Off The Rails

Off The Rails
Average customer rating:

Good book with some very interesting content.

A great look at the Blizzard

awesome

rudy sarzo's book: excelent reading! buy it!

GREAT

Off The Rails
Rudy Sarzo
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath

ASIN: 1419650424
Release Date: 2007-04-23

Customer Reviews:

Good book with some very interesting content........2007-09-10

Off The Rails is Rudy Sarzo's offering about his life with Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard Of Ozz band that toured in 1981 and 1982. The guitarist in this band (Randy Rhoads) is the primary focus of the story telling, and that is a real gift for all fans of his short life. At times, this book is impossible to put down. Rudy does a good job explaining the mundane life of a traveling musician mixed with the excitement of playing with such a prolific musician as Rhoads. Any info regarding the short life of Randy Rhoads is interesting , but at times, the stories are very compelling. The chapters about the live album, Ozzy's abuse towards Sharon, and Randy's final days, are all right up there with The Dirt, and many other great books that humanize these icons. Good job Rudy Sarzo.

A great look at the Blizzard.......2007-07-06

Hats off to Rudy for putting this together for those interested in the Blizzard of Ozz years and especially Randy Rhoads. Well worth a read if you are a fan.

awesome.......2007-06-27

Great book for any fan of Randy Rhoads. It's great, after all of these years, to hear stories about my hero. Randy made me want to play guitar, and this book means so much to me. Rudy is a great story teller. By the end of the book you'll feel like you knew Randy too, which hurts because we all know how the story ends.

rudy sarzo's book: excelent reading! buy it!.......2007-06-26

i really enjoyed reading rudy's book,it almost reads like a diary. lots of insight into what was happening and going on during that time period. it's really a "must read" for any ozzy,rudy,brad gillis,randy rhoads and quiet riot fans. very informative and hard to put down once you start reading it! i'm very glad that i bought it and so too will you! jimmy cupo

GREAT.......2007-06-14

This book is a must read for any Randy fan. Rudy did an amazing job writing this book. At times you feel like your at the concerts with them. Rudy goes into great detail about day to day tour life, which is realy amazing. Rudy GREAT job.. now you need to write a Quiet Riot book!!!!

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath

Average customer rating:

I'm simply astonished
Not a literary masterpiece... but we are dealing with Sabbath here.
as comprehensive as it gets
Very Informative / Very Poorly Edited
Nothing New Here I'm affraid!

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath
Garry Sharpe-Young
Manufacturer: Zonda Books Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History
Off The Rails
How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew
The Dio Years
Heaven & Hell: Live from Radio City Music Hall

ASIN: 0958268428

Book Description

For over a full decade Black Sabbath had dominated Heavy Metal. As much as Led Zeppelin scorned the term Black Sabbath embraced it. In an age of bona fide supergroups Sabbath were unquestionably the heaviest thing stalking the planet and quite remarkably had remained a solid unit where others around them suffered ongoing membership fall outs and line-up reincarnations. Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward had weathered internal storms just as ferocious as every other band out on the circuit but had remained resolute. They had conquered the globe, sold close to 50 million albums and without concession had not pulled back one iota from delivering absolute, pure Heavy Metal. In 1977 the unthinkable happened. Ozzy Osbourne decamped. He would be lured back for one last album 'Never Say Die' before flying solo, rapidly building a band unit that would equal the repute of the mother-ship. Between 1979 and 1997 Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne were pitched against each other in a titanic struggle unprecedented in Rock n' Roll. Both stars would employ the very finest players of the genre in the conflict and produce some of the finest Heavy Metal of the generation in the process. Tony Iommi, the man who without question invented Heavy Metal, fronted up Sabbath with vocal legends such as Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin against Ozzy's awesome arsenal of guitar innovators Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde. Both Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne reinvented their bands time and time again. The huge array of elite players that travelled through the ranks is now a constant source of fascination and rumours for Sabbath fanatics. 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath' reforges the author's two previous landmark tomes 'Ozzy Osbourne: The Story of the Ozzy Osbourne band' & 'Black Sabbath: Never Say Die!' along with additional material into this one definitive Metal milestone. Complete with over 140 images, many never seen before, and unique interviews, including with the late Ray Gillen and Cozy Powell as well as the highly controversial figure of Jeff Fenholt and mysterious Dave Donato, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' is the definitive account of those years (1979 to 1997) before the reunion. Exclusive interview content with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Cozy Powell, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen, Tony Martin, Geoff Nicholls, Rob Halford, Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, Carmine Appice, Tommy Aldridge, Neil Murray, Dave Spitz, Eric Singer, David Donato, Jeff Fenholt, Bobby Rondinelli, Rudy Sarzo, Phil Soussan, Randy Castillo, Bernie Torme, Brad Gillis, Jo Burt, Pete Way, Dana Strum, Terry Chimes, Lita Ford, Steve Vai, Don Airey, Lindsey Bridgewater, Terry Nails and many, many more. Additional details: 8 page discography appendix detailing 264 career albums and singles from Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Bill Ward, Geezer and Tony Iommi; plus 7 page index with 694 entries. Product Dimensions: 8.25 x 11.0 inches (210 x 279 mm). Weight: approximately 1.6 lbs (0.75 kg).

