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34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Reasons NOT to buy this:, April 11, 2003
1) Songs representing the first two albums (Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman) have RE-RECORDED bass and drum tracks. THEY ARE NOT THE ORIGINAL SONGS. The original bass and drum tracks were replaced for the most recent re-masters.2) The album "THE ULTIMATE SIN" IS NOT REPRESENTED AT ALL. This means you have an entire album from Ozzy's classic solo period that is ignored. Tracks that could have been put on here: The Ultimate Sin, Lightning Strikes, Shot In The Dark and Killer of Giants. Killer of Giants might very well be the best post-Sabbath song Ozzy has done; it certainly ranks up there with the best of them. That means that 7 of the existing tracks on "Essential Ozzy" are worthless in the canon of Ozzy's career. It also means that 3 or 4 tracks are missing entirely from this compilation. 5 if you count Close My Eyes Forever, the duet with Lita Ford as mentioned by a reviewer before, Ozzy's only appearance in the Top 10 with a single. That's a grand total of 12 tracks that make "The Essential Ozzy" not essential at all. If I were to go into personal preferences, I could easily add or subtract four or five more (like the tribute version of Suicide Solution with Randy Rhoads' guitar solo instead of the studio version, for instance). Don't waste your money on this.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's "The Ultimate Sin" to not include "Shot in the Dark"!!!, February 12, 2003
Ok, I guess it's now a well known fact that Ozzy hates "The Ultimate Sin" album, but why try to act like it doesn't exist? Not only is there not any songs from that album on this cd, it's not even mentioned in the essay or the discography! This cd is called "The ESSENTIAL Ozzy Osbourne". Wasn't "Shot in the Dark" one of Ozzy's biggest hits? Regardless of how Ozzy feels about it, isn't that an all time fan favorite, and shouldn't it have been included here? Absolutely positively YES. However, I'm still giving the cd 4 stars for what IS on here. For the most part, the song selection is dead on. I always thought "Ozzmosis" was a very underrated album, but it's prominently featured here with 4 tracks. And they managed to pick the best songs from the rather weak "Down to Earth" album. Also, just to let the die hard fans know, the tracks from "Blizzard of Oz" and "Diary of a Mountain" are the newly remixed versions, not the originals. Personally, with a few exceptions, I can barely tell the difference, but I'm sure this will upset the purists. Overall, a great package for someone who doesn't want to shell out for all the original (and often uneven) albums.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good mix of Ozzy tunes, despite minor flaws, January 3, 2007
THE BAND: Ozzy Osbourne's (vocals, harmonica) solo career started in 1980 and has had several line-up changes since... the main players being Randy Rhodes (guitar), Jake E. Lee (guitar), Zakk Wylde (guitar), Bob Daisley (bass), Rudy Sarzo (bass), Phil Soussan (bass), Geezer Butler (bass), Robert Trujillo (bass), Don Airey (keyboards), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Lee Kerslake (drums), Randy Castillo (drums), Deen Castronovo (drums), Mike Bordin (drums), Tommy Aldridge (drums).
THE DISC(S): (2003) In chronological order - 29 tracks on 2 discs clocking in at just over 147 minutes (disc-1 at 78:00 minutes, disc-2 at 69:24). Included with the discs is a 4-page front & back foldout containing a 2-page intro, all solo album cover artwork, Ozzy photos, song titles/credits/times, and what songs came from which albums. Digitally remastered sound. Label - Sony / Epic.
ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Blizzard Of Ozz (4 songs), Diary Of A Madman (3), Bark At The Moon (3), Tribute (2), No Rest For The Wicked (4), No More Tears (5), Live & Loud (1), Ozzmosis (4), Down To Earth (3).
COMMENTS: "Essential" is overall an extensive collection of Ozzy tunes, though it's not without weak spots (as most compilations are). The tracks here range from "Blizzard Of Ozz" (1980) through "Down To Earth" (2001). THE GOOD: The classic tunes are all here - "Crazy Train", "I Don't Know", "Mr. Crowley", "Over The Mountain", "Flying High Again", "Bark At The Moon", "Crazy Babies", "Mama, I'm Coming Home", "No More Tears", "Time After Time", "Perry Mason", "Thunder Underground", "Gets Me Through", etc. There are several famed lesser 'hits' here that I'm glad to see they made the cut - "Fire In The Sky", "Suicide Solution", "Diary Of A Madman", "You're No Different", "Miracle Man", "Time After Time", and "No Easy Way Out". Guitarist Randy Rhodes is featured on 9 tracks here, Lee on 3, and Wylde on 17 (as mighty as Rhodes was with an axe, he only recorded two studio albums with Ozzy so I think the song distribution by guitarist here is fair). The remastering is crisp and the sound production for the most part is flawless. THE NOT SO GOOD: Several things are wrong here - nothing from "The Ultimate Sin" (no title track or "Shot In The Dark"), or "Live At Budokan" (2002)... there was room for one or two more tracks on disc-2. In my opinion, questionable omissions including "No Bone Movies", "You Can't Kill Rock & Roll", "Waiting For Darkness", "Devil's Daughter (Holy War)", "Demon Alcohol", "Hellraiser", and "Mr. Tinkertrain". Questionable inclusions in the sappy ballad "Goodbye To Romance", "Rock 'N Roll Rebel", "Desire", "Dreamer" and "Breakin' All The Rules". I prefer the studio version of "I Don't Know" over the live "Tribute" version (this live version should have been featured as a bonus track at the end of disc-2). The live Sabbath song "Paranoid" (though performed with Rhodes) just seems oddly out of place here. There was time at the end of disc-2 for additional tracks - why not surprise the listeners with a few oddballs like "Walk On Water" from the "Beavis & Butthead Do America" soundtrack (1996), or Ozzy's duet with Lita Ford "If I Close My Eyes Forever" (1989). The liner notes are surprisingly thin for an artist who's been around for over three decades. And lastly, I absolutely prefer the original tracks featuring the original players from the 1st three studio albums (Trujillo and Bordin simply can't do the originals justice... and I don't know what's worse - the sound of the remixed songs, or Ozzy & wife Sharon permitting it to happen). OVERALL: Stepping back though and looking at this as a whole... there's a plethora of great music here. There are several Ozzy (solo) compilations out there ("Best Of Ozz", "The Ozzman Cometh", "Ten Commandments", the "Prince Of Darkness" boxed set, etc.) and for the size and money, this "Essential" collection is the best one available. It's good to have so many highly regarded classic head-banging Ozzy tracks all in one place (4.5 stars).
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by Ozzy Osbourne 
