Ozzy’s Blizzard & Diary “30th Anniversary” Re-Releases

Want to win some free copies of these new releases? Read this whole page, and find out how. :)

I’ve been running this site since 1995, and I’ve been listening to the “Black Sabbath Family” of tunes earlier than that. The first release I bought in this family was Sabbath’s “Mob Rules” album, and then shortly after that I bought the remainder of the Sabbath catalogue, and went into solo projects. First up was Ozzy Osbourne, and at this time, he had just released his second album, “Diary of A Madman”. I picked that one up, and it really blew me away. Wasn’t until some time later that I found out it wasn’t Sarzo/Aldridge on the album. So starts that fun.

We’re here to talk about the “30th Anniversary” re-releases later this month of “Blizzard of Ozz”, and “Diary of a Madman”, which are finally getting a good, proper, modern remastering. Those who pay attention will know that this isn’t the first remastering. It’s the third by my count. They were first remastered in 1995, and those had the original Daisley/Kerslake recordings. They were remastered again in 2002, and those versions are kind of notorious in that they had the bass & drum bits re-recorded with different guys. The less said about the 2002 remasters, the better. We are FINALLY getting the proper re-master these things deserve now in 2011. The original tapes with Daisley & Kerslake were used for a new remastering, and finally, these new albums are getting a new, fresh modern tech remaster with the original bass & drum bits. I have the 1995 remasters, and they’re good, but that’s 16 years ago. Remastering tech has advanced since a lot since then. So we’re in for a treat here. Ozzy’s first two albums were brilliant, and with a fresh upgrade and the original recordings? Can’t wait!

There are three releases being put out on the release date of May 31st, 2011. They are:

1. 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition of the “Blizzard of Ozz” album.
2. Diary of a Madman – Legacy Edition
3. 30th Anniversary Deluxe Boxed Set

Here’s some details about the three releases.

Blizzard of Ozz

Ordering Links: [ Amazon.com US | Amazon UK | Amazon US – Vinyl ]

This is a single disc release, but contains a few good extras. Here’s the track listing:

1. I Don’t Know (5:13)
2. Crazy Train (4:51)
3. Goodbye to Romance (5:33)
4. Dee (0:49)
5. Suicide Solution (4:17)
6. Mr. Crowley (5:02)
7. No Bone Movies (3:52)
8. Revelation (Mother Earth) (6:08)
9. Steal Away (The Night) (3:28)BONUS TRACKS:
10. You Looking at Me, Looking At You (Non LP B-Side, Previously unreleased in the US – 4:15)
11. Goodbye to Romance (2010 Guitar & Vocal Mix, Previously Unreleased – 5:42)
12. RR (Previously Unreleased – Randy Rhoads Guitar Solo – 1:13)

A couple of short remarks about the track listing.

The notes for the tracks here come from the formal press release, which is further down the page. Anyway, it refers to “You Looking at Me..” as “unreleased in the US”. I am calling that out as an error. This HAS been released in the US before. Back in 1980, the track appeared as a B-Side on a 45″ single for Crazy Train at the time. I bought it myself, I still have it to this day. Additionally, the much maligned 2002 CD version had this track on it, and that was definitely released in the US. So I’m writing that note off as wrong, unless, they want to go with “Well, it has been unreleased on CD in the US before with the original bass/drum tracks”, but even that’s a stretch.

The other two extra tracks are new. I don’t know anything about this “2010 Remix” of Goodbye To Romance. The additional Randy Rhoads guitar solo is also new. So that stuff will probably be cool.

One negative though is the track “You Said it All” was not included. That was a B-Side to the 45″ single release of “Mr. Crowley”. Now that track was NOT included in the 2002 remaster, because You Said it All was a live track, it was never recorded in the studio. As such, there were no multi track masters to rebuild (read: re-record) from, so it was dropped in 2002 for that reason. However, with the restoration of the Daisley & Kerslake tracks to the main album, the reason for it not being included 9 years ago was removed. So it’s puzzling why it’s not on the 2011 version. When I queried someone at the record label about that, their response was “I really don’t know why that wasn’t on there”. If I ever find out why for sure, I’ll report back. It’s not a space problem on the disc, because if you add up the running time for all the tracks listed above (those times come from the formal press release), the running time is just about 50 minutes for all of that. There’s certainly room on the disc for it, so why “You Said it All” was not included is unknown. Sad, as it should be on here.

