Mick WallBesprekingen

Well man, I was gripped by this despite, you know, Wall's frequent resort to crazy ventriloquism. I mean, man, is this Jim talking, is this factual or not?
Actually, as one progresses it becomes apparent what an effective approach Wall has taken. The narrative is speedily progressed, the atmosphere effectively evoked and I love Wall's objectivity and scepticism in dealing with everyone from Morrison to Ray Manzarek. (He is particularly funny and occasionally scathing about Manzarek's efforts in maintaining the enduring myths about The Doors.) Gripping.

It takes a great writer to create an entertaining book about an average/mediocre (but I still like them!) band, and Mick Wall is the right person for the job. Recommended for all libraries.

A bitter and twisted tale of ambition and avarice.
Reads more like the death of the 60's hippie dream than the birth of the Eagles 70's nightmare. They made their own luxurious bed and lay in it, must've been a hell of a lot of fun at the time, probably still is, for the ones who survived. They don't have to make any more music, just top-up the bank account with another lucrative nostalgia tour, when they can be bothered.

'Make hay while the sun shines' would be their motto, and who can blame them?

On the whole, very interesting. I enjoyed the behind the scenes bit where they talked about their relationships, management, other issues etc but found some of a bit dryer like when they went through a track by track analysis of some of their albums, as someone who had listened to them, I didn't really need it so found myself skipping it. On the whole, a decent read.

Brilliantly written, fast-paced and comprehensive. This is an excellent, no-punches-pulled narrative of the gloriously unholy career of the heaviest band in the world. Wall's familiarity with the people involved allows him to write a compassionate yet frank account of their many misfortunes as well as their great triumphs. Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, Bill, Ronnie, Sharon, Don Arden and the rest of the motley crew surrounding Sabbath leap from the pages. If you love heavy metal, read this book.

A fantastic read, full of the magic and mayhem of the 70s and the biggest rock band in the world. Mick Wall has outdone himself

Some of the many stories about the Osbournes from someone quite close. Interesting to read some of the backstory too.

Solid biography of Black Sabbath. Wall is a good writer and does a pretty thorough job of taking the through the band's history.

Reading the final chapter in this biography I was in tears. And wondering how Mick Wall could make me feel like that for a totally indulged band of men, who have apparently spent their adult lives doing exactly what they want, without the constraints of (lack of) money or sense of responsibility.

Mick Wall has done his meticulous research: reading the books, articles, watching the footage and even having access to the principle players & their retinues. He’s great at describing the music & chronologically telling what happened. Though the insertion of second person narration jarred to begin with, I got used to it.

And yes, I found it sad if it’s true that Page has spent the largest part of his life trying to resurrect a band and a time that he was in control of that has gone. That Jason is unwilling to escape his father’s shadow - a family man who morphed into an aggressive thug with drink & drugs; and Robert, proud of his charismatic part in the band, but spending the rest of his life, roaming where the fancy took him, wanting to free himself from the impossible shackle of being the once 21 year old Rock God.

An amazing story told page-turningly well.

Wall, a rock journalist who knew him for decades, published this soon after Lemmy's death. Part researcher and critic, but much of the material here comes from years of one on one interviews with Lemmy, bass player, singer and main songwriter of Motorhead. Wall has been around long enough that he often has the two or three sides to infamous events, such as the departures of band members or management changes. He does something which few biographers or interviewers do, which is to write about Lemmy as a real person with real character flaws, who could be arrogant and even a bit tyrannical when he believed his position was threatened. Wall and Lemmy spoke of money, drugs, and declining record sales, things that most would shy from. It's warts and all, and the best bio on the man, and the band, that I've read so far.

Biografia bem escrita que conta com riqueza de detalhes a história da banda.

The author shows a deep fascination with the band and its members and an innate understanding of the mythology around them. The book is interspersed with "POV" narratives of the members, all from before the band was even thought of. Clever idea and worked well at first.

