Product Description
A fellow musician's interesting insight into the beginning of Ozzy Osbourne s solo career and his relationship with Sharon Osbourne. This exciting biography also clears a lot of misinformation and bogus theories circulating around the late, great, guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads' life and death. Written by journeyman rock bassist Rudy Sarzo, this is a first hand account of Rudy s experience on the road with Ozzy and his Blizzard of Ozz band. This is the book Sharon Osbourne doesn't want you to read.
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 Excellent book
This was a story that I had been waiting to read about for years. Once I got this book I couldn't put it down, and I finished it in one day. Though I knew the tragic ending, I didn't know a lot of the little details in between. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Randy Rhoads, or rock n' roll in general. It's a sad reminder of what could have been had Randy not made the fateful decision to get on that plane. God only knows what kind of music Randy would be making today.
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Off The Rails...Board the Crazy Train!
Off the Rails: Aboard the Crazy Train in the Blizzard of Ozz Board and take a ride on the Crazy Train in 2008! Prolific rock bassist Rudy Sarzo had penned an entertaining, sometimes hilarious, sometimes emotionally gripping auto-biography of sorts. He recounts the rock band tour experience of Ozzy's Blizzard of Oz and Diary of a Madman tours, specifically the Randy Rhoads' experience. Rudy has no ulterior motive in sharing his story- he's not out to make a buck or pull any skeletons out of the closets. I believe he just wants the honest story out there- about Randy- a phenomenal classical guitarist and human being. His account is an easy read, lots of concert encounters and between shows antics pulled from the journal he kept on the tours. Thanks, Rudy for the memories! Although we know all too well the sad memory of Randy's fate, what a priviledge to have seen a glimpse of the human side of him. This book is an excellent read for any fan of the relationship between true friends, and a must have for any 80's rock fan's collection!
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 dairy of a sophomoric bass player ( crumblycake )
First off, I'd like to say that I have been a big fan of Randy Rhoads since the early 80's. I have nothing but the upmost respect and admiration for his accomplishments as a teacher and guitarist and his inspiration to others. In this review, I will attempt to address some of the major flaws in this "updated" version of Off the rails, Aboard the Crazy Train in the Blizzard of Ozz by Rudy Sarzo.
I found Rudy Sarzo's approach and writing style to be too sophomoric. It almost felt like I was reading a teenager's dairy. In a recent interview he did explain that this book wasn't really a tribute to Randy Rhoads, but more of just a travel log or journal of his time touring with the Blizzard of Ozz Band. For the majority of the book he really only briefly talks about his time with Randy. He seems to have spent more time "documenting" Ozzy's on and off stage shenanigans and personal problems rather than his time spent with Randy visiting various places, like shopping malls and clubs.
I feel that, instead of just documenting verbatim from Rudy's travel log, he should have, at least, attempted some bonafide research. For example, interviewing his band mates from Quite Riot and Ozzy days, Randy's Guitar tech and Rany's fiancé, Jody! I would love to hear from some of these people that have rarely, if at all, been interviewed since Randy's death. I think it would help verify and elaborate the information in the book. One example would be the day Randy Rhoads died in the plane crash. On Page 213, Rudy mentions that he had spoke with Don Airey, the keyboardist with Ozzy at the time, that Don had been taking pictures of the plane just before it crashed into to bus. This begs the question: Where are the photos? If Don was indeed questioned by police, along with all the other eye witness that day, where is his disposition? Isn't standard investigating procedure to collect ALL evidence in a case? After reading this book, I felt that there were more questions than answers.
It also would have been nice to hear from Randy's father. Rudy all too briefly mentions Randy's encounter with his father. It is common knowledge, with Randy Rhoads fans, that when Randy was about seventeen months old, his father abandoned the Rhoad's family. According Rudy, he asked Randy about his brief encounter. Randy responded that it wasn't as weird or strained as he thought it would be. And that was that. If Randy's father is still alive, I would love to hear what he thought about Randy's success and untimely death.