That aside, it looks like a good release, especially with the original rhythm section back on the album.

Diary of a Madman

Ordering Links: [ Amazon.com US | Amazon UK | Amazon US – Vinyl ]

The anniversary edition of Diary of a Madman is a 2 disc release. The first disc is pretty much just the album we knew, with no extra tracks or whatnot. Disc 2 is a live gig from the Blizzard of Ozz tour. Here’s some track listings for here:

DISC 1: “Diary of a Madman”
1. Over the Mountain (4:31)
2. Flying High Again (4:44)
3. You Can’t Kill Rock & Roll (6:59)
4. Believer (5:15)
5. Little Dolls (5:39)
6. Tonight (5:50)
7. S.A.T.O. (4:07)
8. Diary of a Madman (6:14)

DISC 2: “Ozzy Live” (recorded on the Blizzard of Ozz tour)
1. I Don’t Know
2. Crazy Train
3. Believer
4. Mr. Crowley
5. Flying High Again
6. Revelation (Mother Earth)
7. Steal Away (The Night)
8. Suicide Solution
9. Iron Man
10. Children of the Grave
11. Paranoid

There’s nothing here in the way of B-Sides or demos, or anything like that. The album is what it was. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s a killer album. But given the “anniversary” nature of the release, one would hope SOMETHING could have been dug up; but alas, that’s not to be. Restoration of Daisley & Kerslake should be enough here. :)

Disc 2 is a live album, which of course made me jump straight to wondering who is on it, since it was recorded during the first album’s tour. The press release says that it’s Rudy Sarzo & Tommy Aldridge on the rhythm section for Disc 2. The press release also says that this is a new recording, it hasn’t been released before, so that’s cool.

There was also a remark in the press release that a single disc version of Diary of a Madman would also be available (basically minus the live disc). When I inquired with the Sony rep I was talking to today about that, I was told that the single disc version of Diary will indeed come, but not now, it won’t be out until later in the year. So if you were looking for that, you’ve got some more time to wait – they want to focus on the “Legacy Edition”.

30th Anniversary Deluxe Boxed Set

Ordering Links: [ Only available through Ozzy’s Website ]

The big sexy brother of the two album releases is the box set. This thing has a ton of cool stuff in it. Check out the listing of what’s in this release.

1. The 30th Anniversary Expanded release of “Blizzard of Ozz” detailed above
2. The Legacy Edition of “Diary of a Madman” detailed above.
3. A 180 gram vinyl release of Blizzard of Ozz (just the regular album, not the extras)
4. A 180 gram vinyl release of Diary of a Madman (just the regular album, not the extras)
5. A two sided wall sized poster
6. A 100 page coffee table book
7. A full size replica of the cross that Ozzy’s worn for bloody ages
8. “30 Years After the Blizzard” DVD

That’s a lot of stuff for sure. Here’s detail on the DVD, which looks to me to be really cool stuff.

This new “Thirty Years After The Blizzard” DVD chronicles Ozzy’s years with Randy Rhoads features previously unseen footage of Ozzy and Randy filmed in 1981 & 1982; it incorporates rare archival photos and films; along with new and revelatory interviews with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Lemmy (Motörhead), Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx, Rob Halford, Zakk Wylde, Bill Ward and more. The DVD also contains over 70 minutes of additional rare live performances and interviews; included is the premiere of more than 30 minutes of newly-discovered never-bootlegged footage of Ozzy and Randy from the Blizzard of Ozz tour shot from the front of the stage at New York’s fabled Palladium on May 2, 1981. This new feature is a must-see for aficionados of Ozzy’s epic release, Blizzard of Ozz and its pivotal effect on rock & roll history.

I did inquire with Sharon Osbourne’s office about the 30th Anniversary DVD, and whether it would be released independently. I was told no, that the DVD was produced for this box set, and there are no plans to release it on it’s own. So if you want this, you have to get the box.

