2 posts tagged “rock”
You may not know this about me, but I'm a real rock chick -- and I like it heavy! This is a passion I share with my sister. We have a special devotion to Ozzy Osbourne and early Black Sabbath. So we were really thrilled when we got tickets to his Black Rain Tour at Oslo's Spectrum Arena June 10 2007.
To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. The man's pushing 60 and he's had a hard life -- a very hard life. Would he be weak? Should he have stayed at home? I decided that I wanted to see him no matter what. It would be a kind of pilgrimage to pay homage to what I consider a living legend.
Anyway, it turned out to be academic. Yes, Ozzy isn't young anymore. And yes, he had more energy in his youth. But he still has a lot of it and he has that wild, intense presence which he is famous for.
We heard his voice before he entered the scene and from that moment on we were on a rock 'n' roll roller coaster! He captured the audience and kept us captivated through the concert, all with his unique presence. There was no fancy show: No costumes, no smoke, no choreography, just Ozzy and his band.
This is what Ozzy sang for us:
- Bark At The Moon
- Mr. Crowley
- Not Going Away
- War Pigs
- Believer
- Road To Nowhere
- Suicide Solution
- I Don't Know
- Here For You
- I Don't Wanna Change The World
Extras:
- Mama I'm Coming Home
- Crazy Train
- Paranoid
In other words, the set included most of my favorites from Ozzy's solo years (Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, I Don't Know, and Crazy Train, but not Perry Mason, which has a strange and whimsical text but is still a great tune). I had hoped for more Sabbath material, but the two we got were great.
Not Going Away and Here For You are both from Ozzy's latest album Black Rain. Not Going Away is by far the strongest track and I was glad we got to hear it. Here For You is a ballad. Old rockers can be really soft and this tune is really sentimental. That's OK, though. I can be sentimental too, sometimes.
My friend Thore Engen will release a new record soon from his band Lucifer Was. The band, which plays classic heavy rock, has been around for over 30 years. The new record, The Divine Tree, is their fourth record.
I have heard demo versions of all the songs on The Divine Three and I can't wait for the release! In the mean time, here is a sneak peek: Listen to a 'mix in progress' of the title track.
I have known Thore for five years and in that time I have worked with him on some projects: When the previous Lucifer Was record, Blues from Hellah, was in the making, I designed the cover and the booklet.
The cover image on the new CD is designed by Bjørn Egil Eide. I am working on the booklet and I hope you will all like the result.
While you are all holding your breath in anticipation, take a look at Lucifer Was' other classic rock milestones, In Anadi's Bower and Underground And Beyond. Rock on!
