WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We usually spend our 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.019 time on the show looking at, you know, these 00:00:05.019 --> 00:00:07.459 really smooth rides to the top. Right. Flawless 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:09.939 execution stories. Yeah, exactly. Exploring how 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:12.279 brilliant strategies just execute perfectly. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.000 But today's source material outlines the exact 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.559 opposite of a smooth ride. Oh, totally. It's 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:20.899 a mess. It really is. We are diving into a comprehensive 00:00:20.899 --> 00:00:25.559 Wikipedia article detailing the chaotic, frustrating 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:29.199 and just wildly successful creation of Ozzy Osbourne. 00:00:29.289 --> 00:00:32.770 1995 comeback album Osmosis. That's a fascinating 00:00:32.770 --> 00:00:35.210 record. Right. So the mission for this deep dive 00:00:35.210 --> 00:00:38.170 is to unpack exactly how an artist who supposedly 00:00:38.170 --> 00:00:40.829 retires forever gets pulled right back into the 00:00:40.829 --> 00:00:44.149 studio and then faces intense interference from 00:00:44.149 --> 00:00:46.170 their record label. Not to mention the psychological 00:00:46.170 --> 00:00:49.109 toll. Oh, literal psychological mind games during 00:00:49.109 --> 00:00:51.929 production. Right. And somehow, despite all that, 00:00:52.009 --> 00:00:54.170 comes out the other side with a massive commercial 00:00:54.170 --> 00:00:57.210 triumph, even when the critics were, you know, 00:00:57.229 --> 00:00:59.729 sharpening their knives. It is a remarkable sequence 00:00:59.729 --> 00:01:01.729 of events. And before we get into the heavy metal 00:01:01.729 --> 00:01:03.950 elements of the recording, it helps to set the 00:01:03.950 --> 00:01:05.810 tone for what we're actually looking at here. 00:01:05.950 --> 00:01:08.069 Yeah, set the stage for us. Well, this isn't 00:01:08.069 --> 00:01:09.950 just a standard story about a rock star cutting 00:01:09.950 --> 00:01:12.870 a record. It serves as a really fascinating case 00:01:12.870 --> 00:01:15.950 study on the inherent conflict between creative 00:01:15.950 --> 00:01:19.010 freedom, corporate control, and the obsessive 00:01:19.010 --> 00:01:21.909 pursuit of perfection. That tension is just everywhere 00:01:21.909 --> 00:01:25.109 in this story. Exactly. You don't necessarily 00:01:25.109 --> 00:01:28.310 have to be a metal purist to appreciate the human 00:01:28.310 --> 00:01:31.489 drama that unfolds when art and commerce collide 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:34.609 this violently in a recording studio. That collision 00:01:34.609 --> 00:01:37.150 is exactly what makes us so compelling for you 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:39.709 to listen to. To really trace the fault lines, 00:01:39.930 --> 00:01:43.049 we need to step back to the early 90s. 1991 specifically. 00:01:43.230 --> 00:01:46.090 Right, 1991. Ozzy released No More Tears, which 00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:49.069 was just a monumental, critical and commercial 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:53.620 peak. Following that, he announced he was done. 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:55.459 Completely done. Stepping away from the music 00:01:55.459 --> 00:01:57.739 industry entirely, he even named his supporting 00:01:57.739 --> 00:02:00.859 global run the No More Tours Tour. Which is hilarious. 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:03.579 It is. It was a very definitive public closing 00:02:03.579 --> 00:02:06.379 of the book. Or so we thought. Which is a classic 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:09.360 maneuver in the entertainment industry. The grand 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:11.800 farewell creates an incredible sense of urgency 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:15.879 and finality. But usually... An artist lets that 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:18.360 retirement breathe for, I don't know, a decade 00:02:18.360 --> 00:02:21.120 before reversing course. Yeah. In Ozzy's case, 00:02:21.259 --> 00:02:23.939 the retirement barely lasted a long weekend in 00:02:23.939 --> 00:02:28.159 industry time. By 1995, just a few short years 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:31.500 later, he is right back at it. gearing up for 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:33.680 osmosis. Right back in the grind. And it's a 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:35.780 very human thing, isn't it? If you've ever tried 00:02:35.780 --> 00:02:38.219 to quit something, making a grand public declaration 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:40.300 that you're quitting forever, only to realize 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:42.300 you actually miss it. Or you realize the alternative 00:02:42.300 --> 00:02:45.620 is just worse. Exactly. Yeah. And Ozzy's justification 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:48.780 for his return is refreshingly honest. He ended 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:51.319 up calling his comeback tour the Retirement Sucks 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.370 Tour. Such a great name. Kicking off in August 00:02:54.370 --> 00:02:57.750 1995 down in Monterey in Mexico City, and when 00:02:57.750 --> 00:02:59.949 pressed on why he was back so soon, he said, 00:03:00.069 --> 00:03:02.710 and I quote, if you stayed at home day in and 00:03:02.710 --> 00:03:04.870 day out for three years with your wife and a 00:03:04.870 --> 00:03:07.129 house full of screaming kids, you'd want to get 00:03:07.129 --> 00:03:09.849 back out on the road too. That is just brilliant. 