Customer Reviews

Ozzy Osbourne - Live at Budokan

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ozzy has made many great live DVD but I think this the best. This DVD captures the live power that Ozzy has. Many of the songs have been made in 80's and some even in 70's but they sound now as fresh as they sound then. Ozzy seems to enjoy the live concerts very much. Also Zakk Wylde and others are really well present in this concert. The solos and the songs are great. I was quite disappointment on "Live & Loud" but this DVD has a place in my metal heart. Great live concert!
1)I Don't Know
2)That I Never had
3)Believer
4)Junkie
5)Mr. Crowley
6)Gets Me Througfh
7)Suicide Solution
8)No More Tears
9)I Don't Want to Change the World
10)Road to Nowhere
11)Crazy Train
12)Mama, I'm Coming Home
13)Bark at the Moon
14)Paranoid

Closing in on 60, Ozzy was in his mid-50s during the 2002 recording of Live at Budokan. You'd never know it by watching his performance on this DVD.

It's absolutely amazing that these days when you hear Ozzy speak he sounds as if he just smoked a dooby after 13 Cuervo shots (but supposedly he's been clean for years). Although when he sings he still sounds as good today as he did 30 years ago.

The line-up of the band for the show on Live at Budokan is: Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde (Guitar), Robert Trujillo (Bass), Mike Bordin (Drums) and--hidden off stage the entire show--John Sinclair (Keyboard). All of the guys in the band prior to hitting the stage must have huddled and committed to each other to go out and play the music true to the studio versions of the songs. All of the tracks on Live at Budokan are performed with careful detail and a lot of energy.

Throughout the show, Ozzy acts just like you'd think he would (if you're familiar with his other DVDs or have ever been to one of his shows): summing it up...he's one of the iconic rock performers of our time. He acts like he's nuts. He rocks out. He runs (saunters) all over the stage....But the whole time he never skips a beat.

And Zakk Wylde? Man...this guy is nothing short of phenomenal. To most of the general public if you say, "Eddie Van Halen," everyone knows who you're talking about. If you say, "Zakk Wylde," everyone usually goes, "Who?" Zakk Wylde is one of the best...no wait...is THE best hard rock guitarist on the circuit today. His riffs are heavy and melodic and his solos are complex and precise. He definitely brings his guitar playing talent to his live shows.

Trujillo and Bordin back Ozzy and Zakk with talent and classic hard rock showmanship.

The picture is full frame on Live at Budokan which kinda stinks, but the audio gives you the choice of stereo or Dolby 5.1; the 5.1 mode is clear and crisp.

To me, the biggest negative in almost every Ozzy show that I've seen (and I've seen a lot) is his setlist choices. It seems that he always throws in those songs that were either deep on a release or simply just not the best choices. Here's the setlist for Live at Budokan with my suggestion for replacement (of seven songs) in parenthesis for their next DVD:

- I Don't Know
- That I Never had (I'd replace with Perry Mason)
- Believer (I'd replace with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)
- Junkie (I'd replace with Miracle Man)
- Mr. Crowley
- Gets Me Through (I'd replace with I Just Want You)
- Suicide Solution
- No More Tears
- I Don't Want to Change the World (I'd replace with Shot in the Dark)
- Road to Nowhere (I'd replace with Over the Mountain)
- Crazy Train
- Mama, I'm Coming Home
- Bark at the Moon
- Paranoid (I'd replace with Sweet Leaf)

I know...a true fan wants the deep cuts; a true fan wouldn't tell Ozzy what to do; etc, etc, etc....Crazy...but that's how it goes.

While Live at Budokan is Ozzy's best DVD in terms of quality to date, I'm hoping that with the 2007 release of a new CD called Black Rain, perhaps Ozzy will give us a 2007 or 2008 hi-def, widescreen picture DVD upgrade (with, of course, Dolby and/or DTS sound).

A lot of music fans must be wondering why bands like to record live albums in Japan, esp. when the fans are more subdued, well behaved and very appropriately (or unappropriately, depending on how u see it!) dressed for metal concerts. But upon finishing watching this, the answer is pretty simple. Quality.

The visual quality here is simply astounding, and this is definitely the most visually appealing DVD that I have. The images are really sharp, with the camera angles changing constantly. The audio mix is excellent as well, and you can really compare the difference with the Megadeth DVD. Zakk's guitar is HUGE here, with tons of distortion and gain which enables him to pull off wicked sounding harmonics. The bass and drums, however, could use some improvement esp. with the lower frequencies.

Zakk was simply terrific here, nailing every single note with conviction and with great style too ! His huge beard did give me a shock at first, and along with those wrist brace, he really did look like a true metal warrior lol. His lead playing on stage has improved tremendously since the Loud and Live days as he seems to be more careful and attentive to hitting the right notes. And damn those pinch harmonics of his ..

