Customer Reviews

Brian Jones : The Last Decadent

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's amazing that no one has ever written a really good book about the Rolling stones founder Brian Jones. I myself have been a Brian Jones fan for over twenty years and during this time there have been seven books written about him and only one book was decent. Jeremy Reed's book is filled with unfounded rumours that Brian Jones was forming a supergroup with both John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, and that he was murdered. Now there's another new unfounded rumour. Brian Jones was a bisexual because he wore womens hats and jewelry. Okay. If you like tabloid books you will love this one. The author did absolutely no research, he interviewed only one person that knew Brian Jones, and takes most of his information from other tabloid biographies about Brian Jones. I suggest DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY.

Length:: 0:18 Mins

This book is satisfactory , no more than that.
It deals with other decadents from way long ago most frequently Oscar Wilde.
Reading about Brian Jones was the purpose of my purchase.
I really didn't want to read about Oscar Wilde and the comparisons between the two.
If you are interested in reading about decadents of long, long ago and Brian Jones as well, then this thin book is ideal for you.
If you are only interested in reading about Brian Jones, pass on this book.

This is the worst book about Brian ever. It is a thesis and the author's opinions. It is based on Nicholas Fitzgerald's book that was fiction and embellishment! There are better and more current books about Brian's murder. As far as the author projecting that Brian was bisexual or repressed that is nonsense! People alluding to that only want to sell books because sensationalism sells. When Brian was arrested for cannabis he was made to take a psychological profile - the results of which were disclosed, stating that he was HETEROSEXUAL. Many other men dressed in the dandy fashion of the time that Brian made famous and they weren't written about and compared to Lord Byron or the complex Oscar Wilde. When he was kicked out of England for impregnating a girlfriend at sixteen and went to Germany, Scandanavia etc. his parent's sent him money and many women cared for him, along with singing on corners for change. Mr. Reed would have you believe Brian hustled for men to support himself... Ridiculous and not factual!! He was there for barely 3 months, when his money ran out he went home. Brian himself told his friends about those days and hustling was not a part of them, I'm tired of people trying to cast aspersions on his sexuality, when former girlfriends and many friends including former bandmate Bill Wyman state emphatically Brian was straight. Also many poets and musicians, celebs in the 60's supported the gay rights movement, it didn't mean they were. Brian has children and grandchildren and I'm sure they don't like hearing him being trashed and lied about in order to sell books. He was no saint and he was not always nice to his girlfriends nor the best father, but he was very young (remember he died at 27, but deserves better than this book). I dont care if anyone agrees or not, but the people who were close to Brian and are not former friends trying to sell tell-all books (including some shameless rock celebs) truly remember him. This fantasy book along with it's Nicholas Fitzgerald predecessor deserve no stars!

Since the Monterey Pop Festival took place in 1967, not 1969 as noted within, I have to seriously question the accuracy of what i've just read.

If you ever need to explain why you did something bad, tell them you did it for Brian Jones, although they may not believe you! That's what a buddy of mine told my parents when they found a receipt for some soft-core porn we rented - there was a Brian Jones at my high school. Kind of a weirdo, and it was the first thing that I thought of. I have not read this book but I bet it is just OK.

I am sure Brian Jones would have been amused and delighted to be compared to figures as Oscar Wilde and a decadent tradition. This book makes a refreshing change to the biographical books we have seen published on Jones in the last 30 years and has not pretended to be anything else than a thesis on Jones. It was an enjoyable read that pointed out some interesting theories which perhaps are not without foundation or beyond the realms of possibility.

Other wise a little silly. What other reviewers have said is true. It is as much about decadents of prior centuries as it is about Brian.
And why do they have to keep trying to suggest Brian was gay?
He fathered how many children we know about??? Gimme a break!!!
I would say it is even pushing to say he is a cross dresser, aside from Have You Seen Your Mother , Baby, maybe the pioneer of Glam Rock. But I , for one ALWAYS can tell Brian Jones was a man!
Narrative is a bit silly to me.

After years of people making excuses for the behavior of the beautiful Brian Jones, someone has finally written a book that gives a nod to his magnificent talent and style. Writing from a socialogical point of view, Reed comments on Brian's place in history comparing him to Quentin Crisp and Oscar Wilde. If there had to be a complaint it would be Marianne Faithful as a source. The woman was way too stoned to remember anything clearly. This is an interesting companion piece to Nicholas Fitzgerald and Anna Wohlin's memories of Brian Jones. Reed didn't KNOW Jones personally, but he did understand him. A very worthwhile read.

Buy this book and re-imagine Brian Jones & The Stones through the unique mind of Jeremy Reed.

This book on Brian Jones is not "a fine piece of accurate journalism"; but then Jeremy Reed is not a journalist but rather a poet. This is a fine poetic imagining by a sympathetic spirit. And it is probably worth remarking that Jeremy Reed's poetic intuition, after 30 years living at the heart of London's underground and creative community, may be a hell of a lot closer to the "truth" then anything a journalist could possibly say.

