If you loved the hit TV show The Osbournes, you'll absolutely eat up this unorthodox soundtrack album, which sucks you right back into this 2002 version of The Beverly Hillbillies, with snippets of the best bons mots from ... more »the show?-and minus all those annoying bleeps! It?s instantly clear that the Osbournes' taste in music is much better than their taste in furniture. But why be surprised, as Sharon Osbourne, wife and manager of the timeless metallurgist, has been the intelligence behind all the Ozzfests, one of the few moneymaking tour packages in recent memory. She has certainly done her homework once again, offering sensational tracks by snarling Chicago-based trio Chevelle and the equally heavy Dillusion Mirror Image (clear inheritors of Ozzy's thorny crown). There is also a rousing cover of Black Sabbath's "Snowblind" by Armenian rockers System of a Down. This album isn't all about head banging; also included is a live track from third wave Britpoppers Starsailor, who'd be ostracized if they even came within spitting distance of the second stage at Ozzfest. And there?s also Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," a song Ozzy used to play while Sharon would get ready for a night out, and the Kinks? "You Really Got Me," a tune that turned the young Ozzmeister on to rock & roll. Ozzy also turns down the din on his own contributions with the John Lennon-esque "Dreamer" and the lush and revelatory power ballad "Mamma I'm Coming Home." He thankfully gets things moving with his signature thrash anthem "Crazy Train," which is also reprised by his former next-door neighbor, God Squad balladeer Pat Boone. The surprising standout is daughter Kelly's full-throated version of Madonna's recalcitrant 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach." Thankfully the impish, fuchsia-tressed teen inherited her father's genes, belting out the rebellious hit with a subversive defiance and roguish edge. Produced by brother Jack and with Ozzfest alums Incubus playing on the track, this cut rocks much harder than the original. --Jaan Uhelszki« less
If you loved the hit TV show The Osbournes, you'll absolutely eat up this unorthodox soundtrack album, which sucks you right back into this 2002 version of The Beverly Hillbillies, with snippets of the best bons mots from the show?-and minus all those annoying bleeps! It?s instantly clear that the Osbournes' taste in music is much better than their taste in furniture. But why be surprised, as Sharon Osbourne, wife and manager of the timeless metallurgist, has been the intelligence behind all the Ozzfests, one of the few moneymaking tour packages in recent memory. She has certainly done her homework once again, offering sensational tracks by snarling Chicago-based trio Chevelle and the equally heavy Dillusion Mirror Image (clear inheritors of Ozzy's thorny crown). There is also a rousing cover of Black Sabbath's "Snowblind" by Armenian rockers System of a Down. This album isn't all about head banging; also included is a live track from third wave Britpoppers Starsailor, who'd be ostracized if they even came within spitting distance of the second stage at Ozzfest. And there?s also Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," a song Ozzy used to play while Sharon would get ready for a night out, and the Kinks? "You Really Got Me," a tune that turned the young Ozzmeister on to rock & roll. Ozzy also turns down the din on his own contributions with the John Lennon-esque "Dreamer" and the lush and revelatory power ballad "Mamma I'm Coming Home." He thankfully gets things moving with his signature thrash anthem "Crazy Train," which is also reprised by his former next-door neighbor, God Squad balladeer Pat Boone. The surprising standout is daughter Kelly's full-throated version of Madonna's recalcitrant 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach." Thankfully the impish, fuchsia-tressed teen inherited her father's genes, belting out the rebellious hit with a subversive defiance and roguish edge. Produced by brother Jack and with Ozzfest alums Incubus playing on the track, this cut rocks much harder than the original. --Jaan Uhelszki
Amy T. (simplyamy) from DAKOTA DUNES, SD Reviewed on 8/16/2007...
great Ozzy and great "others"
CD Reviews
I love this album!!!
dave20 | Sand Springs, OK United States | 02/23/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is so f*@%ing awesome as Ozzy might say!! I think thst this is one of the best albums I've picked up in long time!! It has great music and I love the uncensored dialog from the show between the songs, it's so funny!!! My Favorite songs are:
Pat Boone Crazy Train-I think his version of this song is outstanding!
Ozzy Osbourne Dreamer-I like this ballad he does I think he has a great voice on this song and I would have to agree that it sounds sort of like a John Lennon song, who the song is a tribute to!!
Kelly Osbourne Papa Don't Preach-I think this version of this song is much better than the original and she has a great voice too!!
The Kinks You Really Got Me-It's a classic what more can you say!!
John Lennon Imagine-I love this song by him, I think it's his best!!The Cars Drive-Great song, love the melody!!Eric clapton Wounderful Tonight-One his best songs!!Ozzy Osbourne Mama, I'm Coming Home-Another great ballad by the Ozzman, love the melody alot in this one!!Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train-Of course who could forget the original version of this song by the master himself, his best song I think!!
