUMS AND BASS. IF THIS WASN'T BAD ENOUGH, THESE PARTS WERE MIXED TERRIBLY! THIS ISN'T EVEN MENTIONED ON THE PACKAGE! The reason for the rerecordings is as follows - Ozzy was getting sued by two ex-bandmates, so he rerecorded their parts so he wouldn't have to pay up! So Ozzy has defiled his two finest solo albums, and ordered production of the original versions to be ceased. That means the readily available editions of the albums are the ruined ones.

The sins don't stop there! Bark At The Moon has been horribly remixed as well! Some songs have had parts deleted, and some parts, oddly enough, sound WORSE THAN EVER! What was Ozzy smoking when he decided to remix these classics?

The Ozzman's sins continue. THE ENTIRE OZZY CATALOGUE WAS NOT REISSUED! Speak Of The Devil, his first live solo album, has been deleted since he "doesn't like it"! Ozzy even dislikes Shot In The Dark now, so ANY RELEASE that had that on it has been DELETED. That means The Ultimate Sin, Just Say Ozzy and Live And Loud won't get reissued. The Ozzman Cometh WAS reissued, but they deleted it from the tracklist, and replaced all the Blizzard and Diary tracks with the rerecorded ones!

And last, but certainly not least, this series is a wasted opportunity. Every reissue from No Rest For The Wicked on is JUST FINE in terms of sound quality, and they even have bonus tracks. But unfortunately, they don't fill the discs to the brim with them, meaning many Ozzy songs remain unavailable on CDs. Among these are his cover of Purple Haze, which is a regular masterpiece.

As if this wasn't bad enough, this reissue series was accompanied by the release of Live At Budokan, a new Ozzy live album. Sounds good, right? WRONG! The album is PURE GARBAGE!

FINAL VERDICT: DO NOT BUY THE REISSUES OF THE FOLLOWING ALBUMS: Blizzard Of Ozz, Diary Of A Madman, Bark At The Moon, and The Ozzman Cometh. Also don't buy Live At Budokan. If you decide to buy one of the albums just listed, make sure it's the 1995 version (which features shrunken cover art with a border and OZZY written down the right side in huge letters. To say this series of so-caleed remasters is disgraceful is an understatement.

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