Classic Rock Book Reviews: quick and dirty

  You Can’t Always Get What You Want by Sam Cutler Sam Cutler was a tour manager for both the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead. So given that kind of access you’d think Mr. Cutler would have something to say. Well, he does but the writing is horrid.  The selling point here is the Rolling Stones and the  “Altamont” tragedy. Pretty much everything before and after is just to fill out the book, at least as far as I can see.   This is truly a case where my expectations led me astray. I was hoping for something . . . new, mind-blowing from this Rolling Stones insider. What do we get is a whole lot of  . . . wait for it. . . nothing. Maybe it’s not Mr.Cutler’s fault that he can’t add anything to what was already known about the tragedy. Disappointment reigned when I realized that I was not going to learn anything new about the murder of Mr. Meredith Hunter. Nothing. Nothing new.  Sheesh!   The pictures are another source of disappointment. Sam Cutl...

Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks   By Stephen Davis I really wanted to like this book. I had read nothing about Stevie Nicks, so this biography was supposed to be fun. Stephen Davis produced a book that was fun for the first maybe half. Then I lost the plot. Stevie Nicks is a rock and roll legend. Full stop. You could almost end her story there. The lady is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2 categories. Many folks wind up in the Hall of Fame in just one category and we consider them legends. That would mean Stephanie Lynn Nicks is a double legend. So reading more about her should have been enjoyable. But sadly it's hard to recommend this compiled tripe. Was it a fun read? Ummm, I tried and really wanted to have fun, but it would have been more fun if it had some original reporting and interviews. This is just a biography of previously published material from interviews, other books, and even liner notes. Sheesh! Liner notes?? We could all write books if liner not...

  U2 The Definitive Biography  John Jobling We all love U2. Everyone has since maybe the late 80s. So it’s time to crack a book about this little beat combo from Dublin, Ireland. The claim on the cover is a big one. This is not just any ordinary biography but it is the DEFINITIVE biography no less.  Words have meaning and while meanings are malleable you can’t use a word when it just doesn’t apply. John Jobling's work on U2 is certainly not definitive. Mr. Oxford Dictionary suggests “ (of a book or other text) the most authoritative of its kind.”. Is this the most authoritative of its kind? Nope . . .  After reading this, I am convinced there are better biographies of the band out there. The basics are covered but I just felt that something was missing. Maybe it's the writing style, maybe it was the feeling of the book.  Yup, different books can feel differently, whether it’s the binding or the paper or whatever it might be all books have a feeling. For a quick ...

I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres There is no co-write listed. Does this mean Ms. Des Barres truly wrote this herself or does she have a quiet ghostwriter? Either way, the book opens with a foreword by the one and only Dave Navarro. That foreword was as useful as Led Zepplin (think about it for a sec). The only reason Dave Navarro’s name appeared on the cover was to help sell books. Nothing in his foreword contributed anything to the book except that it too up a little bit of space Pamela learned early what men wanted and she gave them what they were after. In return for her favors, she could hang out with whoever it happened to be.  Pamela was, as the title says, a groupie. But she is not just a groupie. She was perhaps the most famous of the groupies. Is she more famous than “ Sweet, Sweet Connie from Little Rock”? Perhaps although Pamela has not been mentioned in the song as explicitly as Connie. These are the tales of a young girl living her rock ...

  Sinner's Creed by Scott Stapp and David Ritz Oh boy! There is a lot of religion in this book. So much so that I began to wonder just what I was reading. Was I reading a conversion story? Well, sort of. Was I reading a story of redemption? Well, sort of. Was I reading a rock and roll autobiography? Well, sort of. Sure this tells the story of the band Creed and Mr. Stapp's relationships within the band but it tells us more. Scott Stapp jumped right in and decided to confuse the reader with the kind of book this is.  Religion plays a big part in Stapp's life. Great. We read of the issues Scott went through when trying to wrap his music around his religion. It wasn't just the music that we see Scott struggle with. We see him struggle with more than music and drugs and sex. We see his personal struggle with his religion. His father insisted upon Scott behaving and acting in a way that was in accord with the good book. That seems to have messed Scott up a bunch in his year...

 Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis and Larry Sloman Perhaps this is just me showing my age but the photo of Kiedis reminds me of, the great, Iggy Pop. Although I haven't seen peanut butter show up anywhere yet. Spoiler alert: Kiedis is not this generation's Iggy Pop, lest anyone get confused. This book should have been entitled " Drugs, Women, and Loneliness".  As with many rockers, Kiedis lived the life. But the thing with Kiedis, I always want to type Keidis, is he started much of his drug use started before the rock and roll.  As did his use, and reuse and some might suggest abuse of women. Not abuse in terms of physically beating them but in other ways. Good old Tony claims to have lost his virginity at age 12 . . . maybe he did. Maybe not. Even though he makes this claim I'm not sure I buy it. Anthony was so screwed up on drugs it's a wonder he didn't have sex with the Easter bunny.  Drugs seem to have been his dance partner in life since his daddy introd...

  James Taylor Long Ago and Far Away : His Life and His Music by Timothy White I really wanted to love this book. I have never read anything about James Taylor and was actually looking forward to it. I did enjoy it, for the most part. Upon seeing the length I got nervous and looking back - I was right to be nervous. And then some. We learn very early that his earliest ancestors in Scotland spelled their name Tailyeour, it was great-great-great -whatever grandpappy Hercules Tailyeour. Yup, we went all the way back to 1601 for that little nugget.  Genealogy is a wonderful thing. Many of us are curious about our ancestral history and invest in finding out this info. But is it necessary, in a biography about a rock star, to take us back nearly 500 hundred years??? For a rock star? Rhetorical question.  We learned how the publisher Simon and Schuster was set up. Sure, we need to know about Ms. Simon but, at one point, it began to look like a history of Simon and Schuster than...

  “Stone Alone The story of a rock and roll band” Bill Wyman with Ray Coleman As I write this I'm listening to “I wanna Get Me a Gun”. It’s from Wymans’ 1974 solo album Monkey Grip.  I have just one question. What in the name of “Goats Head Soup” was Wyman thinking with this song?  And don’t get me started on that little ditty “Peanut Butter Time”.  What a wasted effort. Wyman should have just stuck to being part of the best rhythm section in rock music history.   So what about “Stone Alone”? Well, it’s named after his 1976 solo album, the one that “Peanut Butter Time” comes from, ugh. That song has truly left a bad taste in my mouth.   Let me just say that “Stone Alone” book is so much better than “Stone Alone” the album.  Ok so the book is . . . well, it’s nearly 600 flamin’ pages! 600!! And yeah sure you’re gonna find all the trials, tribulations, and travails that you could hope for in a book about the world’s greatest rock and roll band....

  Sinatra! The Song is You by Will Freidwald    Freidwald dives into the musical life of the star and it is amazing just what he has produced here. Everything you could have possibly wanted to know about Sinatra the singer is here.  Freidwald talks about the Sinatra style by getting interviews with musicians that have worked with Frankie. Not just one or two famous musicians who have worked with Sinatra but Mr. Freidwald has interviews or snippets of interviews from the guy who played the second oboe on one of Sinatra’s songs. That kind of thing. The book runs through all the orchestras Sinatra has performed with. And the names of the orchestras and some of the players within those bands are legendary. Billy May, Tommy Dorsey, and Nelson Riddle are some of the more famous bands Sinatra had the fortune to work with. Maybe those bands were fortunate to have worked with Sinatra.  Sinatra was always wanting his bands to SWING. That was his big thing, it don’t mean a...

  Frank Sinatra in Hollywood by Tom Santopietro  Frank Sinatra ended up becoming one of the most respected actors of the 50s and 60s, including winning an academy award. Before all that Frankie was a sex symbol for the young teen girls across the land. These girls became collectively known as bobbysoxers.  But this book skips all that and deals with his time in Hollywood and talks of his rise to movie greatness.  Tom Santopietro dives deep not only into the movies he starred in but also into some of the motivations behind his movie choices and his acting choices. If you know anything about Frank Sinatra you know that he hung out with other famous people and the group was called the Rat Pack - sure everyone knows of the Rat Pack So the Rat Pack made a good movie. Then they made a bunch of movies. Too many movies for their own good.  “Ocean’s Eleven” is the best of the Rat Pack bunch but there is some fun to be had in the others. Sergeants 3 is a whole lot of fun ...

  “ Life” by Keith Richards and James Fox  We see that Richards is also a keeper of the journals, much like his buddy Bill Wyman, who speaks candidly of his heroin use. You should not be surprised to find out that Mr Richards had the ol’ ins and outs of heroin all figured out.  Keith talks lovingly of friend and fellow musician Gram Parsons. Richards and Parsons had been friends for several years and Keith had expressed concern about Parsons’ drug use.  Imagine Richards being concerned about someone else's drug use. It would be drugs that would, sadly, kill Parsons.   I got kind of fixated on the part about Gram Parsons and the sadness of his passing. It led me to a deep dive into his “LIFE” and some of the music he made. But that’s another book for another time. There is no deep appendix like the Wyman book had but “Life” doesn’t need it. The book has many great stories from Keith and his experiences within and without the Stones.  This book is worth ...

