I couldn't resist...

I mentioned that album a few times before but it was actually pretty much around this time of the year 30 years ago that bought my first album, a record which completely change my life. It's also the album I've bought the most copies of, in every format - vinyl, tape, cd, mp3 - including many copies in the same format for a few of these, as well as the various remastered versions...
 
Well, make that + 1.
 

 
 
I grabbed this one at Wal Mart this pm. I did not own a proper copy of this most recent remaster, only the iTunes version, because it came out while we were on the road. An the iTunes version didn't have the bonus live CD. I just cannot wait to hear this one!
 
This reminds me of the day Tribute came out in 1987 - probably one of the best days in the entire decade if you'd asked the die hard Randy Rhoads fan I was.  
 
 

You're right obviously - Rhoads still is my favorite guitar player on a guts level (Jimmy Page being my favorite musician, and Jimi, being, uh, Jimi).
 
He's like a technically brilliant Mick Ronson (and they looked strikingly similar, too). That wailing guitar in the first solo in Over the Mountain - that's what made me pick up the electric guitar and to this day I feel exactly the same when I hear it.
 
I like EVH and Malmsteen and Vai and all those amazing guitar players, but I feel that Rhoads has that very emotional thing that's closer to guys like Gilmour or Ronson who can tear you apart w/ a single note. Anyway, that's how it works for me.
 
And having never heard that concert, I'm quite sure I'll enjoy it. I'm just keeping it for when I can really listen to it, loud enough and not while doing something else. 
 
 

Oh, I misunderstood that you meant same as Tribute. Darn! :( 
Oh well, on a positive note, the Legacy edition packaging is awesome, and cd resolution was a must.
 
Since my wife insisted, I also grabbed Blizzard of Ozz (same as Diary, I only had the iTunes version of the recent remaster with the additional material) and Band of Gypsys by Hendrix, another one of my all-time classics.
 
 
Next time Ozzy gets another platinum record for either Diary or Blizzard, I'll be expecting a personal thank you note. :P
 

Leadfoot
I'm a big Band Of Gypsys fan as well. Machine Gun is just on another level. Jimi was beyond brilliant on that album, but it definitely would not have been as soulful without Billy and Buddy. I had the Isle of Wight concert on video which had Billy and Mitch playing with Jimi. And the beginning of Machine Gun just didn't sound right because Mitch didn't play it straight forward like Buddy did. He tried to do his trademark rolls, and it just didn't sound like a machine gun anymore.

Did I get off topic??? :)

Back to Blizzard and Diary...

Now I've read in the past that on the remasters, Ozzy had different players re-record Bob Daisley's and Lee Kerslake's parts so he didn't have to pay them. Can you tell whether the drums and bass have been redone? If so, that's the ultimate act of greed by Ozzy (or more likely Sharon), and is just plain desp*cable.

Not sure what on and off-topic but you pretty much summed my thoughts about Machine Gun right there. In fact, I always thought Isle of Wight was a pretty tragic show. It's almost like seeing Superman without his superpowers or something - it seems to me that Jimi is struggling and doesn't seem all that happy. Some stuff is great, but not all that magic - compare that to other nights where it felt like he had some sort of telepathic control over feedback and whatnot and everything worked.
 
The way he dropped the guitar and walked away at the end pretty much sums it up. 
 
But back on topic, as you say... 
 
I did not buy those re-recorded versions, but I've heard them. There are also a few songs included on the Ozzman Cometh. I don't know how they'd sound to someone who's never heard the original records, but to me, they sound like the drummer and, less obviously, the bass player, are playing on top of an existing record - which is the case I guess. They don't gel into it. 
 
The Randy Rhoads fan in me will dare say that it does have the advantage of further separating the guitar tracks from the mix, shedding some new light on them. So it can be interesting. But that's it.
 
By the way, I like Bordin and Trujillo - I was a fan of both Faith No More and Suicidal Tendencies back in the days - so it's nothing against them or the way they play.
 
Ozzy claims that he'd had enough of being harassed by Daisley and friends. Daisley's take on it is obviously different, and probably more credible - though I cannot figure out why he kept coming back in the fold and writing for Ozzy album after album until the 90s if he felt he'd been let go for some unfair reasons and wasn't being treated well.
 
Though I guess maybe after all I understand why he came back - because, that's a job, and not many musicians can afford to refuse a big check.
 
But, IMHO, if you accept to sell your songs and the rights to them for a certain amount, you can't complain that you weren't treated fairly and start slinging mud because the album made millions of $.
 
Of course, one could argue that the right thing to do for Ozzy would have been to further compensate and give a bonus, but, that's entirely subjective.
 
At any rate, re-recording the albums wasn't a good idea. But the Osbournes learned their lesson on this one I guess. They can't get away with just about anything.
 

Haven't found it yet - though I haven't been actively looking. At least, I had my fix listening to the songs on YouTube (which, as bad as it sounds probably doesn't sound much worst than the old tape player and crappy speakers I used to listen to it on back in the days.)

I knew he was working on a book but I didn't know it was out. I wouldn't pay for it either. Although I would like to check it out.

I agree that Randy's playing is what I love so much about those albums. And to tell you the truth, as much as I used to love Ozzy's voice, I have trouble listening to him now after all the BS that has come to light.

I have to wonder if what Bill Ward said about not being offered equal treatment on the Sabbath reunion is true. Then there's also the fact that Ozzy asked Bill to remove the songs that he sang on from his album "Ward One: Along The Way". What was up with that? "Bombers Can Open Bomb Bays" and "Jack's Land" were the biggest hits on that album.

Rain
...
Next time Ozzy gets another platinum record for either Diary or Blizzard, I'll be expecting a personal thank you note. :P
... 

BullS****!
 
Just have him right a check for 1 million that you deserve and he doesn't!

Resistance is futile....

That's a really cool story Bapu. :)
 
Though I'd venture to say that ultimately what really gets to me in Rhoads playing is quite intangible and not stylistic elements that you can pick from someone. At least, I dont feel it's something I've been able to emulate even if I eventually learned to play lots of those songs - nor were most of the people I've heard playing them.
 
By the way, I'm really happy I did not resist and bought those records - I love the sound of those remasters.

BTW - I'm finally listening to the live record and, though it's basically the same setlist and very similar to the show previously released as Tribute, I'm 110% sure that it's not the same recording/same actual show - regardless of editing. But it also shows that Rhoads seemed to play very consistently from one night to another.
 
Incidentally though, I prefer the sound of this recording - it's much more raw and in your face - and sounds much closer to what I'd expect from a recording made during the Blizzard of Ozz tour, before the gigantic/over the top Diary of a Madman set up.
 
Tribute seemed drowned in reverb and echo, a maybe bit too polished by comparison.
 
 
 
 

I didn't know about Lee. Interesting.
 
I do most of my music listening (besides the gym playlists) in the studio, either on monitors or using headphones - I love those AKG for that. And I really, really like that remaster of Diary.
 
Heck even on the little Alesis "monitors" in the gym it sounds much better than the previous versions.