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Rating: 
Summary: A great look at Sabbath and Ozzy
Review: Diary of a Madman is a must have book for any Sabbath/Ozzy fan. Carol Clark takes you through "Black Sabbath" all the way to "Down to Earth" highlighting all the important band events along the way while providing interesting information on all the important Ozzy/Sabbath songs. This book is a easy and fascinating read. Even if your a die hard Ozzy/Sabbath fan you will still find many interesting tidbits in this coffe table book. It also contains a GREAT selection of pictures!
Rating: 
Summary: Best for the rare Sabbath pix
Review: First and foremost, this book is a glossy, photo-packed, coffee-table tome. I originally purchased it because I was hoping for in-depth, analytical breakdowns of Ozzy's songs by himself and his band members. I didn't quite get it.
While there are plenty of Ozzy, Sabbath and other quotes, they're pretty much the same ones we've been hearing for years. It also only covers Ozzy's hit standards (i.e. Crazy Train, War Pigs, NIB). None of my favorites were covered, but I can't blame the author for that, I suppose. It also covered the infamous (and so, so tired) stories of the bat, the Alamo, the doves.
The saving grace of this book is the photos. It's absolutely overflowing with awesome pics of Ozzy, Sabbath, Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde and other band members. A lot of these photos are pretty rare, and I'm sure some of them are never-before-seen.
It's not too shabby in the writing department either. Clerk is a lucid and fun author, and the format of the book is very eye-catching. The pages are multi-colored, the title fonts are trippy, and in every chapter, there's a paragraph that has been written backwards and upside down faintly apparent in the background (a shoutout to all those who believe in subliminal messages). The editors did an outstanding job of making it enjoyable to read, but not silly and overloaded with visuals.
Price is very good, and the book isn't a disappointment for what it is. I'm very pleased with it. An essential for any Ozzy fan.
Rating:
Summary: Good Things Come in Glossy Packages.
Review: First and foremost, this book is a glossy, photo-packed, coffee-table tome. I originally purchased it because I was hoping for in-depth, analytical breakdowns of Ozzy's songs by himself and his band members. I didn't quite get it.While there are plenty of Ozzy, Sabbath and other quotes, they're pretty much the same ones we've been hearing for years. It also only covers Ozzy's hit standards (i.e. Crazy Train, War Pigs, NIB). None of my favorites were covered, but I can't blame the author for that, I suppose. It also covered the infamous (and so, so tired) stories of the bat, the Alamo, the doves. The saving grace of this book is the photos. It's absolutely overflowing with awesome pics of Ozzy, Sabbath, Randy Rhoades, Zakk Wylde and other band members. A lot of these photos are pretty rare, and I'm sure some of them are never-before-seen. It's not too shabby in the writing department either. Clerk is a lucid and fun author, and the format of the book is very eye-catching. The pages are multi-colored, the title fonts are trippy, and in every chapter, there's a paragraph that has been written backwards and upside down faintly apparent in the background (a shoutout to all those who believe in subliminal messages). The editors did an outstanding job of making it enjoyable to read, but not silly and overloaded with visuals. Price is very good, and the book isn't a disappointment for what it is. I'm very pleased with it. An essential for any Ozzy fan.
Rating:
Summary: Best for the rare Sabbath pix
Review: One thing that needs to mentioned is the rarity of the Black Sabbath pictures included. I've been a Sabbath collector for years, and have not seen most of the pictures included--live, backstage, and photo-shoot settings. Many of them are of Tony Iommi (Ozzy's arch-enemy of old), as it happens.
As far as the actual commentary on the songs, in this subject matter it is hard to tell what is truly legitimate. Manipulated statements and entirely invented statements abound in the music journalism industry, so you have to take that at face value. Some comments attributed to Ozzy are rather articulate (not his style), and therefore one would have to wonder if they are really his own.
There is one GLARING mistake in the pictures which tends to sap the already-low credibility from a publication of this sort: a photo of Brad Gillis (brief Ozzy guitarist) is next to a photo of Dave Spitz (brief Sabbath bassist), and the caption below them reads something to the effect of "Brad Gillis was replaced by Jake E. Lee", implying that the photo of Dave Spitz is really Jake E. Lee (which is strange since Dave is clearly holding a bass guitar!).
This book is great for the rare old pictures, but it is still nothing more than one of a million books of questionable accuracy put together by bandwagon-jumping "authors" who most likely have little idea of who or what they're talking about and are trying to cash in on a current fad.
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