  I am Brian Wilson with Ben Greenman  I am hesitant to recommend this book at any price. It made me feel odd. I had the feeling I was reading the statement from a POW written by his captors.  The Brian Wilson book “ I am . . . Brian Wilson” made me feel oddly uncomfortable. Never have I had a feeling like that while reading a book. It’s difficult to explain except to say that I don’t think these are the words of Brian Wilson. There was something fishy about this book. It almost felt as though many of the words were forced upon Brian. I dunno. It almost seems as if that was Brian’s life and Brian’s music through the filter of another person. But what do I know? I have no idea of the truth. I simply accept the book as it sits in front of me and as it sits I have to say no steer clear and maybe look for a good biography somewhere.  I felt so odd I wanted to quit halfway through but I  stuck with it and by the end, I wasn’t happy. I truly wish I had another book ab...

  Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy  by James S. Hirsch and Mike Love   Wherever you happen to stand on Wilson versus Love, you simply have to acknowledge that the Beach Boys needed both men. Most folks who know about the Love - Wilson feud have taken a side. Perhaps too many of us have misunderstood Mr. Love. For many people, Mike Love is the voice of the Beach Boys.  When thinking of the Beach Boys the average listener tends to think of “California Girls” or “Surfin USA” rather than worrying about the complexity of the arrangements or the angelic falsetto of Brian Wilson.  The average concertgoer has never wanted to hear “ Caroline, No” live  but they sure do dance when the band kicks into “ Fun, Fun, Fun”. When folks jump on Mike Love they may not have the entire story. Certainly, Brian hates Mike, he has said as much but he has always understood Mike’s value within the band. There are “reasons”, Mr. Love contends, for the misunderstanding between ...

  “They can’t hide us anymore”  Richie Havens and Steve Davidowitz Firstly, this is not the “La Bamba” guy, this man is much deeper than “LA Bamba” both musically and personally. If there is one thing I have learned from reading rock biographies is that rock stars have egos - all of them! If they don’t have egos when they begin their recording careers they certainly develop one after a few successful records.  There is a distinct lack of ego within this book. Let me explain:  1)This is one skinny volume. So many stars want to cram as much information as possible into their books but Richie isn’t one of them.  2) If you look closely, you’ll see that the book is even shorter because several pages are devoted to his lyrics. An ego would demand not only those pages but an additional 50 to compensate for the apparent loss of pages to lyrics. 3)Then there is the complete lack of pictures; there are none. Ok sure there are a few but not many at all and they are not all...

Love, Janis  Laura Joplin    Oh, lord won’t you buy me a good biography! Oh, how I wanted to read this book. But it just didn’t grab me and I struggled through the first chapter. I was tempted to just put it down. No matter the genre of the book that is always a bad start.  Initially, I  didn’t get what Laura Joplin was after. When I eventually saw what Laura Joplin was doing it still didn’t strike me as anything that any well-researched biography could not have written. That is really a shame.  The upside is that it’s a quick read, and shouldn’t take more than a weekend. I had never read anything about the immortal Janis Joplin so I was hoping this would be the Janis book I didn’t know I needed. Was it? Well, no not quite.   What it did do was whet my appetite for more Janis which is a good thing. So I’ll have to look for a more definitive biography.  I did learn a few things about Janis that I didn’t know before; which wasn’t hard since I k...

  Amy, My Daughter by Mitch Winehouse This is a sad story. It’s a story about a father’s love for his daughter. I know that sounds good but the father spends his time trying to help his daughter get clean from drugs. Her devoted father continues to push and try to save his daughter's life while she tries and fails to go off narcotics. Over and over again.  That’s why this is a sad story. Daddy Mitch comes across as a typical loving, devoted parent who would do whatever to his daughters’ life. Most parents would try to save their kids’ lives as he did. It’s sad to actually have to read about that happening. There isn’t much here about her music and performances but what there are shows how drugs affected the music of Amy Winehouse and how drugs killed other music.  Her addiction killed her chance to work on the soundtrack for a James Bond movie. So drugs are bad kids. Stick to those shaken not stirred martinis.  We learn about how addiction works. We learn the lengths...