Amazingly this is the first biography ever written on Cozy Powell. For anyone who’s been living under a rock Cozy drummed for the likes of Rainbow, MSG, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and many many more. Or I could just say he’s the guy on Rainbow’s Stargazer arguably one of the greatest metal songs of all time.
The book has a separate chapter on each band Cozy played with right up to his tragic death in a car accident in 1998. There’s a lot on his session work pre-Rainbow and the graft he put in early on to become one of the most in demand drummers of the time. His technique, where he got his power and influences are all here. What the book reveals was a drummer who always put the music first, was never shy of sharing his opinion or standing up to anyone, didn’t like the suits who ran the business of music and was a top professional who always put on a great show. There’s numerous interview quotes from Cozy throughout the book from old publications and his take on things was pretty consistent. He liked whatever situation he was in at the time until he didn’t and then he was gone.
For anyone looking for current contributions from the likes of Coverdale, Blackmore or Schenker then there are none. The author decided not to contact anyone who worked with Cozy to share their stories. I found that decision more than a little puzzling and sometimes you need to take the fanboy hat off to gain a different perspective on how things might have gone down. Being more blunt just get these guys on the record now about Cozy before they can’t. Jimmy Bain, Ronnie James Dio, Paul Raymond…
I still enjoyed the book and hats off to Laura for writing it. If you want a detailed look at Cozy the musician then this is the book for you. He’s played on a lot more then you might know. I interviewed Laura to help promote this and also former Rainbow road manager Colin Hart and a special episode on the great Cozy Powell will be coming soon.
Richie.
