‘Prince’ Among Thieves
A 10-track disc of cover songs is the gem inside Epic’s four-disc Ozzy Osbourne box set, “Prince of Darkness.” Among the tracks tackled on the “Under Covers” disc is a version of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen,” which features that band’s guitarist, Leslie West. Other cuts include King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man,” the Jeff Beck Group’s “Hi Ho Silver Lining,” Mott The Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” and the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil.”
The covers disc, which includes guest appearances by former Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and guitarist Robert Randolph, closes with Osbourne’s 2003 cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” with his daughter Kelly.
A mix of studio, concert and demo recordings populate two discs in the box. Studio versions of such notable Osbourne songs as “Crazy Train,” “Mr. Crowley” and “No More Tears” will butt up against live versions of classics like “Bark at the Moon” and “Suicide Solution.”
Also featured are demos of “I Don’t Want To Change The World,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” “Desire, “Won’t Be Coming Home,” “See You On the Other Side,” “Walk on Water” and “Bang Bang,” which is an early incarnation of the song “Facing Hell.” The final version appeared on Osbourne’s 2001 release “Down to Earth.”
Another disc shows the extent of Ozzy’s reach as a pop culture icon by showcasing the accurately named “Oddities and Duets.” Even before he became a TV superstar through his hit MTV reality series “The Osbournes,” Ozzy recorded Black Sabbath songs and covers with everyone from the Wu Tang Clan (on their “For Heavens Sake”) and Dweezil Zappa (the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive”) to Muppet queen Miss Piggy (Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild”) and pop/funk experimentalists Was (Not Was) (on their “Shake Your Head (Let’s Go To Bed)”).
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