1988 saw the release of "No Rest for the Wicked", the Ozzy Osbourne album that introduced the world to guitarist Zakk Wylde, and got decent airplay on the radio and Mtv with songs like "Miracle Man", "Breaking All The Rules" and "Crazy Babies". Although previous bassist and lyric writer Bob Daisley joined back to make the album, the bassist for the videos and tour was none other than Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler (a fact that critics gleefully used to further fuel the never ending "Ozzy vs. Sabbath" soap opera). Other highlights for Ozzy in this 88-89 time period include playing the huge Moscow Peace Festival with other metal bands, being featured on the related "Stairway to Heaven, Highway to Hell" album, pay-per-view concerts, and the top-10 duet with Lita Ford "Close My Eyes Forever".

To hold over the fans who had just about worn out their cassette and vinyl copies of "No Rest For The Wicked", 1990 saw the release of "Just Say Ozzy". This was an appropriately low-priced live EP from the tour. (Why do some people complain about the short length? It was an EP, not an LP, and thus supposed to be only a little longer than a single!) In the liner notes, Ozzy explains that when first proposed with the idea, his initial thoughts were along the lines of "Oh no, not another live Ozzy/Sabbath album!" But this release features a refreshingly different selection of songs, and serves to capture this unique line-up. It has no repeats of the same songs found on "Tribute", which had been released just two years prior.

Of "Just Say Ozzy's" six songs, three are from "No Rest For The Wicked": Miracle Man, and the more obscure tracks Bloodbath In Paradise and Tattooed Dancer. With the band here being 1/2 of Black Sabbath's original line-up, it made sense to include two Black Sabbath songs here too: "War Pigs" and "Sweet Leaf". "War Pigs" is quite a common'y played Black Sabbath song, but "Sweet Leaf" was a good unexpected choice for the tour (songs like "Paranoid" and "Iron Man", as classic as they are, had been done to death since Ozzy started his solo career). Finally, this EP also includes "Shot In The Dark", the hit song from the immensely successful, albeit hated by Ozzy, "The Ultimate Sin" album. Both Ozzy and many fans alike have hailed this live version to be superior to the original studio recording. A video for this live version of "Shot In The Dark" got decent rotation on Mtv, created from different shots of the band live, mostly taken from Moscow.

Being a bass player and big Geezer Butler fan, I was anxious to get this album, and I bought it on cassette when it hit the stores in 1990. As far as I know, "Just Say Ozzy" was not released on CD format until 1995, when the rest of Ozzy's back catalog was re-released with 22-bit remastering. But beware that "Just Say Ozzy", along with "The Ultimate Sin" and "Speak of the Devil", are being deleted from Ozzy's catalog. So snatch up these releases while you still can!

This live ep is very good.Ozzy Osbourne,Geezer Butler,Zakk Wylde and Randy Castillo made a very good lineup.The bass on this record is exeptionnal.All songs are very well recorded;Miracle Man is very good (the intro at the beginning made a great ambiance),Bloodbath In Paradise,Shot In The Dark,Tatooed Dancer are very well played.For the classics Sabbath songs;Sweet Leaf is pretty cool but,the song is shorter than the original).And for War Pigs;THIS IS THE BEST VERSION OF WAR PIGS I HAVE HEARD IN MY LIFE! I suggest this live ep for all Ozzy and Sabbath fans.

This is Ozzy's final release as a "hair band" after The Ultimate Sin and No Rest For The Wicked. This of course isn't a studio album but Ozzy's band still had the big hair and what not. Anyway here's my review

1.Miracle Man- 10/10 A great fast paced concert opener. Ozzy's vocals here sound better than the studio recording! A great catchy song with an awesome chorus. Zakk's pinch harmonics are awesome. Zakk's solo is just as good as the studio version. The solo is great as Zakk shreds away but it sounds exactly like the studio version. Overall better than the studio version.

2.Bloodbath in Paradise- 10/10 Great scary intro that leads into one of Zakk's best riffs ever. Ozzy's vocals are awesome and the lyrics are great. The lyrics are about the Manson family murders. Another catchy chorus. Zakk has an awesome agressive fill in! Zakk's monster solo here is better and more agressive than the studio version! Zakk throws in another great fill in right after the solo. Zakk's tone is awesome too! Once again better than the studio version.

