In a new, extensive interview with Revolver, Ozzy Osbourne talks up his new album, Patient Number 9, discusses reuniting with Tony Iommi, and much more. In the following excerpt, Ozzy shares his memories of Van Halen...
In 1978, the young Southern California band was opening for Black Sabbath on the European leg of their Never Say Die! tour, not long before Ozzy was pushed out and forced into a successful solo career.
"Eddie was such a great guy," says Ozzy. "They came to our local pub and it was good fun. But David Lee Roth, he's lost a couple of nuts and bolts. When you meet him, it's like, 'What's wrong with him?' He's like somewhere else, you know?"
Van Halen was part of a new breed of flash guitarist that included another force of nature in the form of Randy Rhoads, who was an essential ingredient in establishing Osbourne at the beginning of the 80s with Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman. Like Van Halen, Rhoads followed the cosmic, seemingly limitless example of Jimi Hendrix on the instrument, but with new sounds and techniques.
"They were arch enemies," Ozzy remembers. "Randy didn't have a lot to say about Eddie. They were very, very similar guitar players. Eddie took that tapping thing to another level. Randy could do that, but he liked people like Leslie West.
"It amazes me that you get Eddie, you get Randy, and you go, 'No one's ever gonna top that.' But there's a new thing round every corner."
Read the full interview at Revolver.
Ozzy recently released Patient Number 9. Produced by Andrew Watt, the release marks Ozzy’s 13th solo studio album. It’s heavy, it’s hard-hitting, it’s historic - it’s everything you’d want from an Ozzy record and maybe more. Working with producer Watt for the second time, Ozzy welcomed a dynamic A-list featured guests. For the first time ever, Black Sabbath co-founder, guitarist, and riff-master Tony Iommi appears on an Ozzy solo album.
The record also boasts guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and longstanding righthand man and six-string beast Zakk Wylde who plays on the majority of the tracks. For the bulk of the album, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers held down drums, while the late Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters appears on three songs. Old friend and one-time Ozzy band member Robert Trujillo of Metallica plays bass on most of the album’s tracks, with Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Chris Chaney supplying bass on a few songs.
Order Patient Number 9 here.
Tracklisting:
"Patient Number 9" (feat. Jeff Beck)
"Immortal" (feat. Mike McCready)
"Parasite" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"No Escape From Now" (feat. Tony Iommi)
"One Of Those Days" (feat. Eric Clapton)
"A Thousand Shades" (feat. Jeff Beck)
"Mr. Darkness" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"Nothing Feels Right" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"Evil Shuffle" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"Degradation Rules" (feat. Tony Iommi)
"Dead And Gone"
"God Only Knows"
"Darkside Blues"
"Patient Number 9" video:
"One Of Those Days" video:
"A Look Inside Patient Number 9" video:
