Ozzy 2020

The road to Ordinary Man was anything but ordinary. Osbourne started working on the LP after a serious fall forced him to postpone touring plans. During the tedious process of recovery, the Prince of Darkness found comfort by working on new material. “If it wasn’t for making this record, I would still be on traction, thinking, ‘I’m going to be lying here forever,'" the 71-year-old rocker previously confessed. "I’ve missed music so badly. My fans are so loyal and so good. Up until making the album, I thought I was dying. But that got me off my arse. … It’s the greatest album I’ve done.” Ordinary Man notably includes some high-profile collaborations, including Elton John, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash and Duff McKagan and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

Ordinary Man is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 21 February 2020 through Epic Records. It was produced by Andrew Watt and Louis Bell. This is the longest gap between two albums from Osbourne to date, spanning almost ten years since Scream. The first single of the album, "Under the Graveyard", was released on 8 November 2019. The second single, "Straight to Hell", was released on 22 November 2019. The third single and title track featuring singer Elton John was released on 10 January 2020. The fourth single "It's a Raid" featuring Post Malone was released on 20 February 2020, a day before the release of the album. The album received mainly positive reviews, with many considering it Osbourne's best album in years and favorably comparing it to both his early solo work and Black Sabbath.

Sony Music's "Essential" series of limited-edition two-disc compilations of major artists has been well-assembled generally, and Ozzy Osbourne's increased celebrity following the success of the "reality" TV series The Osbournes justifies his inclusion, as does his string of multi-platinum albums dating back to 1980. The 29-track collection presents most of the highlights of his solo career, from Blizzard of Ozz to Down to Earth, including such U.K. and/or U.S. hits as "Bark at the Moon," "No More Tears," "Perry Mason," and "Mama, I'm Coming Home," as well as the Grammy-winning live version of "I Don't Want to Change the World."

Ozzy Osbourne's 1981 solo debut Blizzard of Ozz was a masterpiece of neo-classical metal that, along with Van Halen's first album, became a cornerstone of '80s metal guitar. Upon its release, there was considerable doubt that Ozzy could become a viable solo attraction. Blizzard of Ozz demonstrated not only his ear for melody, but also an unfailing instinct for assembling top-notch backing bands…

Ozzy Osbourne finds a permanent replacement for Randy Rhoads in Jake E. Lee, a more standard metal guitarist without Rhoads' neo-classical compositional ability or stylistic flair. Still, Osbourne and his band turn in a competent, workmanlike set of heavy metal…

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…