Ozzy Osbourne Plans Extras-Packed ‘No More Tears’ Reissue for 30th Anniversary

Ozzy Osbourne will commemorate the 30th anniversary of his mega-selling No More Tears album with a special vinyl reissue and by releasing nearly a dozen rare tracks to streaming services for the first time.

The upgraded digital release will come out on September 17th, the date of the original release. The LP edition, also due out on the same day, will be available as a two-disc set on black vinyl and as a Tower exclusive, now available for preorder, on heavyweight red and yellow vinyl with a special photo booklet.

The record is home to the hits “I Don’t Want to Change the World,” “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” “Road to Nowhere,” and the title track, all of which have become setlist staples for the Prince of Darkness. The expanded edition features demo versions of many of the hits, as well as live recordings from Osbourne’s No More Tours tour in 1992.

“I have a lot of great memories of making the album,” Osbourne said in a statement. “We worked hard on the record with [producers] John Purdell and Duane Baron, who became extra two members of the band. Before we went into the studio, we discussed what we were going to do — everything was planned. … But there was also lots of goofing around and we had a good time making it. And [guitarist] Zakk [Wylde’s] playing on it is spectacular.”

“Whatever you’re hearing on the record is pretty much first thing [Ozzy] started singing that naturally came out of him, that he started hearing in his head, which is amazing,” Wylde recalled. “My love for him and admiration for him has just gotten even stronger and bigger over the years. It’s bigger than the music.”

Osbourne and Wylde also marveled at how “Mama, I’m Coming Home,” a song Osbourne had dedicated to his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, became a hit with servicemen serving overseas. “At that time, a lot of people were going to Iraq war,” Osbourne recalled. “We heard that the GIs were sending that song to their wives. Soldiers still love that song.”

Wylde recalled how he had originally worked out the song’s music on a piano. “I had the music, and then when we got to the studio, I transposed it to the 12-string guitar,” he said. “I was like ‘Oh, let me try it on the 12-string and see what it sounds like.’ That’s how it evolved into the song, originally it was just me and Ozz noodling on the piano.”

Once they worked out the lyrics and melodies, Osbourne and Wylde brought in Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister to work on the lyrics; Kilmister ended up penning the words to four tracks on the album, including the Grammy-winning “I Don’t Want to Change the World” and “Hellraiser,” which he recorded with Motörhead as well. “When I was writing with Ozzy [for Osbourne’s No More Tears album], his manager just sent me a tape and I put it on and it was him going [Ozzy impression] ‘Aaaeeeaaeeeaah,’ like that, and then you have to figure out words that will fit,” Kilmister once told Rolling Stone. “It took 10 minutes, I think.”

No More Tears expanded digital release Tracklist:

1. “Mr. Tinkertrain”
2. “I Don’t Want to Change the World”
3. “Mama, I’m Coming Home”
4. “Desire”
5. “No More Tears”
6. “Won’t Be Coming Home (S.I.N)”
7. “Hellraiser”
8. “Time After Time”
9. “Zombie Stomp”
10. “A.V.H.”
11. “Road to Nowhere”
12. “Don’t Blame Me” *
13. “Party With the Animals” *
14. “I Don’t Want to Change the World (demo)” **
15. “Mama, I’m Coming Home (demo)” **
16. “Desire (demo)” **
17. “Time After Time (demo)” **
18. “Won’t Be Coming Home (S.I.N) (demo)” **
19. “Mrs J. (demo)” **
20. “I Don’t Want to Change the World (live)” †
21. “Road to Nowhere (live)” †
22. “No More Tears (live)” †
23. “Desire (live)” †
24. “Mama, I’m Coming Home (live)” ††

* bonus tracks currently on the digital release
** demos from the 1991 promo CD The No More Tears Demo Sessions (also the Prince of Darkness box set), not currently on streaming services
† live audio from Memoirs of a Madman DVD, San Diego 1992, not currently on streaming services
†† live audio from Memoirs of a Madman DVD, MTV 1992, not currently on streaming services