Ultimate Rhoads

Which record do you prefer, Blizzard of Ozz or Diary of a Madman? I'm not asking which is better, but which do you prefer. It would be nice if you could go into a bit of detail as to why you prefer the one you do.

Personally, I prefer Blizzard, mainly for the sound of the guitar. To me it is apparent that the Diary album had the guitar run through the mixing board as opposed to Blizzard having the guitar running direct to the amp.

I also prefer the Blizzard songs. Like Revelation and I Don't Know they just sound fresher than anything on Diary...

The songwriting was great on the Diary record, it's the production I don't like as much as Blizzard. Diary isn't as raw or "live" sounding as Blizzard, and that is what effects my preference the most.

I also prefer the songs, as I mentioned before. Blizzard sounds, to me, more like what Randy would play. Maybe it's because of the Quiet Riot influence? Diary sounds more like he was writing "Ozzy" music in my opinion.

The production is the same reason I prefer Van Halen to Van Halen II - the first record sounded more raw and fresh, the second record sounded more polished. I prefer the raw sound...

This is only my opinion and I welcome everyone else's opinion (I do ask however that you not speculate on whether or not Randy was involved in firing Bob and Lee from the band, there is an appropriate thread for that elsewhere )

hey rocky, my ears are not as discerning as yours. by running it into the board, are you saying that it doesn't sound as live as the acoustics in a room setting? my copy of blizzard is a 2002 remaster and that could be part of it. re: the other thread, my background is irrelevant. your opinion is just as valid me thinks.

cableguyxx wrote:Blizzard to play along to, and Diary to crank in the car stereo. I love the crisp tone of Diary, and Randy's playing was really emotional, especially YCKRR, Tonight and Little Dolls. I LOVE the fills in Little Dolls.

I couldn't have said it better my friend

Trigger wrote:

cableguyxx wrote:Blizzard to play along to, and Diary to crank in the car stereo. I love the crisp tone of Diary, and Randy's playing was really emotional, especially YCKRR, Tonight and Little Dolls. I LOVE the fills in Little Dolls.

I couldn't have said it better my friend

I second that!!

you know i did a poll for this question, you should vote in it,
unless you already have

Rhoads10 wrote:you know i did a poll for this question, you should vote in it,
unless you already have

geez rocky, always stepping on toes!

frank wrote:hey rocky, my ears are not as discerning as yours. by running it into the board, are you saying that it doesn't sound as live as the acoustics in a room setting? my copy of blizzard is a 2002 remaster and that could be part of it. re: the other thread, my background is irrelevant. your opinion is just as valid me thinks.

That's exactly what I mean... to me Diary doesn't sound as 'live"... for Blizzard Randy stood out in the main rook and blasted away with the amp in the same general area (down a few steps facing the back wall) and for Diary he was sitting on the other side of the glass plugged into the board.

Blizzard for me

i love both records, there are some magical moments on both. i am leaning towards blizzard because it was the first time i ever heard randy rhoads and was totally blown away by the sound of his guitar.

Both are great albums. When I was a teen Blizzard was my favorite. Very accessible, straight ahead guitar tone and song structure- everything was geared towards a direct approach.

Now I like Diary even more, it's got tons of layers of sound textures, and is a little more complex... you keep listening to it to pick up more things. The production quality is a little higher and there's just a lot more going on to listen to.

In 2002 for my OzzyTheLegend fan club on yahoo I did a poll using the survivor method starting with all of Ozzy's solo albums and every 3 days we would vote off one album (the least favorite) and the last album standing was Blizzard of Ozz. I replayed the Ozzy album survivor game in 2003 with the same end result. I love them both so much that I almost feel guilty picking one but I too like Blizzard's songs a little bit more.

I prefer Diary, as it is more "me" than BOO. I just like the heavyness of Over the M and all the layers of guitars that fill up the speakers. Diary just seems more dark, and I guess maybe cause I am manic depressive it just fits. The lyrics are great,the music is awesome. This album is like the sountrack to my youth- NO, my life. I play it and it just takes me back to when I first discovered this album, my first ozzy album, and just overwhelms me with different emotions. I've listened to this album when I was sad and needed a "pick me up" , or when I was happy and wanted something to be the background of my joy. I've also listened to this album to mourn friends' passings as well, so I have a ton of sentimental weirdness connected to this album.It is not just my favorite Ozzy or Randy album, it is the album I prefer period.........

cableguyxx wrote:Blizzard to play along to, and Diary to crank in the car stereo. I love the crisp tone of Diary, and Randy's playing was really emotional, especially YCKRR, Tonight and Little Dolls. I LOVE the fills in Little Dolls.

Well put, exactly how I feel !!!!