Rock Books - Page 5

Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith

Aerosmith, Stephen Davis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 142 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Walk This Way 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Excellent reading. Great to hear about life on the road. The ups and downs etc.

Great Read 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great read for any fan of rock n' roll though it's definitely geared more towards Aerosmith fans themselves. It provides a very in-depth look at their drug-filled beginnings and how they progressed to a more sobered-up version. But it definitely focuses on their drug years. As a hard-core Aerosmith fan myself, it's all I could want and more. But for casual fans, it almost has too much. It provides very detailed descriptions of how songs were thought up, where the band toured, etc. Things that casual fans don't especially care about. However, it provides a great look at how a rock band functioned and really portrayed the rise, fall, and resurrection of Aerosmith well. Highly recommended.

Editorial Review:

Hang on, it's a hell of a ride!

From the band that lived by the motto "Anything worth doing was worth overdoing" -- Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, and Joey Kramer -- comes a quarter century of rock godhood: the life, the music, the truth, the hell, the lost years, and the raunchy, unsafe sex.

And, of course, the drugs.

But after crashing in a suffocating cloud of cocaine, crystal meth, and heroin, Aerosmith rose up from the ashes to become clean and sober -- and reclaim their rightful title as World Champion Rockers. Learn how they did it in a book that is pure Aerosmith unbound: where they came from, what they are now, and what they will always be -- a great American band.

So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star: The Byrds Day-by-Day 1965-1973

Christopher Hjort

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Worth reading! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

As the third reviewer of this book, I appear to be the first person to actually have read it--or at least large sections of it. And I'll be rereading it, too.

This book is amazing, and surpasses all my expectations. It goes FAR beyond the Rogan book on the Byrds, which is its own first-rate exploration of the subject. But this book . . .

It has so much material that hasn't appeared in print together before. It really is a day by day account, describing concert performances, recording sessions (I didn't know that Gene Clark was the co-writer of the song "Get to You" from The Notorious Byrd Brothers, not Chris Hillman, but there it is, in McGuinn's own words), contemporaneous reviews of the singles releases, the albums. ETc, etc.

And there are so many photos, images of posters advertising concerts, and on and on. This is about as comprehensive as you can get, a dream of a book for a Byrds fan. I was stunned to see reviews of a concert I'd attended at Carnegie Hall in New York, when the Byrds and the Gram Parson/Chris Hillman Burrito Brothers shared the bill and later jammed together; or the concert at the Fillmore East where the band introduced (Untitled).

This is a treasure trove for the fanatic. Yes, I know, that's what I am. I demand that amazon institute a new 6 star rating system, so I can give this book one extra star.

Editorial Review:

In 1965, the Byrds had a worldwide smash with "Mr. Tambourine Man," hung out with the Beatles, undertook a disastrous tour of Great Britain, and capped the year with a second U.S. hit, "Turn! Turn! Turn!" In 1972, the original lineup reunited for recording purposes, while a different touring Byrds played a final concert in February 1973. In between, they released the groundbreaking "Eight Miles High" single and a clutch of classic albums despite internal battles and lineup changes that would have wrecked most bands. In their case, the chaos only fueled leader Roger McGuinn's creative juices. Their influence has been felt everywhere from the chiming Rickenbackers and the harmonies of REM and Tom Petty to just about every alt-country and Americana act on the scene. This daily diary, featuring such rock legends as the Rolling Stones and Tina Turner, is a raw, personal glimpse of the band that invented folk rock and popularized psychedelia and country rock.

The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart

Willie Nelson, Turk Pipkin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

National icon Willie Nelson has evolved over the years from country music outlaw swimming against a Whiskey River to a Zen-like figure of wisdom and contentment. In this autobiographical collection of life advice, The Tao of Willie, one of America’s truest hearts reveals the spiritual and practical lessons learned from decades of hard knocks and good bounces.

