Book Review #8: I Am Ozzy

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

Book Review #7: Tommyland

Tommyland (2004)

I won't even say this is a book review given the fact that I couldn't even get past Chapter 2. I knew this would be a very difficult book to get through, based solely on the introduction which centers around Tommy Lee having a full on conversation with his dick. Yes, his dick actually talks back to him. Ugh. 

By the middle of Chapter 2 I knew this book wasn't long for this world. Well, my world anyway. I love to read and will stick with pretty much any book that I start, but this is the first time in years that I actually quit a book. This is just something I don't do: quit. Also, even though I didn't get that far in reading the book, I hated those sidebars or what I call "intrusions" from the co-author of the book. This makes it even more of a reason not to continue onward.

I can only recommend this book to those that want to torture themselves. You've been warned.

Rating: 0 Stars out of 5

"Review" by Chiprocks1

Book Review #6: Juiced

Juiced (2005)

Taking a break from reading music related books and changing gears a bit to read about another passion of mine....Baseball.

Before I dive head first into reviewing this book, I have to prefaced it by saying that I am a huge fan of Baseball. So back in the day when this cat Jose Canseco exploded onto the Baseball stage, I, along with everyone else, saw the ungodly things he was doing to a baseball.

I can't say that I was ever a fan of his as a player or a celebrity personality. But he definitely couldn't be ignored with what he was doing at the time. So, that brings us to his book...

...Juiced. I never really felt the need to read the book. Everything has pretty much been laid out there by news media for all who are fans of Baseball or sports in general. But I decided to go ahead and give this book a shot at long last and see what all the hype surrounding it was. Good and bad.

Having just finished reading the book yesterday, my immediate thoughts were that this was a really fast read. I blew through it in just a day and a half. I couldn't put the book down. Does this mean that the book itself was that good? No. It was a page turner because it reads like that of a gossip magazine when dropping names of some of the biggest stars in the sport that didn't think twice about shooting up to give themselves an unfair advantage over those that chose not to do steroids.

The other thing that came across my mind at the end of the book was in how funny it was. Unintentional of course. I couldn't stop laughing at the man's stupidity and ignorance about steroids and himself. I knew he had an ego. What I didn't know was just how inflated his ego was *insert steroid joke here*.

Hearing him talk about what a stud he was/is and how awesome he is and how all the women want him was just a bit too much to take. I love how he says that he rejected Madonna. Uh huh. Okay, bub. Sure you did. I found it very humorous in that Jose was pissed that MLB, i.e. the commissioner didn't approach him specifically. Had he done so, Jose would have single handily stopped the strike of 1994. Delusional? Perhaps.

As for his writing skill, he is extremely repetitive throughout the entire book going on and on about the merits of steroids. And the way the pages were constructed, it came off disjointed at times, not being able to fully flesh out what he was trying to say. 

I can recommend the book if you have it at your local library and want a good laugh and a fast read. But I certainly wouldn't pay for this book. I was lucky to have it at my library as I would have been pissed to spend money on this one.

Rating 3 1/3 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #5: Highway To Hell - The Life And Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott

Highway To Hell - The Life And Times of AC/DC Legend Bon Scott (2001)

I knew better than to test fate one too many times by diving into another Music Biography written by someone other than a member of the band. Here it falls on the shoulders of Clifton Walker. I knew about the book from a while back, but know nothing of the author. Having just finished with this book, I am going to tell you what I think happened before the book was written and why it ended up the way it did after the fact without even bothering to research the origins of Highway To Hell. Anyone that reads this review and wants correct me, feel free to do so, as I have no intention of doing any research on this book or the author as I have already wasted enough of my time on this book as is.

But my take here (and this is pure speculation on my part, so don't get your panties in a bunch) about how the book came to be is that originally Clifton wanted to do a biography of AC/DC. When both Malcolm and Angus Young and the rest of the band refused to participate in putting the book together, Clifton was left with no other option but to turn it into a bio of Bon Scott instead.

So, with AC/DC no longer supporting this book, a good chunk of the book is now out the window, which means that he will have to really stretch Bon's back story to fill in the missing pages that otherwise would have been reserved for AC/DC. How else to explain the first 120 pages of the book? All of it flesh's out Bon's two bands prior to joining the powerhouse that is AC/DC? Both bands that Bon was a part of before joining served no purpose other to fatten the book that without it would have been a mere 200 pages total. Certainly this would look bad if this is all you could get out of something as big as AC/DC as your sole reason to buy the book.

I learned nothing about Bon in these 120 pages other than that he was really lonely and liked to drink a lot. Um, that's basically all we get from the author for the entire book. With the amount of people he interviewed, along with Bon's parents, I am STILL left in the dark about who and what made Bon tick as person and a singer. Something's not right when I can't learn anything other than that he likes to drink because he was always lonely. I knew that before reading the book.

