Ozzy Osbourne's second solo album, Diary of a Madman, its title drawn from a book by occultist Alistair Crowley, was recorded at the same spring 1980 sessions that produced his first one, Blizzard of Ozz, and also featured his Blizzard of Ozz band, consisting of guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake. It would be fair to say that the best tracks from the sessions were chosen for the first album, since the songs here were much less distinctive. Blizzard of Ozz told a story of despair and redemption in personal terms for Osbourne, but Diary of a Madman, despite allusions here and there to the same sort of subject matter, was far more generic, at least as far as lyrics went. Nevertheless, Rhoads continued to impress with his gothic guitar playing, and the band jelled as well as it had the first time around. This reissue, released just over 20 years after the original LP, has been spiffed up considerably. Osbourne has replaced the bass and drum tracks with overdubs by his later bandmates Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin, and the whole disc has been remixed and remastered. The bonus track is a live version of "I Don't Know," the lead song from Blizzard of Ozz, which was released originally as the non-LP B-side of the single "Flying High Again" in 1981. Despite the refurbishing, the new Diary of a Madman still isn't as impressive an album as its predecessor (which underwent much the same process for a reissue released on the same day). But fans who love Blizzard of Ozz still will like Diary of a Madman. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
WARNING: 