OZZY OSBOURNE’s New Album To Feature Guest Appearances By JEFF BECK, ERIC CLAPTON, TONY IOMMI And ZAKK WYLDE

Ozzy Osbourne sat down with co-host Billy Morrison for another episode of “Ozzy Speaks” on SiriusXM‘s Ozzy’s Boneyard. During the episode, Osbourne and Morrison discussed Ozzy‘s collaborations with other notable musicians, including his pairings with Post Malone and Elton John on 2020’s “Ordinary Man” LP, as well as his upcoming album, on which he is once again working with producer Andrew Watt.

“On this new album, I’m working with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi and Zakk [Wylde],” Ozzy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

Regarding the process of collaborating with other musicians, Ozzy said: “You just write the song and you just ask them to sing [or play] what you [give them].

“The good thing is it’s interesting to work with somebody else. But the bad thing is if it don’t work, you can’t [just let it go] ’cause they’ll get all pissed off,” he explained.

Asked if he has ever had a musician send something back to him where he went, “I don’t like that,” Ozzy said: “No. Eric Clapton, on this new record, one of the lyrics was about Jesus, and he wasn’t sure about that. But it was all right in the end… [The solo he did] is very good.”

Watt connected with Osbourne after meeting Ozzy‘s daughter Kelly at a friend’s party and pitching her on the idea of Post Malone and Ozzy collaborating together.

Six months ago, Ozzy told U.K.’s Metal Hammer magazine that he and Andrew had completed “15 tracks” for his next studio LP. “My only concern right now is finishing the bloody thing,” he said. “We’ve got the same production time as the last time, so there’s definitely going to be some similarities. But you’ll just have to wait and see what you think.”

In December 2020, Watt told Guitar World that he and the BLACK SABBATH legend were “halfway through” the new LP. “There’s some songs on there that are like eight or nine minutes long that are these really crazy journeys. I’m really excited about it,” he said.

Like “Ordinary Man”, which featured Watt on guitar, Duff McKagan (GUNS N’ ROSES) on bass and Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums, Ozzy‘s next album will feature guest appearances by a number of other notable musicians. “There’s a bunch of people involved,” Andrew told Guitar World. “I can’t say for sure until the end, but I started doing a bunch of basic tracks with Chad and Robert Trujillo [METALLICA], who used to play in Ozzy‘s band. And Taylor Hawkins [FOO FIGHTERS] also came in and played a bunch on the record as well, which adds a different flair — it kind of harkened back to Ozzy‘s ’80s era, in a great way. And I think it’s so cool for a rock fan to be able to listen to half an album with Chad Smith on drums, and then you flip it over and you get to hear Taylor Hawkins. And you know, the last album was really special for everyone involved. And so there was no point in Ozzy or me doing this again unless we thought we could bring something new to the table. And I feel like we’re achieving that.”

Wylde, who has played with Ozzy on and off for nearly 35 years, told Classic Rock that he wasn’t disappointed to be excluded from “Ordinary Man”. “Not at all,” he said. “I thought he and Andrew Watt did a great job. And I’m not on the new one either. Again it’s Ozz and Andrew. I understand why I’m not in the studio. Ozz once said to me that he didn’t want to be the lead singer in BLACK LABEL SOCIETY: ‘You have your own thing now, so go to it.’

“I don’t have to be involved in everything Ozz does. I’ll always be there for him and Sharon. If they call now and ask me to go over to feed their dogs for three days… I’m there.”

This past April, Zakk told SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he checked out some of the songs on “Ordinary Man” and liked what he heard. “It came out cool,” he said. “I saw the videos and everything like that. It’s cool, man. And Andrew and everything like that — yeah, it was rocking.”

(Thanks: Mark Strigl of Talking Metal)