Ozzy vs Dio

[V-man]

I’m surprised this is even a debate, Ozzy by a country mile, every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Peace

I really don’t understand this either… at all. IDC if someone does not like or hates Ozzy. The music speaks for itself. There is nothing DIO-era that approaches Hand of Doom, Supernaut, Into the Void etc. There are excellent songs in places, but nothing that inspires a whole new genre of metal to spring up from a handful of songs.

And here’s the thing the Ozzy-haters seem to miss when this debate comes up: Substitute ANY competent vocalist for Ozzy and the songs of that era ALL work to epic/legendary status. Try the reverse for Dio-era, and most fail on the merits of the song, not the singer’s chops.

There is a reason why 2 albums of bands doing Sabbath tributes (NIB vol 1&2) feature Ozzy-era songs exclusively, and the reason I stated above is why.

 

[V-man]

Side note: I would love to hear a Tribute to Black Sabbath - the Dio tracks from bands covering the best of those songs… But I could stand to hear another album or 2 of Ozzy-era songs not covered first. NIB, Vol. 1-5 sounds about right to me.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I'd never seen or heard Halford doing Sabbath before. Thanks for that. I enjoyed it.

Halford has such a clear voice. You always know the lyrics when he sings. For a great many bands, I had to read the lyrics on the album cover to know what they were.

 

[-BOOGIEMAN-]

Please let me clarify my previous comments, I don’t have any grudge or anything like that against Ozzy, I just never have really cared for his voice that’s all. There is a lot of fantastic old Sabbath stuff. It’s simply my personal taste…

 

[Dogs of Doom]

I really don’t understand this either… at all. IDC if someone does not like or hates Ozzy. The music speaks for itself. There is nothing DIO-era that approaches Hand of Doom, Supernaut, Into the Void etc. There are excellent songs in places, but nothing that inspires a whole new genre of metal to spring up from a handful of songs.

And here’s the thing the Ozzy-haters seem to miss when this debate comes up: Substitute ANY competent vocalist for Ozzy and the songs of that era ALL work to epic/legendary status. Try the reverse for Dio-era, and most fail on the merits of the song, not the singer’s chops.

There is a reason why 2 albums of bands doing Sabbath tributes (NIB vol 1&2) feature Ozzy-era songs exclusively, and the reason I stated above is why.

but...

2 things:

1. Ozzy Sabbath is classic Sabbath.

2. Almost anyone can sing an Ozzy Sabbath tune, vs Dio, which is a lot more complicated & vocally technical...

 

[Dogs of Doom]

Then get a hold of a copy of 'Paranoid' and 'They Sold Their Souls for Rock and Roll'. The fun CONTINUES...!

I used to have all the pre-1979 Sabbath CD's in a playlist. (minus Live At Last). There's a lot of good stuff in there. Best to listen to the deep cuts, that the pop market ignored.

If you listen to early live stuff, you'll note, that they had to change some of their lyrics to be more radio/family friendly...

If you have the whole catalogue from most of the people involved w/ this circle of musicians, you'll have a lot of great rock & roll in your repertoire.

If you can find it, look for Cozy Powell - Behind The History documentary. It's really amazing how big a circle of musicians that were from the UK, from Deep Purple, Sabbath, UFO, Queen, ELP, Thin Lizzy & even Zeppelin. Throw in the Beatles & Pink Floyd, & you'll have the classic rock conglomerate...

For instance, in 1980, Cozy was playing in Rainbow. He enlisted Graham Bonnet. Cozy & Bob Daisley left Rainbow, & Cozy went to Join MSG. Then, Cozy hooked up w/ Whitesnake, & Robert Plant, before joining Black Sabbath. Graham Bonnet went on to quit Rainbow, shortly after Cozy left & ended up in MSG. Bob Daisley went on to join Blizzard of Oz. Whitesnake was fronted by Coverdale, who was in Deep Purple.

Dio was in Rainbow & joined Black Sabbath & then formed his own band. Jimmy Bain, who joined Rainbow after Daisley left, helped to form Dio's band, w/ Vinny Appice, who played in Sabbath, w/ Dio...

Graham Bonnet played a few other things w/ Cozy & they worked w/ Don Airey, who played on Blizzard of Ozz, w/ Rainbow, & Gary Moore played guitar w/ them as well. Ozzy, obviously in the middle of the debate of the OP, well established in the circles... Daisley, played in Sabbath, & Humble Pie, along w/ Kerslake. When in Sabbath, Daisley wrote most of the lyrics also.

The circle gets bigger & deeper, but, I suppose you get the idea...

 

[RCM 800]

I like Dio, Ozzy, and Ians albums with Sabbath. All Great music IMO. Love the Halford Clip, never knew this existed so thanks DOD. As far as solo albums I think Ozzy hired better song writers than Dio as a whole and had better longevity. I really dont like much Dio post-Viv. Live I think Dio does a much better job singing and is the better performer. I got to see RJD in a little club in the mid 90's couldnt have been 200 people but he performed and sang like it Madison Square Garden. He did a couple Rainbow and solo songs and all the rest was Sabbath so I was a happy camper.

