With the upcoming release of Ladies and Gentlemen on DVD, as well as Keiths autobiography, I was reading about the 1972 tour online. I came across a book on amazon named, Stones Touring Party, a journey through America with the Rolling Stones by the author Robert Greenfield. I was thinking of buying it but I was wondering if it was any good as there are some paricularly well known Stones books that are bad.

Would you recommend it?
And what do you think are the best Stones books?

Gazza wrote on Aug 27^th, 2010 at 9:55am:



Thanks for the info. I understand what you mean about the tabloid style which favours a good story rather than dealing with facts. As a Stones fan the inaccuracies in this kind of thing stick out like a sore thumb and they bother me.

I think I'll click back onto amazon and make the order!

Ade wrote on Aug 27^th, 2010 at 12:18pm:


I agree, I read through it atleast once every other day. Its great to cure boredom. And it along with Bill's "Stone Alone" are a great pair of books that seem to thoroughly explain the Stones story.

HERE'S THE LIST,AND I'VE READ THEM ALL 50 TIMES
1-TRUE ADVENTURES OF THE ROLLING STONES
2-UNDER THEIR THUMB- BILL GERMAN
3-CHET FLIPPO'S BOOK
4-STP 1972-ROBERT GREENFIELD
5-KEITH RICHARDS-VICTOR BOCKRIS
6-UP AND DOWN WITH THE STONES-TONY SANCHEZ
7-ACCORDING TO THE ROLLING STONES
8-LET IT BLEED- ETHAN RUSSELL
9-KEITH RICHARDS-BARBARA CHERONE
10-STONE ALONE-BILL WYMAN

I NEVER GOT STU'S TRIBUTE BOOK,TOO EXPENSIVE

SoulPlunderer wrote on Aug 27^th, 2010 at 2:42pm:

THE EXILE BOOK IS OK ..WORTH READING,JUST NOT ONE OF THE BEST.

SoulPlunderer wrote on Aug 27^th, 2010 at 2:42pm:

It sucks. Not worth the paper it's printed on. Not too crazy about German's book either. Some nice story's. But it really seemed to come across as self serving to me. He rails against the Stones becoming too commercial at the end of it...Yet has no problem making money on a book about how commercial they became. One not on the list above that is an absolute must have is Marilou Regan's book. Love You Live/Fanfare from the Common Fan. Nothing but stories from Stones fans and their experiences. I also liked Old Gods Almost Dead. But I'm in the minority on that one.

I may be hitting the bookshops today so I'll keep all your comments in mind. Is Germans book exclusively about the Stones or is it more about his life?

Thinks for all your recommendations!

Stanley Booths book "True Adventures' is top of my list, Bill's "Stone Alone" is a diary he kept of the Stones till Hyde Park concert, of course it's updated on the 2nd release, great for information, "Up & Down" is a entertaining read, I'm sure most of it is true.
David Bowie once said there were something like 32 books on him, I often wonder how many books are on the Stones, I remember one back in the 70's about Mick "Everybody's Lucifer" don't know whatever happened to that.

SoulPlunderer wrote on Aug 28^th, 2010 at 5:34am:



For the period covered in the book, there's no discernible difference.

Strongly recommended, because we can all see a bit of ourselves in Bill at times, I think.

Plus, its a really good insight into a period that isnt often covered (the 80s), which is, in it's own way, every bit as interesting as the decades that preceded it.

Its also a bit eye opening as an insight into how the Stones have morphed from being a band into a corporation since the late 80s.

Like Gazza said, its a matter of preference.
IMO, the only books worth a look are the Booth, Flippo and Greenfield books - because they were there.
Forget the more salacious bios - they're written by hacks whose last subject might have been Liz Taylor....nothing against La Liz, but you know what I mean - these writers make money as celebrity biographers and they don't have the depth or a feel for the music. Pure crap.
My favorite is the Greenfield book, STP - its really is a birds-eye, fly-on-the-wall snapshot of that time and he focuses on what was happening with fans, the music culture at the time etc.....its the best book at capturing the craziness of the Stones at their peak.
Flippo for the same reason, he capture the Stones in 75-79. Booth is my least favorite of the three - it's a good document, but it becomes more about Booth than the Stones. The guy seems to start thinking he's one of them and it starts to sound self-serving and its also about 15 years after the fast, so the urgency is missing, unlike Greenfield, which comes across as daily dispatches from the warzone.
Stay far away from Grrenfield's more recent book though. It sucks and I can't figure out why. Its a retread of other books and other accounts, plus, he sounds like he became a little soft in the head, losing that journalistic edge he had with STP.

I'd forgotten about Marriane's book - very funny observations. And how the fuck could I foget about Up and Down? That is the bible, not so much in quality, but in terms of setting the tone.......it remains a must for any Stones fan.

BILL PERKS wrote on Aug 28^th, 2010 at 11:19am:

 THANKS, ZACH...THE DAVID DALTON BOOK IS GREAT TOO,FORGOT THAT ONE..LOOKIN AT IT NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS   [/quote]


it's sobering to think that it covers the  first twenty years and it's nearly thirty years since it was published

I'm getting Sam Cutler's book next week (i hope).