Ozzy Osbourne tells it like it is in almost every interview that he does. Recently, Ozzy went on record to state how he has the highest regards of respect for Eddie Van Halen, but he felt a bit of a different way about David Lee Roth.
In 1978, the young Southern California band of Van Halen were opening for Black Sabbath on the European leg of their Never Say Die! tour, not long before Ozzy was pushed out and forced into a successful solo career.
Ozzy said: “Eddie was such a great guy. They came to our local pub and it was good fun. But David Lee Roth, he’s lost a couple of nuts and bolts. When you meet him, it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ He’s like somewhere else, you know?”
When Ozzy Osbourne says that about you, you know that there is something up with you.
Ozzy continued: “They were arch enemies. Randy didn’t have a lot to say about Eddie. They were very, very similar guitar players. Eddie took that tapping thing to another level. Randy could do that, but he liked people like Leslie West. It amazes me that you get Eddie, you get Randy, and you go, ‘No one’s ever gonna top that.’ But there’s a new thing round every corner.”
Ozzy recently released Patient Number 9. Produced by Andrew Watt, the release marks Ozzy’s 13th solo studio album. Per reports: It’s heavy, it’s hard-hitting, it’s historic – it’s everything you’d want from an Ozzy record and maybe more. Working with producer Watt for the second time, Ozzy welcomed a dynamic A-list featured guests. For the first time ever, Black Sabbath co-founder, guitarist, and riff-master Tony Iommi appears on an Ozzy solo album.
The record also boasts guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and longstanding righthand man and six-string beast Zakk Wylde who plays on the majority of the tracks. For the bulk of the album, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers held down drums, while the late Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters appears on three songs. Old friend and one-time Ozzy band member Robert Trujillo of Metallica plays bass on most of the album’s tracks, with Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Chris Chaney supplying bass on a few songs.
