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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome book on the early Ozzy years (and more), 30 Nov 2004
This review is from: How Black Was Our Sabbath: Unauthorised View From The Crew (Hardcover)
This is an absolutely wonderful book written by David Tangye & Graham Wright. There's been plenty of books on Black Sabbath before. Some good. Some not so good. This one falls in the category of being EXTREMELY GOOD. The difference between this book and the others on the Ozzy history of the band is the fact that this one was written by folks who were there. A lot of these things are written by people who retell stories, regurgitating things that are already out there. Not this one. David was Ozzy's personal assistant, and Graham was Bill Ward's assistant. So these stories are told from folks who lived them. There are some other stories by other folks who were involved with Sabbath directly as well. This book goes into some areas of the band's history that have never been talked much about before. Specifically the days when they were known as Polka Tulk, as well as Earth. There's tons of stories about life on the road, the legendary "Satanist attacks Tony Iommi on stage with a knife" story, to one their hotel room doors being painted with a bloody red Cross, to the story about the band blowing out the candles of a group of Satanists in the hallway by singing "Happy Birthday" to 'em. There's other things, like Ozzy's first wife Thelma, and the kids Oz had with her. That's something that's almost never talked about. Graham tells stories about Bill's drive over the Australian Outback in 1974 for about 500 miles to avoid flying. And a few about how some vehicles ended up in swimming pools. What's best about this book to me is that it's an easy free flowing style. I've read many books, and some are hard reads, but this was one that I could quite easily have read in one sitting, had I had that much time available when I read it. David & Graham are to be applauded for their work on the book, both in content and in style. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that it's not the easiest book to get in the US. There's no direct US publisher that I'm aware of, and as such, it can be a bit expensive to get it here in the States. In fact, if you're in the US, it might be cheaper to buy it from the UK site That issue aside, I feel it's well worth it due to the quality of the stories and the writing in the book. You can't go wrong reading this if you're a fan of Black Sabbath. Joe Siegler
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't get much better than this..., 5 May 2004
This review is from: How Black Was Our Sabbath: Unauthorised View From The Crew (Hardcover)
Absolutely essential for anyone with even a passing interest in Black Sabbath or its members. An accurate and warm telling of how four youths from Birmingham changed the face of Rock and Roll...Sure, they had their ups and downs, but unlike most other books concerning this band, 'How Black Was Our Sabbath' does not dwell on the negatives, but instead shows the band as they really were...Dedicated, hard working incredibly creative and finally...human. A story such as this, with such amazing detail, could only have been told by those who were close to the band and fans of Black Sabbath surely will give a collective "Bravo" for Dave Tangye and Graham Wright dispelling the misconceptions of this innovative band so long put forward as truth by so many different publications... Pass on the rest...If you want to know about Black Sabbath, this is the only book you will ever need...
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very Entertaining and Informative Read., 20 May 2007
Just a quick line or two to say how much I enjoyed this book, Having read several other Rock Band memoirs, this one stands out the most. Where this book differs from the rest, is the free flowing style in which it is written (and also the fact that the Autors were present when the events were taking place).
Like Led Zeppelin,Black Sabbath now have their own 'Hammer of the Gods' style autobiography with this book.
The authors who were involved with Black Sabbath during their formative years, strike a balance that other biographers just haven't matched.
We have a view of the band which covers a definite time line, also on the road stories that could only be told by the people who were there at that time.
I thought this book captured the mood of the 1970's succinctly, and brought those moments in time back to life.
Great story, very well written.
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