 

[RCM 800]

but...

2 things:

1. Ozzy Sabbath is classic Sabbath.

2. Almost anyone can sing an Ozzy Sabbath tune, vs Dio, which is a lot more complicated & vocally technical...

and Ronnie could pull it off live.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

here's the Cozy docu:

https://my.mail.ru/mail/tigerinat/video/_myvideo/8653.html

https://my.mail.ru/bk/kir58-spb/video/11389/31112.html

 

[Dogs of Doom]

here's the Cozt docu:

https://my.mail.ru/mail/tigerinat/video/_myvideo/8653.html

https://my.mail.ru/bk/kir58-spb/video/11389/31112.html

 

[Lo-Tek]

but...

2 things:

1. Ozzy Sabbath is classic Sabbath.

2. Almost anyone can sing an Ozzy Sabbath tune, vs Dio, which is a lot more complicated & vocally technical...

Just goes to show, proficient technical skills does not equate to listening enjoyment.
Especially with rock and roll.

 

[V-man]

but...

2 things:

1. Ozzy Sabbath is classic Sabbath.

2. Almost anyone can sing an Ozzy Sabbath tune, vs Dio, which is a lot more complicated & vocally technical...

Your point is 100% valid… which was why I paused, reflected and wrote it that way. I had to ask: are they not covered much because you need a Halford or Dickinson range to pull it off? Probably so. Then this:

Just goes to show, proficient technical skills does not equate to listening enjoyment.
Especially with rock and roll.

Something about this concept translates well with the above… both with the vocals and the instruments. Most of “pre-ecstasy Sabbath” falls into the category of timeless anthems, if not unbelievably good classics. The prog makeover of Dio-era loses itself in the mix of other emergent bands… with a number of standout gems, of course.

 

[Deftone]

This thread delivers.

Dio was my 1st show in '86, saw Ozzy in '89 and Black Sabbath at Ozzfest in '99 (original line up)

After Ozzy fired ZW, I felt like he was just using guitar players for their creativity then moving on to the next one. Maybe Dio did the same thing. One might argue that Sharon and Wendy were behind this more than anything. One might also argue that it got more exposure to more guitarists so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

In your opinion: Who's the greatest Guitar player out of all Ozzy and Dio's guitarists? (probably should be another thread)

Huge contribution to music if you think about. Besides the music they created.

 

[RCM 800]

This thread delivers.

Dio was my 1st show in '86, saw Ozzy in '89 and Black Sabbath at Ozzfest in '99 (original line up)

After Ozzy fired ZW, I felt like he was just using guitar players for their creativity then moving on to the next one. Maybe Dio did the same thing. One might argue that Sharon and Wendy were behind this more than anything. One might also argue that it got more exposure to more guitarists so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

In your opinion: Who's the greatest Guitar player out of all Ozzy and Dio's guitarists? (probably should be another thread)

Huge contribution to music if you think about. Besides the music they created.

haha I think if I were to pick a favorite it would probably be Jake followed closely by Randy and Tony. Then all the other big names, and then the not. Sometimes I wonder if Dio didnt do as well because he was too close to the music whereas Ozzy just shows up and mumbles over great music made by talented hired guns and doesnt actually write music.

 

[Tatzmann]

Tough decision, if Ozzy wasnt on
drugs all the time id say he would
defeat Dio simply because he would
fight dirty. Groin stuff, throwing sand
in Dio's eyes, maybe he would even try
to bite Dio's head off.

How bout a tagteammatch between
Ronnie/Vinnie Appice vs. Ozzy/Bill Ward?

 

[Dogs of Doom]

I wonder what they were talking about...

 

[Deftone]

haha I think if I were to pick a favorite it would probably be Jake followed closely by Randy and Tony. Then all the other big names, and then the not. Sometimes I wonder if Dio didnt do as well because he was too close to the music whereas Ozzy just shows up and mumbles over great music made by talented hired guns and doesnt actually write music.

I was going to try and list them all but I didn't think I could do it. A little help?

DIO:
Nick Pantas (Elf)
David Feinstein (Elf)
Ritchie Blackmore
Tony Iommi
Jake E. Lee
Vivian Campbell
Craig Goldy
Doug Aldrich


Ozzy:
Tony Iommi
Randy Rhoads
Brad Gillis
Jake E. Lee
Zakk Wylde
Gus G
Joe Holmes

 

[Tatzmann]

Looks like Dio wants to buy a 20sack.

 

[StrummerJoe]

 

[V-man]

Tough decision, if Ozzy wasnt on
drugs all the time id say he would
defeat Dio simply because he would
fight dirty. Groin stuff, throwing sand
in Dio's eyes, maybe he would even try
to bite Dio's head off.

How bout a tagteammatch between
Ronnie/Vinnie Appice vs. Ozzy/Bill Ward?

As I recall, In his younger days Ozzy stuck up for this dude getting attacked by these two guys by jumping in and beating them up. He was then arrested for assaulting 2 plainclothes policemen and interfering with their arrest of a suspect. I don’t see a young Dio taking down two cops… without the Horned Hand Hex, that is.