Tribute (Ozzy Osbourne album)

Tribute is a live album by heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, featuring his work with hard rock guitarist Randy Rhoads, in whose honor the album was released.[1] The album was released on 19 March 1987, five years after the death of Rhoads, then it was reissued on 22 August 1995, and again remastered and reissued in 2002. It peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[5]

Tribute
Live album by
Ozzy Osbourne
Released19 March 1987
Recorded1980/1981
GenreHeavy metal, hard rock[1]
Length70:28
LabelEpic
CBS
Producer
Ozzy Osbourne chronology
The Ultimate Sin
(1986)		 Tribute
(1987)		 No Rest for the Wicked
(1988)
Singles from Tribute
  1. "Crazy Train (live)"
    Released: 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Martin Popoff[3]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[4]

Background

The album was released in memory of Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Osbourne's band between 1979 and 1982 who died in a plane crash while on tour in Florida in 1982. The album also includes studio outtakes of Rhoads recording the classical-influenced acoustic guitar piece "Dee", which Rhoads wrote for his mother Delores and which was originally included on Osbourne's debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz.

A live album consisting entirely of renditions of Black Sabbath songs was originally planned to be recorded at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in mid-1982 with Rhoads. Rhoads and drummer Tommy Aldridge felt that they had established themselves as recording artists and an album of cover songs would be a step backwards artistically, and they refused to participate. Bassist Rudy Sarzo was uncomfortable with refusing to perform, not having the same recording pedigree of his bandmates, but he stood with them and the trio informed management of their decision. Osbourne felt betrayed and his relationship with Rhoads never fully recovered.[6] Plans for this proposed live album crumbled upon Rhoads' sudden death weeks later, though the plan was resurrected with the release of Speak of the Devil later that year with Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis.

Overview

The majority of Tribute, from "I Don't Know" through to "Paranoid", was recorded live in Cleveland, Ohio on 11 May 1981,[7] with the exception of an extended guitar solo midway through the song "Suicide Solution" which was recorded at Théâtre Saint-Denis in Montreal on 28 July 1981 and inserted into the song. Osbourne stated upon the album's release in 1987 that the entire album had been recorded "somewhere in Canada", though he may have been confusing it with that Montreal recording from which the guitar solo was taken. This particular Montreal show had been recorded and released in 1981 for a radio program called the King Biscuit Flower Hour, which may account for Osbourne's confusion. "Goodbye to Romance" and "No Bone Movies" are taken from an earlier English gig in support of the Blizzard of Ozz album, possibly from Southampton on 2 October 1980. These two tracks feature bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake.

The versions of "Iron Man", "Children of the Grave", and "Paranoid" featured on Tribute were originally intended to be included on the 1982 live album Speak of the Devil. In the months following Rhoads' death, these three songs were intended to be released in tribute to the guitarist, but a record company decision was made to save them for a full album to be released at a later date.[6]

The recording of "Crazy Train" that appears on this album was also released as the album's only single on 10 February 1987, along with an accompanying music video. The album's cover photo was taken at a performance in Rosemont, Illinois on 24 January 1982, by photographer Paul Natkin.

The operatic music which opens Tribute, as well as all of Osbourne's live shows of that era, is "O Fortuna" from the Carmina Burana scenic cantata by Carl Orff. This introductory music was omitted from the 1995 remaster, with opening track "I Don't Know" subsequently being shortened to 4:43.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley, except where indicated.

Side one
No.TitleOriginally fromLength
1."I Don't Know"Blizzard of Ozz (1980)5:40
2."Crazy Train"Blizzard of Ozz5:19
3."Believer"Diary of a Madman (1981)5:08
4."Mr. Crowley"Blizzard of Ozz5:37
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
5."Flying High Again"Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, Lee KerslakeDiary of a Madman4:17
6."Revelation (Mother Earth)" Blizzard of Ozz5:58
7."Steal Away (The Night)" (with drum solo) Blizzard of Ozz8:04
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
1."Suicide Solution" (with guitar solo) Blizzard of Ozz7:46
2."Iron Man"Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill WardParanoid (1970)2:50
3."Children of the Grave"Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, WardMaster of Reality (1971)5:57
4."Paranoid"Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, WardParanoid2:59
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)Originally fromLength
5."Goodbye to Romance" Blizzard of Ozz5:33
6."No Bone Movies"Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, KerslakeBlizzard of Ozz4:02
7."Dee" (Randy Rhoads studio out-takes)RhoadsBlizzard of Ozz4:22

Personnel

Production
  • Max Norman - producer, engineer
  • Brian Lee and Bob Ludwig - 1995 remastering
  • Bruce Dickinson - 2002 edition executive producer
  • Chris Athens - 2002 remastering

Charts

Certifications
Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1997 2x Platinum (+ 2,000,000)[13]
Canada CRIA 1989 Gold (+ 50,000)[14]

References
  1. Huey, Steve. "Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute". All Music. All Media Network. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  2. "Max Norman Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  4. Coleman, Mark (2 July 1987). "Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 August 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  5. "Tribute Billboard Albums". All Music. All Media Network. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  6. Sarzo, Rudy (2017). Off the Rails (third edition). CreateSpace Publishing. ISBN 1-53743-746-1
  7. Begrand, Adrien (28 May 2002). "Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  8. "Ozzy Osbourne Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  9. "Ozzy Osbourne – Randy Rhoads Tribute (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 39, No. 19, June 06, 1987". Library and Archives Canada. 6 June 1987. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  11. "Ozzy Osbourne – Randy Rhoads Tribute (Album)". charts.nz. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  12. "Album – Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads Tribute". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  13. "RIAA Searchable Database-Search: Ozzy Osbourne". Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  14. "Gold Platinum Search for Ozzy Osbourne". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
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