Customer Reviews:

I'm simply astonished.......2007-09-17

I'm simply astonished by the sheer amount pf information contained in this book. Dont'get it wrong: this is a HUGE book, with A4 paper format, more than three hundred pages with two columns in each one. But, if you're into Black Sabbath and Ozzy, you will read it really fast.

The books gives detailed information about almost everything. It has good taste without relaying in useless gossip. This was one of most gratifying readings I've had in years. Highly recommended!

Not a literary masterpiece... but we are dealing with Sabbath here........2007-05-27

If you're looking for a comprehensive account of the comings and goings of singers and drummers during the 80's and 90's, this book is very interesting. It's extremely detailed. Much of the information seems to come from Geoff Nichols, the unheralded keyboardist (unheralded to the point where he was off the stage half the time) who was with Sabbath for more years than anyone but Tony and Geezer.

As a piece of writing, this is not the best. It tends to read like a very long high school term paper. There is little concept of flow and readability. Every incident is given equal weight no matter how important or how insignificant. It seems like the author literally took every bit of information at his disposal and put it here, leaving some situations underappreciated and some boringly overdeveloped.

As stated before, the editing and production are also pretty abysmal. I'm not trying to be overcritical here but, let's face it, this is something they want us to pay for. If this information was something I came across on a free website I would be a little more forgiving.

That being said, if you're going to buy this book you are, more likely than not, a big fan. You'll find something here to justify the purchase. Just don't expect to sit next to the fire with this one sipping chardonnay and eating bon bons to achieve literary orgasm. It's not gonna happen.

as comprehensive as it gets.......2007-02-07

Everything you wanted to know about the history of Black Sabbath..and then some.The only criticism i have is that maybe it details just a little too deeply,but a good read and i learnt some things i didn't know before.

Very Informative / Very Poorly Edited.......2007-01-16

An excellent read for the most devoted of Sabbath fans. However, this is by far the worst editing I've ever seen of any publication in my entire life! Blatant mispellings & poor grammar abound.

Nothing New Here I'm affraid! .......2006-12-24

There is nothing new here in this book that has not already been said! Why does the author find that he needs to rehash what he has already written in two previous excellent publications, and submit it as a new title?
Dissapointed reader..

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History

Average customer rating:

He rested on the Sabbath
Probably the best Sabbath book available, very complete.
Complete Sabbath History in Detail
Great book.
Great Book.

Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History
Martin Popoff
Manufacturer: Ecw Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath
How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew
Off The Rails
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties
Heaven & Hell: Live from Radio City Music Hall

ASIN: 1550227319

Book Description

Containing much rare and previously unpublished material culled from Popoff’s interviews over the last decade with all the principal members of the band, Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose is an exhaustive song-by-song, album-by-album trek through the Sabs’ 37-year history. Numerous one-on-one conversations with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, and Bill, as well as ten interviews with Ronnie James Dio, and additional interviews with supporting musicians such as Tony Martin, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Vinny Appice, and Neil Murray, make this full-colour retrospective a must for any fan.

