After several years dominated by health problems, surgery and cancelled performances, Ozzy Osbourne would have been forgiven for treating Ordinary Man as a final studio statement. Instead, only two years later, Patient Number 9 finds him sounding more engaged than he has on record in a long time.
The guest list is formidable: Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Zakk Wylde and Mike McCready all appear on guitar, with Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith and Taylor Hawkins among the rhythm-section contributors. Andrew Watt's production is heavily compressed and unmistakably contemporary, but the quality of the writing keeps the record from becoming a parade of celebrity cameos.
The title track gives Jeff Beck enough space for his fluid, instantly recognizable guitar voice, while "Patient Number 9" itself has the heavy melodic character Ozzy's best solo records have always depended upon. "Parasite" is similarly direct, while "One of Those Days" makes unexpectedly effective use of Clapton.
The most interesting guest, inevitably, is Tony Iommi. "Degradation Rules" reconnects the two men through the kind of blunt, ugly riff that immediately distinguishes Iommi from everybody else on the record. "A Thousand Shades" offers a different texture, with Jeff Beck again bringing a more liquid vocabulary to Ozzy's familiar melodic instincts.
There is filler across the album's hour-long running time, and Watt's dense production removes some of the dynamics that might have given the performances greater impact. Still, the ratio of strong songs is surprisingly high, particularly for anyone who found records such as Black Rain and Down to Earth increasingly difficult to revisit. Ozzy's voice is obviously processed, but the nasal, wounded character that has always made him immediately identifiable survives the studio treatment.
Recent appearances had also revived his hope of returning to the stage after several difficult years. We last saw him in 2018; whether a full tour follows or not, Patient Number 9 gives him material worthy of that ambition. The decisive sound is Iommi's guitar grinding underneath Ozzy again on "Degradation Rules": after more than half a century, that combination still requires very little explanation.
GENRE: Heavy Metal
RELEASE DATE: September 9, 2022
PRODUCED BY: Andrew Watt
LABEL: Epic Records
RATING: 7/10