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Monday, February 1, 2010

MisenPOPic Book Review: I Am Ozzy


What a surprise it was to hit my local Borders and notice that Ozzy Osbourne has written his memoirs. Considering all of the drugs and alcohol Ozzy has been rumored to have used over the past thirty years, how could he even remember anything that happened? Because you can only gain so much information from Wikipedia and I'm a sucker for books about hard rock, I spent the past few days at Barnes & Noble and Borders reading it. I'm not the biggest fan of Ozzy even if I own all of his albums, but wanted to learn more about his history. Although I take Ozzy's words with a grain of salt, I still was intrigued by his recount of what he thinks happened in his past. I just read the book as if it were a work of fiction. Ozzy sure has lived a crazy lifestyle and it's shocking that he wasn't another rock & roll casualty.

I figured the book would really delve into his recent struggles, his children, and the popular reality show of his in the early 90's. But only a little bit was written about the show, and what was indicated was that Ozzy really didn't care too much for it. What really interested me was his upbringing in a poor working-class section of England and how he wasn't expected to make much out of life. I found out more on how Black Sabbath was formed as well as how Black Sabbath kicked Ozzy out of the band. I also learned more about Ozzy's relationship with Randy Rhoades who was Ozzy's guitarist on his first two albums before dying in a freak plane accident. Of course, he talks about biting the head off of a dove, chewing the head of a bat that he thought was a rubber toy and getting rabies, and of course pissing on the Alamo. Ozzy goes into much detail about all of the drugs he snorted, all the liquor he consumed, and all of the relationships he ruined due to his addictive behavior. You really understand how important his wife Sharon was to saving not only Ozzy's career, but also his life. Ozzy comes off as a tragic figure who never meant to hurt a soul and had a heart of gold, but just could not stop abusing his body with drugs and alcohol. For those who have seen Ozzy on TV over the past few years, he is an absolute mess and is truly fortunate to be still be on this earth.

Ozzy's biography was a quick read. Again, I'm not sure how much of it was true, but Ozzy and his co-writer put together a nice little story blended with a lot of humor. If you also love reading about bodily fluids, poop, horrid sex acts, and utter destruction of one's body, this is the book for you. Although not as good as Motley Crue's book The Dirt, Ozzy's book is a must read for hard rock fans.

Grade: B

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