Diary of a Madman

This article describes Ozzy Osbourne's album. For the film with the same English original title, see Diary of a Murderer (1963) .

Diary of a Madman
Ozzy Osbourne's studio album
Publication (s)	November 7, 1981
admission	February 9 - March 23, 1981
Label (s)	jet
Genre (s)	Heavy metal
Title (number)	8 9 remaster version
running time	43:22
occupation	Ozzy Osbourne - vocals Randy Rhoads - guitar Bob Daisley - bass Lee Kerslake - drums , percussion Johnny Cook - keyboards (guest musician)
production	Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Max Norman
chronology Blizzard of Ozz (1980) Diary of a Madman Bark at the Moon (1983)

Diary of a Madman is the second studio album by musician Ozzy Osbourne . It was released on November 7, 1981. In 2002 a remaster version appeared, in which some parts were also changed. Diary of a Madman was the last album with guitarist Randy Rhoads , who died in a plane crash on the following tour. The album is now considered a classic, especially because of Rhoads' guitar playing.

Origin and style

When recording Diary of a Madman , the band had to hurry due to the upcoming tour activities. This can be seen on the album. For example, it was neglected to replace the version of Rhoads' guitar solo in Little Dolls with the one actually intended for publication. The ballads sometimes work longer than necessary. Shortly before the album was released, Bob Daisley (bass) and Lee Kerslake (drums), who had recorded it, were replaced by Rudy Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge . The latter also came on the album cover. According to Bob Daisley , Don Airey named there was also not involved in an interview, the keyboards were played by Johnny Cook.

When it was re-released in 2002, the original bass and drum tracks were not used, but were re-recorded by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin . All issues from 2011 onwards revert to the original tracks.

reception

The record sold very well - over three million copies to date - and reached number 16 on the US charts. In 2005 the magazine Rock Hard Diary of a Madman placed 27th in its "500 strongest records of all time". Robert Pöpperl's review particularly focused on Randy Rhoads' "sophisticated neoclassical instrumental technique", but even more appreciated the "perfect songwriting ". The track SATO is the “absolute jewel” of the album, comparable to Crazy Train from its predecessor. Steve Huey from Allmusic also saw “numerous moments of brilliance” despite the fast production. There are fans who prefer the album to its strong predecessor because of its darker mood, even if it is better produced. It awarded four and a half stars out of five. JD Considine wrote in Rolling Stone that both components of the physics of hard rock are optimally fulfilled on the record with massive sound and speed. Guitarist Randy Rhoads, whom Considine sees as a kind of " Eddie van Halen junior", would also be added as factor X of the formula . The only point of criticism were the texts, which shouldn't have been printed on the inner cover. The rating was three out of five stars.

Track list

Original LP

Side one

1. Over the Mountain - 4:31
2. Flying High Again - 4:44
3. You Can't Kill Rock and Roll (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 6:59
4. Believer (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 5:17

Side two

1. Little Dolls - 5:38
2. Tonight - 5:50
3. SATO - 4:07
4. Diary of a Madman - 6:14

Bonus track from the remaster version (2002)

• I Don't Know (Live) (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 4:56

All pieces were written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake, unless otherwise noted.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Rock Hard: Best of Rock & Metal , Königswinter 2007, p. 215.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} www.allmusic.com: Review Diary of a Madman by Steve Huey
3. ↑ ^{a b} www.allmusic.com: Biography Ozzy Osbourne
4. ↑ www.rollingstone.com: Review of Diary of a Madman by JD Considine ( Memento of December 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

• Diary of a Madman on Allmusic (English)
• Diary of a Madman on MusicBrainz