00:03:09.930 --> 00:03:11.889 You really have to appreciate the irony of it. 00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:15.460 Going on a grueling heavy metal world tour was 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:17.919 essentially his dad retreat. Basically, yeah. 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:20.580 What's fascinating here is how that single quote 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:24.300 completely undercuts the terrifying gothic image 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:26.740 he spent decades building. Oh, totally. The whole 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.580 Prince of Darkness thing. Right. Ozzy's brand, 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:32.719 especially his solo career, relies heavily on 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.960 this deeply human, self -deprecating humor. It 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:39.629 sharply contrasts with the mythology. He isn't 00:03:39.629 --> 00:03:42.090 claiming he returned because some dark muse called 00:03:42.090 --> 00:03:44.169 to him from the abyss. He came back because he 00:03:44.169 --> 00:03:46.639 was a stressed out father. Exactly. He desperately 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:48.879 needed to get out of the house. Yeah. That level 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.360 of transparency is rare, and it creates a very 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.740 genuine bond with the listener. They aren't just 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:56.219 looking up to an untouchable rock god. They're 00:03:56.219 --> 00:03:57.680 commiserating with a guy who just wants some 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.060 peace and quiet. Yeah, precisely. Okay, let's 00:04:00.060 --> 00:04:01.840 unpack this, because the journey from leaving 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:04.039 the chaotic house to actually delivering a finished 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.139 album was anything but peaceful. It was a disaster 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:09.240 at first. Let's look at the initial recording 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:12.580 sessions, which were ultimately aborted. Originally, 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:16.420 in early 1994, Ozzy headed out to Granny's House 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:19.680 recording studio in Reno, Nevada. A very different 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.779 vibe from Los Angeles or New York. Right. And 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:24.720 he was working with producer Michael Wagner, 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:27.540 who was a deeply trusted collaborator. Wagner 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:30.500 had actually mixed the previous smash hit, No 00:04:30.500 --> 00:04:32.379 More Tears. So there's a proven track record 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:35.019 there. Exactly. And Ozzy had a very specific, 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:38.420 clear vision. He was in the room with bassist 00:04:38.420 --> 00:04:41.040 Mikey Nez and drummer Randy Castillo, and their 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.040 intentional goal was to directly replicate the 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:46.759 sonic magic and the formula of No More Tears. 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:48.600 That makes a lot of sense from a creative standpoint. 00:04:48.490 --> 00:04:50.930 standpoint. If you are stepping out of a highly 00:04:50.930 --> 00:04:54.250 publicized retirement, the instinct is to return 00:04:54.250 --> 00:04:56.790 to the exact formula that gave you your last 00:04:56.790 --> 00:04:59.569 massive win. You want a sure thing. Right. You 00:04:59.569 --> 00:05:01.689 want a comfortable, familiar environment with 00:05:01.689 --> 00:05:03.670 musicians and producers who speak your language. 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:06.009 The label, however, saw it completely differently. 00:05:06.269 --> 00:05:08.790 The source notes that the band had actually completed 00:05:08.790 --> 00:05:11.689 seven songs in Reno. Seven songs. That's almost 00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:14.110 the whole album. That is the bulk of a standard 00:05:14.110 --> 00:05:18.160 90s rock album. But then Epic Records steps in 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.800 and they allegedly demand a total overhaul of 00:05:21.800 --> 00:05:24.019 the production style. They did not want No More 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:26.339 Tears Part Two. They absolutely did not. So they 00:05:26.339 --> 00:05:28.959 fired Michael Wagoner, essentially scrapped the 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:31.259 Reno sessions and brought in a completely different 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:33.579 producer named Michael Beinhorn to take over. 