I Am Ozzy (2010)
How fitting it is to come from reading one of the worst books ever in that of Tommyland to this one, I Am Ozzy, which is the epitome of how to write a book. I Am Ozzy is hands down the best Rock Biography I have ever read. From page one to the very end of the book, there is not one wasted moment. Everything I read in I Am Ozzy is perfect. It's engaging, entertaining and more often than not, extremely funny.
I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud at some of the stories Ozzy would recount throughout the book. And there are moments of just his dialog alone with whoever he was having a conversation with would leave me in stitches. One in particular that comes to mind is the "Brick is a dick" conversation. I chuckle now just thinking about it. "He's a dick, that brick" Haha.
I have to take my hat off to the co-writer of the book, Chris Ayres for editing and trimming away any and all unnecessary fat from the book to make this the most concise read ever. I can't tell you how fast I was reading this one as every page was page turner.
I thought I knew all there was to know about Ozzy, but I came away after reading the book knowing him a little better. There were a handful of stories that even I hadn't heard about tell now.
If there is one negative about I Am Ozzy, it was the lack of stories about Randy Rhoads. He was the sole reason why I wanted to read this book in the first place, so I was expecting to get a lot of inside information about Randy here. That was not the case. Ozzy really only talks about him a couple of times regarding his arrival into the band and then of course the tragic plane crash that took his life away too soon. I know that Ozzy still doesn't talk much about him to this day because it's too painful for him and I can respect that he still can't bring himself to really lay it all out there now, even in a book. He did lose his best friend and that's got to really weigh heavily on him, even 30 years after the fact. So I won't hold it against him here.
I guess I can still get my Randy Rhoads fix in Off The Rails by Rudy Sarzo, but it may take awhile since my local Library doesn't have it yet.
As for I Am Ozzy, I highly recommend this book to everyone. You don't have to even be a fan of the man himself to enjoy his stories and the chaos that follows him around. This book is so good that I look forward to reading it again...and again.....
Rating 5 Stars out of 5
Review By Chiprocks1