The drugs, drink, depression, and doom surrounding this band from the start have imbued songs like âThe Wizard,â âParanoid,â âIron Man,â âWar Pigs,â âChildren of the Graveâ and âHeaven and Hellâ with an almost supernatural importance among lovers of dark music. In the wider realm, full albums such as Master of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, and Heaven and Hell show up with regularity on lists of greatest records of all time. Doom Let Loose explains how such classics came to be. It also deals with their tour history, documenting the places rocked, the bands who supported the Sabs, and most notably the trials and tribulations of the band and they tried to hold it together in the Satan-obsessed, drug-addled America of the Nixon era. Look for all manner of Sabbath photos and artefacts that make this examination of heavy metals fearsome foursome as feast for the eyes as well as the enquiring mind.

Customer Reviews:

He rested on the Sabbath .......2007-09-18

This comprehensive coffee-table book is a perfect gift for the die-hard Black Sabbath fan. Loaded with band-member photos, interviews and graphics in a chronological progression, it's easy to open to any page and find yourself engaged with the narrative. I gave this to a friend who claims he hasn't read a book in years, and he was really excited to get it.

Probably the best Sabbath book available, very complete........2007-08-22

I have looked at some of the other Sabbath Books, and this one caught my eye. I can say it is probably the most thourough history of sabbath in one book. I was expecting a few more photos, but the history still is killer. It has all of the good stuff, from ozzy leaving, to dio's first comeback and second leaving, and ozzy's return. The history does seem complete from what I gather, including all of the details in transition with the band's line-up over the later years. The picture are nice as well, although I was thinking there would be a few more, it's still good. A must have book for Sabbath fans. Check this one out.

Complete Sabbath History in Detail.......2007-07-24

Martin Popoff knows his hard rock and heavy metal and this book is excellent. He goes into detail about every lp ever released and goes into depth about the songwriting at the time the songs were written. Tony Iommi's riffs are legendary and so are the details about the history of Black Sabbath in this book. This is a must read for any Black Sabbath or hard rock fan, it has everything, from Ozzy to Tony Martin from Dio to The late Ray Gillian to the legendary Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillian.
This book is the best Black Sabbath book out there bar none and Martin Popoff did a wonderful job. Buy this book.

Great book........2007-05-20

This is a great book of the Sabbath legacy. From humble beginnings to the god fathers of metal and when I saw that I mean all members....Iommi, Geezer, Bill, OZ, DIO, Gillan, Martin, Appice. If you want a very cool book, lots of great concert photos and great info and this amazing band this is for you.

Great Book........2007-05-12

This is a great book from the pen of Martin Popoff, His unique style and content flow from cover to cover.
Having read all available books on the Subject Black Sabbath, I do have to say that I really enjoyed this one.

That said, I would go further to say that there are some excellent books available on the subject matter, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath; by Gary Sharpe-Young.

Also; I hasten to add, the excellent Road-crew memoirs 'How Black Was Our Sabbath; An unauthorised view from the crew' really sticks out (5 stars from me).

How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew

Average customer rating:

Sabbath sucky Sabbath
It's The Real Thing.
Entertainment for Sabbath fans only
Great eye witness account.
Best book available on Black Sabbath

How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew
Graham Wright , and David Tangye
Manufacturer: Pan Books Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0330411942

Book Description

Black Sabbath are the ultimate heavy rock band. They have sold millions of albums worldwide, with ardent fans across the globe. Dave Tangye and Graham Wright were in the crew during the seventies, the bands heyday, and have the stories to prove it. For the first time they cover, in detail, the early days of the group, including a certain gig in the Scottish borders, where they were almost beaten up by the local farmers. As the Sabs rose to fame and notoriety, touring Europe, Australia and North America, delighting fans and disgusting law-abiding members of the public, incidents of bad behaviour stack up alarmingly. Full of new information, How Black Was Our Sabbath is a real Spinal Tap story, a warm, funny, poignant tribute to four mates from Birmingham who became the biggest heavy rock band in the world.The first insiders book about Black Sabbath, this is funny, revealing, and should become a rock classic like Hammer of the Gods. Sabbath are still massively popular, still record and tour. Contains rare and never-before-published photographs. The massive success of The Osbournes has created a whole new market of readers who will want to see what Ozzy was like in his pre-Sharon days (just as mad-but-endearing).

Customer Reviews:

Sabbath sucky Sabbath.......2007-06-14

This book is definitley not a must read. It talks mostly about the roadies and not the members of Black Sabbath. I would definitley pass on this one.