I’m also hoping the book has a good cross section of the history here. Given the tempestuous nature between camp Osbourne and Daisley/Kerslake, I don’t know how well represented they’ll be here. I haven’t seen the book as I write this, I hope to at some point.

It looks like a great set. I imagine a lot of purchasers won’t have use for the vinyl in 2011, as it’s mostly a retired format. I know there’s zealots out there who still swear by it, but realistically, it’s a format whose time has passed it. I doubt many people even have the capacity to play it these days. I know I don’t.

Anyway, the entire package looks really good, and if I’m fortunate enough to get my hands on one, I’ll do a proper review of what’s in here.

Want to win some free stuff?

Long time visitors to my site know that I’ve usually run free contests and giveaways when new things are released, and I’m glad to bring you the news that I’m at it again. Thanks to the folks over at Sony Legacy recordings, I’m going to be giving away some copies of the new releases – including one copy of the Deluxe box set! I’ll have a few sets of the albums to give away, plus the one copy of the box set! I’m a little unclear at the moment as to exactly how many copies I’ll have of the albums to give away, I think it’s five, but I’m not 100% sure. When I find out, I’ll re-edit this part of the story.

As per my contests in the past, you’ll need to answer a few trivia questions about the band. If you get them all right, you’ll be put into a drawing to win these releases. Here are the questions you need to answer. It’d be cooler if you can just answer then without Googling for the answers. :)

1. What band had their bassist join Ozzy’s band, while the departing Ozzy bassist went and joined the band Ozzy’s news bassist came from?
2. What music video of Ozzy’s did he play roughly half a dozen roles in at the same time?
3. Don Airey plays keyboards on Ozzy’s first and third studio albums. Who plays keyboards on the second?
4. What Ozzy solo song featured in the movie version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”?
5. Which original Black Sabbath member has NOT had Ozzy sing on one of their solo albums?
6. What was the original name of Ozzy’s box set from a few years ago named “The Prince of Darkness”?

CONTEST NOTES:

• You need to send your answers for the questions and your name and address to ozzy30th@black-sabbath.com.
• Your submission must go to this address.
• You have to include your name and address with your entry
• IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THESE TWO SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS, YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
• The contest will run through Tuesday morning the 24th at 9AM Central Time (my time, which is the Central Time Zone in the US).
• The contest is open to everyone, you don’t have to be in the US to win.

I am not sure exactly when I will have them in hand to ship them out, but I’m scheduling the contest to end about a week before the album’s release date, so folks can know before they come out whether or not they need to order them if they want them themselves.

That’s it for my novel about these re-releases. Hope you found some info you didn’t know in here, and if you want to enter the contest, go ahead. Once I get copies of these in myself, I’ll be doing a review, so look for that. Despite the nitpicks I point out above, I’m quite looking forward to these releases. As you can tell, I feel the strongest draw is the return of the Daisley/Kerslake tracks. But that aside, these should all be good stuff, especially the box set – I’m quite interested in the DVD in there.

Finally, here’s the formal press release for these releases:

The formal press release

New Editions of these Hard Rock Masterpieces
Showcase Ozzy’s Musical Collaborations With Late Guitar Hero Randy Rhoads

Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Collector’s Box Set Includes
Both Albums On CD & Vinyl
100-page Coffee Table Book
“Thirty Years After The Blizzard” DVD Documentary
Full-Size Detailed Replica of Ozzy’s Iconic Cross and More

This year’s crazy winter will continue well into the spring with a blizzard as intense as it gets.

On May 31, music fans will have their first taste of re-issues from rock icon OZZY OSBOURNE’s catalog of work with the releases of two albums which form the cornerstone of Ozzy Osbourne’s career as a solo artist: Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman (Epic Records/Legacy Recordings). Long revered by rock fans around the world, these two albums created a template for hard rock in the 1980’s and beyond as they were marked by the ground-breaking and historic union of Ozzy and the late guitar hero Randy Rhoads. These definitive versions of 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz (with previously unreleased bonus tracks) and 1981’s Diary of a Madman are available individually on vinyl or CD, or together in a deluxe collector’s box. All versions were restored and remastered from the original analog sources by George Marino.

