Looking at this publication’s home page yesterday evening, I noticed a theme in my subtitles—so of course the radio station in my mind started playing the perfect song to end the unintended run of tears in this space.
“No More Tears” is the title cut of Ozzy Osbourne’s sixth solo album, released in 1991; it was the first single from the album. The song reached number 5 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It, the bigger hit “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” and Grammy-winning track “I Don’t Want to Change the World”1 propelled No More Tears to RIAA-certified 4x platinum status.
“No More Tears” dropped when I was struggling to shift my focus from mourning my mother’s death to writing my doctoral dissertation. This was complicated by the fact that she was the only person in my family who grokked why my education was so important to me and whole-heartedly supported me. I don’t have specific memories, but I’m certain that hearing it regularly on Z Rock impelled me to turn the stereo off and start writing, even if just for one paragraph. Those small steps soon led to larger blocks of writing, and improvements in writing quality. I defended it and graduated the following spring.
I chose the video above because it’s the full-length song. There’s a shorter radio version that has most of the mid-song bridge cut. I find that unforgivable, as for me it creates even more tension in the brooding song, but I know others think it’s cheesy2 and out of place. It also leads nicely into a blistering Zakk Wylde solo.
“No More Tears” is a great example of a powerful metal song with a slower than usual tempo—I think that it adds to the menacing intensity. From that unmistakable opening bass riff by Bob Daisley, I’m still pulled in by both the music and Ozzy’s vocals.
I’m hard pressed to choose between Ozzy solo and Ozzy Black Sabbath because there’s just so much great music there, but when I really think about it, his collab with guitar legend Randy Rhoads before Rhoads’ untimely death and this song push me hard toward Ozzy solo. Thus, I was surprised to discover that I have way more Black Sabbath in my music library than I do Ozzy solo: just the 1997 compilation The Ozzman Cometh versus 27 Sabbath albums.3 Most of them undoubtedly came from my son, who has long been a much bigger Black Sabbath fan than I ever was.
I should start exploring that stope soon … maybe it will help me reach a more definitive conclusion on the solo/Sabbath choice. Just don’t expect me to try to choose between Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio Sabbath.
It won the Best Metal Performance Grammy in 1993; Lemmy Kilmister (RIP) cowrote its lyrics
Speaking of cheesy, check out the music video. It was never that great and hasn’t aged well
Obviously not all of them feature Ozzy, but I don’t have the time to sift those and the compilations out
That is one smoking zakk wylde solo indeed