Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Nobody’s immortal, but some find themselves immersed in immortality, dressed in clothes and outfits that will be remembered for all time, and whilst at one time you had to be a king, a queen, an advisor of incalculable resource and affinity to the realm to even be considered noteworthy by history, now, thankfully, having talent and longevity is enough to create a splash for history’s sake, and have volumes written about long after the also rans have departed this extremely mortal and fragile coil.

Immortality, even in the realms of art can feel like a curse, you always have to go one better, your latest opus must be magnus, your inspiration must both be a comfort and a devil, madness is an avenue not taken by choice but rather heaped upon and arguably drowned within, occasionally surfacing to find yourself in the queue of after brilliance and referred to by a moniker, an affectation, the singular autograph that spells out Patient Number 9.

One of Birmingham’s finest, a name that towers across the city, emblazoned in Hell’s lights from The Rotunda to Cannon Street, from the memory of the now consigned to history of the Breedon Bar in Cotteridge to the heaven-sent crowd that were wowed by his and Tony Iommi’s presence at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, and dare it be said in every nook and cranny the world over, Ozzy Osbourne is a definition of forever, an immortality that one day will stop, but for which in his latest release, Patient Number 9, sound as though pleasure, joy, and amusement are kings and queens to behold.

An album that touches upon the true greats of his career, a resurgence that was always going to come and touched with perhaps a moment of sadness as the listener comes across the fabulous Taylor Hawkins’ name one last time as a credit on a new recording.

Featuring rock royalty such as Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Zakk Wylde, Josh Homme, Duff McKagen, the aforementioned Taylor Hawkins, and the sheer magnetic Tony Iommi, Patient Number 9’s joy is out in the open from the first drop of sound to be savoured and to the unrelenting beast that is collaboration, well all that can be added is a perfect energy that would happily have whisked Dorothy away from Kansas and dropped her not in Oz, but right in the middle of the industrious Bull Ring and have her clasp her hands in prayer as she is side swiped by the richness of Ozzy in full majestic stride.

Through tracks such as Parasite, No Escape From Now, Mr. Darkness, Degradation Rules, Dead And Gone, and the album title track, Patient Number 9, Ozzy Osbourne rolls back the years in waves, with a glint in the eye that dazzles, a deal with an entity big on delivery, copious in its demand for rapture and glory.

Nobody’s immortal, but Ozzy will be one of those to whom in the decades to come will be spoken of by Faust as a role model and the embodiment of never writing of any patient, wearing the clothes of Kings. 

Ian D. Hall