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:36.439 That intervention by Epic Records is the pivot 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:39.480 point for this entire era of Ozzy's career. You 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:41.319 have to consider the landscape of the music industry 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:45.660 in 94, 95. Key grunge era. Exactly. This was 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:48.420 the absolute zenith of grunge and alternative 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:51.959 rock. The slick, traditional heavy metal sound 00:05:51.959 --> 00:05:55.060 of the late 80s and early 90s was suddenly viewed 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.819 by executives as a commercial liability. They 00:05:57.819 --> 00:05:59.980 were terrified of sounding old. Epic Records 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:02.100 was terrified of releasing an album that sounded 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:05.019 dated. So it wasn't just a simple swapping of 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:07.100 personnel. It completely fractured the project's 00:06:07.100 --> 00:06:08.800 foundation. What they had done was essentially 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.329 blown up. Just thrown out. Yeah. Some of the 00:06:12.329 --> 00:06:14.790 tracks Wagner produced, like Perry Mason and 00:06:14.790 --> 00:06:17.149 See You on the Other Side, had to be completely 00:06:17.149 --> 00:06:19.810 re -recorded from scratch with Beinhorn. Which 00:06:19.810 --> 00:06:22.550 is crazy to think about. And other tracks, like 00:06:22.550 --> 00:06:25.209 Amy, were tossed aside and relegated to B -sides, 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:27.870 which, for anyone who used it just streaming 00:06:27.870 --> 00:06:30.029 today, meant it was physically pushed to the 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:32.779 flip side of a cassette or CD single. Essentially 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:35.779 burying the song from the main album narrative. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.319 Right. And a track called Slow Burn was just 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:41.019 left completely unreleased. It paints a stark 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:44.339 picture of the power dynamics at play. Imagine 00:06:44.339 --> 00:06:46.939 doing all that intensive studio work, capturing 00:06:46.939 --> 00:06:49.040 lightning in a bottle with your trusted team 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.560 and the executives walk in, declare it's the 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:54.300 wrong flavor for the current market, and hire 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:56.500 someone else to oversee your every move. It's 00:06:56.500 --> 00:06:58.920 incredibly demoralizing. It completely changed 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:02.079 the trajectory of Osmosis. But with a new producer 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:05.459 came a whole new lineup of musicians. And here's 00:07:05.459 --> 00:07:07.300 where it gets really interesting, because the 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:09.819 roster of talent brought in for these new sessions 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:12.519 is just staggering. Foundational pillars of rock. 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.759 We are talking absolute legends. Having Geezer 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:18.139 Butler back in the fold on rhythm was a massive 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:20.500 pull. Oh, absolutely. This is actually the first 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:23.600 and only Aussie solo album to feature the legendary 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:26.360 Black Sabbath bassist. Getting those two back 00:07:26.360 --> 00:07:28.540 together creates an immediate gravity for the 00:07:28.540 --> 00:07:31.100 fans. It grounds the whole project. Yeah. Then 00:07:31.100 --> 00:07:33.220 you have Dean Castronovo stepping in on drums 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:35.899 and Zach Wild holding down the incredibly heavy 00:07:35.899 --> 00:07:38.920 guitar riffs. But then they throw a total curveball 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:42.980 by bringing in Rick Wakeman. From yes. From the 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:45.819 progressive rock band, yes. He is brought in 00:07:45.819 --> 00:07:48.199 to play the Mellotron on tracks like Perry Mason 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:52.339 and I Just Want You. The addition of Wegman is 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:55.019 such a specific, ambitious choice. For those 00:07:55.019 --> 00:07:57.060 who might not be familiar, the Mellotron is this 00:07:57.060 --> 00:08:00.579 fascinating early analog keyboard from the 1960s. 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.019 It's a very unique instrument. It plays back 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:05.699 actual tape loops of instruments to create a 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:09.240 very haunting, somewhat unstable orchestral sound. 00:08:09.840 --> 00:08:12.220 Combining a progressive rock virtuoso playing 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:15.540 vintage tape loop keyboards with the cure heavy 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:18.500 metal foundation of Butler and Wild shows a clear 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:21.160 mandate. They wanted it to sound epic. They wanted 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:24.839 this album to sound massive and theatrical, not 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:27.100 just loud. The ambition was definitely there. 