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
The Hash Brownies story is really great.......Ozzy coming in and the priest sitting there with Sharron with crumbs on his plate.....I liked Ozzy pulling her in the kitchen and telling her...."it had a skull and cross bones on the top of the container...."
ReplyDeleteI need to find that book to read it again...I have no idea where mine is...it's even signed by Ozzy.
and of course like I mentioned that dog story is f*cking hysterical....I think maybe because Ozzy did the show...you can really picture all the stuff happening and him sort of bumbling his way through this stuff...even as a younger guy.....we've all sorta grown up with him...I've been a fan since 1980 I think...something like that....maybe earlier...I can't remember when I bought paranoid...I do remember the day though...my dad took my to licorice pizza and I bought that and Jimi Hendrix smash hits
:)
Yeah, that dog story and the Vicar story were top notch. They were so funny that at times I was questioning if they actually happened or not. I can only imagine the sight of Ozzy carrying the "dead" Vicar and dumping him onto his porch and then hightailing it out of there before anyone caught him in the act.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the week that that follows Ozzy, worrying about what really happened to the Vicar would give anyone panic attacks.