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Album Review: Ozzy Osbourne, "Under Cover" (Epic)
Ozzy Osbourne has enough trouble singing his own songs these days--so who on earth thought it would be a good idea to have the Oz-man butcher a bunch of classic rock hits? Someone with a little too much clout, apparently.
From The Beatles and The Stones to Buffalo Springfield and Joe Walsh, Ozzy's choices on "Under Cover" helped elevate rock and roll in the pop-culture strata, establishing classic rock as a powerful format. But many of the choices here have also become archetypical classic-rock cliches, "Mississippi Queen," "Rocky Mountain Way," and "Sunshine of Your Love," among them. And that's appropriate, since Ozzy has become a parody of his former self, as well.
At least he still has an ear for guitarists. "Under Cover" features former Alice in Chains axe-man Jerry Cantrell, Mountain guitarist Leslie West and bluesman Robert Randolph.
Osbourne's efforts, however, are another story altogether.
His singing is passable on "All the Young Dudes," and he clearly relishes handling the vocals on "Sympathy for the Devil," a 7-minute saga that closes with Ozzy warbling such nonsense as, "I am the devil too." The best track here is the reflective acoustic rendition of "Working Class Hero," John Lennon's tribute to the common man.
In the end, however, "Under Cover" doesn't do justice to the originals it honors--and, sadly, it provides further evidence that Ozzy's best years are behind him.