Ozzy Osbourne + Randy Rhoads + Mr. Crowley = musical masterpiece

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

So I've been an Ozzy Osbourne fan since... well, since I was old enough to appreciate music, I guess! We'll say mid 80's. I'm pretty sure I was introduced to him through the radio's repeated playing of the song Crazy Train (that's a 7 year old boy in this video! Cripes!). Everybody seems to like that song (it's a classic), and I always thought it was good stuff.

 

Then one day I heard

. It blew my mind! 20+ years later, it's still blowing my mind. The sheer amount of musical talent and technical ability here is staggering, especially when I take into consideration the age of the guitarist and the time that it was released. The guitarist (Randy Rhoads) was 22 (?) when this was released, which seems incredibly young to have such advanced musical fluency. He died in a freak airplane crash when he was 26... were he still alive today, I can't really imagine what the full impact he would have had on the guitar scene.

 

I think a big part of what makes the song so special is the attention to classical elements and composition in the music. I read somewhere a long time ago that the final solo of the song is inspired by the 18th century french composer, Offenbach. Certainly seems plausible when listening to the song.

 

Anyways, I mention this because I just finished listening to 6 different covers of the song and, while I was impressed with a few of them, none of them really gave me the same sense of awe and inspiration that the original still gives me. Still, it's an interesting testament to how much of a lasting impression the song/guitarist/band has left on the music scene when so many bands are covering this song.

 

Here's a list of the covers that I listened to:

 

Asian recording:

 

This one is a straight up fantastic jam session... this person has got some serious skills!

 

Malmsteen and Owens' cover:

 

While this version is pretty good, just from a shredding perspective, I personally think it deviates a bit too much from the original material too much. Sort of the typical "all flash, no substance" thing...

 

Moonspell's cover:

 

A slower, heavier cover with a lot of atmosphere. An interesting take on it, although maybe a bit too much keyboards near the end?

 

Holy Hannah!'s studio recording cover:

 

Pretty cool to see the guys having fun in the studio! They do a good job too. Two guitarists give a lot more options, although they're kinda out of sync in the last solo for a bit there.

 

Ozzielzhino's Cover:

 

Really, really good! This guy has some serious skills and I would imagine he'll be picked up by a record label at some point, if he hasn't been already. Crazy!

 

Michael Angelo Batio's "Tribute to Randy"

 

Not so much a cover as a... tribute? Haha! He does his own versions of Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley. The guy probably has more talent and ability in his pinky finger than I do in my entire being. Frightening.

 

And of course, the original:

 

Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads (poor quality audio + video... one of the few live recordings of him playing this song):

 

 

Randy still has more soul than all the rest of them combined, I think... just my opinion though.

 

I'm sure there are probably dozens of other covers that I haven't heard yet... Lots of material out there!

 

Any guitar players out there that would like to comment on this? Anybody else a big fan of music in general that appreciates this type of stuff? Any Randy Rhoads nuts out there that have taken the time to sit down and learn his material? Comment away...

 

Thanks for reading.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Scrappy McSlap

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Maybe next time I won't include uh... 30+ minutes of videos in the post? Haha! Ah well...

[Groosum 1]

Many Thanks ... I'm a fan and appreciate what you've posted here.

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

@Groosum: You're welcome... I figured I'd try sharing something that I really like, although maybe this is a topic that's been done to death elsewhere? Not sure. Either way, I found all of the different covers interesting.

[Furian67 15]

Dude this rocks. Always loved Ozzy's music. I think the first cover is one of the best. Wish I could see more of her hand work. Less zoomed in. Next best was the Ozzielzhino's Cover, dude is good. You can see by one of his expressions that he missed a slight note. But hay I can't play, the dude rocks! I'd love to see a live version of Randy actually playing this. That would be awesome.

 

Just Listened to the first girl again.... She rocks... Love a girl jamming on a guitar... better than bikini chics and machine guns.

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Yeah, the girl is really, really good. You should check out all of the other stuff she plays...

