Diary of a Madman

The follow-up to the masterful Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman was rushed into existence by a band desperate to finish its next album before an upcoming tour. As a result, it doesn't feel quite as fully realized – a couple of the ballads are overly long and slow the momentum, and Randy Rhoads' guide solo on "Little Dolls" was never replaced with a version intended for the public…

Famed heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne announced the release of a new updated digital release of his 1981 album, Diary of a Madman, due out on November 5. The new release from the Grammy Award-winning frontman will also include a new track: a live version of his song, “Flying High Again.” The album is Osbourne’s second solo studio release and the last album to feature guitarist Randy Rhoads. The multi-platinum release sold five million albums worldwide and included a studio recording of the rock hit, “Flying High Again.”

Through summoning demons from the depths of hell as the frontman of metal pioneers Black Sabbath in their best days, partying hard through the '80s and landing on a reality show focusing on his dysfunctional family in the 2000s, Ozzy Osbourne has kept on the wicked side for the majority of his decades-spanning career in evil. Starting his solo bid almost immediately after his departure from Sabbath, Ozzy turned in classic metal albums with early-'80s Randy Rhoads collaborations like Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, and stayed consistently strong with many platinum-selling albums throughout the '90s, 2000s, and beyond.

This Ozzy compilation from Sony Japan may boast only ten cuts, but at least they're all good. In fact, Best of Ozz holds up as one of the better collections out there, due in part to its reliance on material from Osbourne's first four albums, Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman, Bark at the Moon, and The Ultimate Sin. Songs like "Over the Mountain," "Mr. Crowley," and "Crazy Train," peppered with the brilliant guitar work of Randy Rhodes, are bona fide Ozzy classics, and "Shot in the Dark," "The Ultimate Sin," and "Bark at the Moon," peppered with the brilliant guitar work of Jake E. Lee, are mid-period classics. While by no means a career retrospective, Best of Ozz is a nice little sampler of Osbourne's early post-Sabbath career.

From Blizzard to Budokan, this is the most extensive and revealing collection marking the incredible career of one of rock's living legends. 50 tracks with 15 previously unreleased tracks including 10 newly recorded covers of some of Ozzy's favorite and most influential songs. Also includes 13 collaborations between Ozzy and artists ranging from Motorhead and Black Sabbath to DMX and Wu-Tang! Special deluxe packaging includes a 60 page full color book with rare photos, memorabilia plus liner notes and track by track annotation written by Ozzy himself! Epic. 2005.