I always enjoyed the music of Led Zeppelin, and now I know the story of the band members and their manager. Fairly typical story of a band's rise to prominence, and everything that comes with it -- sex, drugs and destroying hotel rooms. One exception for Zeppelin is that they led the way in the hard rock genre. Probably good that the band only lasted until 1980, as it gives them more mystic. Better to quit young than to fade away as a has-been!½

I won this through the Goodreads giveaways as an advanced reader's copy. I've never read any other books about bands I listen to, but I've always enjoyed listening to the Doors and thought it would be an interesting read. It is definitely interesting. It's not the type of book that kept calling me back to the story though which resulted in me taking longer to get through it than I would have liked. That being said, my favorite part was the last few chapters. It's well organised and does a good job of telling the story reported by others as well as what is thought to be the more controversial side of what happened. In the end, it's definitely another book I'm glad to have been able to read.

I've been a fan of Guns N' Roses since my teenage years and their music formed the basis of the soundtrack of my adolescence. I enjoyed reading Slash's self-titled autobiography Slash in 2011 but when I heard Mick Wall was writing a book on the band, I was eager to read it. Mick Wall has written about other bands including: Metallica, AC/DC, Prince and Led Zeppelin - to name a few - and seems to have an acute understanding of the industry.

In The True Story of Guns N' Roses - Last of the Giants, Wall introduces the reader to each member of the band and then shows us how their paths converge and the band we know as the original line up of Guns N' Roses was formed. Their time living together in the 'hell house' was shocking and informative and it was interesting to learn about the slow and steady rise of their first album Appetite for Destruction. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover just how popular and successful they were.

Wall goes into great detail about the managers and staff around the band, contracts, concerts and tours and of course background on each of the songs. The inability of the band members to handle their fame and new found wealth is discussed as is the effect drugs had on Duff and Slash, almost killing them, and in Slash's case, killing him 5 times.

Wall documents the gradual decline of the band and the impact Axl's behaviour had on each of the band members. Steve Adler's drug habit and eventual firing from the band is covered as is Izzy Stradlin's eventual resignation.

Axl's perfectionism and controlling behaviour is discussed - with a few surprises - as is the way in which he slowly took over control of the band until he was the last original member left. We learn about the new/replacement members of the band and the formation and success of the 'new line-up.' My favourite tidbits in the book were on page 178 and 228 and provided insight as to who wrote which songs. Little known facts such as You Could Be Mine was originally recorded during the Appetite for Destruction sessions made for interesting reading.

Reading The True Story of Guns N' Roses - Last of the Giants in the lead up to attending their Not in This Lifetime Tour earlier this month was the best preparation possible and gave me a better appreciation of just how far they've all come. I thoroughly recommend The True Story of Guns N' Roses to fans of their music all over the world.

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *

I have read a number of books about Jim Morrison and The Doors, there are a lot of them out there. This one by Mick Wall was the best. Not sure where he came by so much of the detail he provided but it was certainly a page turner. Particularly interesting is his coverage of the circumstances surrounding Morrison's death. It is unlikely we will ever no what really happened but his explanation sounds very plausible.

The fascination with The Doors story and music, particularly Jim Morrison, is the iconic story of that era. Morrison not only was The Doors but epitomized so much of the evolution of rock during that tumultuous time. But stripped of his theatrics and wannabe poet obsession we have what he was, a destructive alcoholic unable to run his life and destined for destruction.

Like the others that went down in flames at that time, despite their musical genius they could not come to grips with the pressure of the stardom in a positive way. Wall narrates this biography as if he was right there witnessing the highs and the crushing lows that played out in this real life melodrama.

Subject matter is fascinating, the stories are great but the writing leaves a lot to be desired.
If this had been a biography of any other band there is no way I would have continued beyond the first chapter.
However, the structure of the book encourages listening to the albums in turn as each album's background is discussed. So as a multimedia experience this was very good but as a standalone publication less so.

Always fun to hear about the early days of the band, and its covered here in some detail, but nothing that you can't find elsewhere. When it gets to the late '80s, with the band starting to fall apart it kind of skims over the gritty stuff. Better to scour YouTube if you really want to get a feel for what was going on. Not a fan of Mick Wall but this is one of his more enjoyable biogs.

Love Metallica, not so keen on Mick Wall. Most of the information here is readily available online, its only his personal view you're getting. Still enjoyable reading about the early days of the band, even if it is through Wall's eyes.½

f

“No party music, no girl magnet ballads. Just brutal, attack-oriented, audio death”.

