Best Book on The Rolling Stones

I recently finished this book and enjoyed it.

 

One thing I like about "Spanish" Tony's book is while a lot of what he writes is ugly and it seems like b.s., it adds to the Stones mystique. It doesn't really lift any veils like Booth's and Greenfield's books, but it puts some blocks into the foundation of a great band instead of just knocking them down. He also has some pretty good insights on the ill effects fame, touring and drugs had on the dissolution of Keith's character without being a completely cautionary tale and again without deriding the Stones' myth.

Booth's book is better written though, as is Greenfield's.

 

Do you guys recommend me this one? They told me in a bookstore that it was the equivalent to The Beatles Anthology.

 

I just realized in my haste I garbled this. To be clear:
"Exile on Main Street: A Season in Hell with The Rolling Stones," by Robert Greenfield -- a book that's better than it's reviews and a good book.

"S.T.P.: A Journey Through America With The Rolling Stones," by Robert Greenfield -- his first book on the Stones, better written than his later "Exile" book and a classic.

"True Adventures of The Rolling Stones," by Stanley Booth -- another great book and a classic, maybe better than either Greenfield book.

 

This may or not be true. But Keith has often said that the only reason he is alive, while virtually everyone else is dead or dying, is that he pulled back at crucial moments. Usually it was in the context of drug-taking, but backing down in a bar fight is often a wise move. We can't all be Ronnie Van Zant.

 

I liked it too.

 

I must object to the English guys not as tough as Italians comment.
English guys are either
Hard
Well Hard
or 'SAS Hard'.

Keef was probably just looking after his fingers. Most Englishmen could take three of four Italians at a time on a bad day.

 

Good for the pictures

 

Tell that to Jacob Rees Mogg or Quentin Crisp or Kenneth Williams etc...

 

Maybe they were the kind of Italians who make offers you can't refuse, in which case Keith showed great wisdom and a strong instinct for self-preservation in backing down.

 

True. The Italian Army springs to mind.

 

He elected not to "show them the blade."

 

David Dalton's The Rolling Stones: The First Twenty Years is perfect in every way -- it's a lavishly illustrated, beautifully designed anthology of good writings, stitched together with intelligent commentary by Dalton.

 

Maybe it was the lives they were recounting rather than the books themselves that were, or are, to blame?

 

Why is that?

is it because they would be competing with Crossfire Hurricane or Anthology, or other reasons?

 

Ethan Russel let it bleed is more than just a photo book. Focuses on the 69 tour despite the 72 tour cover photo..it’s really good.

Good news is the photos on the actual hard cover underneath are from msg 69 so can be changed

 

that book and stone alone are my two favorites .

 

Substandard because there's no input from Wyman.

 

I guess you didn't find it a fun read.

 

I think it was a fantastic read and I acknowledge it's some kind of art. But it's not a real autobiography. Like I said, you can't steal from Faulkner and Proust and expect to get away with it.

 

The only one I read..............

 

I said this early on in the thread. This is a really good read, and no one's really talked about it

 

Not only no input. He barely gets a mention. If that was the only Stones book you'd be hard pressed to name the guy who played bass with them for over 30 years