Ozzy has really aged alot since I last saw him. However, he did pull of the vocals pretty well I must say. Great job indeed for a guy his age (the guys at Deep Purple sure could use some lessons from him!) Mike Bordin was awesome, and he really filled up the gaps well with plenty of varied beats and ultra cool drum rolls. He's definitely injected that missing aggression into the songs.

I've yet to check out the extra features tho, but I must say, this is truly an impressive live performance and a HUGE improvement from the Live n Loud days.

I saw this DVD. The quality is amazing. Big budget live show that is classic Ozzy. The band is on fire, Zakk, Rob, John and Mike Bordin on the drums. Thom Panunzio (record producer) did a great surround sound mix. It is as if you are there. Jeb Brien directs this show with an intimate feel, he has worked with Ozzy countless times before. The Budokan tradition lives on with this show.
If you like the Osbournes TV show you will love the behind the scenes. Only this is uncut-so no beeping every 3 seconds. You get to travel around with the Osbournes through their gigs and siteseeing leading up to the big show. See Ozzy in the dressing room after the Budokan show. See Kelly and Jack up to there usual bickering. A Must Have DVD for your collection.

I am not one for writing reviews, however I felt compeled to do so in this case. Let me simply say it ... If you are an OZZY fan BUY THIS DVD. It is without a doubt the best OZZY live I have seen. Excellent audio quality, Crystal picture; Deliciously directed for an overwhelming OZZY experience. The return of Zack Wilde brings an energy filled set, tight and virtuostic. The band sounds awesome, OZZY feeds from this and sounds the best he has in years. He jumps, runs, curses and works the crowd into a frezy only as OZZY can. You can even understand him when he talks! An instant OZZY classic !!! The bonus features are just that. But the performance is top shelf and needs no support. Don't hesitate to add this to your music collection in any form. If you don't have a DVD then for God's sake buy the CD's. You cannot loose with this one. Three cheers for the SONY production crew for capturing this perfomance with great taste, appreciation for the music, and with style.

Totally excellent DVD. The Bonus Material is fascinating. The set list is great, but OZZY is slightly toned down in this show. At the Very Least Check out the LAST SUPPER dvd, and LIVE AND LOUD ( And if you can get it, the French Documentary of SABBATH shows Ozzy in peak as additional comparison )for a more hyper Ozzy as comparison, but overall great Ozzy performance. Zakk Wylde is Great... by no stretch of the imagination would I call Zakk a Speed metal guitarist, since Zakk is Brilliant, and tonally Awesome. The Edit of the Show is great as well. This is Ozzy's show, and Zakk gets plenty of Screen time during his Hyper-bolic solo of awesome proportions.

I purchased this DVD from this very site last week, and have now watched it three times, and about to start the forth time. It's incredible. Ozzy is immense, so is the rest of the band. The production, filming, everything is absolutely awseome. The extra "family" footage is a great bonus - and well worth watching a time or two. At twice (hell - TEN times!) the price, I would still recommend it to anyone who has EVER heard any Ozzy song EVER. Fantastic.....

!!!!!UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! The quality on this DVD, Picture and Sound are amazing...The show itself is great.. OZZY is back full force!!!!!!!!!!!Trust me you will definately not be disappointed buying this DVD.

I just saw this DVD for the first time. It was very interesting to see for me, being a Japanese who grew up in America more than half of my life. Let me say this, Ozzy and his band is so sweet, kind, and patient with Japanese audience. Japanese audience are just being Japanese. To behave well in public, and not to make fool out of your self. You can see how much of a difference in culture between the East (intellectual) and the West (emotional). To Japanese people Rock concert is a place to go "see", and to 'listen". To Western people Rock concert is a place to join with the band, and express themselves without feeing embarrassed, or be self conscious. Also, it would have really helped if Japanese people understood ENGLISH! They had no idea What Ozzy was saying! Almost as if Ozzy was too overwhelming for Oriental/Japanese culture, I know people over there love Ozzy, and admire his music, talent and performance in every way.

Budokkan (Martial Arts Hall) was never meant for rock concert exhibition until The Beatles broke that rule!, and it has became "Rock 'n Roll Hall" ever since then. and the name of the Hall has became quite well known place. We have quite few good Western Ozzy concert films. So, it was nice to see him "visit" this Rock 'n Roll Hall of East anyways. The quality of this film is very good. The sound is superior, and view is fantastic. Only I wish Zakk would quit spitting on the stage so much! I feel sorry for whoever had to clean it up after! (being very Japanese here). If you like ozzy, why don't you have it all !!!? I would also recommend CD of this version. May be better that way for Western audience.

This is a great concert that Ozzy did in Japan. He and the band plays very well, the cameras just show Ozzy and the not any overused crowd footage like they did in Live And Loud. However, the song selection was not exactly great. They should have done some stuff from the Ultimate Sin and No Rest For The Wicked, two of Ozzy's best albums. That is what keeps this from being a five star concert. It's all very good though.