Review by Daniel for Ozzy Osbourne - No More Tears (1991)

As with all of the Ozzy Osbourne studio material I've heard over the years, "No More Tears" is a pretty enjoyable listen. Also in line with those releases though, I can't see myself ever finding it to be an essential heavy metal release. You see, despite Ozzy's records sporting some of the most beloved guitar work in my life, I simply can't look past the fact that there's also a fair dose of cheese & commercialism about them & Ozzy's vocals have never quite seemed to fit perfectly with that musical direction to be honest, even on his super-popular early releases. "Diary of a Madman" has always been my favourite Ozzy album, perhaps because it's a touch darker & less poppy than the others but I still wouldn't call it a genuinely great record. "No More Tears" sits very much in the same camp as the tracklisting is a real mixed bag. On the one hand we receive a couple of the best tracks of Ozzy's solo career in the dark & brooding title track & the energetic, metal-as-fuck "I Don't Want to Change the World" with chunky heavy metal number "Desire" being another particularly solid inclusion. On the other hand, the cheesy ballads "Mama, I'm Coming Home" & "Road to Nowhere" & glam metal inspired "Mr. Tinkertrain" & "S.I.N." leave a lot to be desired. Black Label Society/Pride & Glory axemaster Zakk Wylde is quite clearly the primary reason to listen to "No More Tears" with his ultra-shredding guitar tone & signature artificial harmonic squeals showing him to be at the very peak of his powers. The riffs & slide guitar work on the title track command the price of this album alone actually. Ozzy's vocals are pretty pedestrian throughout though it has to be said which takes a bit of the gloss of Zakk's handy work.

Despite these mixed comments, I'd suggest that the highlights (& perhaps a little bit of nostalgia) have seen me moving "No More Tears" ahead of "Blizzard of Ozz" & into second place behind "Diary of a Madman" these days. There's probably a touch more hard rock included here than there is heavy metal if you look at it closely but Wylde's exciting guitar work never allows the record to drift too far out of your average metalhead's reach. Sadly, I don't think "No More Tears" will ever be the release to see me moving Ozzy out of Best-Of playlist territory & into the realms reserved for consistently high-quality heavy metal recordings alongside his much stronger live releases such as "Speak of the Devil" & "Tribute" though & it's perhaps telling that I've never ventured any further into Osbourne's solo career than this either.