I Am Ozzy
by Ozzy Osbourne
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ozzy OsbourneContributor: Chris Ayres
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-01-25
ISBN: 0446569895
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Product features:
- Signed by Ozzy Osbourne
- First American Edition
- Dust Jacket--Like New
Book Reviews of I Am Ozzy
Book Review: "And the weather's looking fine, and I think the sun will shine again."
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been a fan of Ozzy's since 1984 and endured lots of name-calling ("devil worshipper" among many others) in my dysfunctional Catholic grade school for liking him at a time when he was the world's prime example of a social pariah.
With Ozzy credentials in hand, I will say that I both loved this book and I was let down by it at the same time. I wasn't let down because of the media hype over the years (which turned out to be utter b.s., as is about 99.9% of the information and "facts" they pass on to the public), but I expected someone who was a bit more firm.
I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but what I saw was a bit disappointing (and, no, I wasn't expecting the usual stereotypical stuff from Ozzy). Perhaps it always sucks when you realize the people you attached a certain label to when you were younger turn out to be human after all (not that Ozzy ever pretended to be anything else but human, saying as much with his autobiographical song, "Hero," originally a bonus track on the audio tape of "No Rest For the Wicked").
With that said, I had tears in my eyes as I read every other page because he did NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, live what can be considered a "normal" life. Things just didn't happen to Ozzy, they HAPPENED to him - times a thousand! (I don't want to ruin it for potential readers, but your mouth will drop wide open at the stuff he's seen and experienced.)
I will never listen to Ozzy-led Black Sabbath albums the same way again (always thinking of the inspiration behind them) and the same with his solo albums. It was interesting reading about the inspiration behind particular albums and how the albums were eventually shaped into what fans have been listening to for forever.
There was a certain innocence in this book (for all my complaining at the beginning of this review): John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne turns out to be a kid from Aston, Birmingham, England who made it really big and barely has been able to sort things out since he became a celebrity. He never forgot where he came from - and coming from a celebrity of his caliber was a pleasure to read when you think of so many overrated never-weres who insist on being treated as gods. I was surprised to learn he had so many siblings and the issue of indoor plumbing was a treat to read about in culturally superior England (in the 1950's, to boot!).
The names he dropped at the beginning were mind-blowing. It read like a Who's Who of early British classic rock.
Two things really touched me: I always knew how much he missed Randy Rhodes, but I never knew how deep that love and respect for him went (and I'm now *really* baffled as to that accident after Ozzy explained what went down).
Second, Ozzy's love of The Beatles, especially his picture with Paul McCartney with the simple caption, "My rock 'n' roll hero," which instantly put tears of joy in my eyes. He made me understand perfectly the impact The Beatles had on fellow Brits and why so many of them looked to music as a way out after they heard the Fab Four.
It's got to be hard disclosing so much embarrassing stuff to millions of people worldwide (and especially with five children who, hopefully, are used to this by now and are past the point of asking, "Why, Dad?"), but Ozzy's honesty was refreshing.
Besides his honesty, I really appreciated the fact that he didn't get on a moral high horse about quitting drugs and alcohol. THAT alone is worth the price of the book.
The only thing I wish he would have addressed was the way he was crucified (pun intended) by those goofy televangelists in the 1980s and how he eventually won over that hypocrite Jimmy Swaggart ("Now Jimmy he got busted with his pants down. Repent ye wretched sinner, self-righteous clown"), but he got his digs in at those losers at the P.M.R.C., so that was good enough. (Besides, how much can you fit into one tome?)
By the way, Ozzy: What was up with the diss towards Yes and hippies along with Scott MacKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)?"
Finally a polite warning: Do not read this book if you can't deal with descriptions of animal cruelty (even though Ozzy sincerely regrets it today).
Thanks, Ozzy, for a glimpse into your life. I will treasure your book always. Now how long is it going to take to adopt this book into a movie? - Donna Di Giacomo
Summary of I Am Ozzy
"They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies . . .' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the f**king things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night.It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty f**king years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at f**king two miles per hour.
People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of sixty, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn't have put money on me, no f**king way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.
A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working-class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."
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