Review: I Am Ozzy

Ozzy Osbourne is undoubtedly a legend, both in his own right as well as a musician with one of the most awesome old school bands in history. This book takes us down the path that one man travelled as a child into his adulthood, with a group of friends, a group that was a band with a dream.

Following his criminal years as a delinquent teenager and the inability to hold down a job, we see how Ozzy had a dream and no way of knowing how to make it happen, but being relentless about it nonetheless. On the fateful day that Tony Iommi came looking for a lead singer, it was truly looking doubtful that he was ever going anywhere. Soon the band Black Sabbath was born, and together a group of friends rode the journey through to fame and fortune, marriages, divorces, drug sprees and families. Getting incredibly big very quickly, this book tells how they dealt with it, how they made their music, who contributed what, what an amazing songwriter Geezer was, what the band and fame represented to them, what it was like to record and tour and live on the road.

Ozzy gives an intimate look into how his family came to be as well as the desecration of it, but how he will always love his children. His intense regrets for certain things in his life are highlighted, and remorse at some of his deeds is brought to the fore. There is also pride for certain things, and a blatant questioning of “what the hell” for so many others. Ozzy shows here that not everything was so amazing as you would think being the Prince of Darkness, yet at other times it is clear that he is thrilled and amazed at the opportunities that he got and the things that he did.

I Am Ozzy is the life of Ozzy Osbourne, truly compacted and presented concisely, many questions are answered as to his feelings of being kicked from Black Sabbath, being replaced by Ronnie James Dio as well as how he clawed his way back into the game with his own band and how his fame changed him. Ozzy’s tumultuous relationship with Sharon is also discussed here, and you cannot help but see exactly how and why they ended up together.

It was an incredibly entertaining read, whether you read it all as fact or as a great storyteller telling his life’s tales as he experienced them, it is totally worth the read. Heavily enjoyable, I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. You cannot help it, and there is no way that there will not be a time when you have to laugh. The history of Ozzy Osbourne from a young boy, to a criminal and later to a young man with a  dream and a PA system his dad managed to scrape cash together for, it is an ongoing adventure from the get go. The success of Black Sabbath to the firing of Ozzy which gave rise to his successful solo career and back into the folds of Sabbath, Ozzy takes you on a rollercoaster ride that you cannot help but enjoy. The funny, the sweet, the absolutely nasty, it is all in here. This is really a wonderful book to read about his journey. I liked the writing style, the words just flowed and it was easy to read, but not childish. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath.