Essentially an amped-up
karaoke
night in
the Osbournes
' basement lair,
Under Cover
is impeccably engineered and effortlessly played -- ex-
Alice in Chains
axe slinger
Jerry Cantrell
provides impressive guitar work throughout, making a strong case as to whether this is his baby or
Ozzy
's. All of the tracks here, with the exception of
"Rocky Mountain Way,"
"Sunshine of Your Love,"
"Woman,"
and
"Go Now,"
appeared on 2005's
Prince of Darkness
box set. Guest appearances abound, with
Mott the Hoople
's
Ian Hunter
choking out his original refrain on
"All the Young Dudes"
in a style that can only be described as "endearingly awkward homeless man,"
Mountain
Leslie West
turning the amps up to 11 on
"Mississippi Queen,"
blues-rock
wunderkind
Robert Randolph
laying down some serious pedal steel on
"Sympathy for the Devil."
The Ozz
himself is in good form, but as is the case with much of his later work, he sounds more like the tool than the fist. It's good to give a nod to your inspirations, but when it's a performer like
Osbourne
, who has made the uncomfortable shift from artist to product, the sentiment -- however genuine -- gets lost in the marketing. ~ James Christopher Monger