This inspiring and entertaining collection of "Willie wisdom" takes us from his days as a young boy in Texas where he learns to respect his elders, to his roadhouse days when he united redneck rockers, long-haired hippies and straight-laced country music fans, to the mega-sized benefit concerts and environmentalism that define his boundless heart. And there are plenty of his favorite jokes along the way.

With stories that will both make you laugh out loud and look deep inside yourself, he shows us how the Willie way — and the way of the Tao — can also be your way. Let Willie’s common sense approach to life awaken you to the happiness that already exists in your own heart. With Willie as your guide, join the river of life and you’ll be carried on an amazing journey.

AC/DC: Maximum Rock & Roll: The Ultimate Story of the World's Greatest Rock-and-Roll Band

Murray Engleheart, Arnaud Durieux

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Lots of Information Without Much Insight 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

First off, AC/DC are my favorite band and have been for years. It took me some time to get around to reading this because it's unauthorized and the band are notoriously mum about what goes on behind the scenes. Still, other reviews gave this high marks, so I gave it a shot.

It's unclear to me at whom this book is aimed. It's a bit maddening because for someone to undertake a read of this size, they would most likely already be an established fan of the band. Therefore, a book that undertakes the history of AC/DC to this level of detail should deliver some new information, impressions, stories, themes, etc., that an existing fan might appreciate. Instead, it reads like an end-to-end string of Wikipedia articles, devoid of any personality, irony, or passion. Where the book falls short therefore, is in its dry exploration of facts that are well-known to most AC/DC fans. Some AC/DC fans will pick up a few bits of new info here and there, but for the most part, this is a clinical history of the band, interspersed with harmless anecdotes that don't give any new insight into the personality of the musicians.

Every once in awhile, the authors will hint at something interesting, or some insightful behind-the-scenes info, but they never deliver. They gloss over Phil Rudd's departure by simply mentioning there was an unspecified problem between him and an unnamed person in "the Youngs circle." Or halfway through the book, a point is made that Angus and Malcolm had a fiery relationship that wasn't always civil during the creative process. But he doesn't expound on how or why that tension existed. It is implied that Bon and possibly other members of the band battled substance abuse, which might have given a new depth to appreciating some of the lyrics and/or stories behind the records. However, such information is withheld or ignored. This is not to say that the book would be improved by the inclusion of lurid and embarrassing stories about the band. Quite the opposite, a respectful examination of such themes and events could deliver a stunning new appreciation of musicians of such high caliber.

For those readers who enjoyed the likes of rock biographies such as "No One Here Gets Out Alive," (Jim Morrison and The Doors), "Hammer of the Gods" (Led Zeppelin), or "The Dirt" (Motley Crue), due to the endless tales of drugs, sex, drugs, sex, drugs, sex, drugs and rock and roll, you will be disappointed. There is none of that here.

For those readers who are looking for a more respectful consideration of the band, this book will be overkill. Find a Mojo, Uncut, or Classic Rock magazine that has done a comprehensive piece on AC/DC and you will be just as satisfied.

I left this book feeling slightly more informed, but without much additional understanding or appreciation of AC/DC.

Editorial Review:

After more than three decades and 150 million albums, AC/DC has established itself as much more than just a great rock band. For millions of fans spanning several generations across the world, they are an ear-bleedingly loud, sweat-soaked religion.

Now, in a book of astonishing breadth and scope, comes the complete story of AC/DC. Everything you ever wanted to know and plenty more you never dreamt of is all here, the ultimate balls-out adventure, laced with sex, drunken escapades, and brawls—topped off with rare intimate photos to create the ultimate portrait of the ultimate rock band.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon

Crystal Zevon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

When Warren Zevon died in 2003, he left behind both a fanatical cult following and a rich catalog of dark, witty rock-n-roll classics that includes "Lawyers, Guns, and Money," "Excitable Boy," and the immortal "Werewolves of London." He also left a trove of misadventures and anecdotes, a veritable rock opera of drugs, women, celebrity, high times, and hard ways. As Warren once said, "I got to be Jim Morrison a lot longer than he did."

