About 27 or 28 years ago, I found myself in my mom’s white 1990 Honda Prelude SI while my she was perusing a garage sale. I was bored quickly and started rummaging through the glove box. I found a tape labeled “Ozzy Live & Loud” and decided to pop it in. Little did I know that I was about to be absolutely mind blown by Mr. Zakk Wylde on guitar.

This is Zakk Wylde. The man knows his way around 5 strings.
— Master Shake

I stole the tape, which was my dad’s. Ozzy Osbourne’s Live & Loud became my world for a few years. Especially Mr. Crowley. That first guitar solo 👌 🍝

Can we talk about how incredible the mix on Live & Loud is? I eventually figured out Randy Rhodes actually wrote Mr Crowley, so I bought Blizzard of Ozz. And I absolutely hated how it sounded—thin and weak in comparison to the brutality of Live & Loud. My dad, having listened to the studio release for 10+ years, thought it sounded fine. I sold it to him for $10.

Someone posted this image on Reddit the other day and I had a fun little trip down memory lane listening to Live & Loud. Still good after all these years!

Zakk Wylde