Mickeyboro Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Rhinos Winos & Lunatics - Deke Leonard of Man Amazon review below (not by me!) Make no mistake Deke Leonard comes across as a bit of a self important individual who seems to think only his opinion matters to the world, but, a very big but, when you write as well as he does and entertain so thoroughly he is easy to forgive for his flaws. This is memoir as entertainment to rival Spike Milligan. If you don't laugh loudly to the annoyance of all around you at least once a chapter then you have no soul. You don't need to know anything about his career or music to be entertained by this book. Buy it and anything else he produces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I'd recommend Fred Wesley's autobiography (trombonist and musical director for James Brown and Parliament/Funkadelic) for an interesting and entertaining read. I recently read Ronnie Woods autobiography, he's someone who knows how to enjoy life. +1 on what everybody has said about the Eric Clapton book, I didn't even finish it. Hammer Of The Gods - essential reading for everyone who has ever wanted to be a rock star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 [quote name='coasterbass' post='159462' date='Mar 18 2008, 10:52 AM']I'm halfway through Slash's autobiography and I'm loving it. I'm not a die hard Guns and Roses fan, [b]but its a fantastically comical and interesting read.[/b][/quote] Couldn't agree more - although I am a big GnR fan. Bought Slash's book as such. Was very surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it as a reader rather than a fan. I'm reading Ronnie Wood's biog at the moment. It's good but it seems to be dragging on a bit. Slash's just kept on rocking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 [quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='159472' date='Mar 18 2008, 11:07 AM']As good as the stories were and as talented a bassist as Guy Pratt clearly is, I thought Guy Pratt actually come out of it as a well, Pratt.[/quote] +1. Find a biography of Pete Waterman. No really, I've no love for the bloke, but he's had one hell of a career. All the stuff around the Stiff Records years has got to be worth reading, then regardless of opinions of credibility he changed the face of pop music in the western world. But it's interesting as to how he did it. (BTW who knew Stock Aitken and Waterman produced Judas Priest? The sessions were never released but I'd love to hear them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Top of my list is Dear Boy, the life of Keith Moon, very very funny and also sad. Moon the loon is also very good. Black Vinyl White Powder by simon Napier Bell, the effect of drugs on the music scene with lots of little snippets about various artists White bicycles by Joe Boyd. Lots of little stories in the 60s Inside out Nick Mason- Floyd Joe Jacksons autobiography [but maybe thats because I live near Portsmouth and I would like to behalf as good as Graham Mabe] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteb Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 ‘Jaco’ by Bill Milkowski is a good read but pretty dark, ditto the Stevie Ray Vaughan bio ‘Caught in the Crossfire’ (I think that’s the title – I leant it to my drummer 4 years ago and still haven’t got it back) Have to disagree with most people here about the Guy Pratt book – I enjoyed it! He seems to be well aware of his faults and of his good fortune and as someone said, they are good stories! For real glorification of substance abuse you need to read ‘The Dirt’, if only to marvel at how incredibly stupid Motley Crue are! The Aerosmith book (‘Walk This Way’) is also OK, a bit like the Crue one, but featuring people with IQs actually higher than room temperature… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 (edited) Dave Lee Roth- crazy from the heat the guy can talk all the limbs off a donkey and then some. great story about the plan to use a tank to crush a VW beetle supposedly belonging to headliners Aerosmith (an aborted followup to the "Van Halen parachuting into the arena" stunt). and he explains the "no brown M&M's" rider stipulation. Midge Ure- if I was I got it for £4.99. but it was later going in Poundland- well worth a read for insights on the music biz from an artist's perspective. Edited March 19, 2008 by SJA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 (edited) an addition to the XTC books- Song stories. and if you're a Stranglers fans, "Hugh Cornwell- song by song" is a must- he's interviewed about every Stranglers song when he was in the band. he talks quite a bit about JJ's basslines and the recording processes. Edited March 19, 2008 by SJA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 (edited) "Blowing the Blues: A Personal History of the British Blues" Dick Heckstall-Smith Really good if you're interested in the 60s British Jazz/Blues/RnB scene, lots of personal views of Graham Bond, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, as well as Jon Hiseman and Colosseum. Also includes a very good CD. + 1 for "White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s" Joe Boyd. Charts the development of British and US folk and rock. Boyd did a bit and saw even more. I enjoyed it. Edited March 20, 2008 by spinynorman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born 2B Mild Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 [quote name='spinynorman' post='160814' date='Mar 20 2008, 01:56 PM']+ 1 for "White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s" Joe Boyd. Charts the development of British and US folk and rock. Boyd did a bit and saw even more. I enjoyed it.[/quote] +2 for [b]White Bicycles[/b]. I remember doing some demo's in the Sound Techniques studio in the late 70s (then Olympic). The thought of being in the same room where some fantastic records were born ...Solid Air, Nick Drake, Sandy & Fairport etc. Sends shivers down my back bone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmybass Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 i thought the Guy Pratt book was ok, i enjoyed the Alex James book, The Slash onewas a great loo reader! i also enjoyed Kiss and make up by Gene simmons, Crazy from the heat by diamond dave lee roth, White line fever by Lemmy, How black was our sabbath, and for a great musically based read try either of Seb hunter's books - Hell bent for leather, or Rock me amadeus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 The Dirt - Motley Crue interesting read to say the least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elom Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 [quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='159291' date='Mar 17 2008, 10:58 PM']Brill! If it comes so recommended, it must be worth a try. I like getting out of my comfort zone on music genres. On another day I'll share with BC how I'm discovering so many new artists for next to nothing with my Napster To Go subscription.[/quote] PM me your address sir and I'll stick it in the post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnt Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 +1 for the Midge Ure book - pretty interesting. The story about how Warren Cann was kicked out was very interesting, because I really like the [i]U-VOX[/i] album that they made after that, with Big Country's Mark Brzezicki on drums. Probably the most intense musician's autobiography I've read was Neil Peart's [i]Ghost Rider[/i]. Even though I knew Rush was back with him in it, there was still a good amount of suspense as to how well he would survive what he went through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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