It's The Real Thing........2007-04-18

There seems to be quite a few publications around now relating to Black Sabbath in all their varying line-ups. I must admit I have not had chance to read them all. The main ones I have read are Gary Sharpe Young's 'Never Say Die' a fantastic account mainly of Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne had made his exit, also Martin Popoffs great 'Doom Let Loose' which is penned in Popoff's own inimitable style.

But as for "How Black Was Our Sabbath; An unauthorised view from the crew", this is clearly in a different dimension altogether from all the rest, and covers the one and only original band line-up.

Here we have a couple of old school roadies, obviously not too burned out as the excesses of the 1970's that have claimed many before them.
I found the book a real eye-opener and a real page turner, in style, content, and delivery.

The book somehow transports you back to the 1960's thru to 1970's and in the reading, you get to feel and taste the sense of adventure that the band as a whole were experiencing at the time.

From their early humble beginnings, through to their sell out stadium tours. The anecdotal evidence of just what it was like in the golden age of 'ROCK'; when the now superstar icons of today were just a wild bunch of young lads, with a burning ambition to succeed and play their way out of the mundane, and the shackles of poverty.

I most certainly recommend this book, as not only a history book to Black Sabbath, but also a history book on the development of the whole genre of 'Rock Music' as we have come to know it today.

Entertainment for Sabbath fans only.......2006-11-04

This is an entertaining book,but I would mainly recommend it for Black Sabbath fans only.As it states on the cover it is unauthorized.Although there are some good early photos of the band the text is made up of personal reminiscences and therefore is not very objective.All in all,it's a good book,but just don't purchase it for the teenage Ozzy fanatic.I happen to be a major Black Sabbath fanatic in my late thirties and the reason I got this was because I want all the information that I can get on the group.I love Black Sabbath in all its incarnations and am offended by those who say that the "Ozzy years" were the best.I'm really looking forward to seeing the Ronnie James Dio line-up on the road next year.'Nuff said.

Great eye witness account. .......2006-09-20

This book grabs you and won't let go. I never found it to be boring or slow at any point. A great read for any Black Sabbath fan unless you prefer the post Ozzy years. Are there really any of you out there?

Best book available on Black Sabbath.......2006-08-18

If you're a Black Sabbath fan, this is the book you need to read. It is filled with great anecdotes. Some are hilarious, some sad, some poignant. You get a real feel for the Sabs, what the times were like, their working relationship, and, to an extent, their personal lives, though sometimes the writers, out of respect for the band members, don't go there too deeply. We find out, for example, that Tony Iommi's personal life was made difficult because the burden of creating the music came to rest more and more on his shoulders, and he necessarily had to put in extraordinary time. But what also comes out is that these guys were a band of brothers. Everyone played an important role. Ozzy was the showman and, while all of the guys were cut-ups, Ozzy was the master. Geezer was the imagination. His lyrics made Sabbath Sabbath, and he was and is a tremendous musician. Bill was the heart of the group, with his drumbeat but especially because he was and is such a decent guy. He would frequently call on everyone involved with the band when they weren't touring just to check up on them to be sure all was well. Lots more. This is THE book for Sab fans. The couple of others I've read were poorly written and told you next to nothing about the band. This is a straightforward narrative. You'll laugh, feel a great fondness for the band, and wish you could be transported back in time to the early to mid 70s so that you could watch a Sabbath concert with a backstage pass and then party with the band afterward.

Average customer rating:

boring
The most legitamite Black Sabbath history book
Black Sabbath: An Oral History (For the record)
The book was insightful and intresting.
Feels rushed,too short,not enough detail,not a full story

Black Sabbath: An Oral History
Dave Marsh , and Mike Stark
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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How Black Was Our Sabbath: An Unauthorised View from the Crew

ASIN: 0060529458
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Book Description

On February 13, 1970,
Black Sabbath released its first album and
changed the face of music forever.

The band seemed to come out of nowhere, with a dark, otherworldly sound dominated by the soul-piercing wail of twenty-two-year-old John "Ozzy" Osbourne. Once its brooding, overpowering music was out, millions of listeners couldn't get enough, an record and in concert. It was the birth of heavy metal.