One final flaw with this "tribute" book, Rudy seems to bog the story down with unreferenced newspaper or magazine reviews of the various concerts during the two tours with Ozzy. Rudy puts the reviews in quotes, but no reference to who wrote it or where it appeared. Rudy also interrupts the continuity of the story by ratting off a series of concert dates. Some of these take up an entire paragraph! What a waste of space! Maybe use that space to reflect on that time. What it meant to Rudy to be in the same band with Randy or some outside events taking place around them as a reference to what the environment was like at the time.
With some many flaws on what could have been a true tribute, I would NOT recommend this book, for even the diehard Randy Rhoads fans. If you want, wait until the Randy Rhoads film comes out next year!
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Sarzo's "Tribute" To Rhoads Enjoyable ( mr_miscellany )
Rudy Sarzo's "Off The Rails" is an enjoyable look at the short period of his association with Quiet Riot, Randy Rhoads and two tours with Ozzy until Rhoads' subsequent death. This book is not a career overview but a brief glimpse into the beginnings of Quiet Riot and Ozzy's solo outings and Sarzo calls this his tribute to Randy Rhoads.
My only complaint with this book is the simplistic dialog he uses between himself, Rhoads and other members of Ozzy's camp. I understand that Sarzo cannot write conversations verbatim that took place more than 25 years ago but the dialog seems stilted and unnatural. Sarzo also either did not lead the typical rock-n-roll lifestyle or decided to leave out tales of excess, groupies and other indulgences. Also, I feel that he has a lot more to say about Ozzy, Sharon and Don Arden during this period. It seems their antics and outrageousness were only briefly touched on and glossed over in an attempt to not besmirch his relationship with the Osbornes, which I can understand.
Sarzo comes across as a genuinely good person as does Rhoads and drummer Tommy Aldridge. The chronicles of life on the road during the Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman tours are interesting, albeit a bit bereft of the "gory" details. Hearing his perspective on the fateful day of Rhoads' plane crash in Leesburg, Florida was heartbreaking yet interesting as the Osborne's rarely comment on it.
Sarzo is not only a good bassist but an adequate writer and definitely has another book in him. With the passing of Quiet Riot frontman Kevin Dubrow, Sarzo should set his sights on telling the tale of his years with them. Overall, this is a worthy addition to any rock aficionado's bookshelf.
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Off the rails, indeed! Great Read!!
I would recommend this book to ALL Ozzy fans, Randy fans, Rudy fans, and just any Rock fans in general.
There were two huge reasons why I wanted to read this book: the obvious reason - Randy Rhoads! I wanted to know more about him personally, and this book definitely answered any questions I had earlier. The other huge reason - Rudy Sarzo! Rudy has been one of my very favorite bass players since the Ozzy days. And I'm sure that I should be paying Randy's family for the lessons he's STILL giving me on my guitar to this day!!
Not only do I feel like I've learned so much more about both of these two hero's of mine musically, (not to mention Tommy Aldridge); but I've learned that these two guys were both the stand-up guys that I had always built them up to be in my imagination. I've been a guitar player/musician since I was a very small boy. Over the years, I've supported MANY national acts in some of my own bands, just to find out that they were NOT very nice people; (putting it mildly). These two guys were exactly as I had always thought (or hoped) they'd be! I even played with Rudy and Quiet Riot back in 2001, and when I met Rudy, he really was a nice guy!! (Don't think he believed me when I told him he was my favorite bass player, though.)
I have even more respect for them now, knowing that they were regular guys, not all caught up in drugs, alcohol, girls, and fame like so many other Rock Stars and famous people. (Ozzy, on the other hand.....Well.....!)
I started listening to "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman" all over again because of this book, and it's like hearing them for the first time all over again.
In another important note, Rudy is a Christian man, and this deepens my respect for him even more; being a Christian myself! Rudy goes to proove that you do not need to be a crazy, drug-induced egomaniac, or a "non-Christian" to be a Rock and Roller. A++++++
Todd A.
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