Meltdown – Every Ozzy Osbourne/Randy Rhoads Song Ranked
Since it would’ve been Randy’s 64th birthday, I decided to rank all of his songs off the first two Ozzy albums so you didn’t have to. It was a great was to spend a couple hours over the weekend and here’s what I came up with. Agree or disagree, feel free to hit me up….let’s do this!
“Dee” I’ve never been a fan of this song. It sounds like it was leftover and they threw it on. I think he wrote it for his mother, which is nice but it’s not in my wheelhouse. Plus, what comes next is pure fire…..
“No Bone Movies” I don’t know, this song just seems kind of silly. I mean, it’s ok, I don’t hate it, but I’m not crazy about it. Randy shines on this upbeat song about porno. I do love the live feel of this track.
“Believer” Once again, I don’t dislike this song, but it has to go somewhere. The song that closes out side one of “Diary” is a solid song ripe with Randy trickery on the axe. Crazy sounds, bending notes, solo- ripping…you get the picture.
“Tonight” This is another song where it’s really Bob Daisley and his bass that takes the reins….until Randy does, and when he does it’s typical Rhoads. He closes out the song with pure shred-work. Another song that fades to his playing. I often wonder what happened after, that we didn’t get to hear.
“Goodbye To Romance” I guess this was Ozzy’s attempt to get played at high school dances. Once again, Randy’s work on this song is magnificent as he shows another side of his playing. The solo, I feel, is just a touch over the top for this song. That being said, I still like the it I just feel it’s a little fast for this song.
“S.A.T.O” This song is a ripper. Randy comes into his solo with one objective in mind, to blow you away with a note riddled shredfest. Mission accomplished. I love how this song transitions into the title track.
“Little Dolls” Starting of the second side of “Diary”, Ozzy paints a picture of a madman torturing his enemies with voodoo dolls. Randy is Randy. It takes a little longer to hear his greatness on this one, but it gets there and it’s worth the wait. The whine of his guitar at the end is a great way to fade out this one…
“Over the Mountain” This song kicks off Ozzy’s second album in a fiery way. As with the debut album, Randy is again on point. the solo on this song starts out a little sluggish, but it doesn’t take him long to find his stride. Note bending and all the way right back into the chugging vibe of the song. Oh, and then add a little touch of magic to the ending with more great playing and it’s pure Rhoads!
“Steal Away The Night” This song is a pretty good way to close up the debut album from Ozzy. I love Bob Daisley’s bass again as he plays his ass off. As for Randy, well, his playing once again takes the song to a somewhat different place. Not his fastest solo, but a little more feeling on this one.
“Flying High Again” Great riff, right!?! Great solo, right?!!? I mean, maybe I should put this one higher. Once again, the way Randy trades licks with Ozzy’s singing is masterful.
“Suicide Solution” One of the best riffs to ever come off Randy’s fingertips. This song just rips! I remember using this song for some sort of school poem thing..”Wine is fine but whiskey’s quicker
Suicide is slow with liquor” Ha! I’m sure I failed. The interplay between an echoed Ozzy and Randy’s playing in the middle is something that sticks out for me. This song has no real solo, per say. As the song ends you can hear Randy ripping off some licks along with Lee Kerslake’s keyboard sounds.
“Mr. Crowley” Starting off with Don Airey’s ominous keyboard sound, this one is classic 80’s metal. A demonic theme of the occult. Randy’s playing is top-notch. He shines through a ripping solo. This is also a song in which Randy also fires off another solo as the song fades. The more you listen to Blizzard of Ozz it’s almost as if they leaned on Randy’s work to really push this over the top to kick of Ozzy’s solo career. There was a major doubt the Ozzy could fly solo without Black Sabbath. It can be probably stated that Randy may have saved Ozzy’s career and perhaps shot it farther than predicted.
“Revelation (Mother Earth)” This is another example of the softness of Randy’s playing matched up with shear ferociousness. Throw in some bells for apocalyptic ambience and you’ve got all the making of a great 80’s rock song. Just listening to this song you can imagine what the video would look like. Lee’s piano part just adds a whole different aspect to this song before Randy comes in and does what he does – rips! His work is so perfect on this track.
“I Don’t Know” This is the song that introduces us to solo Ozzy. It starts Blizzard of Ozz with the backwards gong effect, that’s used later in forward as Randy’s solo ends. This song shows off Randy’s wicked playing right off the hop.
“You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll” I love the soft start on this one because you know it’s not going to stay like that for long. The softness of Randy’s playing once again mixed up with an upcoming storm of notes flying from his guitar. A perfectly fit solo, fresh with bended notes and a trail off at the end. As they say in the world of infomercials “But wait, there’s more”..and there is! Some more of Randy’s playing as the song fades out.
“Crazy Train” Like I wrote in a previous blog, this is the song that changed my life forever. You can’t go go to a sporting event – when they had them – and not hear this song. It’s a staple and on of those songs that will always be played on rock radio. The second song off of Blizzard…what a way to start an album with a great 1-2 punch with this song and “I Don’t Know”. Bob Daisley’s bass parts are almost as perfectly fitted as Randy’s work on guitars.
“Diary Of A Madman” This song has everything that Randy did well all wrapped up into one masterpiece of a song. Ironically, it’s the last song on the album and last song Randy is on. Obviously, I’m not talking about the “Tribute” album or other ones. The mellowness of the intro, into a vicious riff that leads back to a softer tone. This song is dynamic in the way Randy uses his instrument to paint a picture in your mind. His solo is unrelenting and right on point. I LOVE the ending of this song that comes to a crashing close. I never tire of this song or Randy’s playing on it.
So, what do you think? What are your favorite Randy Rhoads/Ozzy songs? Hit me up on Twitter or Facebook at MeltdownWRIF or email me at Meltdown@wrif.com
Thanks for reading….Meltdown