Ozzy Osbourne

It wouldn’t be fair to say Ozzy is losing his crown as the Prince of Darkness, but you could surmise he is afraid of being dethroned. Opening tracks “Not Going Away” and “I Don’t Want To Stop,” are defiant decrees from Ozzy that he still has it. Even on a low-bat diet, Ozzy doesn’t make claims he can’t back up. But Osbourne’s theme of mortality doesn’t stop at his concerns for himself and his career. Armageddon through environmental destruction, greed or religious fanaticism appears in numerous tracks. Strangely reminiscent of Elton John’s “Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way,” the opening piano on “Here For You” seems out of place amidst the other tracks. Perhaps it’s because this is the only song not obsessed with the future and content to live in the present.