Ozzy Osbourne "The Ozzman Cometh"

The Ozzman Cometh is a compilation album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne released in 1997. It is his third greatest hits collection. Its initial, limited edition 2-CD pressing contained five previously unreleased songs. Versions released in 2002 and later have only one disc, and the song "Shot in the Dark" is replaced by "Miracle Man". This was due to a legal action brought about by the song's co-writer, Phil Soussan, for unpaid royalties.

The tracks "Black Sabbath", "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots", and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" were performed by Osbourne's previous band Black Sabbath, during a session for the BBC Radio 1 Sunday show "The John Peel Sessions", conducted by British DJ John Peel and dated 26 April 1970. "Fairies Wear Boots" and "War Pigs" are early versions of tracks that would finally be recorded on the band's second album Paranoid and thus have different lyrics.

The interview found on the second disc is from 1988, where Osbourne speaks about his latest album at the time (No Rest for the Wicked), about his new guitarist Zakk Wylde and his past days in Black Sabbath.

Note on versions post-2002: The album tracks are from the 2002 remasters, for which Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman were partially re-recorded. The original drum and bass tracks were replaced with recordings by Osbourne's then-current bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin, as a management response to legal action by original bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake for unpaid royalty fees. Note also the deliberate misspelling of Daisley's and Soussan's names in this CD's sleeve notes: 'Bob Daisy', 'Bill Susan', as well as Rudy Sarzo's - 'Trudy Sarzo'. The tracks from Bark at the Moon are the original recordings, but later mixes of the songs.

The compilation won a 1997 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for Best Hits or Compilation Album.

The album is currently out of print. In 2014, Osbourne released the compilation Memoirs of a Madman, which is said to be an updated version of The Ozzman Cometh.

Track listing

Disc one

1. "Black Sabbath" (previously unreleased, featuring extra verse not on album Black Sabbath (1970)) Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 9:25
2. "War Pigs" (previously unreleased, early version titled "Walpurgis" with different lyrics)Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 8:15
3. "Goodbye to Romance" Osbourne/Randy Rhoads/Bob Daisley Blizzard of Ozz (1980) 5:35
4. "Crazy Train" Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley Blizzard of Ozz 4:51
5. "Mr. Crowley" Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley Blizzard of Ozz 4:56
6. "Over the Mountain" Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, Lee Kerslake Diary of a Madman (1981) 4:32
7. "Paranoid" (live) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward Tribute (1987) 2:53
8. "Bark at the Moon" Osbourne, Jake E. Lee, Daisley Bark at the Moon (1983) 4:17
9. "Miracle Man" Osbourne, Wylde, Daisley No Rest for the Wicked (1988) 3:44
10. "Crazy Babies" Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Daisley, Randy Castillo No Rest for the Wicked (1988) 4:14
11. "No More Tears" (radio edit) Osbourne, Wylde, Mike Inez, Castillo, John Purdell No More Tears (1991) 5:54
12. "Mama, I'm Coming Home" Osbourne, Wylde, Lemmy Kilmister No More Tears 4:11
13. "I Don't Want to Change the World" (live) Osbourne, Wylde, Castillo, Kilmister Live & Loud (1993) 4:00
14. "I Just Want You" Osbourne, Jim Vallance Ozzmosis (1995) 4:57
15. "Back on Earth" (previously unreleased) Richard Supa, Taylor Rhodes Ozzmosis sessions 5:00

Disc two

1. "Fairies Wear Boots" (previously unreleased) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 6:53
2. "Behind the Wall of Sleep" (previously unreleased) Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward "The John Peel Sessions" of 26 April 1970 5:09
3. "Walk on Water" (Japanese edition bonus track) Osbourne, Vallance Beavis and Butt-Head Do America soundtrack (1996) 4:19
4. "Pictures of Matchstick Men" (Status Quo cover, recorded with Type O Negative, Japanese edition bonus track) Francis Rossi Private Parts: The Album (1997) 6:05
5. "Interview with Ozzy 1988" 17:45

The version of "War Pigs" on this album is actually called "Walpurgis". They titled it this way so there would be no confusion as to the song, because both songs are demos made before Black Sabbath got a record deal and the song was not called "War Pigs" then. "War Pigs" is actually a toned-down version of "Walpurgis". Also, the version of "Black Sabbath" on this album has an extra verse from the original.

The Japanese version (SRCS 8507~8) includes "Walk On Water", "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" and stickers of all Ozzy albums up to date.

The 2002 remastered version featured new versions of "Goodbye To Romance", "Crazy Train", "Mr. Crowley" and "Over The Mountain". "Shot In The Dark" was replaced with "Miracle Man".