[youtube]https://youtu.be/i4lNpMTDy_o[/youtube]
Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tears just might be his crowning achievement. There’s not a bad song on the album, which turns 24 today. Lemmy co-wrote four songs on it, including “Mama, I’m Coming Home” and “Hellraiser” (which Motorhead eventually did their own version of), But the focal point of the quadruple platinum masterpiece is arguably the title track. The seven minute-plus song is anchored by its distinctive bassline, and has an orchestral break in the middle followed by one of the best solos of Zakk Wylde’s career solos. It’s hard to improve on perfection, and South Bend, Indiana jam band Umphrey’s McGee doesn’t do that. It’s hard to capture Ozzy’s vocals, which is pretty much the only place where their cover falls flat (hell, even Ozzy can’t capture Ozzy’s vocals these days). That said, it’s a pretty damned impressive cover musically, even handling the middle orchestral transition without it being too jarring.
