Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones

by Stephen Davis

Book Overview

Davis, the New York Times bestselling author of Hammer of the Gods and Walk This Way, who has followed the Stones for three decades, presents their whole story, replete with vivid details of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767903137
• ISBN13: 9780767903134
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Better Than An Authorized Biography

Authorized or not (and this one is not), you won't find a better set of stories and facts about the band, not even in their own books and interviews. Why? Well, because author Stephen Davis is a professional journalist, an excellent wordsmith (although he sometimes waxes a bit too poetic), and most importantly, a great critical analyst capable of giving unbiased information from a wide range of sources so that you can make your own judgment. You see, the problem with nearly all the Stones' books is the limited scope of the author, their own strong biases or the time period or limited access they were granted. Davis overcomes this problem by thorough research (I suspect he may have a research team although he doesn't say), by getting to seminal sources in an attempt to avoid the biases of non-first hand information, and by actually checking and correlating documented sources.Now, about the book itself: What a title! Davis has the greatest book titles I've ever seen. I would buy and read it just on that alone, but perhaps I should talk a bit about what's actually IN the book, so here goes:Part One on the formation of the band is the best and most coherent story of all the famous events (and I've read most of the accounts by other authors, including the Stones themselves). Davis has the chronology and the details down extremely well. It is obvious that Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies brought it all together, but a good understanding of how Brian met Korner and ended up as Elmo Lewis backed by Charlie Watts the night Mick, Keith, and Dick Taylor first saw him is really a first in the Stones literature. The Blue Boys tapes that Mick, Keith, and Taylor did in 1962 are explained (as well as Mick's 50,000 pound auction bid to retain control of them in May of 1995 after they were rediscovered in a Dartford attic), the incredible discord between the individual Stones is very well related (with lots of specific incidents), details of what happened before and after many of the famous shows, the personal relationships, screw ups, and conflicts gives an insight that the Stones themselves have tried to avoid repeatedly. The image that emerges is one that is best typified by Keith's oft-repeated story of the Dartford Station train incident in October of 1960, when he met Mick with the albums under his arm. Keith sometimes waxes poetic about how they made a deal just like Robert Johnson at the crossroads and about how the Band will survive regardless of what else happens. And you can't fault Keith or anyone else on this one....because he's right.....the Band still exists......chaotic history and all....what is remarkable is that they survived.....and you will not understand what that means until you see the story from Davis' perspective....in this book. I honestly can say that without reading this one, you cannot claim to know what the Stones are still all about, Old Gods or not.Oh, and just to prove that Davis is not perfect, I did find one fact he could have che

For the Casual Fan....

I have read over 30 books on the Stones and I was not disoppointed with this. I've noticed that alot of ppl say this book is ok but doesn't add "anything new". Well it does say that this book covers the Stones ENTIRE career...and the Stones have had a LONG career...so when there is 40 years of history to write about there is no way the author could dweel on smaller less significant events..but it does cover all basic (factual) events that have happened in their career...(most more well-read fans already know about) I say if you plan on reading ONLY ONE book on the Stones your whole life you might as well read this one. If you already have more than your fair-share of Stones reading material I would suggest you read this anyways...Its well written and at times funny! Mostly this would be the best thing if your a casual fan. Oh and if you want to find out how Mick, Keith, and Brian were/are REALLY like read James Phelge's book Nankering With The Rolling Stones..;)

Not Quite Dead.............Yet!

Mr. Davis offers a consistent and essentially accurate view of the Stones, albeit with a very slight emphasis to the sensational.....but "sensational" is what the Stones have built their reputation on. A highlight is the interesting accounting of the 62-65 period; vastly superior to previous details of the groups career as it relates to Brian Jones. With the exception of brief snipets of information this book will offer little new to diehard fans who have read Mr. Wymans "Stone Alone", Tony Sanchez's "Up and Down With the Rolling Stones" etc. et al, but the "snipets" are enjoyable and appear to be accurate. For a non Stones fanatic it offers a great accurate read of their history, far exceeding the plethora of inaccurate and weakly reasearched books of the last 15 years such as "Symphony for the Devil." Mr. Davis' research enjoyably delves into the studio work with a brief song by song synopsis of each album. Though it doesn't begin to offer the detail of Karnbach and Beanson's "Ultimate Guide" it does provide interesting information. Little is offered in the way of post 1978 detail and unsubstantiated information such as that offered on the last page should be discounted as previous quotes rely heavily (almost exclusively) on the Stones 25 x 5 video documentary and not first hand accounts. One has to wonder how close Mr. Davis got to any "insiders" in the writing of "Almost Dead", but from the myriad writings available he has managed to glean enough useful data to put together what appears to be an accurate and "fun read."

I liked it

The early reviews are overly tough, and I'll admit perhaps I'm being too liberal in my praise, but I'm sincere. At the risk of sounding uncool, I have to admit that I found this book impossible to put down. I like the readability - it's got much better flow than most rock histories. Maybe the facts are off, maybe we can take umbrage at the author's concepts, but this is the case with all star biographies (unless we're dealing with a boring star). The fact remains that I missed out on sleep for many nights because I didn't want to stop reading this, and while that doesn't absolutely mean it's a *good* book, it does speak for the book's draw. It's magnetic. While you're reading the book, take a gander at the 2000 DVD reissue of Gimme Shelter if you can - they are good companion pieces.

Elegantly wasted, just like Keith

The previous reviewers were too hard on this book. Sure, the writing is sometimes sloppy, disorganized and repetitive, yet it's also frequently brilliant, hilariously over the top, and thrilling.... which is a pretty accurate description of the Stones themselves. I mean, this isn't supposed to a scholarly analysis, unless I read the liner notes wrong. It's a down `n dirty tell-all. Most of the major turning points in this career are detailed with impressive flair (the Redlands drug bust, Altamont, "World War III", etc.) People interested in classic rock `n roll decadence should also check out a great new video called "Welcome to the Rainbow". It's a documentary on the history of rock on LA's notorious Sunset Strip, with interviews and performances from gods like Ozzy, Robbie Kriegerman, Lemmy of Motorhead and more. It's a must-own for the serious rock collector!