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:30.040 But speaking of virtuosos, there is a lingering 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:32.840 mystery surrounding the guitars on this album 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.799 that is just wild to think about. The Steve Vai 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.279 situation. We have to talk about the Steve Vai 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:41.029 saga. The source points out that guitar legend 00:08:41.029 --> 00:08:44.470 Steve Vai actually wrote songs with Ozzy in 1994 00:08:44.470 --> 00:08:47.549 during those early stages before everything got 00:08:47.549 --> 00:08:49.309 upended. Right, before the label stepped in. 00:08:49.629 --> 00:08:52.549 But in the final release, only one single track 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:55.350 from their collaboration, a song called My Little 00:08:55.350 --> 00:08:58.409 Man, actually made it onto the track list. The 00:08:58.409 --> 00:09:00.690 circumstances around his departure provide a 00:09:00.690 --> 00:09:03.210 perfect window into how fragile these high -level 00:09:03.210 --> 00:09:05.649 collaborations can be. Definitely. The official 00:09:05.649 --> 00:09:07.990 public reasoning was that Vi left the project 00:09:07.990 --> 00:09:11.129 due to a quote -unquote falling out with Osbourne. 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:14.539 However, Zach Wild maintains to this day that 00:09:14.539 --> 00:09:17.299 everyone actually remained friends. So there 00:09:17.299 --> 00:09:20.580 are conflicting stories. There are. But the truly 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:23.039 striking detail comes from a much more recent 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:27.600 perspective. In a 2023 interview, Steve Vai claimed 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:29.980 that he is actually sitting on a whole Ozzy album. 00:09:30.330 --> 00:09:32.929 From this specific time period. It is staggering 00:09:32.929 --> 00:09:36.669 to consider an entire fully written project from 00:09:36.669 --> 00:09:39.110 two of the most recognizable figures in rock 00:09:39.110 --> 00:09:42.289 just sitting on a tape reel or a hard drive in 00:09:42.289 --> 00:09:44.789 a vault somewhere. It really encourages you to 00:09:44.789 --> 00:09:47.309 think critically about the sheer volume of art 00:09:47.309 --> 00:09:50.250 that the public never gets to experience. How 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:52.590 many incredible collaborations are locked away 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:55.830 forever. Probably hundreds. Sometimes it is due 00:09:55.830 --> 00:09:58.129 to corporate mandates, like the Wagoner sessions 00:09:58.129 --> 00:10:01.649 we just discussed, but often it is just the friction 00:10:01.649 --> 00:10:04.269 of the creative process itself. Just personalities 00:10:04.269 --> 00:10:07.190 clashing. You put two brilliant, uncompromising 00:10:07.190 --> 00:10:09.610 artists in a room, and the chemistry might be 00:10:09.610 --> 00:10:12.330 slightly off, or the pacing doesn't match, or 00:10:12.330 --> 00:10:14.409 they simply have diverging visions for the final 00:10:14.409 --> 00:10:16.570 product. Yeah, it doesn't always click. The fact 00:10:16.570 --> 00:10:18.570 that a full album's worth of material exists 00:10:18.570 --> 00:10:21.289 between Ozzy Osbourne and Steve Vai. and it was 00:10:21.289 --> 00:10:24.590 simply buried highlights how much waste is built 00:10:24.590 --> 00:10:27.409 into the pursuit of a perfect record so what 00:10:27.409 --> 00:10:30.149 does this all mean for the actual recording process 00:10:30.149 --> 00:10:32.830 once they finally locked in the new lineup and 00:10:32.830 --> 00:10:35.029 got down to business with michael beinhorn well 00:10:35.529 --> 00:10:38.070 It wasn't easy. No, the geography of the album 00:10:38.070 --> 00:10:41.590 shifted dramatically. They abandoned the familiar 00:10:41.590 --> 00:10:44.409 Reno setup and turned it into a globetrotting 00:10:44.409 --> 00:10:46.809 affair. They recorded at Guillaume Tell Studios 00:10:46.809 --> 00:10:50.070 in Paris, right track recording in Electric Lady 00:10:50.070 --> 00:10:53.110 Studios in New York City, and Bearsville Studios 00:10:53.110 --> 00:10:55.809 up in Woodstock. World -class facility. Top of 00:10:55.809 --> 00:10:58.539 the line. But despite the change of scenery and 00:10:58.539 --> 00:11:01.059 the amazing studios, the actual experience of 00:11:01.059 --> 00:11:03.700 making the record was agonizing for the frontman. 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:06.279 Agonizing is putting it mildly. The descriptions 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.000 of those sessions sound deeply unpleasant. Unpleasant 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.620 to the point of breaking him. Ozzy absolutely 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:14.279 hated working with Beinhorn. I want to share 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:16.740 a quote from Ozzy from a 2001 interview that 00:11:16.740 --> 00:11:19.240 perfectly captures the environment inside those 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:22.210 vocal booths. Please do. He said, After doing 00:11:22.210 --> 00:11:25.529 Osmosis with Michael Beinhorn producing, I didn't 00:11:25.529 --> 00:11:27.990 care if I never made another album again. There'd 00:11:27.990 --> 00:11:30.309 be these fucking mind games. He'd have me singing 00:11:30.309 --> 00:11:32.570 all day and then I'd get three quarters through 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:35.629 and he'd go, your voice sounds tired. Let's pick 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:37.809 it up tomorrow. And I knew that the next day 00:11:37.809 --> 00:11:40.570 he'd go, your voice has changed. Let's start 00:11:40.570 --> 00:11:43.509 again. That dynamic sounds like pure psychological 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:47.110 warfare. When you think about the physical mechanics 00:11:47.110 --> 00:11:50.029 of heavy metal vocals, it is an athletic endeavor. 