In Black Sabbath: An Oral History, Mike Stark leads you into the studio and on tour with the quintessential British metal band, a primary influence right up to the present day on hundreds of rock groups, from Metallica to Spinal Tap. Here are firsthand accounts from Black Sabbath's four founding members -- Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne -- and from other members through the years, including Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Eric Singer, Tony Martin, Cozy Powell, and Neil Murray. In their own words, they tell you what it's like to turn up the amps, hit the stage, and power-chord an audience into submission -- and create a brand -- new kind of rock in the process.

Customer Reviews:

boring.......2001-06-15

All i have to say about this book is it was very boring.

The most legitamite Black Sabbath history book.......2001-03-09

Most band biographies are inaccurate and poorly done. This is usually because an author will quote somebody, then insert some of his own thoughts, and continue with another quote, giving the illusion that the band shares all the author's ideas. But "Black Sabbath : An Oral History (For the Record)" consists of all direct quotes, ordered by subject chonologically. Maybe not everybody is going to like this style, but after hearing SO many crazy Black Sabbath rumors over the years (like why was Ozzy fired, why did Glenn Hughes drop out of the 7th Star tour, what's this song about, why didn't the such-and-such reunion work out) I'm glad to finally hear the real deal, right from the horse's mouth. Also, Mike Stark (who conducted the interviews) writes an excellent introduction about the music of Black Sabbath. His praisingly creative descriptions of Ozzy Osbourne ("the banshee") and Ronnie James Dio ("The Sorcerer") were so dead-on!

There are many quotes from Bill Ward, which I was very pleased to see. With all the personal conflicts or collaborations that have gone on between Tony, Ozzy, Geezer, and Ronnie, I always wanted to hear what Bill's point of view was in all of this. It was also very refreshing to hear Ozzy and Ronnie complement each other.

The book covers the entire Black Sabbath history, from their beginnings on the streets of Birmingham, through all their 25 years worth of albums and line-ups, and finally to the Ozzfest reunions in 1997. I own the first edition, and the only glaring typo I noticed was "Ray Gillen" being replaced by "Ian Gillan" everywhere. I mentioned it to Mike, and he knew about it, was frustrated about it, but told me that he was hoping to get it fixed in the next edition.

Anyway, if you're a Black Sabbath fan, here's where to get the truth of those crazy stories once and for all. And some excellent anecdotes that I've never heard in any other interviews too.

Black Sabbath: An Oral History (For the record).......2000-03-02

It is a very short "quote" book, mostly consisting of statements from Bill Ward (The Drummer). Although interesting to read, the book lacked any other real veiwpoints from others that have been in the band. It would have been great to have a more balanced account from all the members of the band. Especially Ozzy osbourne & Tony Iommi. There are only a few quotes from these two, & lets face it, these guys are the ones who could have given us deeper insight into the wild ways of Black Sabbath in their Heyday! Overall, not bad.

The book was insightful and intresting........1999-03-25

This book is for every Sabbath fan out there. The book comes directly from the mouth of the band. It tells of the hardships that Sabbath went through. It is a great book.

Feels rushed,too short,not enough detail,not a full story.......1999-03-16

Seems to go through almost thirty years in a flash,text and substance reads like a heavy metal magazine(not a complement).Too little spent during the time they were a musical force(1970-1978)and way too much on their dark years (1981-1996). All in all not bad but I expected better for a band as influential as Sabbath.

Black Sabbath: Anthology (Black Sabbath)

Average customer rating:

Good songs, sloppy transcribing
Great Selection Gets Points for Simplicity
Good collection, but somewhat lacking
Awsome collection
Best Sab Tab Book

Black Sabbath: Anthology (Black Sabbath)
Music Sales Corporation
Manufacturer: Amsco Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Play Guitar With...Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath - Paranoid*

ASIN: 0825610842
Release Date: 1986-12-31

Product Description

This unique collection of 27 of Black Sabbath s greatest songs will be a hit with your favorite HM guitarist. Includes such headbangers as Iron Man, Paranoid, and War Pigs. All guitar solos are notated in both standard notation and tablature.

Customer Reviews:

Good songs, sloppy transcribing.......2007-04-13

All of the songs that the book list as being tuned to D is in reality tuned to C#. Iron man is tabbed one step higher than it is played, so lower everything by one fret. This is a good starting point but make sure you play along with the recording to match pitch. The rhythms are a little off as well, in heaven and hell they list the intro as just 4 8th notes when it is really a 16th note and 3 8th note triplets. Hopefully one day there will be a more accurate book but this is really the best out there right now and it does have a excellent track listing.

