Artist: Ozzy Osbourne
Label: Sony
Release Date: 10/16/01
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Title: Down to Earth Artist: Ozzy Osbourne Label: Sony Release Date: 10/16/01 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
It’s nearly impossible to review an Ozzy record. Initially, one always feels they should give a bad score because his best records were at the beginning of his career. But his new songs always seem to find a way to creep into your psyche and germinate like a seed. When No More Tears came out oh so long ago, I thought it was a pretty weak effort. With the exception of a few radio friendly songs, the album was just filler. Now, I still consider that to be his weakest effort, but it doesn’t fill me with distaste like other disappointments (The Black Album?), rather it gives me a warm sense of security.
Such is the case with Ozzy’s latest Down to Earth (for the record, I can’t stop calling this thing Back To Earth). There aren’t any standout songs on this record that are going to make you forget his previous albums, but with repeated listens one can find a lot to hold onto here. There aren’t any truly bad songs on this album, (of course “Dreamer” is dangerously reminiscent of John Lennon’s “Imagine”), and the melodies of the better songs end up creeping up on you when you least expect it.
"There aren’t any standout songs on this record that are going to make you forget his previous albums, but with repeated listens one can find a lot to hold onto here." The songwriting might be a touch below what we’re used to, but the ideas are good, and that keeps this album together. Zakk Wylde is on guitar, but shares none of the songwriting credits, and while his signature artificial harmonics abound on the album, I feel this album would be a little better if he had helped pen them. Former axeman Joe Holmes helps write some of the songs as well as bassist Robert Trujillo, and Mike Bordin returns on the drums. Lyrically Ozzy sings mostly about mistakes in his past and promises broken (I don’t know, it sounds like he might have had some problems in his past or something). Of course, while this is nothing new, it seems much better than singing about Perry Mason (God, he was stretching for subject matter on that one!)
As it stands right now, my favorite tracks are toward the end of the album, “Alive”, “Black Illusion”, and “Running Out of Time” among them. Basically, if you want to like this album you will, but if you want to rip it apart you probably could. I, personally, like it whenever Ozzy puts out an album… it makes me feel like the world is where it should be for a little bit. Something important in these troubled times.
Death's Review:
After six long years, the madman himself returns with a new studio record, Down to Earth. Worth the wait? Sort of. I mean, I liked Ozzmosis, and I definitely like this one too. Zack Wylde rejoins the band, and he sounds great here. So does the rest of the band, which includes Robert Trujillo of Suicidal Tendencies fame on bass, and Mike Bordin from Faith No More on drums. Ozzy's vocals also sound good, with a good studio production and none of the high-note cracking you get from the live Ozzy shows these days.
"It isn't really commercial or cheesy, it is pretty much basic Ozzy solo material. In other words, we've heard it all before." But where Down to Earth is lacking is in the songwriting. It isn't really commercial or cheesy, it is pretty much basic Ozzy solo material. In other words, we've heard it all before. There is nothing special about any of these songs. Take the first single and album opener, "Gets Me Through", for example. I heard this before I had the album, and my reaction was that it was cool, but I was definitely hoping that much better material awaited me elsewhere on the album. Not so. "Gets Me Through," a heavy yet straightforward headbanger with a cool Zack Wylde solo, is one of the better songs on the album, if not the best (I also like "Black illusion" and "Alive"). Personally, after six years of hearing rumors of upcoming new Ozzy records and then hearing later word that the songs had been scrapped or the vibe wasn't right or whatever, I expected these songs to smoke--to be the best shit Ozzy's done in decades. It isn't. I may actually like Ozzmosis better, and certainly the title track from No More Tears blows away everything here.
At the same time, this isn't the nu-metal Ozzy record that I once feared. Instead, it is probably on par with something like No Rest for the Wicked, only years later. Yes, Ozzy sports red hair streaks in the video, but as far as the imagery goes and general overall sound, Ozzy is Ozzy. He is fun to watch, both in the video and at media appearances like on "The Tonight Show." He is a crazy old loon who knows how to laugh at himself and who continues to churn out radio-accessible metal which treads the line between the old and new scenes and manages to offer a little something for everybody, although nothing amazing, fresh or new for anyone (although looking for a "fresh sound" in a 2001 Ozzy Osbourne release may be a bit off base I admit).
"Down to Earth is just another Ozzy record, not great but not bad. Just another Ozzy record." Sure, there are too many ballads, as Ozzy is always looking for that next "Momma I'm Comin' Home." "Desire" sounds like a rip-off of "Goodbye to Romance" in many respects. There is nothing incredibly complex or incredibly interesting here: there is no "Diary of a Madman Part 2" or anything like that. The bottom line is that Down to Earth is just another Ozzy record, not great but not bad. Just another Ozzy record. I'm glad he didn't sell out or change, but I've got a lot of other albums to listen to, and, sadly, this is not going to be anywhere close to my top ten at years' end. Will I have to wait another six years to see if Ozzy can put something better together in 2007? I hope not.
Hel's Review:
Wow, I was beginning to think I'd never see the day. But he's done it at last, a new solo album. And you know, after hearing it, it's exactly what I would have expected, had I actually believed it would happen. Long gone are the days of my youth, when I would swipe my brother's copies of Diary of a Madman and Bark at the Moon. Down to Earth is the logical next step down the path Ozzy had been on before he stopped recording solo records. Ozzy may or may not have heard the bands he's taking along on Ozzfest these days, fortunately, it certainly hasn't penetrated if he has.
"Down to Earth is the logical next step down the path Ozzy had been on before he stopped recording solo records." And I daresay, while I'm relieved, I never truly believed that Ozzy would incorporate any outside influences into his new record. He's always just done what he felt, and what he feels is metal. While his "official" title seems to be the "Godfather" of metal, let's call a spade a spade, metalheads, Ozzy's the Grandaddy of metal, and that's the plain truth. And he remains the patriarch of the fold to this day. And true to that role, he has spent the past several years canvassing the globe, raising more metal children for the cause. Now, he's contributing a recorded work once more.
Many of these new songs are reminiscent of tunes from No More Tears and Ozzmosis. The majority strike me as being on the more ballad-heavy end of the spectrum, but there are plenty of Zack Wilde guitar solos to go around. I respect the members of Ozzy's band enormously, and each of them turned in a great performance. The ultimate point upon which one's opinion of the album will turn is - what where you expecting?
"I doubt I'll be listening to the new Ozzy record often in the future." For sheer, what-I-like-in-metal qualities, well, I doubt I'll be listening to the new Ozzy record often in the future. But it's good to see him putting out new music again, period. He's Ozzy! Sure, he really is getting to be a grandfatherly age, and it has been gradually becoming more of who he is. But, moreover, who he is - well, he's the soul of this music we call metal. In many ways, he's responsible for this genre and what it has become, and that will never change, even if he does. And let's face it - Ozzy will never change - unless he tells us he won't!
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