The Ozzman Cometh

Infobox Album | Name = The Ozzman Cometh: Greatest Hits
Type = Compilation
Artist = Ozzy Osbourne


Released = November 111997
Recorded = 1981-1997
Genre = Heavy metal
Length = 77:00
Label = Epic
Producer = Roy Thomas Baker
Duane Baron
Michael Beinhorn
Ron Nevison
Max Norman
Keith Olsen
Ozzy Osbourne
John Purdell
Randy Rhoads
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8hmsa9rgi23a link]
Last album ="Ozzmosis"
(1995)
This album = "The Ozzman Cometh: Greatest Hits"
(1997) | Next album = "Down to Earth"
(2001) |

"The Ozzman Cometh" is a compilation album by Ozzy Osbourne released in 1997. It is his second greatest hits collection (The first being Ten Commandments released in 1990 and now out of print) and its initial, limited edition 2 CD pressing contained five previously unreleased songs. Versions released in 2002 and later copies of this compilation have only one disc, and "Shot in the Dark" is replaced by "Miracle Man". This was due to a legal action brought about by the former song's co-writer, Phil Soussan, for unpaid royalties.

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 Ozzy's current lineup, as a management response to legal action by original bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake for unpaid royalty fees. Note also the deliberate mis-spelling of Daisley's and Soussan's names in this CD's sleeve notes: 'Bob Daisy', 'Phil Susan'The tracks from Bark at the Moon are the original recordings, though with some remixing changes that are of questionable integrity.

Track listing

#"Black Sabbath" (Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward) - 9:25
#*Previously unreleased. A newer version than this can be found on "Black Sabbath"
#"War Pigs" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 8:15
#*Previously unreleased. Early version of "War Pigs" with different lyrics. A newer version than this can be found on "Paranoid"
#"Goodbye to Romance" (Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley) - 5:35
#*Originally from "Blizzard of Ozz"
#"Crazy Train" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 4:51
#*Originally from "Blizzard of Ozz"
#"Mr. Crowley" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley) - 4:56
#*Originally from "Blizzard of Ozz"
#"Over the Mountain" (Osbourne, Rhoads, Daisley, Lee Kerslake) - 4:32
#*Originally from "Diary of a Madman"
#" [Paranoid (song)|Paranoid [Live] " (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 2:53
#*Originally from "Tribute"
#"Bark at the Moon" (Osbourne) - 4:16
#*Originally from "Bark at the Moon"
#"Shot in the Dark" (Osbourne, Phil Soussan) - 4:16
#*Originally from "The Ultimate Sin"
#"Crazy Babies" (Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Daisley, Randy Castillo) - 4:14
#*Originally from "No Rest for the Wicked"
#" [No More Tears (song)|No More Tears [Video Edit] " (Osbourne, Wylde, Mike Inez, Castillo, John Purdell) - 5:54
#*Originally from "No More Tears"
#"Mama, I'm Coming Home" (Osbourne, Wylde, Lemmy) - 4:11
#*Originally from "No More Tears"
#"I Don't Want to Change the World [Live] " (Osbourne, Wylde, Castillo, Lemmy) - 4:00
#*Originally from "Live and Loud"
#"I Just Want You" (Osbourne, Jim Vallance) - 4:57
#*Originally from "Ozzmosis"
#"Back on Earth" (Richard Supa, Taylor Rhodes) - 5:00
#*Unreleased track from "Ozzmosis" sessions

Bonus Disc

#"Fairies Wear Boots" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 29:50
#*Previously unreleased. A newer version than this can be found on "Paranoid"
#"Behind the Wall of Sleep" (Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, Ward) - 22:50
#*Previously Unreleased. A newer version than this can be found on "Black Sabbath"
#"Walk on Water"
#*Japanese version only
#"Pictures of Matchstick Men"
#*Japanese version only
#1988 Interview with Ozzy - 17:45

The interview found on this disc is from 1988 where Ozzy is interviewed about his latest album at the time (No Rest For The Wicked) and some other topics about his new guitarist, Zakk Wylde and his past days on Black Sabbath.

The tracks "Black Sabbath", "War Pigs", "Fairies Wear Boots", and "Behind the Wall of Sleep" are taken from a session for the BBC's John Peel Sunday Show dated 4.26.70. "Fairies Wear Boots" and "War Pigs" are early versions of tracks that would finally be recorded on the "Paranoid" album and thus have different lyrics.