Customer Reviews

Stoned : A Memoir of London in the 1960s

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

 

 

This is a GREAT book! It takes place in a time when London was producing film, fashion and music that would forever change people's lives then and now. Even as a pre-teen in those days in which the book is written about, I was very much impressed with the bands that were coming out of England.Most of all it was and still is the Rolling Stones.I have followed the Rolling Stones from the day I heard their first single here in the United States. I have studied their evolution as a band and am quite familiar who Andrew Loog Oldham is and what he did for the Stones.This book was interesting and an absolute delight to read, particulary knowing it was comming directly from Andrew Loog Oldham himself. His style of writing and describing how events occurred is so unique and clever that I found myself re-reading pages instanly for the sheer pleasure of it. Andrew didn't write this book with the intention of writing another book about the Rolling Stones. He wrote about the many interesting people and places that he experianced that shaped his life from the day of his birth to the year of 1964. I am anxiously awaiting the next installment of his triography, knowing that there are more fantastic stories to be read from a man who is one in a million!

This book is a "must-read" for anyone with an interest in the Stones, The Beatles, or the (r)evolution of Rock & Roll during the 60s. Oldham's writing style is superb and highly entertaining. While to some readers it might sound like the author is trying too hard to sound "cool" or "hip," the writing style is true to the man. Andrew Oldham writes in the same manner as he speaks, with a sharp wit and a good sense of humour. And, as one who knows his place in history. The book is definitely entertaining and very interesting in giving three different points of view. Oldham's influence on Rock&Roll is definitely under-appreciated. He was as important to the music and style of Rock and Roll in the 60s as Phil Spector was in a previous era. The insights he provides into the business and personal sides of the music business is very interesting. His relationship with The Beatles (Lennon in particular), and other Icons of that period is intriguing. I especially enjoyed reading about AOL's working relationship with the early Stones, before they were crafted songwriters. It is clear that if Oldham had never met the Stones, he would have made some other band a house-hold name. I really look forward to the second volume in this set.

ALO, as he references himself through this tour of of ultra-hip England's '60s, has provided a dead-center study of the beginning and early evolution of The Rolling Stones. The momentum of the period also touches on The Bealtes and all the other acts and managers who predated and followed these twin giants of rock 'n' roll. In a word, honesty is what you come away with here. Yes, there are many great tales from the inside about the stars who are today household names. Yes, there is no pulling punches when talking about personalities and/or abuses. And, true to form, there is no shortage of ALO ego when claiming credit for his many contributions. I'm left with as many questions as answers, but along the way ALO does offer a lot of solutions, which is far more than most rock biographies can claim. It's quite an easy and enjoyable read if you're interested in the subject, scholarly but also cinematic.

When I read this book initially, I obviously did so for The Stones. In that area, the book fails rather dismally. The Stones enter the picture in the 2nd half....HOWEVER, this book had some unforeseen goodies found nowhere else.

As a lover of all things Who and Mod related, this book was a great surprise because it spent more time on Peter Meaden/Chris Stamp/Pete Townshend/Mod than it did on The Stones. It was a strange case of looking for one thing and finding what you really wanted. The information related goes back to some of the very earliest days of the movement and gives a much broader view of both Peter Meaden and Modernism than is typical in sources actually dedicated to the subject. ALO's speaking style is even Medeanesque...chocked full of slang and (no doubt) spoken at high speed.

Oldham, though not calling himself a Mod/Modernist, had rather in depth dealings with the subculture and it's inhabitants, including the infamous Phil The Greek and Reg The Killer. This guy was a hipster of the 1st order long before The Stones came into his world. His involvement with successful bands goes back to The Beatles/Epstein, so he was a very impressive and super hip figure to the early Stones. ALO's detour into the underground scene of pre "Swinging London" answers many why/how questions one might have about why the London bands developed in contrast to the Liverpool ones, so it does have it's merit for Stones/London fans.
The Stones stuff is less focused and more "big picture", though there are a few naughty tidbits about the boys.

As for the Mod scene, ALO takes you into The Flamingo, The Scene, The Marquee, and very early Who gigs unlike any other source. You see Carnaby Street when it was still underground and quite gay. You slightly rub shoulders with the early Modernists who didn't hang out in groups with scooters/fox tails and most didn't even label themselves "mod". Oldham's also a front row center observer in the Meaden-Lambert/Stamp management changeover. For those primarily interested in The Stones and ALO's connection to them, this is must be rather baffling and seemingly random stuff, but it really isn't in the overall "Great Manager" style of rock management popular in the 60s UK scene. This was the era of management as "5th Beatle"...hip, super cool, and almost as famous as their charges. This book gives insight into this unique phenomena. For those interested in Mod, this is a must read. It will give more feeling and flavor to the writings more obviously dedicated to the subject.

According to Mr. Oldham - being a mod is an intra personal creation of his own persona, amplified by the search outside the well accepted norms. Who is to judge? That might as well be true, since we can hardly know what exactly it is, "a mod"? Outside historical sources, it is ALL imagination.
That said, the book is very hip, and has no typical strains that can accompany such style of narration. I wouldn't say that mr. Oldham is a beatnik, but he definitely has his own style that has definitive drive. He pays his dues to style, and that is not secondary thing if you are feelin was he's talking about. He was indeed a well-dresser, and i think some of us could learn from that.
As for the Stones thing...its hard to live your life thinking that someone has rubbed you off your first born, and sometimes that is the sense that i get from Andrew... However, a long time passed and he seemes to be well off, cleaned up, and well aware of what he is and where he is heading, as is obvious from his website. Thanks again for an honest account of your life Andrew.

Andrew Loog Oldham is best known as the manager of the Rolling Stones, but he has lead an interesting life outside of that. But of course, most people will want to read this book to get his memories of the Rolling Stones. Unfortunately for Stones fans, we don't get to his first meeting with the Stones until page 185. Also unfortunately, the book ends after his first year as the Stones' manager. I assume there is a sequel in the works. Anyway, the book is fairly interesting. It includes other people's memories of Andrew, as well as his own. Rolling Stones fans will probably like it, although they would like it better if it was entirely about his memories of the Stones.

This is a dull book. It's written in a hip, quickspeak, that is too oblique to grab you. It's like reading Derek Taylor's memoir of his time with the Beatles, where he tries so hard to sound hip-literary, he completely buries what he's writing about. Oldham was intimate with the Stones. He's a witty guy in interviews. This is a fat book, but very little in it that's intereting. After I bought it, I read it once, skimming a lot of it, and donated it to the library. It does obliquely confirm that he and Jagger had a gay affair. In the bio JAGGER UNAUTHORIZED, that author makes the claim that Oldham and Jagger slept together. In Stoned, Oldham says, "Me and Mick got as close as two men can possibly get," which to me confirmed the rumor. And Oldham set Keith up with his girl friend, as Oldham thought, "Keith should go out with something other than his guitar." That's about all of interest about the Stones in this book. It's as disappointig as Peter O'Toole's memoirs.

This guy is well documented as being lucky as all get out. He doesn't know anything about music.

Some interesting facts tossed ala salad with other excerpts and interviews. I learned a little of Oldham's personality and thoughts, but history is far more interesting in many other books. You won't waste your time with this book, but it probably won't excite you much. Not much else to say.