After Speak of the Devil,
Tribute, Just Say Ozzy, Live & Loud, the Ozzfest collections, and both
Osbourne-fronted
Black Sabbath live discs, one would think that
Ozzy had exhausted his concert-album appeal. But due to the success of his reality TV show,
Osbourne once again decided it was time for another live album. Although
Osbourne's live performances were still rock-solid during the recording of this tour,
Live at Budokan seems mighty excessive. The only positive thing about yet another one is to hear the intense live work of
Zakk Wylde, who has been the cornerstone of
Osbourne's sound longer than any other sideman he has ever worked with. His squealing leads and chunky guitar sound great here, displaying a talent for pure heavy metal that few other players could live up to in 2002. But at the same time, you can hear his amazing guitar work on at least two other
Ozzy live discs, and the songs that are new to this environment (i.e., most of the first half of the album) are all taken from Down to Earth, which he plays on in the first place. This album sounds fine, is packaged nicely, and would make a nice addition to any
Ozzy completist's collection. But
Tribute has an equally brilliant guitarist showcased in one of his finest moments, and Live & Loud has the emotional burden of
Ozzy thinking it was his last tour, making either of them preferable to this disc.
Live at Budokan is nothing to avoid, but there are much better collections available featuring the same rock & roll madman in more spirited days. ~ Bradley Torreano