00:11:50.289 --> 00:11:52.090 It's exhausting. It completely shreds the vocal 00:11:52.090 --> 00:11:55.549 cords. To sing all day, give everything you have 00:11:55.549 --> 00:11:57.710 to a track, and then have a producer constantly 00:11:57.710 --> 00:12:00.309 moving the goalposts must be infuriating. Just 00:12:00.309 --> 00:12:02.549 devastating for morale. Beinhorn was clearly 00:12:02.549 --> 00:12:05.090 playing mind games to try and extract some perceived... 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:08.039 technically flawless take but in doing so he 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:11.000 completely alienated the artist exactly it broke 00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:13.159 his spirit to have a legend who has been recording 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:15.779 since the late 1960s say that a single producer 00:12:15.779 --> 00:12:18.320 made him not care if he ever made music again 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.159 that is a profound level of studio burnout it 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:24.200 really is if we connect this to the bigger picture 00:12:24.669 --> 00:12:27.350 the broader reception of the album. You can actually 00:12:27.350 --> 00:12:31.350 trace a direct line from Ozzy's misery in that 00:12:31.350 --> 00:12:35.490 vocal booth to the mixed reaction Osmosis received 00:12:35.490 --> 00:12:38.250 from music critics upon its release. The critics 00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:40.850 really picked up on it. They were in many ways 00:12:40.850 --> 00:12:43.509 hearing the exact same issues that Ozzy was complaining 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:45.750 about feeling. They picked up on the exhaustion 00:12:45.750 --> 00:12:48.190 and the overproduction. They zeroed right in 00:12:48.190 --> 00:12:51.440 on it. The source provides some fascinating examples 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:54.960 of the critical pushback. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:57.600 writing for AllMusic, acknowledged that the guitar 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.279 work was impressive, but he noted the album completely 00:13:00.279 --> 00:13:03.700 lacked any real evolution. Right. His sharpest 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:06.539 criticism, however, was aimed squarely at Beinhorn's 00:13:06.539 --> 00:13:08.960 modern rock production style. The exact style 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:11.860 Epic Records demanded. Exactly. Erlewine pointed 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:13.899 out that while the music was technically hard 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:16.879 and loud, it ultimately sounded smooth and processed. 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:20.720 Wow. heavy metal record, smooth and processed 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:23.100 is a devastating critique. It's basically an 00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:26.299 insult. It is the exact opposite of the raw, 00:13:26.419 --> 00:13:28.980 dangerous energy that built Ozzy Osbourne's career. 00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:32.399 When a producer forces an artist to do take after 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:35.500 take. Day after day, constantly stopping them 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:38.679 to fix minute imperfections, you inevitably scrub 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:41.059 away the human element. Oh, Zeus, the soul. The 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:43.559 grit, the spontaneity, and the emotion get polished 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:46.159 right out of the final mix. And all music wasn't 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:48.500 the only outlet noticing the cracks in the foundation. 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:51.720 Chuck Eddy from Entertainment Weekly gave the 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:54.879 album a flat C grade, and his assessment was 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.679 even more brutal. What did he say? He focused 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.200 on the incredibly long running times of the tracks 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:02.779 and claimed the album felt like a parody. of 00:14:02.779 --> 00:14:05.940 a most overinflated opera. Ouch. So the critics 00:14:05.940 --> 00:14:08.120 were clearly seeing the negative impact of all 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:11.000 this studio turmoil, the scrap sessions, and 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 the label's desperate demand for a specific micromanaged 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:17.039 