Under Cover is the ninth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. The album consists entirely of cover songs, with an emphasis on rock music from the 1960s and 1970s. This is Osbourne's first and only album to feature cover songs from various artists, although in 1982, Osbourne released the live album Speak of the Devil featuring renditions of songs from his time with Black Sabbath. All but four songs were originally released in the box set Prince of Darkness, released earlier the same year. The additional songs are "Rocky Mountain Way", "Sunshine of Your Love", "Woman" and "Go Now".[3] Whilst he cites The Beatles as his favourite band, his favourite song of all time is Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale". He had wished to cover this song but was advised against it since it had recently been covered by a "close musical associate" [4] (then-former guitarist Zakk Wylde covered the song with his band Black Label Society on their 2004 album Hangover Music Vol. VI).
| Under Cover | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 November 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2003–05 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 57:10 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Mark Hudson | |||
| Ozzy Osbourne chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[2] |
Under Cover is the only Osbourne album to feature the work of Alice in Chains' guitarist Jerry Cantrell[5] or bassist Chris Wyse.[6]
The album is also available in DualDisc format. This version contains the bonus track "Changes" (originally by Black Sabbath), performed by Osbourne and his daughter Kelly Osbourne. The DVD side contains all the songs in enhanced stereo, a documentary entitled Dinner with Ozzy and Friends, and a video for the song "In My Life".
"Mississippi Queen" was released as a promo single and peaked at number 10 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.[7]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rocky Mountain Way" | Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, Joe Vitale, Joe Walsh | Joe Walsh | 4:32 |
| 2. | "In My Life" | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | The Beatles | 3:30 |
| 3. | "Mississippi Queen" | Corky Laing, Felix Pappalardi, David Rea, Leslie West | Mountain | 4:11 |
| 4. | "Go Now" | Larry Banks, Milton Bennett | Bessie Banks | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Woman" | John Lennon | John Lennon | 3:45 |
| 6. | "21st Century Schizoid Man" | Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield | King Crimson | 3:53 |
| 7. | "All the Young Dudes" | David Bowie | Mott the Hoople | 4:34 |
| 8. | "For What It's Worth" | Stephen Stills | Buffalo Springfield | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Good Times" | Vic Briggs, Eric Burdon, Barry Jenkins, Danny McCulloch, John Weider | The Animals | 3:45 |
| 10. | "Sunshine of Your Love" | Pete Brown, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton | Cream | 5:10 |
| 11. | "Fire" | Arthur Brown, Vincent Crane, Mike Finesilver, Peter Ker | Arthur Brown | 4:08 |
| 12. | "Working Class Hero" | John Lennon | John Lennon | 3:22 |
| 13. | "Sympathy for the Devil" | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | The Rolling Stones | 7:11 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Changes" (featuring Kelly Osbourne) | Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward | Black Sabbath | 4:07 |
Personnel
edit- Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
- Jerry Cantrell – guitars
- Chris Wyse – bass
- Mike Bordin – drums
- Guest musicians
- Ian Hunter – vocals on "All the Young Dudes"
- Leslie West – guitar solo on "Mississippi Queen"
- Robert Randolph – pedal steel on "Sympathy for the Devil", guitar solo on "21st Century Schizoid Man"
- Additional musicians
- Gregg Bissonette, Joe Bonamassa, Bogie Bowles, Tabby Callaghan, Louis Conte, Jim Cox, Madison Derek, Steve Dudas, Molly Foote, Mark Hudson, Sarah Hudson, Michael Landau, James Mastro, Paul Santo, Bruce Sugar
- Production
- Produced by Mark Hudson
- Arrangements by Steve Dudas
- Engineered and mixed by Bruce Sugar
- Additional engineering – Kevin Churko and David Frangioni
- Assistant engineers – Jimmy Hoyson, Ghian Wright, Peter Doris, Charlie Paakkari, Jason Agel, Geoff Rice, Andy Brohard, Devin Workman, Alex Scannell
- Mastered by George Marino
- A&R – Kaz Utsunomiya
- Art direction – David Coleman
- Cover photo – Kevin Westenberg
- Tray photo – Dennis Keeley
- Back cover photo – Myriam Santos-Kayda
- Interior photos – Myriam Santos-Kayda, Sam Taylor Wood, Bil Zelman
Charts
edit| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[8] | 72 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[9] | 50 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] | 95 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[11] | 67 |
| US Billboard 200[12] | 134 |
References
edit- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Ozzy Osbourne - Under Cover review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ Sinclair, Tom (31 October 2005). "Under Cover". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Billboard album chart history-Ozzy Osbourne". Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ Prince's Trust trading Ltd. (2009). Inspired* by music. London: Shoehorn Arts & Culture Books. pp. 116-119. ISBN 978-190714901-6.
- ^ "Former ALICE IN CHAINS Guitarist Laying Down Tracks For New OZZY OSBOURNE Album". Blabbermouth. 16 August 2004. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Goes 'Under Cover'". Mitch Schneider Organization. 5 October 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Ozzy Osbourne – Under Cover". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ozzy Osbourne – Under Cover". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ "Ozzy Osbourne Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
External links
edit- Under Cover at Discogs (list of releases)