Ozzy Osbourne compared recording his new album, Ordinary Man, to making Black Sabbath’s debut LP in 1970, saying the new project managed to capture “so much joy” because of how quickly it was made.

His 12th solo record, to be released on Feb. 21, came about after Osbourne spent most of 2019 trapped at home, unable to walk as a result of a series of health setbacks. He previously discussed how the project gave meaning back to his life and helped him deal with depression over his forced inactivity.

In a new interview, Osbourne told Kerrang! that he favored the “wham, bam, thank you, ma’am” approach to recording that marked both the Black Sabbath and Ordinary Man sessions, saying it was better than “sitting in a studio for three fucking years with a producer making you do everything 15 fucking times. You can fucking die and get resurrected five times doing that – you’d forget where you fucking started from!”

He added that they would "bounce the fucking melodies around until something came up, and we’d just go with it. It was fun. And it was so fucking good to be doing something. … It’s not like a Pink Floyd thing where you’ve got to take a tab of acid to enjoy it – just crank the fucking thing. Go for it! … There’s so much joy in it. And it picked me up out of my blues, definitely. We’ve captured the essence of fun. And it felt good to achieve something. It’s like swimming from one side of the world to the other and you go, ‘There’s land!’ It made me think, ‘I’m not fucking done yet!’”

Osbourne also laughed off the idea of someone with his risk-taking history dying as a result of falling over during a midnight trip to the bathroom. “I’ve fallen down the stairs drunk, I’ve fucking crashed cars, I’ve fucking nearly died in airplanes, and this stupid fucking thing, falling over going for a fucking piss – it’s not exactly Ozzy going out in a blaze of fucking glory, is it?" he noted. "Go for a piss: bang! Sod’s law, isn’t it? But it’s like I’ve always said: [When it’s my time,] some rare bird will crap on my shoulder, and I’ll just fucking disappear.”

 

Ozzy Osbourne Year by Year Photos: 1969-2020

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