This second biography from Osbourne comes while emotions about his death earlier this year are still running high. And while no book can go too far in alleviating that loss, hearing Ozzy's story in his own voice, filled with humor, is a sure mood-lifter. And those who worry that the book might read like Ozzy spoke and be somewhat unintelligible needn't fret; his commentary is edited perfectly and presented in a conversational manner that makes the pages turn like crazy. Many of Ozzy's trials and tribulations are known to fans but here he reveals in depth details about the horrible injuries he incurred when he wrecked his quad bike, injuries from jumping into a bed (in the dark) that wasn't there and seeing a plethora of unscrupulous dentists to get Oxycontin (Sharon put a stop to that.) Ozzy explains that once he got sober he would take Sharon with him to doctor's appointments so that no prescriptions for opiates were written. Other topics include his relationship with his former Black Sabbath bandmates and some amusing stories from back in the day and going back further than that, his relationship with the wacky Keith Moon and the pair's shared fondness for M-80s, the very powerful firework that got them both in trouble (can you imagine!?) Like most of us, Ozzy caught COVID and he speaks about that and also about his Parkinson's disease. Through it all Osbourne remains philosophical and grateful for all the good things life offered him. The book's final chapter is about his Back to the Beginning concert that took place earlier this year. Of course everyone knows what happened after that. Many will see Ozzy in a different light, and rightfully so, after finishing this terrific book.
Author Prato has written about this era (the '90s) before but his focus then was on the grunge scene; here he devotes his attention to the other alternative music that was around at the same time (and before, as he notes, setting the stage for grunge.) The format of this book is an oral history, which here means that Prato, having prompted them with well thought-out questions, lets the movers and shakers of the era tell the story. And what movers they are; some of the characters that Prato interviewed for the book are Frank Black (Pixies), Fat Mike (NOFX), Tanya Donelly (Belly, the Breeders, Throwing Muses), Lou Barlow (Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr.), Evan Dando (the Lemonheads), Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Porno for Pyros), Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Moby, Cris Kirkwood (Meat Puppets), Corey Glover (Living Colour), Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and many other similarly impressive names. Each chapter has a specific focus and they're all very enlightening, like "John Frusciante's Audition for the Meat Puppets;" who today even knows that this happened? In the "Nirvana and Nevermind" chapter, the first line of commentary says it all as Fat Mike opines "There was no hope of making it in punk rock until Nirvana. It changed it all." Each chapter has a one-page introductory piece and then short bursts of commentary from the players, ranging from a few lines to a couple paragraphs. This format with all the different voices keeps the book intriguing and fast-moving. There's a chapter on Kurt Cobain's death, a chapter about drugs and addiction and at book's end there's a chapter that briefly tells the story of "some of the greatest alt-rock albums of the decade" and readers will undoubtedly find many of their favorites from the era there.
If you are a veteran of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, perhaps many times over, this awesome collection of photos by Katie Bain (who has attended 15 times) will bring back your best memories. If you've never been, the fabulous eye candy here will make you all the more eager to go. Besides the photography, Bain offers plenty of insight with brief introductions to each chapter and some commentary in the segments within chapters; at the beginning of the book she explains how Gary Tovar started Goldenvoice, Coachella's promoter, with funds he accrued through smuggling weed (he would eventually get busted and spend seven years locked up.) In the "The Twenty-One Most Essential Sets" chapter Bain has a really good chance to express herself in words as she chronicles her favorite performances from the likes of Prince, Daft Punk, Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, Jay-Z, Arcade Fire, Swedish House Mafia, Guns N' Roses, No Doubt and from this year's festival, Lady Gaga. But of course the photos are the real stars here and many of them are absolutely stunning: A close up of Amy Winehouse, an amazing shot of Doja Cat with her dancers, all in similar outfits, Daft Punk with their trippy helmets, a dreadlocked Burna Boy, the inflatable pig flying over Roger Waters' stage, Harry Styles in all pink, Karen O in a glamorous cape and a great shot of Radiohead's Thom Yorke from 2004. There are alluring shots of the festival grounds and everyone in the chapter on fashion looks fab. Presented as a coffee table style book, "Desert Dreams" will be well-loved by all.
Matlock was a founding member of the Sex Pistols and their original bass player. So of course there is a lot about the Pistols here covered in many chapters mid-book. Matlock has an intoxicating writing style and each chapter is fun, peppered with things like how Pistols singer Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) asked him why he didn't get "really horrible and miserable" when he got drunk, "You seem to get happier." When Matlock answered "Yeah, so what?" Lydon said "What is wrong with you?" and stalked off. It is tidbits like this that makes the book so much fun; they're tucked away on almost every page among the other details. Matlock devotes most of the book to his, as the book title states, life in music, to his career before and after the relatively brief but historic stint with the Pistols. He recounts his becoming aware of the genius of David Bowie in the mid-1970s when he saw the singer on the British TV show "Lift Off with Ayshea." It was for Matlock a sort of equivalent of American kids seeing the Beatles or Elvis perform on TV for the first time; extremely inspiring. He and Bowie would eventually come to know each other; late in the book Matlock tells another of those amusing stories as he drunkenly hits on one of David's former girlfriends. And speaking of dissipation, it is nice that Matlock doesn't dwell on all of the druggy scenarios he witnessed; there is so much more for him to discuss than rock 'n' roll excess. The list of players that Matlock crosses paths with here is as enormous as you would expect; here too he never gets into any name-dropping, just legitimate story telling. Matlock uses a little bit of British slang in his prose and perhaps with American audiences in mind he offers a glossary at book's end, so readers will know that "brothel creepers" are a kind of shoes and not whorehouse perverts and that "naff" means uncool. There's nothing naff about this book; it is a thorough delight.
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