By the end of 1983, Ozzy Osbourne had lost his best guitarist, his most trusted songwriting partner and, depending on whom you asked, most of his dignity. Then he turnedContinue readingThe Meaning of “Bark at the Moon” by Ozzy Osbourne

Every so often a rock singer gets the chance to enjoy a perfectly timed bit of revenge, and Ozzy Osbourne seized his with both hands. In 1988, the American televangelistContinue readingThe Meaning of “Miracle Man” by Ozzy Osbourne

Few songs open with a funeral and still get people dancing. “Mr. Crowley,” the second single from Ozzy Osbourne’s debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, begins with a church-organ dirgeContinue readingThe Meaning of “Mr. Crowley” by Ozzy Osbourne

Some songs are hard to write about, and some are harder to listen to. “Mr. Tinkertrain,” the opening track on Ozzy Osbourne’s 1991 album No More Tears, belongs to bothContinue readingThe Meaning of “Mr. Tinkertrain” by Ozzy Osbourne

Rock and roll has always been fond of sex, but it has not always been fond of talking about it honestly. Ozzy Osbourne’s “No Bone Movies” is a happy exception,Continue readingThe Meaning of “No Bone Movies” by Ozzy Osbourne

Most drug songs come dressed as something else: a love letter, a travelogue, a ghost story with a suspiciously cheerful chorus. Ozzy Osbourne’s “Silver” does not bother with the costume.Continue readingThe Meaning of “Silver” by Ozzy Osbourne

Albums end in all sorts of ways: with a whisper, with a symphonic flourish, with a fade-out that goes on until the pressing plant loses patience. Blizzard of Ozz endedContinue readingThe Meaning of “Steal Away (The Night)” by Ozzy Osbourne

The title “No More Tears” promises a ballad, or at least a consolation, the sort of thing you murmur when the worst is finally over. Ozzy Osbourne’s song is nothingContinue readingThe Meaning of “No More Tears” by Ozzy Osbourne

Every generation of rock and roll throws up a rebel, and most of them turn out to be accountants in leather trousers. Ozzy Osbourne was a different case, mainly becauseContinue readingThe Meaning of “Rock and Roll Rebel” by Ozzy Osbourne