Great Selection Gets Points for Simplicity.......2007-02-15

The selection is the main appeal which includes the familiar Sabbath classics, but some not so easily found in sheet music stores: e.g.: National Acrobat, Voodoo, Country Girl, Hard Road, Supernaut, Neon Knights, Heaven and Hell, Children of the Sea, Etc. Many of the "complete" or "recorded versions" of the same songs had numerous guitar overdubs transcribed and since Sabbath are a one-guitar band, the simplified, one-guitar versions were much simpler to follow and that that was the whole idea. The omitted solos to something like "Snowblind" are just pentatonic and are easy to figure out anyway. So the great thing about this book is the simplicity. It is all well and good for someone to notate every last guitar overdub on an album but it can get confusing when you want a one-guitar version of something. Another advantage to the simplified versions is that it takes less space per page for easier reading. Example: the "outro" solo on "War Pigs" is transcribed on one page instead of 5-10 pages and that way you can play along with the record without having to worry about turning the pages. Well worth the money that I paid for it

Good collection, but somewhat lacking.......2006-07-21

I've owned this sheet music book for a couple of years and I still occasionally reference it. The song selection is actually better than on any of the "greatest hits" albums I've seen.

What disappointed me is how incomplete some of the transcriptions are. For instance at the end of "Snowblind," the caption simply says to improvise something, rather than taking the extra effort to finish the tablation. Certain riffs like Children of the Sea would have been better written-out instead of in "rhythm slash" notation. "A Bit of Finger" is present and seems reasonably accurate, but there's no "Warning" to go with it. It happens to be my favorite track on that side of the album.

Every song in this book is vital and worth learning, and I'd recommend it to any intermediate guitarist who wants to take on some heavy blues and hard rock influences. Its incomplete status and semi-official credibility are my only disappointments.

Awsome collection.......1999-09-08

I was looking for that book for a long time. Simply it's the best of the best.

Best Sab Tab Book.......1999-05-14

I'm glad I had twenty bucks on me when I found this years ago, otherwise I would have stolen it. I had a guitar for years, but wasn't much inspired because I didn't know any songs from my favorite bands, and Sabbath was the greatest of them all. I soon learned all the songs in this book (and all the original group's mnaterial). Not all the trancriptions are correct, but it is far better than any other books I've checked out. Great song selection of songs, also.

Black Sabbath - Riff by Riff Bass (Riff by Riff)

Average customer rating:

Good book

Black Sabbath - Riff by Riff Bass (Riff by Riff)

Manufacturer: Cherry Lane Music
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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Black Sabbath - Riff by Riff
Mel Bay J. S. Bach for Bass
Classic Led Zeppelin I & II (Bass Guitar)
Rage Against the Machine
Bass Anthology Rush (Bass Anthology)

ASIN: 1575602652

Book Description

The most comprehensive bass book ever on the music of Black Sabbath! Features over 130 annotated, note-for-note excerpts from Black Sabbath through Mob Rules, in-depth lessons, a history of the band, info on their gear setups, lots of photos, and much more. Songs include: Am I Going Insane * Black Sabbath * Bassically * Dirty Women * Heaven and Hell * Into the Void * Iron Man * The Mob Rules * Paranoid * Rat Salad * Supernaut * Sweet Leaf * and more. Also available: 02500116 Riff by Riff Guitar $14.95

Customer Reviews:

Good book.......2007-07-01

This book includes not only the riffs from the most popular Black Sabbath songs but also lots of explanations about Geezer Butler's playing style and about the songs themselves. I found it very helpful.

Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll: Revised Edition

Average customer rating:

The most accurate Sabbath tabs you'll ever find
Great Book

Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll: Revised Edition
Recorded Visions
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Metallica - Master of Puppets
Best of Judas Priest (Guitar Recorded Versions)
Deep Purple - Greatest Hits: A Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Guitar Style and Techniques of Ritchie Blackmore (Guitar Signature Licks)

ASIN: 0793523222

Product Description

Matching folio to the double live LP from this legendary heavy metal group. 16 songs, including: Paranoid Iron Man The Wizard N.I.B. Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath Snowblind and more.

