You Can't Kill Rock N Roll- Ozzy Osbourne's "Under Cover"

 

When this album came out, I thought it was a bad idea. Jerry Cantrell lent his guitar skills to this session to make it a better idea. The opening track is a cover of Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way," which Ozzy's voice is suited for, and feels pretty effective. I am not sure I need him to cover the Beatles' "In My Life". I get that the Beatles were a huge influence on him, so he felt he needed to do this. In all fairness, he exceeds my expectations here, but I am sure this is a song he has been singing along to his entire career. 

"Mississippi Queen" makes more sense. Leslie West plays the guitar solo on this, which makes even more sense. His cover of "Go Now" is a take on the Moody Blues version. It has more movement. The more metallic guitar helps to give it its own identity, and Ozzy is not changing his vocal approach for any of these songs. John Lennon's "Woman" sounds like "So Tired" from "Bark at the Moon" in Ozzy's hand. The first song from a band whose original I am really invested in would be King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," which I think Voivod did a better version of, and I expected them to at least nail the staccato verses, but the original is heavier. 

If you need proof of who is a better singer between Ozzy and Bowie, just um give this a listen. Bowie's vocal is ballsier and I think better than the Mott the Hoople original, sure Ian Hunter shows up too here. He does rock out to "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, which is an odd choice, though most of these songs are odd choices. He sounds like Fozzy Bear on "Good Times" by the Animals, which does not really click for me. "Sunshine of Your Love' makes sense on paper. The guitar tones could be better, and Ozzy sounds fine; most of the problems feel production-related, as the guitar is lower in the mix than Ozzy. Arthur Brown's "Fire" works better than expected. 

John Lennon is obviously Ozzy's favorite Beatle, as he also covers "Working Class Hero". This one is darker and works better for what Ozzy does. "Sympathy For the Devil " feels a little too upbeat, as coming from Ozzy it should be darker than the Rolling Stones version, but that is not what is happening here. I will round this one down to a 9, not the best song choice, but Ozzy's voice is his personality that he brings to the songs, to make them his more often than not.

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