Five Good Covers: “Crazy Train” (Ozzy Osbourne)

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

It’s hard to remember where 1980 Ozzy Osbourne was (even if you’re not Ozzy Osbourne). When he released his first solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, expectations could not have been much lower. His last few albums with Black Sabbath saw him flabby and uninspired, vocally and otherwise. He was drinking and drugging at a literally unbelievable rate (the discovery that he’s a genetic mutant was still years away), and Black Sabbath had just cause to fire him. But he still knew how to put together a band. And when he found a five-foot-seven, 105-pound genius of a guitarist in Randy Rhoads, he assured that his own star would shine for a few decades more.

“Crazy Train” features not one but two hall of fame riffs from Rhoads, and Osbourne singing lyrics that could have made him sound like a hippie in another context (“Maybe it’s not too late / To learn how to love and forget how to hate”). But ohhhhh, that context! Bob Daisley, who played bass and claims lyrical credit, said, “As a child, I remember the feeling of fear. I knew Ozzy would like that [concept] because he felt like that, too, having been through it himself. He was kind of frightened about the threat of World War III and how we, as young people, had inherited these troubles, influenced by the threat of nuclear holocaust throughout our lives.” Years later, Ozzy would elaborate: “To me the ultimate sin is nuclear weapons. This is the ultimate sin. I don’t know about Ozzy Osbourne being crazy. Don’t you think these lunatics are crazier, building these bombs to blow us all [up]?”

The Cold War ain’t what it used to be, and “Crazy Train” left that paranoid shadow behind long ago. Now it’s known best for its sheer Ozzyness. His signature solo work has raked in cover songs by the dozens. Some of them are better than others (right, Pat Boone?); hopefully you’ll consider these five among the better ones.

The Flatirons – Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)

If you’re a longtime reader of this site and think the topic looks familiar, you’re not wrong. Way back in 2010, Cover Me posted five good covers of “Crazy Train.” More than one reader wrote in to suggest we’d missed one: the Flatirons’ alt-country version. Allmusic called it “A daring take [that] translates into a country-rock format so well that it’s hard to imagine it in any other way.” So here’s our belated addition with thanks.

NiNi Music – Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)

NiNi Music hails from Taiwan. Since the age of 7 she’s been mastering traditional Chinese musical instruments, using them to blend traditional sounds with modern rock music. She says, with well-earned pride, that she is the first person in the world to electrify the ruan, sanxian, and liuqin and use them for pop and heavy metal. If you like her take on “Crazy Train,” watch her flooring everybody in sight on America’s Got Talent.

Church of Roswell – Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)

Maybe you think “Crazy Train” would have been a lot better if it had male/female harmonies and got cranked down to about three. If so, the Church of Roswell cover will be just your speed. Josh Doyle, a former Brit pop-punker turned Nashvillager, and Candi Carpenter, who’s since moved into modern alt-pop with this year’s Demonology LP, had a lovely intersection at Americana and Folk that produced the EP Here Comes Church of Roswell and this “Crazy Train” cover. It’s hard to tell if this is a blip in their respective careers or the start of something more. We hope it’s the latter – the world needs more harmonies like these.

Zella Day – Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)

It’s pretty remarkable how well the lyrics to “Crazy Train” move from genre to genre. Here’s an alt-pop look at it from Zella Day, whose video puts the cray-cray back in the song. Seriously–her eyes at the end…. Well, it’s a good thing she wears sunglasses for the first half of this. The YouTube commenters are notably impressed, praising her Stevie Nicks-esque voice and her ability to make the song her own.

Gamazda – Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover)

While on the hunt for good “Crazy Train” covers, I encountered a post that promised, “This Is the Greatest Cover of Ozzy Osborne’s ‘Crazy Train’ You’ll Ever See.” Misspelling aside, the work of Russian pianist Alexandra Kuznetsova, playing under the nom de keys Gamazda, is very impressive. You can very much hear the classical chords that so inspired Randy Rhoads in his playing.

Check out our complete series paying tribute to every 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in covers!

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