Chevelle Family System-I think they added this because this song represents their family, but that's just my guess!!I would highly recommend this for Osbourne fans everywhere you will enjoy it very much!!!"
Ozzy and the gang rule
Stephen Harvey | Mansfield, Ohio United States | 08/21/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"So being a fan of the Osbournes, Ozzy Osbourne and the very lovely Kelly Osbourne, I decided to pick up this CD. Over all, I was very impressed. The audio tracks are hillarious. (It's worth just to hear the uncensored clip of Ozzy explaining to Sharon his displeasure for her choice of bubbles as a stage prop)Kelly's infecious groove is very apparent in her great cover of 'Papa Don't Preach' and the CD rocks out with classic Ozzy cuts like 'Crazy Train' and 'Mama I'm Coming Home' and even shows Ozzy's tender side with 'Dreamer'This isn't a CD for hardcore Ozzy or Black Sabbath fans, but if you're a casual fan, such as myself and enjoy The Osbournes TV show, that I suggest you pick this up ASAP."
Pretty good, but mostly a novelty.
D. Mok | Los Angeles, CA | 06/22/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"On one hand, I'm amused at the whole Osbourne phenomenon. On the other, I feel bad that Ozzy -- who is in essence a nice guy (if a bit foul-mouthed) -- is being exploited somewhat by the whole franchise, his speech patterns and family being somewhat put on display and laughed at. Then again, since the Osbournes do reap financial benefits, perhaps I'm over-analyzing.At any rate, The Osbourne Family Album is a fairly enjoyable listening experience, a crazy mix of Ozzy's musical output, novelties, and classic hits. Kelly Osbourne's high-profile cover of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" shows that Kelly has a pleasantly robust voice with personality, but unfortunately the production stinks. I happen to love the idea of a harder-rocking arrangement of this anthemic classic, but the badly played guitar riffs intrude upon the vocals painfully, there are too many cliched effects on Kelly's voice (and it doesn't seem to need them), the drummer should be shot (all those unnecessary rolls on the toms at the end are just overkill), and sonically the track is too much industrial and not enough rock. Worth a listen anyway just to hear Kelly's voice, but imagine what she could have achieved if Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde had been on hand to add some real rock grit to the song! Ozzy's "Mama, I'm Coming Home" is easily the best song on the album, glorious 12-string guitars, raging Wylde licks, and a majestic backing choir adding to one of Ozzy's best songs (and, according to the liner notes, Sharon Osbourne's favourite song by her husband). "Crazy Train" is a Randy Rhoads-era classic, perhaps Ozzy's most famous song. "Dreamer", from Ozzy's latest album Down to Earth, is a dud, Ozzy's voice very poorly suited for the goody-goody ecology-friendly lyrics and pappy arrangement.On the nuttier front, we have an absolutely demented version of "Crazy Train" by '50s pop crooner Pat Boone (from his No More Mr. Nice Guy collection of heavy-metal covers), "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton (!), "Imagine" by John Lennon (!?!) and "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks. The latter three are really just novelty items, like a mix tape for Osbourne family members. Personally I might have liked material from Zakk Wylde's band Black Label Society. The soundbites from the show are funny enough but again novelty items at best, and they should have included these in the track listings.Fun in a warped kind of way."
If its Ozzy, its good
D. Mok | 06/12/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Best album ever! This it like suger-and-spice, butter-and- popcorn, all the good combinations, only this time, its music! This album is, oh how you say, excellante! I mean, I cant get over how good this album is! I mean, I probably sound like a a nutcase just going on, and on, and on (like the Energizer bunny), but when I say this is a GREAT album, I mean it! My favorite picks off this album are Papa Don't Preach (Kelly Osbourne), Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne), and Paranoid (Balck Sabbath). Now those are just my picks, I mean, my FAVORITE picks from the whole CD, I like pretty much everything on it. Though I must say my ABSOLUTE fave one has to be Papa Don't Preach. I mean, Kelly worked hard on this one. It has so much,oh how you say, I dont know what, but its GREAT, ONE OF A KIND, EXCELLENT! I LOVE IT!"
An Excellent Soundtrack
D. Mok | 09/09/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After being a huge fan of The Osbournes and Ozzy, I purchased this album. I was not disappointed. I found Pat Boone's version of Crazy Train very interesting. Also, there are tracks by Kelly Osbourne (a great cover of Papa Don't Preach), The Cars, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, System of a Down, The Kinks, Chevelle, Dillusion (Jack Osbourne's band), Starsailor (one of Kelly Osbourne's new favorites), and of course, Ozzy. On the regular version of this album, it includes famous sayings that were on The Osbournes episodes. If you are a fan of the show, or of Ozzy Osbourne's, I would recommend this."