Ozzy Osbourne – I am Ozzy
Grand Central Publishing
www.ozzy.com
Rating: B
When I
first heard this book was being released I thought, “Ozzy can’t
even read a book so how in the hell can he write one?” In
truth, I am probably pretty close to the truth, however, I
forgot about the cynical Hollywood world in which we live. In
order for Ozzy to write a book all he needs is someone willing
to roll the tape recorder, listen and then decipher the
dialogue, put it in order and type it up. In this case it was
Chris Ayres, who did an amazing job and pulled off the daunting
task of taking Ozzy’s story and putting it in a format that was
both readable and in the Oz Man’s own voice.
The book
does not really give much away if you are an Ozzy fan and have
followed his career. The die-hards already know most of this
stuff yet it is pretty cool to hear it straight from the
rocker’s mouth. Ozzy Zig Needs A Gig was his first
attempt to break into Birmingham’s up and coming rock scene. It
worked as it re-introduced him to schoolmate Tony Iommi. The
guitarist was not thrilled that the “Ozzy” in the ad was the
same weird kid he went to school with but Ozzy had a PA so he
was forced to join forces with him.
One of the
most interesting aspect of the book is Ozzy’s odd relationship
with his mother and her badgering him for money. Ozzy even
admits he should have given her more. Also of note is Ozzy’s
openness on the plane crash that killed Randy Rhoads and his
discourse on former band mate Bob Daisley.
All in all,
this is a good read. Plenty of Ozzy humor is contained in the
pages and it is as good an oral history as one is going to get
out of the drug-addled brain of Ozzy Osbourne. This one is
worth a read.
-
Jeb Wright
