Mr. Crowley
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| “Mr. Crowley” | |||||
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| Single by Ozzy Osbourne from the album Blizzard of Ozz |
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| B-side | "You Said it All" | ||||
| Released | September 20, 1980 & August 22, 1995 (re-issue) | ||||
| Format | 7" Vinyl (45RPM) | ||||
| Recorded | March 22 to April 19, 1980 | ||||
| Genre | Heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 4:55 | ||||
| Label | Jet, Epic | ||||
| Writer(s) | Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, Bob Daisley | ||||
| Producer | Max Norman | ||||
| Ozzy Osbourne singles chronology | |||||
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Mr. Crowley is a 1980 heavy metal song performed by Ozzy Osbourne (with Bob Daisley contributing lyrics, and Randy Rhoads the music), released on the album Blizzard of Ozz. The song is one of Osbourne's first two singles as a solo artist following his expulsion from Black Sabbath. It reached #46 on the UK charts.
The chord patterns in this song are based on the much used Pachelbel's Canon chords.
Mr. Crowley seems to cast the life of the British occultist Aleister Crowley in a critical light; Osbourne asks Crowley, "Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure?" and invites Crowley to "ride my white horse". It is commonly thought to refer to Crowley's addiction to heroin which was a prescribed medication for him. The line is open to interpretation, as Osbourne indicates in the following line, "It's symbolic, of course." Osbourne ends the song with a plea to the long-dead Crowley, "Was it polemically sent?/I wanna know what you meant", perhaps referring to Crowley's often-controversial doctrines. Osbourne also says in the reissue of Blizzard of Ozz that, in Black Sabbath, he had a roadie named Frank who'd worked with Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page had given him a book signed "To Frank, Polemically Yours".
The guitar solo in "Mr. Crowley" is ranked number 28 on Guitar World Magazine's 100 poll of the "100 greatest guitar solos". According to band mythology, Osbourne was dissatisfied with the first guitar solo that Randy Rhoads recorded for the song. Rhoads, in angry protest, went into the studio right away and banged out the famous solo. Afterwards, he stormed out and asked how that solo was. Osbourne smiled and said: "This is it!".[citation needed]
Famous covers include Moonspell (Darkness and Hope, 2001) and Cradle of Filth (Nymphetamine Special Edition, 2005). Tim 'Ripper' Owens (with Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar), Joe Lynn Turner, George Lynch and The Cardigans have also recorded covers of the song.
Also, in the game Guilty Gear XX, the character I-No plays part of the ending solo to "Mr. Crowley" as one of her win poses.
[edit] Personnel
- Ozzy Osbourne - vocals
- Randy Rhoads - guitar
- Bob Daisley - bass
- Don Airey - keyboards
- Lee Kerslake - drums
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