Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock 'N' Roll Band

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Summary: A Fascinating Glimpse Into The Making Of 60's Rock Legends
Review: Thanks to the Rolling Stones' bass player Bill Wyman's neurotic habit of keeping journals and detailed records of nearly every aspect of his life, we have in this book a precious and rare opportunity to look at the formative days of the Rolling Stones. I am absolutely dumbfounded at other reviews which refer to this book as boring or concerned only with uninteresting details of mundane matters. The book is a witty, compelling and fascinating account of how a devotee of the American Blues genre named Brian Jones, plucked the title of a Muddy Waters record called "Rollin' Stone Blues", and used it as the name of the band he formed to jam on the blues for the pure pleasure of it. Only later through chance meetings, serendipity, and fate did musicians Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts cross his path and redirect the band's musical focus towards original songwriting and pop stardom, leading to the ultimate unraveling of Brian Jones's mental stability which eventually let to his untimely death by drug-induced drowning. Contrary to bizarre assertions by other reviewers that Bill Wyman was a vindictive malcontent, and a jealous and egotistical songwriting competitor to the Jagger/Richards team, Mr. Wyman was and is a quiet, fun-loving, and happy person with a droll sense of humor. Of course the Stones had their differences, fights, spats, and arguments just like every group of people involved in long-term relationships, and these are related with honesty here. Wyman in fact uses most of this book as a vehicle to express his love and admiration for his fellow Stones and at the genius of The Glimmer Twins (Jagger and Richards). Rarely tooting his own horn as a songwriter, Wyman does at one point wryly relate the tale of how HE and not Jagger and Richards came up with the lick for one of the Stones' most compelling songs "Jumpin' Jack Flash", for which he was never given credit. The first-hand recounting of the band's sudden rise to stardom, from the dismal empty clubs in England to the world stage, is compelling reading and the stories of the groupies, the band's exact pay at every gig, the financial debacles, and eventually their monetary revival which occured after Mick Jagger met a Swiss Baron who took over the Stone's books, are all vital statements of fact, valuable lessons to musicians of today and an integral part of the story of one of the greatest bands of all time. Ray Coleman does an exemplary job of working with Wyman and turning out one of the great books of rock. Thank you Bill and Ray for this amazing record of a legendary period!

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Summary: Informative: A must for the true Stones fan!
Review: This book covers the original Rolling Stones from their early beginings the way that only an insider can tell it. This is one of the few books that gives the late Brain Jones the credit he deserves regarding his vision for the group he formed and led! Much insight on the inner workings and behavior of the five young men from London who 's goal it was to sell the blues to their young English audiance and ultimately the world. What got in the way was personalities and ambitions. According to Wyman the original Rollin' Stones was a blues band headed by purist Brian Jones. Their early selections were those of Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Howlin Wolf and, the man who's song Rollin' Stone Blues they derived their name from, Muddy Waters. Although much of the book talks about Wyman's many many on the road affairs with groupies, too much in my opinion, it is a treasure chest of information about the early years and beginings of the world's greatest rock and roll band.

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Summary: dull
Review: This book reminds me of what Truman Capote said about Saul Bellow: "He's a dull writer and a dull man." (And I know this was ghost writen, but it still holds).

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Summary: a sure cure for insomnia!
Review: This is probably one of the most BORING autobiographies I have ever read. While Marianne Faithfull's autobiography is written almost as a novel, Bill writes as if just outlining the facts. All he talks about is how mean Mick and Keith were to him and how many women he slept with at the time (and bragging that that number was more than Mick and Keith combined). Poor Bill. Maybe if he had stood up for himself instead of sleeping with all those women, he might have gotten a say in the music once in a while! If you want riveting information about the Stones, read Marianne's book "Faithfull", if you want a cure for your insomnia, read "Stone Alone"!

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Summary: Wonderful diary of inside the 60's Stones. Beautiful.
Review: This may seem a bit odd but my two favorite Stones were always Charlie Watts & Bill Wyman. They were the rock solid rhythm foundation for the band. They never recieved the press that the others did but the band would never have flown without them, and I am a Stones fan from 1963. This book reveals Bill's life as a child growing up in England, experiencing the trials and tribulations of war torn London. Accounts of his family life and the first bands that he ever played with, not to mention the history of the Stones and his relationships with each of the members, his marriages and children and countless other issues and information, plus fantastic photos and many rare shots of the band in the early days. This is a wonderful read and not to be missed. I highly recommend this book. You will be amazed at much of the factual information.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful diary of inside the 60's Stones. Beautiful.
Review: This may seem a bit odd but my two favorite Stones were always Charlie Watts & Bill Wyman. They were the rock solid rhythm foundation for the band. They never recieved the press that the others did but the band would never have flown without them, and I am a Stones fan from 1963. This book reveals Bill's life as a child growing up in England, experiencing the trials and tribulations of war torn London. Accounts of his family life and the first bands that he ever played with, not to mention the history of the Stones and his relationships with each of the members, his marriages and children and countless other issues and information, plus fantastic photos and many rare shots of the band in the early days. This is a wonderful read and not to be missed. I highly recommend this book. You will be amazed at much of the factual information.

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Summary: details details details
Review: To a great extent this book is colored by the very personal point of view that Wyman had from within the band; this aspect will either fascinate or offend the reader according to who one's favorite Stone is. Where this book excels without doubt is on dates, locations, and such. Breeze through the bulk of the chapters if they don't catch your interest,(I love the whole thing), but take special note of the lists in the back, with more, (and more accurate), info on Stones records and gigs than were available in sum total up until now.

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Summary: Thanks Bill....Nice Job!
Review: Written in 1990, this is a very well written inside look at how the Stones developed. Wyman has kept good notes and uses them to full advantage to give you a rationale look at the music, business, and lifestyle of the band from 64 though 90. There are details that have not previously been revealed about the early shows, the American tours, Brian, the drug busts in London, it goes on and on.....extremely interesting to anyone a bit fanatical about the Stones (but who else would be reading this review?).....this one is original material, not a fan ripoff and definitely worth your money......

Rating:
Summary: Thanks Bill....Nice Job!
Review: Written in 1990, this is a very well written inside look at how the Stones developed. Wyman has kept good notes and uses them to full advantage to give you a rationale look at the music, business, and lifestyle of the band from 64 though 90. There are details that have not previously been revealed about the early shows, the American tours, Brian, the drug busts in London, it goes on and on.....extremely interesting to anyone a bit fanatical about the Stones (but who else would be reading this review?).....this one is original material, not a fan ripoff and definitely worth your money......

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Summary: Eary history of the Rolling Stones.
Review: Wyman's account of the Rolling Stones up to Altamont. Extremely informative, you get first-hand accounts of the band's formation, and their rise to the top. Wyman is also very candid and forthcoming about his relationship with the other band members, not to mention his personal life. As geat a band as the Rolling Stones are, there aren't many books that give them the respect that they are due. They either focus on the women-and-drugs side, or they focus mainly on Jagger and Richards. This book covers all of it, including the music.