Every single new album by bands and artists who have established the concrete foundations of rock & metal music is naturally a really important event. Especially, in the case of Ozzy that all signs point out that “Ordinary Man” is most likely the swan song of his illustrious career. Naturally, each review that will see the light of day (and there will be plenty) should be taken into consideration but the most important thing is that we get to listen to new Ozzy songs after ten whole years!
I won’t lie to you. When I first listened to the first three singles I was absolutely blown away as “Under The Graveyard” was quite reminiscent of “Ozzmosis”, the ballad “Ordinary Man” was brilliant with some really touching autobiographical lyrics by Ozzy and “Straight To Hell” was OK with his Sabbath-esque opening riff. So, out of nowhere I had great expectations from the new Ozzy album. However, these expectations were not met as the rest of the songs were definitely below par…and this was crystal clear right upon the first listening session. With a modern atmosphere and an aesthetic that reminded me of the 2007-2010 recording period of Ozzy, “Ordinary Man” leaves you under the impression that it was hastily written without the compass or any thought of Ozzy’s glorious past (that is up to 1995). Some songs (eg. “Scary Little Green Men”, “Goodbye”) are simply mediocre or indifferent while others are quite embarrassing (eg. “It’s A Raid”, “Holy For Tonight”).
Personally, I didn’t expect anything from the new Ozzy album. As I said, the three singles created high expectations but again it’s not really important if “Ordinary Man” is good or bad. The important thing is that Ozzy releases his last album and this is the end of an era. Thank you, Ozzy!
Highlight: The closing track “Take What You Want” is by far the worst Ozzy track of his entire catalogue.