The 30th Anniversary Edition of Blizzard of Ozz CD includes the original album in its entirety, restored and remastered for this edition, with bonus tracks, while the new Legacy Edition of Diary of a Madman includes the original album in its entirety, restored and remastered for this edition, with a bonus second CD of previously unreleased live performances featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads with rhythm section Rudy Sarzo (bass) and Tommy Aldridge (drums). A single disc version of the remastered Diary of a Madman will also be available.

For serious fans and collectors, the limited edition 30th Anniversary deluxe boxed set houses the restored and remastered vinyl and CD editions of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, the “Ozzy Live” compact disc. Beyond the music, the box set is highlighted by a variety of exclusives including an expansive 100-page coffee table book, a two-sided wall-size poster, a precise and detailed full-size replica of Ozzy’s iconic gold cross that he has worn for 30 years, and “Thirty Years After The Blizzard” DVD.

This new “Thirty Years After The Blizzard” DVD chronicles Ozzy’s years with Randy Rhoads features previously unseen footage of Ozzy and Randy filmed in 1981 & 1982; it incorporates rare archival photos and films; along with new and revelatory interviews with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Lemmy (Motörhead), Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx, Rob Halford, Zakk Wylde, Bill Ward and more. The DVD also contains over 70 minutes of additional rare live performances and interviews; included is the premiere of more than 30 minutes of newly-discovered never-bootlegged footage of Ozzy and Randy from the Blizzard of Ozz tour shot from the front of the stage at New York’s fabled Palladium on May 2, 1981. This new feature is a must-see for aficionados of Ozzy’s epic release, Blizzard of Ozz and its pivotal effect on rock & roll history.

* * * * *

Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman are landmark albums that took metal in a new direction in the early 1980’s, inspiring whole new generations of rock bands and fans. “Crazy Train,” the first single from Blizzard of Ozz, has become one of Ozzy’s musical signatures, a perennial on the rock playlists and as part of Ozzy’s live performances.

* * * * *

Blizzard Of Ozz (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
1. I Don’t Know (5:13)
2. Crazy Train (4:51)
3. Goodbye To Romance (5:33)
4. Dee (0:49)
5. Suicide Solution (4:17)
6. Mr. Crowley (5:02)
7. No Bone Movies (3:52)
8. Revelation (Mother Earth) (6:08)
9. Steal Away (The Night) (3:28)

BONUS TRACKS
10. You Looking At Me, Looking At You (Non-LP B-Side, Previously Unreleased in the U.S.) (4:15)
11. Goodbye To Romance (2010 Guitar & Vocal Mix, Previously Unreleased) (5:42)
12. RR (Previously Unreleased – Randy Rhoads guitar solo) (1:13)

* * * * *

Diary Of A Madman (Legacy Edition)
DISC 1
1. Over The Mountain (4:31)
2. Flying High Again (4:44)
3. You Can’t Kill Rock And Roll (6:59)
4. Believer (5:15)
5. Little Dolls (5:39)
6. Tonight (5:50)
7. S.A.T.O. (4:07)
8. Diary Of A Madman (6:14)

DISC 2 –
Ozzy Live (recorded on the Blizzard of Ozz tour)
1. I Don’t Know
2. Crazy Train
3. Believer
4. Mr. Crowley
5. Flying High Again
6. Revelation (Mother Earth)
7. Steal Away (The Night)
8. Suicide Solution
9. Iron Man
10. Children Of The Grave
11. Paranoid

Diary of a Madman/Blizzard of Ozz 30th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set

Box Set Includes:
Blizzard Of Ozz (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
Diary Of A Madman (Legacy Edition)
Blizzard Of Ozz (180-gram LP – original album only)
Diary Of A Madman (180-gram LP – original album only)

DVD–contains “Thirty Years After The Blizzard” documentary–and additional rare and unreleased performances and interviews.

* * * * *

With combined worldwide sales of more than 10 million copies, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman have been awarded gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications in a variety of countries including Canada, Korea, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Brazil, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States, where Blizzard of Ozz has been certified RIAA 4x platinum and Diary of a Madman is RIAA triple platinum.

One of the most iconic figures in pop culture, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy winner Ozzy Osbourne has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, approximately 50 million with his seminal metal band Black Sabbath and the rest as a solo artist.