The Osbourne Family Album
If you loved the hit TV showThe Osbournes, you'll absolutely eat up this unorthodox soundtrack album, which sucks you right back into this 2002 version ofThe Beverly Hillbillies, with snippets of the best bons mots from the show—-and minus all those annoying bleeps! It’s instantly clear that the Osbournes' taste in music is much better than their taste in furniture. But why be surprised, as Sharon Osbourne, wife and manager of the timeless metallurgist, has been the intelligence behind all the Ozzfests, one of the few moneymaking tour packages in recent memory. She has certainly done her homework once again, offering sensational tracks by snarling Chicago-based trioChevelleand the equally heavy Dillusion Mirror Image (clear inheritors of Ozzy's thorny crown). There is also a rousing cover ofBlack Sabbath's "Snowblind" by Armenian rockersSystem of a Down. This album isn't all about head banging; also included is a live track from third wave BritpoppersStarsailor, who'd be ostracized if they even came within spitting distance of the second stage at Ozzfest. And there’s alsoEric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight," a song Ozzy used to play while Sharon would get ready for a night out, and theKinks’ "You Really Got Me," a tune that turned the young Ozzmeister on to rock & roll. Ozzy also turns down the din on his own contributions with the John Lennon-esque "Dreamer" and the lush and revelatory power ballad "Mamma I'm Coming Home." He thankfully gets things moving with his signature thrash anthem "Crazy Train," which is also reprised by his former next-door neighbor, God Squad balladeer Pat Boone. The surprising standout is daughter Kelly's full-throated version ofMadonna's recalcitrant 1986 hit "Papa Don't Preach." Thankfully the impish, fuchsia-tressed teen inherited her father's genes, belting out the rebellious hit with a subversive defiance and roguish edge. Produced by brother Jack and with Ozzfest alums Incubus playing on the track, this cut rocks much harder than the original.--Jaan Uhelszki