Is 13 Ozzy's Lucky Number? Ozzy Osbourne's Patient Number 9 Review

The Prince of Darkness is back. Patient Number 9 is Ozzy Osbourne's 13th studio album. Released on September 9, 2022. It features a distinguished cast of musicians and songwriters who contributed to the recording.

Musicians playing on the record include: Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, Taylor Hawkins, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith, Robert Trujillo and Mike McCready.

So, is the number 13 an unlucky number for Ozzy? Well, apparently not. This is Ozzy's first number 1 record on Billboard. Plus, the album is receiving a lot of positive reviews. So, what do I think? Let's find out.

1. Patient Number 9: Starts off with some creepy music and Ozzy in an insane asylum. Good acoustic guitar in the beginning and then kicks in with a cool riff for the song. Sounds kind of comic bookish. Otherwise, the chorus is catchy and Jeff Beck is stupendous. 
2. Immortal: Good song. Great guitar solo by Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. First verse revisits Ozzy's bat biting incident. 
3. Parasite: Monster of a song. Zakk comes in with his Zakk Attack. 
4. No Escape from Now: This song has a heavy chorused vocal effect in the verse. Reminiscent of "Planet Caravan" off Black Sabbath's Paranoid. Nice acoustic guitars. Tony Iommi is stellar. End of the song kicks into a nice Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath boogie.
5. One of those Days: Eric Clapton gives his own take on shredding as only Eric Clapton can. Very nice!
6. A Thousand Shades: Good song. Tasteful and memorable Jeff Beck solo. 
7. Mr. Darkness: Cool guitar picking. Heavy pre-chorus and chorus. 
8. Nothing Feels Right: Another nice guitar arpeggio opening. Has a bit of a Lynyrd Skynyrd type feel a la "Coming Home."
9. Evil Shuffle: Heavy, apocalyptic with a touch of doom. 
10. Degradation Blues: One of my favorites and the big hit single with Tony Iommi. Nice to hear Ozzy on the harmonica on this track. This song reminds me of "The Wizard" off the first Black Sabbath record. Tony Iommi is the riff master. 
11. Dead and Gone: Cool, dreamy opening. 
12. Good Only Knows: OK song. Good verse. Chorus is alright. 
13. Darkside Blues: Spooky blues. One of the more interesting songs on the recording. It is just an acoustic guitar with some slide and Ozzy singing. They sound very distant and otherworldly. It is as if Ozzy is singing the blues in the afterlife. I picture him in a sweaty and swampy shack where they play live blues somewhere along the southern Mississippi in a far off dimension. 

Stand out tracks are: Patient Number 9, Immortal, Parasite, and Nothing Feels Right. Plus, all the guitars from Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton and Zakk Wylde. 

Overall, it is a solid album. Catchy melodies, good hooks and concrete guitar riffs. I have not been keen on any of Ozzy's newer material since "No More Tears." But I like Patient Number 9. However, with Ozzy at 73 and battling a slew of health issues, he sounds great and is ready to rock. 

Is this something I will reach for in the future? Probably not, but I will enjoy it for the moment.  It is always good to hear new material from Ozzy Osbourne. Keep kicking ass Ozzy Osbourne.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

Musicians

• Ozzy Osbourne–lead vocals, harmonica
• Andrew Watt–guitar (all tracks)
• Zakk Wylde–guitar (tracks 1-3, 6-9, 11, 12)
• Jeff Beck–guitar (tracks 1, 6)
• Tony Iommi–guitar (tracks 4, 10)
• Mike McCready–guitar (track 2)
• Eric Clapton–guitar (track 5)
• Josh Homme–guitar (track 12)
• Robert Trujillo–bass (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9-12)
• Duff McKagan–bass (tracks 2 & 5)
• Chris Chaney–bass (track 8)
• Chad Smith–drums (tracks 1, 2, 3-6, 8-11)
• Taylor Hawkins–drums (tracks 3, 7, 12)
• James Poyser–organ (tracks 5, 7)

Produced by Andrew Watt