sound. The critical consensus largely painted 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:19.440 it as a bloated project where the soul of the 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:21.639 music had been suffocated by the production techniques, 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:24.500 which brings us to the ultimate paradox of this 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:28.019 entire deep dive. It is a massive paradox because 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:29.960 when you stack up the evidence we've just discussed, 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:32.059 the aborted original sessions, the mind games 00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:33.840 that made the artist want to quit the industry 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:37.000 and the prominent critics calling it an overinflated, 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.399 processed parody. The logical conclusion is that 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.960 the album was a catastrophic flop. Right. But 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:46.139 the reality defies all that logic. Osmosis was 00:14:46.139 --> 00:14:49.679 a staggering commercial juggernaut. When it finally 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:52.960 hit shelves in October 1995, it shot straight 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:55.320 up to number four on the U .S. Billboard 200. 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:58.620 Number four. Number four. At that specific time 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:01.480 in his career, that was Ozzy Osbourne's highest 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:03.940 charting position ever. The disconnect between 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:07.000 the grueling artistic experience, the cynical 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:09.639 critical reception, and the actual consumer behavior 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:12.539 is just incredible. And the momentum didn't stop 00:15:12.539 --> 00:15:15.120 in the U .S. It was a massive hit. hit globally. 00:15:15.340 --> 00:15:17.960 It cracked the top 10 in Finland and Sweden. 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:21.419 It reached the top 30 in major markets like Germany, 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:24.100 New Zealand, and Norway. Global reach. In the 00:15:24.100 --> 00:15:26.539 United States alone, the album was quickly certified 00:15:26.539 --> 00:15:29.659 double platinum, moving over 2 million units. 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.440 Worldwide, the source notes that Billboard magazine 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:36.059 estimated sales in excess of 3 million copies. 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:38.940 Unbelievable. The singles dominated the airwaves 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:41.559 too. Perry Mason climbed to number three on the 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:44.139 mainstream rock songs chart while See you on 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:46.620 the other side. I just want to... You were also 00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:49.740 major fixtures on rock radio. The people who 00:15:49.740 --> 00:15:52.279 actually buy their records absolutely devoured 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:55.100 it. This raises an important question, and it 00:15:55.100 --> 00:15:57.399 is something for you listening to really mull 00:15:57.399 --> 00:16:00.000 over. What is the true measure of an album's 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.139 success? It's a tough question. Is it the artist's 00:16:02.139 --> 00:16:04.299 happiness and feeling of creative fulfillment? 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:07.600 Because by that metric, Osmosis was a grueling 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:09.820 disaster that almost ended a legendary career. 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:12.929 Right. Is it critical acclaim? Reviewers largely 00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:15.889 viewed it as a process bloated misstep? Or is 00:16:15.889 --> 00:16:18.710 it the millions of fans buying the record, connecting 00:16:18.710 --> 00:16:21.409 deeply with the songs, and cementing it as a 00:16:21.409 --> 00:16:24.409 multi -platinum cornerstone of 90s rock? It's 00:16:24.409 --> 00:16:25.990 the ultimate paradox of the record business. 00:16:26.490 --> 00:16:28.990 Agonizing corporate micromanagement, producing 00:16:28.990 --> 00:16:32.850 a raw, platinum -selling rebellion that the fans 00:16:32.850 --> 00:16:35.620 embrace wholeheartedly. It's the multi -million 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:38.179 dollar question. It is endlessly fascinating 00:16:38.179 --> 00:16:41.559 how three wildly different realities, the artist's 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:44.639 misery, the critic's disdain, and the fan's adoration 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:48.059 can exist at the exact same time around a single 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:51.139 piece of music. All at once. As we wrap up this 00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:53.240 deep dive, let's look back at the chaotic timeline 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:56.399 of Osmosis. We started with a heavy metal icon 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:59.419 coming out of a very public retirement, partly 00:16:59.419 --> 00:17:01.779 to escape the realities of domestic life. The 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:04.460 screaming kids? Right. We watched the label aggressively 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:07.579 intervene, firing a trusted producer and scrapping 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:09.759 perfectly good sessions out of a fear of sounding 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:12.380 dated. We explored the mystery of the unreleased 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:14.299 Steve Vai material still sitting in a vault. 