The Ozzman Cometh

The Ozzman Cometh: Greatest Hits
Compilation album by Ozzy Osbourne
Released	November 11, 1997
Recorded	1970-1997
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	77:00
Label	Epic
Producer	Roy Thomas Baker Duane Baron Michael Beinhorn Ron Nevison Max Norman Keith Olsen Ozzy Osbourne John Purdell Randy Rhoads
Ozzy Osbourne chronology
Ozzmosis (1995) The Ozzman Cometh: Greatest Hits (1997) Down to Earth (2001)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

The Ozzman Cometh is a compilation album by Ozzy Osbourne released in 1997. It is his second greatest hits collection (The first being Ten Commandments released in 1990 and now out of print) and its initial, limited edition 2 CD pressing contained five previously unreleased songs. Versions released in 2002 and later copies of this compilation have only one disc, and "Shot in the Dark" is replaced by "Miracle Man". This was due to a legal action brought about by the song's co-writer, Phil Soussan, for unpaid royalties.

Note on versions post-2002: The album tracks are from the 2002 remasters, for which Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were partially re-recorded. The original drum and bass tracks were replaced with recordings by Osbourne's then-current bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin, as a management response to legal action by original bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake for unpaid royalty fees. Note also the deliberate misspelling of Daisley's and Soussan's names in this CD's sleeve notes: 'Bob Daisy', 'Bill Susan.' The tracks from Bark at the Moon are the original recordings, though with some remixing changes that are of questionable integrity.

Track listing

1. "Black Sabbath" (Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward) - 9:25
   • Previously unreleased Black Sabbath track, recorded for BBC Radio 1, "The John Peel Sessions" program on 4/26/70, featuring extra verse not on debut album Black Sabbath.
2. "War Pigs" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 8:15
   • Previously unreleased Black Sabbath track, early version of "War Pigs" (titled "Walpurgis") with different lyrics, recorded for BBC Radio 1, "The John Peel Sessions" program on 4/26/70. Studio version can be found on Paranoid, 9/18/70 UK, 1/7/71 US.
3. "Goodbye to Romance" (Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley) - 5:35
   • Originally from Blizzard of Ozz
4. "Crazy Train" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 4:51
   • Originally from Blizzard of Ozz
5. "Mr. Crowley" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 4:56
   • Originally from Blizzard of Ozz
6. "Over the Mountain" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, Lee Kerslake) - 4:32
   • Originally from Diary of a Madman
7. "Paranoid [Live]" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Butler, Ward) - 2:53
   • Originally from Tribute
8. "Bark at the Moon" (Osbourne) - 4:17
   • Originally from Bark at the Moon
9. "Shot in the Dark" (Osbourne, Soussan) - 4:16
   • Originally from The Ultimate Sin
10. "Crazy Babies" (Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Daisley, Randy Castillo) - 4:14
    • Originally from No Rest for the Wicked
11. "No More Tears" (radio edit) (Osbourne, Wylde, Mike Inez, Castillo, John Purdell) - 5:54
    • Originally from No More Tears, but edited for length
12. "Mama, I'm Coming Home" (Osbourne, Wylde, Lemmy) - 4:11
    • Originally from No More Tears
13. "I Don't Want to Change the World [Live]" (Osbourne, Wylde, Castillo, Lemmy) - 4:00
    • Originally from Live and Loud
14. "I Just Want You" (Osbourne, Jim Vallance) - 4:57
    • Originally from Ozzmosis
15. "Back on Earth" (Richard Supa, Taylor Rhodes) - 5:00
    • Unreleased track from Ozzmosis sessions

On the 2002 re-release track 9, "Shot in the Dark", is replaced with "Miracle Man."

Bonus Disc

1. "Fairies Wear Boots" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 6:53
   • Previously unreleased Black Sabbath track, recorded for BBC Radio 1, "The John Peel Sessions" program on 4/26/70, before Paranoid album release on 9/18/70 UK, 1/7/71 US.
2. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 5:09
   • Previously Unreleased Black Sabbath song, recorded for BBC Radio 1, "The John Peel Sessions" program on 4/26/70. Studio version on Black Sabbath
3. "Walk on Water" - 4:19
   • Only in Japanese edition. Originally released on the soundtrack to the 1996 Mike Judge film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.
4. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" - 6:05
   • Only in Japanese edition. Released on the soundtrack to the 1997 Howard Stern bio-pic, Private Parts, cover of Status Quo 1968 song, recorded with Type O Negative.
5. 1988 Interview with Osbourne - 17:45

The interview found on this disc is from 1988 where Osbourne is interviewed about his latest album at the time (No Rest For The Wicked) and some other topics about his new guitarist, Zakk Wylde and his past days on Black Sabbath.

The tracks "Black Sabbath", "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots", and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" are taken from a session for the BBC's John Peel Sunday Show dated 4.26.70. "Fairies Wear Boots" and "War Pigs" are early versions of tracks that would finally be recorded on the Paranoid album and thus have different lyrics.

Charts

Album - Billboard (America)

Year	Chart	Position
1997	The Billboard 200	13

Singles - Billboard (America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1997	"Back on Earth"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	3

Sales accomplishments

RIAA certification (United States)

Date	Designation	Total Sales
January 14, 1998	Gold	500,000
January 14, 1998	Platinum	1,000,000
September 26, 2001	Double Platinum	2,000,000

CRIA certification (Canada)

Date	Designation	Total Sales
November 4, 1997	Gold	50,000
December 31, 1997	Platinum	100,000