The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones

Description

'Sounding like one instrument, a wild whirling bagpipe, the Stones chugged to a halt. But the crowd didn't stop, we could see Hells Angels spinning like madmen, swinging at people. By stage right a tall white boy with a black cloud of electric hair was dancing, shaking, infuriating the Angels by having too good a time.' The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones is not just the greatest book about the greatest rock 'n' roll band, it is one of the most important books about the 1960s capturing its zeitgeist - that uneasy mix of excess, violence and idealism - in a way no other book does. Stanley Booth was with the Rolling Stones on their 1969 U.S. tour, which culminated in the notorious free concert at Altamont. But this book is much more than a brilliant piece of journalism. It gives a history of the Rolling Stones from their early rhythm 'n' blues days in west London clubs to the end of the 1960s and it interweaves with mastery the two tragic stories of the decline and death of Brian Jones and the terrifying Altamont concert itself, where the Hells Angels, supposedly providing security, ran amok and murdered a member of the audience. Although it took nearly fifteen years to write, the book that emerged has been rightly acclaimed as 'the one authentic masterpiece of rock 'n' roll writing'.

Stanley Booth was born in Waycross, Georgia; USA.He graduated from what is now the University of Memphis. After living in New Orleans he returned to Memphis and started writing for a living.He wrote about such musical figures as Furry Lewis, Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Otis Redding, and then ventured to London, where, in 1968, he met and became friends with, the Rolling Stones.In 1969, Booth accompanied the Stones on their tour of the US -- the one that ended with a killing at Altamont, California. Booth is also the author of a collection of pieces intentionally misspelled Rythm Oil, and a biography of Keith Richards called Keith: Till I Roll Over Dead.He currently lives south of Savannah with his wife, the poet Diann Blakely, and is collecting a new volume of essays titled Blues Dues.

* Stanley Booth's book is the only one I can read and say, 'Yeah, that's how it was'. Keith Richards * The one authentic masterpiece of rock 'n' roll writing. * If you've never bought a book about rock and roll, no matter - this is the one you've been waiting for. Playboy * The best book so far about the Sixties. * By far the best book on its subject (including Richards's own well received effort), Booth's book is also easily the most convincing account of life inside the monster created by the rock revolution of the 1960s. Guardian * Stanley Booth's affection for the band did not keep him from writing about the seamy underside of the Stones' world in the Sixties ... It is the only book about the Stones that I would recommend both to the general reader and to the most devoted fan. Both will find an epiphany on almost every page. New York Review Times Book Review * Shattering ... Booth has found his voice and momentum with a pitch and passion I've never seen equalled in pop journalism... His book outdistances anything the Stones have wrought since Let It Bleed. Los Angeles Herald Examiner * ' ... remains one of the most gripping accounts ever written about the band ... so awash with tumult and drama it at times has much in common with reportage from the front lines of the war in Vietnam, like Michael Herr's Dispatches. Booth alternates chapters on the Stones' history, based on extensive band interviews, some never bettered, with visceral episodes from the relentless chaos, excitement and abundant debauchery of the journey the Stones took on their way to its grim conclusion at Altamnont ... ' Uncut * Booth's strong, sound prose brings to life the out-of-control process through which an age intoxicated by its own passions found a hard-driving music to live hard by. In all the annals of the '60s, there is nothing on paper that so evokes those days and nights. Salon * Astonishing ... part oral history and part midnight diary in a world where midnight goes on forever. Los Angeles Reader * One of the truly great rock books Hot Press * An epic, behind-the-scenes record of life with the greatest rock band in the world, capturing both the carnivalesque excess and the mundane grind of the rock tour Observer * The most brutally compelling book about rock'n'roll and its casualties ever written Guardian * A marvellous book, Booth is a fine writer, and has a strong style that perfectly complements his engaging subject. Canongate have also included an introduction from Greil Marcus, a fine writer in his own right, which just adds to the value of this fine book. Highly recommended to anyone who now only loves music, but an engaging story well told Destructive Music