Search - Ozzy Osbourne - Live at Budokan on DVD

Ozzy Is Still Singing Like He Would Be Young

Reijo Piippula | Turku, Finland | 05/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ozzy has made many great live DVD but I think this the best. This DVD captures the live power that Ozzy has. Many of the songs have been made in 80's and some even in 70's but they sound now as fresh as they sound then. Ozzy seems to enjoy the live concerts very much. Also Zakk Wylde and others are really well present in this concert. The solos and the songs are great. I was quite disappointment on "Live & Loud" but this DVD has a place in my metal heart. Great live concert!
1)I Don't Know
2)That I Never had
3)Believer
4)Junkie
5)Mr. Crowley
6)Gets Me Througfh
7)Suicide Solution
8)No More Tears
9)I Don't Want to Change the World
10)Road to Nowhere
11)Crazy Train
12)Mama, I'm Coming Home
13)Bark at the Moon
14)Paranoid"

Never Too Old To Rock & Roll

Sky | New York | 05/08/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Closing in on 60, Ozzy was in his mid-50s during the 2002 recording of Live at Budokan. You'd never know it by watching his performance on this DVD.

It's absolutely amazing that these days when you hear Ozzy speak he sounds as if he just smoked a dooby after 13 Cuervo shots (but supposedly he's been clean for years). Although when he sings he still sounds as good today as he did 30 years ago.

The line-up of the band for the show on Live at Budokan is: Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde (Guitar), Robert Trujillo (Bass), Mike Bordin (Drums) and--hidden off stage the entire show--John Sinclair (Keyboard). All of the guys in the band prior to hitting the stage must have huddled and committed to each other to go out and play the music true to the studio versions of the songs. All of the tracks on Live at Budokan are performed with careful detail and a lot of energy.

Throughout the show, Ozzy acts just like you'd think he would (if you're familiar with his other DVDs or have ever been to one of his shows): summing it up...he's one of the iconic rock performers of our time. He acts like he's nuts. He rocks out. He runs (saunters) all over the stage....But the whole time he never skips a beat.

And Zakk Wylde? Man...this guy is nothing short of phenomenal. To most of the general public if you say, "Eddie Van Halen," everyone knows who you're talking about. If you say, "Zakk Wylde," everyone usually goes, "Who?" Zakk Wylde is one of the best...no wait...is THE best hard rock guitarist on the circuit today. His riffs are heavy and melodic and his solos are complex and precise. He definitely brings his guitar playing talent to his live shows.

Trujillo and Bordin back Ozzy and Zakk with talent and classic hard rock showmanship.

The picture is full frame on Live at Budokan which kinda stinks, but the audio gives you the choice of stereo or Dolby 5.1; the 5.1 mode is clear and crisp.

To me, the biggest negative in almost every Ozzy show that I've seen (and I've seen a lot) is his setlist choices. It seems that he always throws in those songs that were either deep on a release or simply just not the best choices. Here's the setlist for Live at Budokan with my suggestion for replacement (of seven songs) in parenthesis for their next DVD:

- I Don't Know
- That I Never had (I'd replace with Perry Mason)
- Believer (I'd replace with Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)
- Junkie (I'd replace with Miracle Man)
- Mr. Crowley
- Gets Me Through (I'd replace with I Just Want You)
- Suicide Solution
- No More Tears
- I Don't Want to Change the World (I'd replace with Shot in the Dark)
- Road to Nowhere (I'd replace with Over the Mountain)
- Crazy Train
- Mama, I'm Coming Home
- Bark at the Moon
- Paranoid (I'd replace with Sweet Leaf)

I know...a true fan wants the deep cuts; a true fan wouldn't tell Ozzy what to do; etc, etc, etc....Crazy...but that's how it goes.

While Live at Budokan is Ozzy's best DVD in terms of quality to date, I'm hoping that with the 2007 release of a new CD called Black Rain, perhaps Ozzy will give us a 2007 or 2008 hi-def, widescreen picture DVD upgrade (with, of course, Dolby and/or DTS sound).



"

Behold the Ozzman cometh !!

Zakk Wong | Selangor, Malaysia | 08/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A lot of music fans must be wondering why bands like to record live albums in Japan, esp. when the fans are more subdued, well behaved and very appropriately (or unappropriately, depending on how u see it!) dressed for metal concerts. But upon finishing watching this, the answer is pretty simple. Quality.The visual quality here is simply astounding, and this is definitely the most visually appealing DVD that I have. The images are really sharp, with the camera angles changing constantly. The audio mix is excellent as well, and you can really compare the difference with the Megadeth DVD. Zakk's guitar is HUGE here, with tons of distortion and gain which enables him to pull off wicked sounding harmonics. The bass and drums, however, could use some improvement esp. with the lower frequencies. Zakk was simply terrific here, nailing every single note with conviction and with great style too ! His huge beard did give me a shock at first, and along with those wrist brace, he really did look like a true metal warrior lol. His lead playing on stage has improved tremendously since the Loud and Live days as he seems to be more careful and attentive to hitting the right notes. And damn those pinch harmonics of his .. Ozzy has really aged alot since I last saw him. However, he did pull of the vocals pretty well I must say. Great job indeed for a guy his age (the guys at Deep Purple sure could use some lessons from him!) Mike Bordin was awesome, and he really filled up the gaps well with plenty of varied beats and ultra cool drum rolls. He's definitely injected that missing aggression into the songs. I've yet to check out the extra features tho, but I must say, this is truly an impressive live performance and a HUGE improvement from the Live n Loud days."

OZZY LIVES !!!!!!

WebheadX | USA | 06/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not one for writing reviews, however I felt compeled to do so in this case. Let me simply say it ... If you are an OZZY fan BUY THIS DVD. It is without a doubt the best OZZY live I have seen. Excellent audio quality, Crystal picture; Deliciously directed for an overwhelming OZZY experience. The return of Zack Wilde brings an energy filled set, tight and virtuostic. The band sounds awesome, OZZY feeds from this and sounds the best he has in years. He jumps, runs, curses and works the crowd into a frezy only as OZZY can. You can even understand him when he talks! An instant OZZY classic !!! The bonus features are just that. But the performance is top shelf and needs no support. Don't hesitate to add this to your music collection in any form. If you don't have a DVD then for God's sake buy the CD's. You cannot loose with this one. Three cheers for the SONY production crew for capturing this perfomance with great taste, appreciation for the music, and with style."