The acclaimed; bestselling rock-and-roll biographer delivers the first complete; unexpurgated history of the worldrsquo;s greatest band.The saga of the Rolling Stones is the central epic in rock mythology. From their debut as the intermission band at Londonrsquo;s Marquee Club in 1962 through their latest recordmdash;setting Bridges to Babylon world tour; the Rolling Stones have defined a musical genre and experienced godlike adulation; quarrels; addiction; legal traumas; and descents into madness and death_while steadfastly refusing to fade away. Now Stephen Davis; the New York Times bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods and Walk This Way; who has followed the Stones for three decades; presents their whole story; replete with vivid details of the Stonesrsquo; musical successes_and personal excesses.Born into the wartime England of air-raid sirens; bombing raids; and strict rationing; the Rolling Stones came of age in the 1950s; as American blues and pop arrived in Europe. Among Londonrsquo;s most ardent blues fans in the early 1960s was a short blond teenage guitar player named Brian Jones; who hooked up with a lorry driverrsquo;s only son; Charlie Watts; a jazz drummer. At the same time; popular and studious Michael Philip Jaggerndash;who; as a boy; bawled out a phonetic version of ldquo;La Bambardquo; with an eye-popping intensity that scared his parentsndash;began sharing blues records with a primary school classmate; Keith ldquo;Rickyrdquo; Richards; a shy underachiever; whose idol was Chuck Berry. In 1962 the four young men; joined by Bill Perks (later Wyman) on bass; formed a band rhythm and blues band; which Brian Jones named the ldquo;the Rollinrsquo; Stonesrdquo; in honor of the Muddy Waters blues classic. Using the biography of the Rolling Stones as a narrative spine; Old God Almost Dead builds a new; multilayered version of the Stonesrsquo; story; locating the band beyond the musical world they dominated and showing how they influenced; and were influenced by; the other artistic movements of their era: the blues revival; Swinging London; the Beats; Bob Dylanrsquo;s Stones-inspired shift from protest to pop; Pop Art and Andy Warholrsquo;s New York; the ldquo;Undergroundrdquo; politics of the 1960s; Moroccan energy and European orientalism; Jamaican reggae; the Glam and Punk subcultures; and the technologic advances of the video and digital revolution. At the same time; Old Gods Almost Dead documents the intense backstage lives of the Stones: the feuds; the drugs; the marriages; and the affairs that inspired and informed their songs; and the business of making records and putting on shows. The first new biography of the Rolling Stones since the early 1980s; Old Gods Almost Dead is the most comprehensive book to date; and one of the few to cover all the bandrsquo;s members. Illustrated throughout with photos of pivotal moments; it is a celebration of the Rolling Stones as an often courageous; often foolish gang of artists who not only showed us new worlds; but new ways of living in them. It is a saga as raunchily; vibrantly entertaining as the Stones themselves.From the Hardcover edition.
#1214236 in eBooks 2001-12-11 2001-12-11File Name: B000FC1JP8
Review
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful. Excellent readBy Jason PowellElkins uses alchemy to interpret and read paintings. It sounds strange; but the way he explains it using such an odd device helped me to expand the way I think about art and paintings. It also is a book about paint- not conceptual or computer art or even theory. It is more concerned with the physical act of pushing paint; the solid matter of pigment; and the artisan-like way a painter opperates in the studio. If youre a person who is interested in the hands-on experience in art; and like thinking about new ideas; this book will be a lot of fun. If you dont like getting your hands dirty; you may want to look elsewhere.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. My Favorite read this year.By CustomerNot sure the exact reason; but this is my favorite read this year.I mix my own paints; and this the only book getsthe joy of mixing oil pigments and experimenting.I did read this on the Kindle; btw; which was a bit tricky; butstill solid.19 of 20 people found the following review helpful. Painters perspective on paintingBy ScottI have been painting for nearly 20 years and this is the first book that I have encountered that has accurately described the material act of painting itself from a painters perspective. I agree to some extent with other reviewers who complained that the discussions of alchemy were too long and obscure. However; in an age of digital images this foray into obsolete and arcane mucking about is absolutely necessary to explain why paint remains a vital medium. Even without the metaphoric parallels between painting and alchemy; delving into the alchemists kitchen seems like an excellent introduction into the mind of a painter.I have one serious reservation about this book: I do not think that it would be useful for inexperienced painters. It is all too easy to be utterly seduced by the descriptions of lush thickets of paint and exquisite glazes. These must remain a means to greater understanding rather than an end in themselves. Elkins is aware of the problem and devotes a later chapter to self-reference and narcissism.I am keen to try this book out on non-painting friends to see what impression it makes on them...