REVIEW: Scream By Ozzy Osbourne

(Sony)

2 out of 5

The airbrushed pictures of Ozzy in the cover of this CD made me uneasy. The glossy, epic theme of it all made me wonder if it was going to be a great album or a great marketing exercise. Sadly, without Zakk Wyldes’ stellar songwriting nous, Ozzy has been pushed into a nice little corner while, I suspect, those that pull his strings took the helm. Having your producer co-write, produce, mix and engineer the album certainly did Metallica no favours, and in teaming up with producer Kevin Churko (Shania Twain, Britney, Hinder), Ozzy is wobbling down the same path. The songs range from okay (‘Fearless’) to insipid (‘Life Won’t Wait’, ‘Time’). Ozzy has always needed the star on guitar to bring out the best in him - no producer is going to be able to write like Randy, Jake or Zakk. Period. The new guitarist, Gus G, is a brilliant player, and it’s a real shame he’s had no input on the songwriting. The songs sound like fillers, airbrushed onto CD to make Ozzy look like he knows what he’s doing. One listen to track four and you’ll wish he was back on the booze and drugs. Overproduced, with way too much vocal ‘enhancement’, Scream lacks the punch in the guts that we loved so much from Ozzy. Damn.

Review by The Axeman.