Black Rain (Ozzy Osbourne album)
| Black Rain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Ozzy Osbourne | ||||
| Released | 22 May 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 46:28 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Kevin Churko Ozzy Osbourne |
|||
| Ozzy Osbourne chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Alternative Cover | ||||
Original cardboard slipcase released in the USA
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | [2] |
| Yahoo! Music |   [3] |
| Blabbermouth | [4] |
| Sputnikmusic | [5] |
Black Rain is the title of Ozzy Osbourne's ninth studio album, released 22 May 2007 on Epic Records.[6] It is also the last album to feature Zakk Wylde and Mike Bordin. The album went Gold in the United States and has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide.
Contents |
[edit] History
This album featured a new musical style for him and was his first album to feature elements of industrial metal, such as Civilize the Universe, and thrash metal, such as 11 Silver.[citation needed] Though his lyrical style remained similar to before, the album featured many elements not seen in previous albums, such as distorted vocals, heavier guitars, and the higher usage of synthesizers. The latter may be because this is the first album not to feature a keyboardist in Osbourne's backup band. Guitarist Zakk Wylde filled the spot for the album, and sometimes chose to add a keyboard solo to a song rather than a guitar solo.
The album was released in several different versions. The original US version was released in a thin, brown digipak with the crowned skull Ozzy Osbourne logo (pictured lower right), and for the rest of the world, it was released in a standard jewel case featuring cover art of Osbourne with "Black Rain" falling (pictured right). This cover included a booklet complete with lyrics and album credits. The US version did not include a booklet, lyrics, or album credits. The Japanese release was the same as the other releases outside of the US, except for the fact that it included two bonus tracks, "I Can't Save You," and "Nightmare." The iTunes release of the album included the aforementioned "Nightmare," plus an exclusive bonus track, (only for those who preordered through iTunes) "Love to Hate." It also included a printable pdf file of the booklet, complete with lyrics and album credits. This same booklet was later made available as a free pdf download from Osbourne's website on 1 June. The song "I Don't Wanna Stop" was also featured as the theme song for WWE Judgment Day 2007.
[edit] Releases
In the US, limited edition copies of the album were sold, with special codes inside of the packets. The codes were for a pair of OzzFest 2007 tickets. OzzFest 2007 was nicknamed "Freefest" because all tickets were free.
The album was reissued in the US on 14 August in a new jewel-case package containing the full booklet with lyrics and new colour cover art and photos, also containing CD extra bonus content featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the "Black Rain" photo shoot.
A "tour edition" version of the album was released on 20 November 2007. This release includes an extra CD with 3 recently recorded live tracks and 3 studio tracks originally available on international releases and/or digital versions.
[edit] Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Not Going Away" | Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Kevin Churko | 4:32 |
| 2. | "I Don't Wanna Stop" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Black Rain" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 4:42 |
| 4. | "Lay Your World on Me" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 4:16 |
| 5. | "The Almighty Dollar" | Osbourne, Churko | 6:57 |
| 6. | "11 Silver" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 3:42 |
| 7. | "Civilize the Universe" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 4:43 |
| 8. | "Here for You" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 4:37 |
| 9. | "Countdown's Begun" | Osbourne, Wylde, Churko | 4:53 |
| 10. | "Trap Door" | Osbourne, Churko | 4:03 |
|
Total length:
|
46:28 | ||
[edit] 'Tour Edition' disc 2
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Don't Wanna Stop (Live)" | 3:44 |
| 2. | "Not Going Away (Live)" | 4:36 |
| 3. | "Here for You (Live)" | 5:22 |
| 4. | "Nightmare" (originally a Japanese and iTunes bonus track) | 4:40 |
| 5. | "I Can't Save You" (originally a Japanese bonus track) | 3:32 |
| 6. | "Love to Hate" (originally an iTunes pre-order bonus track) | 3:57 |
[edit] Album sales
Black Rain debuted at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200,[7] selling about 152,000 copies in its first week; making it Osbourne's highest debut to date. It peaked at number 37 on the Australian ARIA Album Chart.[8] As of 29 September 2007, the album has sold 406,053 copies in the US, and has been certified Gold.[9]
[edit] Singles chart history
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Not Going Away" | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 14[10] |
| 2007 | "I Don't Wanna Stop" | Billboard Hot 100 | 61[10] |
| 2007 | "I Don't Wanna Stop" | Pop 100 | 54[10] |
| 2007 | "I Don't Wanna Stop" | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1[10] |
| 2007 | "I Don't Wanna Stop" | Hot Digital Songs | 52[10] |
| 2008 | "Black Rain" | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 19[10] |
[edit] Appearances in other media
[edit] Television
- "I Don't Wanna Stop" was performed live by Osbourne on WWE Friday Night SmackDown on 18 May 2007.
- Osbourne performed on the Jimmy Kimmel Show on 21 May and 22 May.
- Osbourne appeared on the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, and performed three songs, "Crazy Train", "Bark at the Moon" and "I Don't Wanna Stop". It was aired on 24 May 2007 on Vh1 (TV airing cut the "Bark at the Moon" performance, but it airs as a music video on shows like Rock Fest and Metal Mania.)
- Osbourne appeared on BBC1's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on 25 May 2007 and performed "I Don't Wanna Stop".
- Osbourne performed "Not Going Away" on Spike's Scream Award Ceremony.
[edit] Video games
- The song "I Don't Wanna Stop" is featured in the video games Guitar Hero: On Tour and Madden NFL 08 It is also featured as DLC for Rock Band and Rock Band 2 in the Ozzy Osbourne Pack 01.
- Ozzy himself appeared in the video games Brütal Legend and Guitar Hero World Tour.
[edit] Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne - vocals
- Zakk Wylde - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, harmonica
- Rob "Blasko" Nicholson - bass
- Mike Bordin - drums
- Kevin Churko - producer, engineer, mixer
- Zack Fagan - additional engineering
- Joshua Marc Levy - art direction and new logo design
[edit] References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Yahoo! Music review
- ^ Blabbermouth review
- ^ Sputnikmusic review
- ^ Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain. MTV Retrieved 12 April 2007
- ^ "Album info Black Rain". Billboard. Nielsen. http://www.billboard.com/search/?keyword=black+rain&x=0&y=0#/album/ozzy-osbourne/black-rain/942077. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "ARIA album chart history-Ozzy Osbourne". http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=a&artist=ozzy+osbourne&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=black%20rain&artist=osbourne&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Billboard singles chart history-Ozzy Osbourne". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=5355&model.vnuAlbumId=942077. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
