Customer Reviews

The Rough Guide to The Rolling Stones 1 (Rough Guide Reference)

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The Rough Guide series is ambitous, to say the least. For an author to teach a reader ALL there is to know about a band that's literally been around since most of us were babies is a daunting task. What to put in? What to leave out? Magically, the author has done a pretty darn good job covering the greatest rock and roll band of all time (minus one in my opinion, as I give the Beatles a slight edge). From the beginnings to the present, every album, every song, every relationship, is covered. Sidebars contain useful information on topics such as the difference between rock and roll and rhythm and blues and put the RS story in historical context. This is an excellent reference guide for a casual listener as well as someone who owns most of the Stones material, as I do. And though I think the author is unduly harsh in his assessment of the Stones' modern works, I can respect his opinion as someone who has obviously done his homework. Lots of good photos and illustrations augment this text. A fun book that would make a great gift for any Stones fan. I guess I'll have to go out and buy the Beatles Rough Guide now.

Four and a half stars. Recommended.

Egan is a thoughtful, expansive writer when tackling the phenomena of the Stones, from their humble beginnings as a low-key blues band at Alexis Korner's get-togethers to world-conquering Rock Gods. He provides an album-by-album guide, writes detailed summaries of fifty of his favorite tracks, and provides an interesting guide to people in places in their lives, from prominent blues influences and girlfriends to the lowliest engineer. He only falters by uniformly condemning their work from Steel Wheels on when it occasionally deserves better, claiming an eight-year recording gap between Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang, when in fact they recorded over forty new tracks and included a number of them on the Forty Licks greatest hits compilation in 2003, and his claim the Stones never came up with an album similar to Bob Dylan that tackled the dilemmas of aging a la Time Out of Mind, when in fact Voodoo Lounge fits the bill quite nicely. Philip Norman may be a more stylistic writer and Chris Sanford a more minimalist wit, but in all this the best Stones book for a solid summation of their career to 2006.

I bought this in Chicago about four years ago and read most of it on the flight back to DC. That illustrates how well readers can dip into this book on public transportation, a plane, the bath tub, by the pool, etc.

It was by no means my first book on the Stones yet I still learned a lot, so this will still appeal to those who think they know a lot about the Stones. And for diehard Stones junkies, it's a perfect gift to give to convince Stones newbies why this is still "the greatest rock & roll band in the world."

My only complaint--and it's a minor one--is that there's a certain English snarkinees and way too many jabs at America, which i many ways, is the country that made the Stones. Why do I see this time and time again from British writers? It's a sort of immature defensiveness that's highly irritating.

I could not put this book down. It really provides a very exciting and readable history of the band and the personalities surrounding the band (lovers, managers, competition, etc.) without going into too much detail for the average reader. I am a Stones fan and a lot of the factoids were new to me. The book includes side stories, some good pictures and a great references section at the end. Highly recommended for any rock n' roll fan.

A book you can pick up and read for ages.

I agree with a lot of his views, that for example, that "The Singer Not the Song" is unjustly maligned.

I don't agree with other statements, like that the UK EP 'Got LIVE if You Want It!" is worthless.

I love live tracks like "I'm Moving On".

Similar to their volume on the Beatles, this Rough Guide gives us an overview of the life, times and music of the Rolling Stones. In spite of the Stones' longer career, author Sean Egan still manages to pack a lot of information on Mick, Keef, Charlie, Bill, Brian, etc. in the book's 303 pages.

Egan divides his Stones chronicle in three sections: "The Life," "The Music," and "Stonesology," the last being a grab-bag section with biographies of all the band members along with information on 'almost Stones,' Stones women, Stones in print and in movies, Stones myths, etc.

The first two sections are an interesting, illuminating look at the Stones life and times and the music they made. To be honest, I lost interest in the Stones around 1972 when their greatest(!?!) album, "Exile on Main Street" came out. And, in reading this book, I started to loose interest in the Stones story about the same time.

Not that Egan's writing turned sour or anything. But, after 1972, it seemed creating great ROCK lost out to creating PRODUCT, the endless personal feuds between the Glimmer Twins, drugs up the yazoo, making money and more money and more money, etc. After 1972, the Stones were about business not music and the story just isn't that interesting.

In any case, given the $14.99 price tag, you can't ask for a better introduction to Mick & Company. Those new to the Stones will find an interesting, nicely illustrated introduction to the band. Stones vets may find a surprise or two.