For me, Reed is among the great writers of our fin de siecle and JG Ballard, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kathleen Raine, John Ashberry, David Gascoyne and the late James Merrill have all said so. Sadly, while Reed has a devoted following among our best writers, at present many ordinary readers still don't know his work. So if you are new to Reed, here is a little bit about him.

Jeremy Reed has published more than 40 major works in under twenty years. He has written more than a dozen books of poetry, as many novels, and several volumes of literary criticism. Jeremy Reed is also a fine music critic and a most unique and imaginative biographer. His full-length studies on Lou Reed, Mark Almond and Scott Walker are respected, highly personal and profoundly considered; in each case these living artists prefer Reed's work to all others. He has also written on jazz singers, and particularly torch singers, for whom he has a special sympathy. He is particularly good on Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday, and his essay The Angel in Poetry examines the unique connections between poetry, singing and the human voice.

Reed has also published important and respected translations of Montale, Cocteau, Nasrallah, Adonis, Bogary and Holderlin. His own work has been translated abroad in half a dozen languages. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including those of the National Poetry, Somerset Maugham, Eric Gregory, Ingram Merrill, and Royal Literary Funds. He has also won the Poetry Society's European Translation Prize. Reed's poetry displays a masterful light-fingered lyricism in which acute social observation and humour combine to create a public poetry in the tradition of Auden and Merrill. In other moods, Reed is a masterful observer of the specific details of passing strangers. As they move through the unmatched variety of London's daily procession, he engages them in moments of imaginative meeting, creating a private poetry of urban encounter whose affinities lie closest to Frank O'Hara and Baudelaire. In these poems, Reed allows his profound sympathy for others to form a bridge inward, a bridge sustained through arresting imagery, into the mains circuits of the world we share.

... This book about the life, death, and character of Brian Jones is absolutely as beautiful as it is chilling! ... Jeremy Reed has the gifted ability to transcend time and space and bring us right into the heart and soul - and life circumstances at the time of his death - of Brian Jones, founder and one-time leader of The Rolling Stones. ... I do not know if the conclusion of this book is true: that Brian Jones was killed and murdered in the swimming pool at his own country home by a group of bloody blockheads who were friends with employees of the Rolling Stones organization; but after reading this book, Bill Wyman's STONE ALONE, and the most recent OLD GODS ALMOST DEAD (about The Rolling Stones, by Stephen Davis), there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Brian Jones' death was no accident! ... I was [mad] after reading this book! [Mad], and sad. ... Where in the hell were the other Rolling Stones within hours of this happening to Brian, and why did they NOT insist on a thorough, precise, and intense investigation into his death?! THIS question haunts me MORE than if Brian was murdered or died of "misadventure;" MORE than if Brian was heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; and even MORE than if he, indeed, was getting his act together and on the verge of forming another great band. (On the last postulation, I have no doubt!). ... So, the real question to ask is: If Brian Jones was murdered, WHY was Brian murdered - and more importantly - to WHOSE BENEFIT would it be to see Brian dead? ... RIGHT?! ... 1969 was a bad year: The Beatles broke-up, Brian Jones "died," and The Rolling Stones had to suffer their own DEGREE OF MURDER (indeed!) during Altamont. ... The Beatles and The Stones had a lot in common, but especially astrologically. Both bands had a combination of 2 trines and 2 squares. In the Beatles, Lennon (Libra) and McCartney (Gemini) were both trined AIR signs, whereas Harrison (Pisces) and Starr (Cancer) were both trined WATER signs. Also, Lennon was "squared" to Starr, and McCartney was "squared" to Harrison. ... In the Stones, Jones (Pisces) and Wyman (Scorpio) were both trined WATER signs, whereas Jagger (Leo) and Richards (Sagittarius) are both trined FIRE signs. Jones was "squared" to Richards, and Wyman was "squared" to Jagger. The 5th member of The Stones, Charlie Watts (a Gemini), is "opposite" Richards, "sextiled" to Jagger, "inconjunct" to Wyman, and ALSO "squared" to Jones. THIS made Brian the odd man out, with a DOUBLE-SQUARE against him!! Oppositions are no picnic, but they harbour a certain degree of respect. Squares, on the other hand, can be VERY disrespectful. ... This book sheds much light on the sensitive soul of Brian Jones. Pages 29 and 94 also have some very inuitively perceptive and right-on remarks about serious sociological realities in modern capitalist societies; realities that - as a true artist - Brian found himself at odds with. Yet, unlike Jagger & Richards - who tried to bribe their way out of jail - when Brian got busted the first time, he honestly and openly admitted that the pot and / or hash - and ONLY that - were his. He did not lie! He may have been a petty thief at times, an irresponsible parent, and an abusive misogynist - to say nothing of his alcohol abuse - but he was honorable, dignified, and true to his artistic and individualistic spirit till the end. ... He loved music. Brian Jones was a Dionysiac Adonis and a Lord of The Muse, who he served with all his heart and soul. ... This book sheds light on the truth. If you love Brian Jones, if you love The Rolling Stones, and if you love the music that inspired them all to devote their lives to it, then you MUST read this short, but very insightful, book by Jeremy Reed. It is truly a labor of love. - The Aeolian Kid.