This book for all it's hype about being "revered" and "acclaimed" is nothing but hogwash to me. If the majority of people out there accept this as the definitive AC/DC, Bon Scott story, then they have a lower expectation of what makes a good music biography. Even the section devoted to the landmark albums of Highway To Hell and Back In Black (along with pretty much the entire back catalog) is short on behind the scene stuff that went into making those albums. Even the Tours they went on really go no further than where they played and who they opened up for. The only "dirt" to be found was the short mention of the band getting into a fight with Geezer Butler. But nothing more is mention other than AC/DC was kicked off that Tour after the fact.

The only revelation that was news to me was that there was serious discussion of the band sacking Bon Scott and then later looking to send Brian Johnson packing. I've never heard this before till now. 

Toward the tail end of the book, the author paints both Young Brothers as being paranoid dictators and goes a step further in tearing down AC/DC as a band without Bon Scott leading the charge. That to me sounds like sour grapes on Clinton's part because a few certain people decided not to get involved with writing the book.

Stay away from this book. I can not recommend this book to anyone.

Rating 2 1/2 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #4: Freddie & Me

Freddie & Me (2008)

I had read a few reviews about Freddie & Me prior to checking it out for myself. I love comic books and I love Queen. So how can you lose when combining the two? Ya can't. Straight up, this was a very cute, touching and fun autobiography about Mike Dawson and his life as it related to his favorite band of all time: Queen. Even though all the reviews I had read were overwhelmingly positive, I was still a bit iffy on how this would play out before reading it. 

I will admit that the first 1/4th of the book was a bit slow and left me unsure where it was going. But somewhere along the way I got sucked in by the story that was unfolding. Fun book and I can recommend this to anyone else that's looking for a good, fun read.

It's not a perfect book, mind you. Some of the dialog, especially during the family scenes or general chi-chat scenes are a little too literal and on-the-nose for my taste. Other than that, you can't go wrong here. And another thing, about the artwork, it's not going to blow you out of the water if that's what you're looking for. It is what it is. But you can see the artist style start to really improve the further you get into the book and the amount of love he put into drawing it. 

I've come away from this book a fan. 

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #3: Led Zeppelin: When Giants Walked The Earth

Led Zeppelin: When Giants Walked The Earth (2009)

As with KISS And Make-Up, I never really had a desire to read the history of Led Zeppelin because I pretty much knew all the stories from various sources over the years, be it from on-camera interviews with members of the band or interviews from magazines and such. As far as When Giants Walked The Earth, I was even less inclined to read it for the simple fact that it was written by someone other than a member from Led Zeppelin.

This isn't a knock against the author Mick Wall. The dude did his research, albeit flawed and then some, with extensive interviews with people in and out of the band. But for me as a reader, it always loses something in the translation when another person writes about something as big as Led Zeppelin. What we are left with is the author's interpretation of what happened.

The book itself is a decent read when it's talking about the band in present day, reflecting on all the stories and myths synonymous with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. I actually couldn't put the book down reading it from page to page when it's all about the Zeppelin mystique and it's place in Rock history. But there were a couple of things that I absolutely did not like or even think was needed in the book. 

Whatever momentum I was getting reading the present day stuff, always came to a screeching halt when the book shifts to a narrated flashback as Mick Wall sees it. His words, not mine. Suddenly the book is now reading like a screenplay for a potential movie. This works fine if it were formatted as a screenplay. But for me, this just became unbearable after awhile. Whenever I could see that another flashback was about to rear it's ugly head, I started dreading having to read it.

This is a pretty fat book at 467 pages. So there were a lot of instances where I was beyond frustrated regarding the flashbacks. Sure, some people can and will argue that it's there simply to further flesh out that person's character and where they came from. But for me, it just doesn't work in a book/novel format. For you other readers, you may enjoy it. I for one do not.

The other thing that I found unnecessary was the amount of time spent on Aleister Crowley. It was just way too much and took me even further away from Led Zeppelin and all the crazy stories that went down on their Tours over the years. Sure, once again other readers will say that it belongs in the book because of the profound influence he had on Jimmy Page and his music regarding all that "Black Magic" crap. For me, I could care less. I get it. But I don't need to read page after page of what Crowley was like as a child and growing up to become this wizard and all that. It was totally unnecessary and a waste of time. 

And do we really need to know that Jimmy bought such and such castle and how he decided to give all the rooms it's own different theme? No. Stuff like this should have been cut out to make it tighter and more precise (i.e. a better read).