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead is an intimate and unusual oral history of one of our most original and distinctive rock-and-roll antiheroes. Narrated by his former wife and longtime co-conspirator, Crystal Zevon, the book draws on over eighty interviews with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Stephen King, Billy Bob Thornton, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and countless others who came under his mischievous spell. The result is a raucous and moving tale of love and obsession, creative genius and epic bad behavior. Told in the words and images of the friends, lovers, and legends who knew him best, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead captures Warren Zevon in all his turbulent glory.

The Beatles Anthology

Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 218 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From their years growing up in Liverpool through their ride to fame to their ultimate breakup, here’s the inside story. Interwoven with The Beatles’ own memories are the recollections of such associates as road manager Neil Aspinall, producer George Martin, and spokesman Derek Taylor. The Beatles Anthology is a once-in-a-lifetime volume: warm, frank, funny, poignant, and bold-just like the music that’s been a part of so many of our lives. The Beatles Anthology is, for the first time, the story of The Beatles by The Beatles. Created with the full cooperation of Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko Ono Lennon, it also includes the words of John, painstakingly compiled from sources worldwide. The Beatles Anthology is, in effect, The Beatles’ autobiography. The Beatles Anthology features over 1300 images, most previously unpublished. Paul, George, Ringo, and Yoko Ono Lennon all opened their own archives just for this project, as did Apple, EMI, and others long associated with The Beatles, allowing the unprecedented release of photographs, documents, and other memorabilia from their homes and offices. The result is an extraordinary wealth of visual material brimming on each and every page.

A Pirate Looks At Fifty

Jimmy Buffett

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 245 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

For the millions of fans of Jimmy Buffett's music as well as his bestselling books, Tales From Margaritaville and Where Is Joe Merchant?, here is the ultimate Jimmy Buffett philosophy on life and how to live it.  As hard as it is to believe, the irrepressible Jimmy Buffett has hit the half-century mark and, in A PIRATE LOOKS AT 50, he brings us along on the remarkable journey which he took through the Southern hemisphere to celebrate this landmark birthday.
        
Jimmy takes us from the legendary pirate coves of the Florida Keys to the ruins of ancient Cartegena.  Along the way, we hear a tale or two of how he got his start in New Orleans, how he discovered his passion for flying planes, and how he almost died in a watery crash in Nantucket harbor.  We follow Jimmy to jungle outposts in Costa Rica and on a meandering trip down the Amazon, through hair-raising negotiations with gun-toting customs  officials and a 3-year-old aspiring co-pilot.  And he is the inimitable Jimmy Buffett through it all.
        
For Parrotheads, for armchair adventurers, and for anyone who appreciates a good yarn and a hearty laugh, here is the ultimate backstage pass -- you'll read the kind of stories Jimmy usually reserves for his closest friends and you'll see a wonderful, wacky life through eyes of the man who's lived it.   A PIRATE LOOKS AT 50 is a breath of fresh air and a ingenious manual for getting to 50 . . . and beyond.

Rolling Stone 1,000 Covers: A History of the Most Influential Magazine in Pop Culture

Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Still rolling along 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 17 people found this review helpful.

If you have the original large 1998 edition this latest book is just a continuation, though smaller in size, up to the thousandth edition in May/June 2006. I was rather impressed with the earlier book except for the silly tiny type dates and photo credits for each cover, amazingly set in four point. Fortunately someone has realised that tiny type is not really readable in a domestic lighting environment so the cover dates and photo credits have been upped to just over five point, still rather small though. Apart from this all the other text is readable and combined with the excellent design and printing makes this a wonderful book to look at.

Like the first book it is not just a memory jogger of covers, there are plenty of sidebar excerpts from the magazine. It is the covers though that are the five stars plus. Not many consumer publications manage to consistently retain a quality cover look over so many years and in the Stone's case with the same logo since January 1981. Look through the index of photographers and illustrators and you'll see why the covers look so cool: Annie Leibovitz shot 142 of them, Herb Ritts has forty-six, Richard Avedon eighteen. With this sort of quality no wonder it always looked good. Even the early issues in the rather inflexible newspaper format had a distinctive cover style.

