Black Sabbath: The Inside Story of the Legend Ozzy Osbourne

If you're a Sabbath fan, this is well worth reading. The reasons for this are that, apart from the story being interesting anyway, Mick Wall is a good journalist (I remember him well from his days at Kerrang!) and he was involved with the band at the time, so writes with some authority. There was a lot in here I didn't know. The only criticism I have is that he 'reviews' each album, and while I agree with some of his views, I completely disagree with others (e.g. his opinions of 'Headless Cross'). He is generally disparaging of the 'Tony Martin' years, which a lot of older Sabbath fans are, but there are many of us who love those albums (with the possible exception of 'Forbidden'). I feel his views and opinions of the albums are at odds with the factual and interview-based text. Other than that minor point, this is a great read and highly recommended.

As you would expect from someone of Mick Walls pedigree, this is a very well written book in terms of page turning value. His Iron Maiden biog is excellent. Obviously the Sabbath story has enough twists and turns to keep you interested, but Wall knows what he's doing in structuring a book to keep the reader enthralled as well as just being a good writer. Not only that, this book covers the whole history of the band and a fair bit on solo stuff, too (possibly too much at one point). Now here's the thing, though- the reason for my review is that this is written firstly from the perspective of a journalist (bad) but secondly from the perspective of someone who was 'there' for some of it and lived through other bits. This is not a nerd-like factual book from an obsessive fan when every detail is discussed, but a look at the band from a personal point of view. Something which hasn't actually been done before, other than actual band member biographies. The problem with this is that it tends to toe the band-myth line rather than looking for the truth and I get the impression that he knows certain people involved with the band and is having to push a certain point of view which isn't entirely accurate in a way that an impartial obsessive wouldn't need to. Certain things are glossed over such as Geoff Nicholl's role in the writing of Heaven and Hell (and the rest) and he's relegated to being a comical side man to Tony Iommi's folly. Very entertaining if this were fiction. Not 100% untrue, but the positives of his role seem to have been forgotten. I get the impression that Wall feels that he can't have played a role in writing H&H because he wasn't visible on stage and isn't the subject of rock hero-worship silliness. His opinions on individual albums tend to be black and white to support the views of the press rather than fans. Technical Ecstasy is viewed as consistently awful, even the overplayed Dirty Women. If it's so terrible, why play it at every full length Ozzy concert for so long? There's a certain nuance missing and it seems deliberate - Tony Martin is seen as a good-enough singer with no charisma as opposed to a singer with an astonishing range in the studio who lacks the front man charisma of Dio or Ozzy (See the difference?). Headless Cross is judged on the terrible 80s video rather than the excellent music and this is coming from someone who hates the 80s. In fact, he is much more warming to Eternal Idol which would make sense to a journalist if not a fan as that was the last album on a 'big' label until the 90s. There's also full-on factual errors such as Nightmare (from Eternal Idol) being a stab at a MTV-style power ballad (confused with Feels Good To Me, I assume), Supernaut apparently not having a guitar solo (!) or the Cross Purposes tour not having a date in London (a nonexistent date which was filmed and released!). Amusingly reminiscent of the journalist who reviewed a terrible show that was actually cancelled. There's bits I'm unsure about such as stating that the Forbidden tour was a flop (I thought it was actually extremely successful despite the album's complete failure). All this can be forgiven, but there's one thing that stops this excellent book from getting 5 stars- it's the strange attitude towards Tony Iommi. It's almost like he's Ozzy's publicity writer from the 80s (okay so he actually was so it's not that strange!) We actually hear very little about Tony's pre-Bill Ward childhood and get several pages about pre-Ozzy Randy Roads. That section is a great read, but hardly proportionate for a book about Black Sabbath. He's almost made out to be the fool 'who's massive ego' foolishly thought he could sack Ozzy and Dio. We know this is not the case. He even slags off his playing ability - he sees him as a poor soloist next to Blackmore or Page - which, as someone who probably knows around 90% of all three guitarists repertoire, I can state that this is not true- particularly in the 80s... I suspect the point is that it is more about telling the story than actual facts which would be why this was said during the Seventh Star period of the book but not Heaven and Hell or Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (or Dehumaniser!). There's very little acknowledging Iommi being the raison d'etre of Black Sabbath in the way everyone else does. Nothing wrong with having a different opinion, of course, but it is a bit odd in a book about Black Sabbath. Regardless, this book still gets four stars because it's a cracking read with loads of great info, particularly the period of first six albums and the solo information. If he wrote a biog of Dio, for example, I'd buy it. In the end, a good read is a good read and I enjoyed it. I'd still go to Garry Sharpe-Young's much more nerdy book for Sabbath related facts, though.

This has been such a treat for me; it’s rekindled my love of the heavy rock world, as I was an avid Kerrang! reader in the 80s. I wasn’t a particularly great fan of Sabbath though, and I didn’t care for Ozzy in those days, but reading Mick Wall’s account, I am reminded of the times, and I’m loving the reminiscing of those rose-tinted, heady days. Mick does a great job, complimenting and criticising in equal measure where needed: also, parts can be harrowing, and Mick tackles these aspects sincerely. His love for the protagonists comes through though, and I feel Mick succeeds in bringing out the humanity of all members. Thanks Mick: going off to listen to overlooked tracks right now!