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/17586063#p/u

 

There's a fair bit of commentary going on on her videos about whether or not she's actually a girl.... which would be pretty funny if it turned out she was a he... but whatever. I don't care either way. Talent is talent.

 

Ozielzinho is great too. Love his style. I haven't heard much of his other stuff though, but I'm sure he's been picked up by a label by now. Talent like that doesn't go unnoticed for long.

 

Glad you liked the vids.

 

Oh, and here's a video of Randy and Ozzy playing Mr. Crowley... horrid quality (both in video and in sound) and they focus a bit too much on the bass player for my liking, but whatever... it's like 30+ years old! Better than nothing... Enjoy!

 

 

Crap... now I want to play guitar again! Ah... soooo good. I'm going to switch the video up top with this one.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Scrappy McSlap

[Furian67 15]

Wow it's Awesome. The Girl rocks....... I have this vision she is a secretary that types 150 words per minute and her alter ego is this Guitarist Slayer.

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Wow it's Awesome. The Girl rocks....... I have this vision she is a secretary that types 150 words per minute and her alter ego is this Guitarist Slayer.

 

Hahaha! That would be frigging awesome haha! Did you see the video she did of "Hungry Days"? So good!

 

[Furian67 15]

Dude I just watched that one and was going to comment. This Girl Absolutely Rocks.

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

I can totally play this with one hand tied behind my back...

 

[Furian67 15]

OMG. the guy is like a Caffienated Squirrel at the 4:40 mark. Dude is nutts.

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Yeah, I still can't decide if it's been edited in like that or if he really is that fast.... crazy. If you watch his facial expressions, they seem to switch way too fast. But whatever. The guy is ridiculous either way!

[Furian67 15]

Scrappy you've cursed me.... It's 4:30 am here and I can't stop watching Little Miss Asia "Impellitteri" grinding differant tunes.

Edited April 21, 2010 by Furian67

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Hahahaha! I know! I sat down one day and watched all of her videos... she's unreal! I think she's probably added a bunch more since then too, so that means more hours of watching... she's totally inspirational though.

 

I have to hit the hay soon too.... babies don't care if you're tired in the morning, right?

 

Glad you're enjoying the videos!

 

Ooooh man. Another classic right here!

 

 

When he does the transition into playing Eruption, it sends the shivers down my spine....

[Furian67 15]

OMG. Eddy brought back sooooo many memories. Back when I was just a kid I would crank Van Halen tunes while I downhill skied on the Moguls. Love his energy. How the heck am I supposed to go to sleep now.... do I hear birds chirping outside. Ack its way late. Gotta Sleep somehow now!

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Yeah, Eddy is a bit of a genius on the guitar alright...

 

Hm. So it's... what? 6am over there now? Ouch... hope you get some shut eye...

 

I'm off to bed, myself. If I'm lucky, I might get 6 hours of sleep before my daughter wakes up. Should be sufficient, I hope! Catch you in a few...

Edited April 21, 2010 by Scrappy McSlap

[Furian67 15]

Ouch 4:58 am. Gotta turn the tunes off.......... hahahah But I bookmarked it! Somehow I'll make all her tunes my background battle music while I grind to 165!

Cheers Bro for the Good Tunes. One for you Dude!

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Ouch 4:58 am. Gotta turn the tunes off.......... hahahah But I bookmarked it! Somehow I'll make all her tunes my background battle music while I grind to 165!

Cheers Bro for the Good Tunes. One for you Dude!

 

Here's what I use if I want an MP3 of a video I find on youtube:

 

http://www.video2mp3.net/

 

Works well!

 

Just found this online... cool stuff:

Edited April 21, 2010 by Scrappy McSlap

[Knuckles 904]

Luv my Ozzy...seen him a few times solo and with Black Sabbath

 

Seeing the vids in this thread reminded me of Matt Rach..heckuva player

 

[Furian67 15]

Nice Knuckles, the kid rocks.