3.Shot in the Dark- 10/10 Great harmonic intro. Zakk's tone is awesome and his pinch harmonics great aswell. Zakk plays the solo great although not as good as Jake originally did. Ozzy's vocals are flawless as well and Zakk gets a second solo as did Jake during The Ultimate Sin tour. Zakk's second solo is better than the first as Zakk shreds away fast and furiously.

4.Tattooed Dancer- 10/10 Another great fast song with some awesome an awesome guitar riff and some awesome pinch harmonics. Zakk's fills in are great once again. Ozzy's vocals sound better here than the studio version. An agressive hair metal song here.

5.Sweet Leaf- 10/10 A great version of this Sabbath classic that's as good as the original. Ozzy's vocals are as good as the original and Zakk's pinch harmonics work great. I personally Zakk's shredding here is great and Randy Castillo's drumming is amazing

6.War Pigs- 10/10 Another live Sabbath song that is as good as the original. Zakk's solo is great too especially the second one which Zakk shreds away on. Ozzy's vocals are perfect once again.

This is a great live E.P if you want a half hour to kill than listen to this straight through it's an awesome E.P The band is

Ozzy Osbourne- Vocals
Zakk Wylde- Guitar
Randy Castillo- Drums
Geezer Butler- Bass

When I listen to Ozzy, I thank God that I was a kid in the 80's, and not aware that Ozzy existed at all. I'm glad that my memories of the 80's all boil down to Ninja Turtles, Barbie, Hotwheels, and family vacations to Panama City. I'm glad that I remember only bits and peices of MTV.

Why is this? Because I have very few pre-concieved notions of what anything should be like. I started out in my journey of metal apreciation with absolutly NO BIAS. With the free, virgin mind of a child. Nobody saying, "THIS IS COOL NO THAT IS COOL THIS IS WHAT IT SHOULD BE LIKE!!!" So I picked out what sounded good to me, and I listened to that. But over time, IMAGE IS EVERYTHING has fought a constant battle with I LIKE WHAT I'M HEARING. I've learned that Bon Jovi were wussie, but I like them anyway, even if they are a bit fluffie after album one. I know that Alice Cooper rocked the planet, and, God, I love him even more. And my reaction to Ozzy, nomatter what he was doing, has always been positive. I like the way he sings, I like the sound of his voice, I like the sound of the guitars, I like the sound of the music. I'm not a submissive media clone, or a dope. I know very well what what's going on, but before I knew that, I knew I liked the music. So, there's my entire summary of the post-Randy Ozzy albums, where most people say he went into decline.

I like this CD. Bunches. I'm guessing that it was peiced together from different concerts, because it's way too manufactured sounding to be a straight-thru live concert recording.
I liked "Miracle Man" about the same as I liked the studio version. It's one of my favorite songs, I love everything about it.
Maybe I liked "Bloodbath in Paradise" more than the album version? Equal to or more, I've never decided.
"Shot in the Dark" has been one of my favorites since I heard it off the Live&Loud video. I love that song to peices. (I will admit that the MTV music video was massivly painful/embarassing in places, though.) In the liner notes, Ozzy says he was more satisfied with it than the original, and I think I just might agree.
"Tatooed Dancer" is good. It makes me smile, I enjoy it, but it's never been one of my absolute favorite songs. (That is not to say that I don't enjoy it, though.)
"Sweet Leaf" and "Warpigs" go into overdrive, and I love it. Don't expect some attempt for the band to pretend to be an old Black Sabbath. Oh, no. They take those excelent songs, and give them a whole new punch. Whoo! I loved it. It's a good CD.

If you are one of those who have read about "Just say Ozzy" and not listened to it, you will say: It's a bad album, he just made it to make the record company happy. Well, let me tell you you're wrong. It's a lot better than you think. Actually it's a great live album. Short (only six songs), but great. It contents four Ozzy-songs from the mid-eighties, and two old Black Sabbath-songs ("Sweet Leaf" and "War Pigs"). The hit "Shot in the Dark" is actually even better on this album than in its originally version. So I recommend this album. And, as a bonus, the bass-player on this album is noone but Geezer Butler, the original Black Sabbath-member!