..and with that quote, it becomes impossible to really sum up Metallica better. I’ve been a big fan of these guys since I was 15 years old and finally welcomed the chance to read an official biography on the band. Although, while it’s true I did have preconceived notions that I knew as much about the band as I was ever going to learn, that quickly went out the window in the first few chapters.

As it turns out, I had known next to nothing. I especially didn’t realize that even as late as 1986 and following the release of their critically acclaimed album, Master of Puppets, the guys were still looking for a lead singer. It was revealed that Mr. Hetfield wasn’t all that comfortable being the front man and the face of the band. This totally blew my mind! James has since grown into a force of nature on stage and I can’t imagine anyone else bringing that kind of a presence to a live show.

The stories of the band’s origin were interesting. Everything from the selection of the name, to the troubles with future Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine to the lasting effect their original bassist Cliff Burton had on the group. In-fighting, stories of alcohol and drug-fueled debauchery as well as the madness that the band’s second bassist, Jason Newsted, had been subjected to were surprising and endlessly ridiculous.

While I did like this biography, it did take me quite a while to finish it. At times, it felt pretty anti-climatic especially since I had just watched “Some Kind of Monster” (the 2003 documentary chronicling the band) a few weeks prior. If this book assured me of anything, it’s that Dave Mustaine is a bitter jerk.

Cross Posted @ Every Read Thing

I am a Led Zeppelin fan. I am not a fan of this book. I listened to it on CD, and the shifts from third to first person were dizzying and insanely hard to follow. The breathless authorial style didn't work for me. The Crowley/occult/Satanism speculation bored my pants off and caused me to actually yell at the CD player. Which maybe just means I'm possessed.

Metallica are one of my favourite bands, even though I did not discover their music until after they had completed the two mid-1980s albums that in my opinion remain their best work, "Ride the Lightning" and "Master of Puppets". They have had many commercial highs - not always matched by creative highs - since then, but unlike their 1980s peers, have kept on trying to do new things musically even when it would have been easier all round to confine themselves to the nostalgia circuit.

Mick Wall's biography of the band is excellent on their early years, and very strong in discussing the influence of the presence, and then the absence, of bassist Cliff Burton, killed in a bus crash in 1987 - but as the years and the albums go by, the book becomes less and less informative. There's a lot more to be gleaned about their 'grown-up' struggles from the "Some Kind Of Monster" documentary, which documents the making of their worst album "St Anger" in a remarkably unsparing and revealing way - the complete opposite of the typical megastar musicians' vanity project - than there is in this book.

Still, because 2/3 of the book is so good on the band's early years and on their musical as well as personal roots, it is worth the attention of anyone with a more than casual interest in Metallica and their music.½

Inspired by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), Metallica emerges from San Francisco's bay area thrash metal scene to become one of the biggest hard rock bands in the world. Defining moments for the band include their move from LA to San Francisco, the ouster of Dave Mustaine, the death of bassist Cliff Burton, the huge breakthrough into mainstream success with "the black album," the lawsuit against Napster, coming to the verge of breaking up, and their return to form with "Death Magnetic."

I remember wishing for a definitive bio of Metallica after reading the Dave Mustaine memoir, and this is it. Through this book I gained a greater understanding of Cliff Burton and just how important he was to the band, and how they never really recovered from his death. They brought in Jason Newstead far too quickly as a replacement, and used him as a whipping boy for their anger and grief until he left the band 14 years later. The Metallica story is fascinating, as they are a band in a constant state of evolution, never satisfied to keep doing the same old thing over and over again.

Some say that Axl Rose “killed the rock star,” and that GnR could’ve been the next Rolling Stones were it not for the antics of this charismatic, albeit oft-unlikable, front man. In their prime, Axl & Co. were an apotheosis of chaotic rockers. Aside from digging their music, I found something enticing about their hard-knocks glamour and volatility.

So I figured I’d give this book a shot. Read about thirty pages. Didn’t seem poorly written, certainly accessible.

But then one chapter concluded with Axl saying: “Unless it’s like, this is it, man! Like, fuck it, let’s go down in fuckin flames with this motherfucker…you know?”

At this juncture, I feel like my IQ would drop ten points were I to continue reading.

Perhaps I’m just not meant to “go down in fuckin flames” with Axl.