I think this beautiful looking updated book will be a strong seller (not least because of Amazon's bargain price) for those who lived with rock for the last thirty-nine years.

Quirky observation: the book's title is on a wrap-around strip of paper (rather bizarrely called a belly band in the trade) and I can't see it staying in one piece for long as this is just the kind of book that will enjoy a lot of handling.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Editorial Review:

For the past 39 years, the covers of Rolling Stone have depicted the great icons of popular culture, from John Lennon, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, and Madonna to Steve Martin, Uma Thurman, and Richard Nixon. Often it was an appearance on the cover that launched a performer’s legendary status in the first place. An enormous hit when it appeared in 1997 as Rolling Stone: The Complete Covers, 1967-1997 (nearly 100,000 copies sold in all editions), this fantastic collection has been revised and updated to include the covers since 1997 up to the much-publicized 1,000th cover, slated to hit newsstands in May 2006.

With an updated introduction by Jann S. Wenner as well as new excerpts from the magazine and quotes from photographers and their celebrity subjects, this nostalgic journey down the memory lane of pop music, entertainment, and politics is irresistible.

In His Own Write

John Lennon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

LENNON IN HIS OWN WORDS 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

ITS A SHAME THAT YOKO ONO DARED TO "WRITE A FOREWORD" TO A BOOK WRITTEN LONG BEFORE SHE FORCED HER ENTRANCE INTO J LENNON'S LIFE. SHE SEEMS TO BE SAYING," IM THE OWNER OF ALL HIS PROPERTIES". THE BOOK AS TO LENNON, IS A JEWEL.

John Lennon 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A peek into the mind of John Lennon and you can see how creative he really was.

lennon at his best 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A side of Lennon we never see. My 13 y.o son read and craked oop. Really mangles the English language.

Quite abstract and random stuff 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Its all random and abstract things.
Frankly, I didn't understand much in this book.

Editorial Review:

About The Awful

I was bored on the 9th of Octover 1940 when, I believe, the Nasties were still booming us led by Madolf Heatlump (who only had one). Anyway they didn't get me. I attended to varicous schools in Liddypol. And still didn't pass -- much to my Aunties supplies. As a member of the most publified Beatles my (P, G, and R's) records might seem funnier to some of you than this book, but as far as I'm conceived this correction of short writty is the most wonderfoul larf I've every ready.

God help and breed you all.

Tommyland

Tommy Lee

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

I am Tommy Lee, born Thomas Lee Bass in Athens, Greece, on October 3, 1962, and raised in a suburb of California by an American father and a Greek mother. At seventeen, I joined Mötley Crüe and we became one of the baddest-ass rock bands in history. We sold over 40 million albums, we wreaked havoc, we scared parents, and we titillated too many fathers' daughters. I've been married three times: once for just a few days to a Penthouse Pet, for seven years to Heather Locklear, and then for five years to Pamela Anderson, with whom I have two beautiful sons. I've gotten into a lot of fights and I've been to jail a few times.

But this book isn't your typical journey in a straight line from day one to day now. I'm more interested in revealing what's most important about my life, like how I cook my steaks; what I think of the tabloids, the truth, my ex-wives, my ex-band, my music; and what an innocent observer might find hanging around my house any given Sunday. You'll get plenty of facts and I'll tell you a story, but my real mission here is to paint you a picture of my life. I want to show you how my memories smell.

I'd like to get into it now, so please take your seats. I advise you to keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times. If you have a pacemaker, a heart condition, or if you are pregnant or too damn short to reach the safety bar, I ask that you turn back immediately. Those with weak stomachs, strict morals, or chronic indigestion should put the book down now. For the rest of you, there's one truth that's real across the board: What you send out is what you get back. Send out the good, people, and it will come back to you. There's another thing I've learned over the years, in court, in fights, and in arguments with people I love: There isn't one truth, there are many. This book is my truth.