Great read about pioneers of Heavy Metal. Easy to read. Some funny stories & good information on albums & concert tours. Recommend if you want to find out more about Sabbath.

... Its all in here, all the stuff from the various autobiographies and other books ... but the advantage is that Mick Wall witnessed it all, heard it all, remembered it all and expressed it all. He is the ultimate insider journalist and writer. Everything he has written in this book is, I believe, accurate as I don't think Mick Wall was out of his mind on various substances and this book was his mission. To be fair to Mick he really gives Tony Martin a good crack of the whip in this book, and he does the same with Ronnie James Dio. It is not all Ozzy which is really refreshing as those two gentlemen are massively important to the Sabbath story. Overall, a magnificent achievement and a very fair one.

Always been a Sabbath fan since high school. I'm 64 and still rock out to them. As for the book it's a bittersweet thing about it. I ordered on July 5 and it arrived from Australia on July 22.. the day Ozzy passed. How ironic. So far the book is keeping me very entertained to learn facts I didn't know about. Happy with the purchase. Thanks!

Libro ben scritto, pieno di aneddoti curiosi e filologicamente rigoroso nel racconto dei fatti che hanno coinvolto i 4 Black Sabbath "originari" e tutti coloro che vi hanno gravitato intorno - musicisti, manager, ecc. A volte indulge un po' nella retorica, ma si fa leggere dall'inizio alla fine.

A must read for sabbath fans. Fantastic book

This is the fourth book I've read by Mick Wall and whilst it was at times raw and the language fruity, it was how things were then. As a life long Black Sabbath fan I really enjoyed their story, although i was saddened by the impact of drugs and alcohol on the band members. I revel in their skill, creativity, persistence and musivcal relevance. Ossie's gone now, but the music, memories and life associations remain.

"Mick Wall" dokumentiert in 13 Kapiteln und auf 386 Seiten in gut verständlichen Englisch die wechselhafte History der enorm wichtigen, erfolreichen und einflussreichen Band. Der Autor hat seine Informationen aus selbstgeführten Interviews, aus seiner persönlichen Arbeit mit den Musikern als PR Man und aus einer Vielzahl schon vorher erschienen Quellen, wie etwa der Biographie von "Tony Iommi" "Iron Man", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" von "Joel McIver" und "Never Say Die" von "Garry Sharp-Young" und Biographien über/von "Ian Gillian" und "Sharon Osbourne" sowie unzähligen Artikeln und namhaften Musikmagazinen. Er versucht zu jeden Album die Tracks zu rezensieren, die Chartplazierung aufzuführen und das beteiligte Personal, das sich in einen teilweise unübersichtlichen "Karrussel" bei der Hardrocklegende die Klinke in die Hand gab, zum Inhalt und den Arbeitsprozessen und deren Umstände zu Wort kommen zu lassen. Die gelingt ihm dann, soweit ich das beurteilen kann, recht informativ und lebendig, durch viele Originalzitate und da das Buch erst 2013 erschienen ist und auch im Gegensatz zu den älteren Büchern auch das letzte Studioalbum "13" im gleichnamigen Kapitel, von allen Seiten beleuchtet, ist diese Buch aktuell und zudem auch noch recht preisgünstig zu erwerben. Es gibt wie in den meisten Büchern dieser Art etwa in der Mitte ein kleinen Fototeil mit 8 Seiten meist ganzseitiger Fotos, die chronologisch geordnet sind. Mir persönlich gefallen die frühen Black Sabbath mit "Ozzy" am besten, jedoch waren wir auch damals beim Erscheinen von "Heaven and Hell" mit "Ronnie James Dio" (RIP) ziemlich "aus dem Häuschen", da wir auch "Rainbow" immer genre gehört hatten. In den Zeiten vor dem Internet und allen Messagerdiensten kamen solche Umbesetzungen und neuen Alben doch etwas überraschender als heutzutage, auch wenn man die einschägige Musikpresse gelesen hat. In diesem Buch geht "Wall" hin und fächert von allen Beteilgten auch die Soloaktivitäten wie beispeilsweise von "Ozzy" und "Ronnie" weiter auf und dokumentiert alle beteiligten Musiker und deren Hintergründe und vorheirgen oder späteren Aktivitäten ausführlich. So erhält man in schriftlicher Form eine Art "Stammbaum" der Musiker, die an "Black Sabbath" "Ozzy Osbourne" "Dio", "Rainbow", "Heaven and Hell" etc.beteiligt waren. Alles ohne Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit und den Hinweis bei etwaigen Fehlern diese bei einer Neuauflage zu verbesseren. Das macht mit den Autor auch sympathisch. Zu diesem Thema hat der Mann ja mit "Diary of A Madman" eine Biografie zu "Ozzy Osbourne" verfasst, diese könnte eine gute Ergänzung sein und ebenso "Mr. Big : Ozzy and my Life as the Godfather of Rock with "Don Arden"- ich vermute bestimmte Teile dieser beiden Büchern sind auch hier schon eingefloßen oder werden auch hier in ähnlicher Art und Weise theamtisiert. Mir hat auch schon sein Buch über "Lou Reed" "The Life" sehr gut gefallen. Als "Led Zeppelin" Fan habe ich schon ein paar Bücher über die Band, aber viellicht wäre auch "Mick Walls" Buch "When Giants Walk the Earth" eine Anschaffung wert.