Diary of a Madman

Diary of a Madman
Studio album by Ozzy Osbourne
Released	7 November 1981
Recorded	9 February 9–23 March 1981
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	43:22
Label	Jet
Producer	Max Norman, Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads
Professional reviews
Allmusic [1] Rolling Stone [2]
Ozzy Osbourne chronology
Blizzard of Ozz (1980) Diary of a Madman (1981) Speak of the Devil (1982)

Diary of a Madman is an album by Ozzy Osbourne. It was recorded from the 9th of Feb to the 23 of March 1981 inclusively - the end of winter in the UK and recording ending just into spring equinox. It was released on November 7, 1981, and re-issued on August 22, 1995. An altered version appeared in 2002. This is the last album with Randy Rhoads before his death in 1982. Although bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Tommy Aldridge are credited in the liner notes and pictured on the inner sleeve, it was bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake who performed all bass and drum parts on the original release. They were not given credit for their contributions. According to a 2005 interview with Daisley, even though Don Airey is credited for having played keyboards on this record, it was in fact a musician named Johnny Cook who recorded the keyboard parts, as Airey was unavailable at the time.^[3] The album features several songs with acoustic intros, including "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll", "S.A.T.O.", "Tonight", and the title track.

Controversy

The 2002 Diary of a Madman reissue was derided by fans due to its replacement of the original bass and drum tracks by Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake. Osbourne's 90s touring band (bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin) replaced Daisley's and Kerslake's original instrumentations. Fans and critics generally felt the move was dishonest and resulted in a far inferior product. In 1986 (see 1986 in music), Daisley and Kerslake had sued Osbourne in court, eventually winning songwriting credits on Diary of a Madman. Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon, said in a press conference that "because of Daisley and Kerslake's abusive and unjust behaviour, Ozzy wanted to remove them from these recordings. We turned a negative into a positive by adding a fresh sound to the original albums."^[4]

The "re-recorded" versions of the album released in 2002 contained no disclaimer stating anything had been changed on the album. The record company eventually began putting a "featuring re-recorded drums and bass parts" sticker on the cover.

Track listing

All songs written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley, and Lee Kerslake except where noted

Side one

1. "Over the Mountain" – 4:31
2. "Flying High Again" – 4:44
3. "You Can't Kill Rock and Roll" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) – 6:59
4. "Believer" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) – 5:17

Side two

5. "Little Dolls" – 5:38
6. "Tonight" – 5:50
7. "S.A.T.O." – 4:07
8. "Diary of a Madman" – 6:14

Bonus Track (2002 Remaster)

9. "I Don't Know (Live)" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) – 4:56

Personnel

• Ozzy Osbourne – Vocals, Producer, Harmony Vocals
• Randy Rhoads – Guitar, Producer
• Bob Daisley – Bass, Gong, Producer, Harmony Vocals (not credited)
• Lee Kerslake – Percussion, Drums, Bells, Tympani [Timpani] (not credited)
• Rudy Sarzo - Bass (credited, but does not appear)
• Tommy Aldridge - Drums (credited, but does not appear)
• Robert Trujillo- Bass (2002 reissue)
• Mike Bordin - Drums (2002 reissue)

Additional Personnel

• Johnny Cook – Keyboards (uncredited)

Production

• Max Norman – Engineer

Sales accomplishments

References