Description

An amazing triple disc in a nice tri-folded digipack cover featuring Radio Network material and early Quite Riot material with Randy Rhoads

Ozzy Osbourne had only been out of Black Sabbath a couple of years when he formed this now legendary solo band and embarked on his controversial Blizzard Of Oz tour (rumoured to be a reference to his ongoing cocaine use). Now supporting a wife, Sharon (the daughter of Sabbath manager Don Arden), Ozzy was essentially broke, and had to start from the ground up when launching his newfound solo career. Unlike most lead singers who go solo in order to distance themselves artistically from the band they had just left, Ozzy stuck with the type of music he knew: deep, heavy, slow moving rock with lyrical themes centred around Satan, the Occult, the presence of evil in the world and drug use ( just listen to Flying High Again). Needless to say, Osbourne and the Blizzard of Oz simply picked up where the Osbourne-led Sabbath left off. First out is an unedited recording from Music Hall in Cleveland on the 1th of May 1981. This would later become the Tribute album but this recording available here is straight from the NBC Radio Network archives without any mixing and mastering. In my opinion better that the official release. Out next comes two different airings of a show at St. Denise Theatre in Montreal Canada on the 28th of July 1981. Fist our is a 13-track version aired by ABC Radio in May of 1982 and second is a shortened version aired in September 1981. These two shows show what a solid rhythm section Ozzy had in his new band with bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge, but it is the innovative and fluid guitar wok of Randy Rhoads that makes this period in Osbourne’s career so important. Consisting mostly of material from the first album, Blizzard of Oz, and what was to be his second album, Diary of a Madman, this show clearly demonstrates the excitement Osbourne was experiencing with his newfound solo project. Thanks to great material including Mr. Crowley, Crazy Train and I Don’t Know, this album, in addition to Osbourne’s first solo outing, was a huge success, both in the U.S. and in his native U.K. The record went to the Top 20 and these songs remain staples of FM rock playlists to this day. But what makes this Canadian appearance so special is that it is one of the few professional live recordings made of Randy Rhoads, who would die in a senseless small plane crash the following May, while taking a joy ride on a rare day off from Osbourne’s hectic touring schedule. While he was alive, critics and fans were saying Rhoads was as good as Eddie Van Halen; who knows what great music he could have made had he not died so early in life. The album ends with 5 Quiet Riot tracks that features Randy Rhoads on guitar. Ozzy and Rhoads will love this release. With 3 discs its the ultimate tribute to the glory years of Randy Rhoads

Track listing:
1. Radio Announce Introduction-live Cleveland 1981
2. Carl Orff Carmina Burana-live Cleveland 1981
3. I Dont Know-live Cleveland 1981
4. Crazy Train-live Cleveland 1981
5. Believer-live Cleveland 1981
6. Mr. Crowley-live Cleveland 1981
7. Flying High Again-live Cleveland 1981
8. Revelation (Mother Earth) -live Cleveland 1981
9. Steal Away (The Night) -live Cleveland 1981
10. Drum Solo – Tommy Aldridge-live Cleveland 1981
11. Blizzard Of Ozz Radio Advert-live Cleveland 1981
12. Suicide Solution-live Cleveland 1981
13. Guitar Solo – Randy Rhoads-live Cleveland 1981
14. Suicide Solution (Reprise) -live Cleveland 1981
15. Iron Man-live Cleveland 1981
16. Children Of The Grave-live Cleveland 1981
17. Paranoid-live Cleveland 1981
18. Radio Announcer Introduction-live Montreal 1982
19. Flying High Again-live Montreal 1982
20. I Dont Know-live Montreal 1982
21. Crazy Train-live Montreal 1982
22. Believer-live Montreal 1982
23. Mr. Crowley-live Montreal 1982
24. Suicide Solution-live Montreal 1982
25. Guitar Solo – Randy Rhoads-live Montreal 1982
26. Suicide Solution (Reprise)-live Montreal 1982
27. Revelation (Mother Earth)-live Montreal 1982
28. Steal Away (The Night)-live Montreal 1982
29. Drum Solo – Tommy Aldridge-live Montreal 1982
30. Paranoid-live Montreal 1982
31. Carl Orff Carmina Burana with radio announcer-live Montreal 1982
32. I Dont Know-live Montreal 1982
33. Crazy Train-live Montreal 1982
34. Believer-live Montreal 1982
35. Mr. Crowley-live Montreal 1982
36. Iron Man-live Montreal 1982
37. Children Of The Grave-live Montreal 1982
38. Suicide Show-Quiet Riot 1975
39. Just How You Want It-Quiet Riot 1975
40. West Coast Tryouts-Quiet Riot 1975
41. Slick Black Cadillac-Quiet Riot 1980
42. Killer Girls-Quiet Riot 1980