Customer Reviews:

The most accurate Sabbath tabs you'll ever find.......2006-03-14

Tired of trying to learn Iron Man, but can't quite figure it out? Look no further, this book contains the definitive Iron Man tab, plus thirteen other ones. 100% accurate tabs, of one of the best bands in the world. Tony Iommi creates some of the best riffs in all of metal, and with this book you'll learn them with ease. Enjoy!

Great Book.......2004-01-26

This is a great book for learning black sabbath. But, you probly want to have the cd (under the same name) or have all of the sabbath cd's with ozzy. The Tabs are very eay to read and have the notes also. However, they do not include the songs timing so you will have to figure it out yourself. The songs are very easy I have almost learned all of the songs in it. So, basically if your want to learn the popular sabbath tracks this is the way to go.

Rat Salad: Black Sabbath: The Classic Years 1969-1975

Average customer rating:

Rat Salad: Black Sabbath: The Classic Years 1969-1975
Paul Wilkinson
Manufacturer: Pimlico
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Sabbath Bloody Sabbath: The Battle for Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath: Doom Let Loose: An Illustrated History

ASIN: 1844139247
Release Date: 2006-07-04

Book Description

A winning account of Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath in their early, glory years.

Black Sabbath is one of the most outrageous, yet long-lasting bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. This informative, idiosyncratic and beguiling book paints a vivid picture of their colourful early history — interwoven with all the most crucial news stories of the time: from Vietnam to Bloody Sunday and the Space program.

Where Rat Salad diverges from routes taken by most rock biographies, however, is in its detailed analysis of the band’s first six albums. These chapters — think Ian MacDonald’s Revolution in the Head meets Spinal Tap — occupy about half the book and persuasively explain the appeal of the music, its compositional artistry and its frequently audacious inventiveness.

Original and passionate, Rat Salad embraces a remarkably diverse cast of characters — from Ozzy Osbourne himself and the other band members, through to Edith Sitwell, Breugel the Elder, John Milton and Doris Day. The author’s hand looms large in the piece. We see him both as a boy and man — from schoolboy ingénue to inveterate devotee — as he looks back at a life populated with love, sex, drugs and death played out against a backdrop of crucifixes and power chords.

The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H. P. Lovecraft

Average customer rating:

Excellent for Lovecraft or music lovers alike

The Strange Sound of Cthulhu: Music Inspired by the Writings of H. P. Lovecraft
Gary Hill
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Cthulhu Cult
From Beyond (Unrated Director's Cut)
The Art Of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos
Tales From the Crypt / Vault of Horror (Double Feature)

ASIN: 184728776X

Book Description

Arguably no other author has inspired more musicians than has Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Here, for the first time, is a book documenting the music inspired by the works of this literary genius, with insights provided by the artists. The book features a foreword by H. P. Lovecraft expert S. T. Joshi and cover artwork by Joseph Vargo.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for Lovecraft or music lovers alike.......2006-10-28

The Strange Sound of Cthulhu starts with an introduction to Lovecraft's life. This provides good background for readers who are there for the musical aspect and unfamiliar with his writing. It is strait-forward, giving just the information needed to understand how he could still have an impact on music today, almost seventy years after his death.

The rest of the book is broken down into the musical genres he inspired. From psychedelic rock to country, groups little heard of all the way to big names, such as Black Sabbath and Metallica, have attributed some of their inspiration to Lovecraft.

Hill analyzes the songs--and even group names--that have roots in the literature of Lovecraft. The book compares lyrics with Lovecraft prose, and touches on music rumored to have Lovecraft ties. He gives details of each song, and in many cases, interviews with the artists behind the music. They discuss how their music ties in with Lovecraft, how they were introduced to his writing, and even their favorite Lovecraft tale.

Though the idea of seeing the music described in words may sound dull to some, Joshi was correct in the forward when he said, "Gary has that rarest of skills among music critics: the ability to describe a song, whether vocal or instrumental, in such a way that readers seem to hear it running through their heads."

Though Hill claims that the book is in no way exhaustive on the subject, it is as close to being exhaustive as it can get. It is designed to snare the readers that are there for the music to start reading Lovecraft, and the readers there for Lovecraft to look out for the music. I found myself getting out my old music to listen for what Hill describes.

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