The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 516

Number 516

Ozzy Osbourne

"Mr Crowley"

(1980)

Genre:Hard Rock

Fascinating, i know its exactly what your thinking. The Occult, Ozzy Osbourne & none other than Mr Aliester Crowley himself. I am not a follower of Mr Crowley but i am intrigued by his delusions and beliefs or is that delusional beliefs? Unfortunately it is very hard to acquire his book called "The Book of the Law" and also "The Confessions of Aleister Crowley" especially in New Zealand. If you ever have to do a school project on famous people, then Mr Crowley would make an excellent choice, its a guaranteed A. Might get you kicked out of college, but hey, that's the price of an intellectual artist like yourelf.

About the song ......

what lampshade?

Mr. Crowley is a 1980 heavy metal song performed by Ozzy Osbourne (with Bob Daisley contributing lyrics, and Randy Rhoads the music), released on the album Blizzard of Ozz. The song is one of Osbourne's first two singles as a solo artist following his expulsion from Black Sabbath. It reached #46 on the UK charts. Ozzy came up with the song's title, a reference to the infamous Aleister Crowley, and Bob Daisley's subsequent lyrics are addressed to him. The song's lyrics do not display a profound knowledge of Aleister Crowley. His last name is mispronounced (it rhymes with "holy"). The lyrics ask "did you talk with the dead?", where Crowley believed in reincarnation. The lyrics state that Crowley "waited on Satan's call", where -- despite his reputation as a Satanist -- Crowley did not believe that Satan even existed.

Im still alive, yanno

Mr. Crowley seems to cast the life of the occultist in a critical light; Osbourne asks Crowley, "Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure?" and invites Crowley to "ride my white horse". It is commonly thought to refer to Crowley's addiction to heroin which was a prescribed medication for him. The line is open to interpretation, as Osbourne indicates in the following line, "It's symbolic, of course." Osbourne ends the song with a plea to the long-dead Crowley, "Was it polemically sent?/I wanna know what you meant", perhaps referring to Crowley's often-controversial doctrines. Osbourne also says in the reissue of Blizzard of Ozz that, in Black Sabbath, he had a roadie named Frank who'd worked with Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page had given him a book signed "To Frank, Polemically Yours".

Randy Rhoads

The guitar solo in "Mr. Crowley" is ranked number 28 on Guitar World Magazine's 100 poll of the "100 greatest guitar solos". According to band mythology, Osbourne was dissatisfied with the first guitar solo that Randy Rhoads recorded for the song. Rhoads, in angry protest, went into the studio right away and banged out the famous solo. Afterwards, he stormed out and asked how that solo was. Osbourne smiled and said: "This is it!".Famous covers include Moonspell (Darkness and Hope, 2001) and Cradle of Filth (Nymphetamine Special Edition, 2005). Tim 'Ripper' Owens (with Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar), Joe Lynn Turner, George Lynch and The Cardigans have also recorded covers of the song. Also, in the game Guilty Gear XX, the character I-No plays part of the ending solo to "Mr. Crowley" as one of her win pose ~ [Source:Wikipedia]

And the Album, "Blizzard of Ozz"

holy bat burger!

Ozzy Osbourne's 1981 solo debut Blizzard of Ozz was a masterpiece of neo-classical metal that, along with Van Halen's first album, became a cornerstone of '80s metal guitar. Upon its release, there was considerable doubt that Ozzy could become a viable solo attraction. Blizzard of Ozz demonstrated not only his ear for melody, but also an unfailing instinct for assembling top-notch backing bands. Onetime Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads was a startling discovery, arriving here as a unique, fully formed talent. Rhoads was just as responsible as Osbourne -- perhaps even more so -- for the album's musical direction, and his application of classical guitar techniques and scales rewrote the rulebook just as radically as Eddie Van Halen had.

art by pinup-artist

Rhoads could hold his own as a flashy soloist, but his detailed, ambitious compositions and arrangements revealed his true depth, as well as creating a sense of doomy, sinister elegance built on Ritchie Blackmore's minor-key innovations. All of this may seem to downplay the importance of Ozzy himself, which shouldn't be the case at all. The music is a thoroughly convincing match for his lyrical obsession with the dark side (which was never an embrace, as many conservative watchdogs assumed); so, despite its collaborative nature, it's unequivocally stamped with Ozzy's personality. What's more, the band is far more versatile and subtle than Sabbath, freeing Ozzy from his habit of singing in unison with the guitar (and proving that he had an excellent grasp of how to frame his limited voice). Nothing short of revelatory, Blizzard of Ozz deservedly made Ozzy a star, and it set new standards for musical virtuosity in the realm of heavy metal. ~ [Steve Huey, All Music Guide]

For more Ozzy see Number 744, MM Vol 2 #138

For Black Sabbath see Number 979 & #826

For Led Zeppelin see Number 957 & #577

For Yngwie Malmsteen see Number 835

For The Cardigans see Number 862

For Van Halen see Number 822 & #617

What does Rolling Stone think about Ozzy?

RS:Were you guys interested in black magic -- even a little? Ozzy:We couldn't conjure up a fart. We'd get invitations to play witches' conventions and black masses in Highgate Cemetery. I honestly thought it was a joke. We were the last hippie band -- we were into peace.

RS:In a lot of live Sabbath photos, you're flashing the peace sign. Ozzy: I never did this black-magic stuff. The reason I did "Mr. Crowley" on my first solo album [Blizzard of Ozz, 1980] was that everybody was talking about Aleister Crowley. Jimmy Page bought his house, and one of my roadies worked with one of his roadies. I thought, "Mr. Crowley, who are you? Where are you from?" But people would hear the song and go, "He's definitely into witchcraft."

RS:Randy Rhoads, your first guitarist after leaving Sabbath, died in a plane crash in 1982. He was just twenty-five, and you got to make only two albums with him, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. What did you get from him in that short time? Ozzy: He gave me such a lift. He was not only a fantastic guitar player. Randy worked with me: "Sing that, but try it in this key." In Sabbath, whatever they laid down, I had to put a vocal on it. He was very quiet, and dedicated to his instrument. Every day, on tour, he would get up, look in the Yellow Pages for a classical-guitar teacher and have a lesson. On that last fateful tour, he said to me on the bus, "I want to quit the band." I'm like, "What's up with you? We've got another album in the charts." He said, "I've tasted what it's like to be a rock star. I want to get a degree in classical guitar." I said, "Make some fucking dough first." He was always up for a higher challenge.

RS:If you could write your own epitaph, what would it be? Ozzy: Just "Ozzy Osbourne, born 1948, died so-and-so." I've done a lot for a simple working-class guy. I made a lot of people smile. I've also made a lot of people go, "Who the fuck does this guy think he is?" I guarantee that if I was to die tonight, tomorrow it would be, "Ozzy Osbourne, the man who bit the head off a bat, died in his hotel room. . . ." I know that's coming. But I've got no complaints. At least I'll be remembered. ~ [Source:Rolling Stone Magazine]

Artist Fact File

Name:Ozzy Osbourne................Related to³:Black Sabbath

Yrs Active:1968 to now............Site:www.ozzy.com

Best Song¹:Mama,Im Coming Home....#1fan:www.ozzyasylum.com

Best Album²:No More Tears.........Grammy Awards:1

Albums Sold:50 Million +..........Next best thing:Alice Cooper

¹Number of downloads WINMX ²Artistdirect choice ³Associated acts or collaborations

Other songs with reference to Ozzy #527, #557, #602, #708, #826, #979