_Tribute to Randy Rhoads_ - Japanese import, 2000                 
Ten tracks from _Blizzard of Ozz_ and _Diary of a Madman_,        
produced by ace metal-forger Michael Wagener and performed by a   
rotating band of all-star headbangers.   Sebastian Bach rides     
"Crazy Train" and a couple others; Joe Lynn Turner laments        
"Diary of a Madman" plus  two more; Mark Slaughter reveals        
"Revelation(Mother Earth)"; etc. Axes are wielded by the likes    
of Rhoads' Brad Gillis replacement Jake E. Lee, ex-Accept-er      
Wolf Hoffman, George Lynch, Chris Impelliteri, Dimebag Darrel,    
et al.   Fabulous production with a _furiously _thick guitar      
sound.   Strong vocals, too, that are certainly technically       
superior to Ozzy's original, whinier takes.   (Hey, you can       
actually understand the lyrics!)  Alas, they still don't have     
the... passionate pain or... geeky enthusiasm that the Ozz-man    
brought.   Also, as the ten tracks are non-interpretive, be       
prepared for the inevitable note-for-note comparisons to the      
originals, both in performance and arrangement.   Makes for a     
nice, if not surprising, revelation that Ozzy and Randy's         
two-album collaboration was even _more_ remarkable in             
hindsight. Reviewed 6/00.