A song that matters to me!
Diary of a Madman: Ozzy Osbourne (1981).
This is a review of an old song that matters to me! It’s a song that should be listened to again by as many people as possible and this review will both explain why and the reason for its position here. The song itself first of all resonates of the early Ozzy, Blizzard of Oz sound. The album as a whole was a dark, gothic rocker full of light and shade and amazing riffs. It represents a guitar playing masterpiece by the late Randy Rhoads. Rhoads (who also played with Quiet Riot), had he lived, would have been one of the best lead guitarists of all time and this (undervalued) song is a piece that builds up from the constructed riffs.
As a performer, Ozzy is an artist that has always worn his love of The Beatles on his sleeve and you can hear that love especially on songs such as ‘So Tired‘ from ‘Bark at the Moon.’It is also here, menacing and lyrically there is such angst and pain in the lyrics that the song bites. Every song can be a personal experience, it can change depending upon who listens to it. Songs also can become extremely personal, couples will describe a song as “ours.” This one is personal to be. I loved Ozzy during my school days and having lost touch with his music for a time I returned to it again via this track.
Screaming at the window
Watch me die another day
Hopeless situation endless price I have to pay…
I can connect with the track via experiences of poor mental health, experiences of being locked inside your own head for a while – where a prison cell can be both literal or metaphorical.
Voices in the darkness
Scream away my mental health
Can I ask a question
To help me save me from myself?
Enemies fill up the pages….
We all have our own battles, but I listen to this track and it is so well delivered that I can hear the pain both within the delivery of the lyrics and the guitar work. Sometimes people state that Ozzy was never a great vocalist, more of a performance singer. I disagree, listening to the delivery of this, This is a great vocal performance and a song that I will always listen to in times of darkness.
Mark C-Chambers.