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(More customer reviews)Authorized or not (and this one is not), you won't find a better set of stories and facts about the band, not even in their own books and interviews. Why? Well, because author Stephen Davis is a professional journalist, an excellent wordsmith (although he sometimes waxes a bit too poetic), and most importantly, a great critical analyst capable of giving unbiased information from a wide range of sources so that you can make your own judgment. You see, the problem with nearly all the Stones' books is the limited scope of the author, their own strong biases or the time period or limited access they were granted. Davis overcomes this problem by thorough research (I suspect he may have a research team although he doesn't say), by getting to seminal sources in an attempt to avoid the biases of non-first hand information, and by actually checking and correlating documented sources.
Now, about the book itself: What a title! Davis has the greatest book titles I've ever seen. I would buy and read it just on that alone, but perhaps I should talk a bit about what's actually IN the book, so here goes:
Part One on the formation of the band is the best and most coherent story of all the famous events (and I've read most of the accounts by other authors, including the Stones themselves). Davis has the chronology and the details down extremely well. It is obvious that Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies brought it all together, but a good understanding of how Brian met Korner and ended up as Elmo Lewis backed by Charlie Watts the night Mick, Keith, and Dick Taylor first saw him is really a first in the Stones literature. The Blue Boys tapes that Mick, Keith, and Taylor did in 1962 are explained (as well as Mick's 50,000 pound auction bid to retain control of them in May of 1995 after they were rediscovered in a Dartford attic), the incredible discord between the individual Stones is very well related (with lots of specific incidents), details of what happened before and after many of the famous shows, the personal relationships, screw ups, and conflicts gives an insight that the Stones themselves have tried to avoid repeatedly. The image that emerges is one that is best typified by Keith's oft-repeated story of the Dartford Station train incident in October of 1960, when he met Mick with the albums under his arm. Keith sometimes waxes poetic about how they made a deal just like Robert Johnson at the crossroads and about how the Band will survive regardless of what else happens. And you can't fault Keith or anyone else on this one....because he's right.....the Band still exists......chaotic history and all....what is remarkable is that they survived.....and you will not understand what that means until you see the story from Davis' perspective....in this book. I honestly can say that without reading this one, you cannot claim to know what the Stones are still all about, Old Gods or not.
Oh, and just to prove that Davis is not perfect, I did find one fact he could have checked a bit more. Karnbach and Bernson, in their great documentary work "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones", state that they did talk to Mick Avory about the drummer situation before Charlie joined. Mick said he sat in at the Bricklayer's Arms when the band was first forming but did not play the first Marque Jazz Club date on July 12, 1962.
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