There is no one better suited to write this insightful and informative book than Joel McIver, a veteran music journalist who has previously written authoritative texts on Metallica, Slayer and Black Sabbath. Crazy Train
details the life of Randy Rhoads, a local Hollywood guitar player who turned
into an iconic figure when he landed the gig as guitarist for ex-Black Sabbath
singer Ozzy Osbourne. Rhoads had recorded two albums with Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz and
Diary of a Madman - and was being hailed as the most innovative new guitarist to come along for many years. A tragic plane accident claimed his life at age 26, and all of that is described here in detail.
McIver shows a broad and masterful knowledge of his subject; he looks beneath the relationship between Randy and Ozzy; he looks inside what life must have been like for a local kid turned into a true rock star; he delves inside the accident; and he talks about Randy's influence on a future generation of guitar players.
With the re-release of Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, there has been renewed interest in the life
and death of Randy Rhoads. All the answers are here. We're just lucky that author Joel McIver, in his beautifully-written book, was able to uncover them all.