00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:16.339 We stepped inside the vocal booth to witness 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:19.460 the exhausting psychological warfare that drained... 00:17:19.470 --> 00:17:21.769 the joy out of the recording process, and finally 00:17:21.769 --> 00:17:24.450 we saw how that deeply flawed, critically panned 00:17:24.450 --> 00:17:27.210 process somehow resulted in one of the biggest 00:17:27.210 --> 00:17:29.750 commercial peaks of Ozzy Osbourne's entire solo 00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:32.549 career. The whole saga perfectly captures the 00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:34.990 beautiful, messy reality of how popular art is 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:37.910 manufactured. But there is one final detail from 00:17:37.910 --> 00:17:40.509 our source material that offers a really provocative 00:17:40.509 --> 00:17:42.390 thought to leave you with. Let's hear it. Let's 00:17:42.390 --> 00:17:46.740 fast forward a bit. In 2002, the label decided 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:51.339 to remaster and reissue Osmosis. As is standard 00:17:51.339 --> 00:17:53.660 practice to incentivize fans to buy an album 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:55.799 they already own, they dug into the archives 00:17:55.799 --> 00:17:58.319 to include some bonus tracks. Standard reissue 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:01.019 stuff? Right. One of the tracks they dusted off 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:03.500 and added to this premium reissue was a song 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:06.930 called Whole World's Fallen Down. This track 00:18:06.930 --> 00:18:09.829 was entirely unreleased during the 1995 album 00:18:09.829 --> 00:18:12.650 cycle. It was a casualty of those original scrap 00:18:12.650 --> 00:18:15.650 sessions before the label overhauled the project's 00:18:15.650 --> 00:18:18.490 sound. And Amy, too, right? Yes, Amy was also 00:18:18.490 --> 00:18:21.009 added. They actually went back and used the material 00:18:21.009 --> 00:18:23.609 they originally rejected. Yeah. They did. And 00:18:23.609 --> 00:18:25.230 so the thought I want to leave you with is this. 00:18:25.890 --> 00:18:28.089 What does it say about the machinery of the music 00:18:28.089 --> 00:18:31.490 industry that the very work a label fundamentally 00:18:31.490 --> 00:18:34.990 rejects? The work that causes an artist immense 00:18:34.990 --> 00:18:38.349 stress when it is thrown away is eventually dusted 00:18:38.349 --> 00:18:41.210 off years later and repackaged to the public 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:43.990 as a valuable premium bonus. They sell it back 00:18:43.990 --> 00:18:47.089 to you. It asks us to consider how the industry 00:18:47.089 --> 00:18:49.910 ultimately commodifies its own historical errors. 00:18:50.589 --> 00:18:52.809 They rejected the art when it didn't fit their 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:55.470 immediate mid -90s corporate strategy, but the 00:18:55.470 --> 00:18:58.609 moment it acquired historical value, they packaged 00:18:58.609 --> 00:19:00.589 it up and sold it right back to the very fans 00:19:00.589 --> 00:19:02.349 they were originally trying to pivot away from. 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.640 It really makes you reconsider the concept of 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:07.380 the vault. Exactly. And who really benefits when 00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:09.579 buried art finally sees the light of day? That 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:12.259 is a phenomenal point to end on. The label gets 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:14.599 the massive commercial hit they demanded in 95, 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.279 and then they turn around and sell the discarded 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:20.140 scraps for a profit seven years later. Brilliant 00:19:20.140 --> 00:19:23.220 and ruthless. Brilliant and ruthless all at once. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:25.640 Well, that is all the time we have for today. 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:28.279 Thank you so much for joining us on this deep 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:31.299 dive into the chaotic and bizarre world of Ozzy 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:34.059 Osbourne's Osmosis. We hope you gained a new 00:19:34.059 --> 00:19:36.079 perspective, and we encourage you to keep questioning 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.859 the hidden stories, the boardroom decisions, 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:40.500 and the studio secrets behind the music you love. 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:41.640 Until next time.