I was also curious as to just how far and how much of the Led Zeppelin legacy was going to be addressed in the book. It's all here from it's humble beginnings as The New Yardbirds all the way to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' Raising Sand, which by the way is the sole reason why there is no reunion as of 2011. Yes, even the reunions of Live Aid, Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary and O2 are dissected here.

I'm a huge fan of the band and thought I knew it all. But there were very few things that were new to me in this book. Overall, the book simply retells everything that even a minor fan of the band already knows. So, I would only recommend the book to those that have to have everything with the name Led Zeppelin plastered on it. Personally, I would never read this one again.

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks

Book Review #2: Kiss And Make-Up

 Kiss And Make-Up (2001)

I purposely avoided this book for years. I really didn't have any desire to read this given that I already knew more about KISS than Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley combined. But out of sheer boredom and nothing else to read, I decided to give this one a shot at long last. My first impression when picking the book up and holding it in my hands was how small the book looked. For a band like KISS and it's author Gene Simmons, I would expect nothing less than 500 pages. But this looked like a book that I would finish in just a few days (3 days to be exact).

Upon reading the book, I quickly realized that I wasn't going to get anything new from the man himself. Everything that you have ever heard about KISS and its humble beginnings, and you KISS fans know exactly what I'm talking about, you have seen and heard the stories told a million times over from Gene himself either in on-camera interviews or print from magazines and other books over the years.

I was hoping to get a more detailed account of most of the pivotal moments of the band's history. But that was not the case here. Most of the back history from his days as a child all the way to the Farewell Tour is pretty much glossed over, recounting stuff that most KISS fan's already know. And when the band isn't being talked about in the book, Gene is bragging about his sexual exploits. But the way he paints the picture of each woman he banged, it comes off as a bad cliché of a porn plot. After awhile it just becomes laughable every time he talks about yet another conquest. I'm not saying that none of this happened or that it didn't happen the way he describes. It's just left me laughing more than admiring his  ability to get any woman he wants.

The only thing that I found fascinating within the pages of KISS And Make-up was the dirt he dishes on Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. These are the only things that came off as "new" to me that I had never heard about. Sure I have heard both Gene and Paul slam both Ace and Peter for years and years. But getting first hand accounts of what Ace and Peter did to incur the wrath of Gene was somewhat eye opening here. But after awhile, it just seemed a bit harsh and started to feel more and more like character assassination on them for the sake of just getting back at them. I'm not saying that none of what Gene described didn't happen. But there are two sides to every story and it's why I anxiously await the release of Ace's book to hear what he has to say on the matter.

All in all, I would recommend this book only to those that know nothing about KISS and need a quick crash course on the band. For everyone else, I would just get it from the library, which is what I did here.

Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1

Book Review #1: Slash

Slash (2007)

I have been meaning to pick this up to read for quite some time. It's only NOW that I finally got around  to it. Was it worth the wait? Yeah. It's a pretty good read, especially for anyone that is a fan of Guns N' Roses, Slash or just the Rock and Roll lifestyle. It's all there and then some. I thought I knew everything there was to know about GN'R. There were a lot of things that I didn't even know about till I read the book. I took a lot of what I heard about the band over the years with a grain of salt because the information was coming from those that claimed to be on the inside or knew someone that was in the band, etc.... We all know how people like to make shit up just to get their names out there. So, it was nice to finally get all the dirt from the man himself once and for all. As good a read as it is, and it is a great read as I couldn't put it down at all, it's not a perfect book.

My only complaint about the book itself is in the structure of how it was written and put together. It's not a linear telling of the pivotal moments in the creation of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. There are times that Slash (or is it the doings of his co-writer?) would go off on tangents out of nowhere, not related to what he was talking about a moment ago. And other times he mentions a particular incident but that he will get back to that later in full detail, only to never touch upon it again. The other thing I wanted to hear more about was Slash's relationship with Michael Jackson and the songs that they did together. This is only mentioned twice in the book and was extremely short at that. Oh well.

Other than that I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that is a fan and even a non-fan. There are some lasting images that will stick with me forever after reading his book. Some funny (Slash dressing up in drag to sneak into a bar on ladies night) and some not so funny (Slash's numerous drug encounters).

One last thing. Slash mentions that they had a documentary crew filming pretty much everything during the Use Your Illusions Tour. But unfortunately it's locked away in the vault, which is where it will stay until the guys can get their shit together and get through all this legal bullshit. I'm salivating at the idea of seeing this footage of behind the scenes stuff. But I just don't ever see this happening. Before I read the book I have always said that we will see a reunion of the original GN'R...some day.

And now, after having read the book? Um...I'm going to say it's more like 5% chance of that ever happening. Ugh. But then again, if Van Halen and The Police can get back together, anything is possible.

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

Review by Chiprocks1