Rating: 
Summary: another worthless AIC bio
Review: I read this along with Angry Chair, another worthless bio piece on AIC. There is absolutely nothing in this book that held my interest. Let me save you some money: Mike Starr rose to fame in AIC, played a lot of shows, had sex with a lot of women, tried heroin, got hooked, quit AIC, tried to get back in the next day, was denied, spent the next decade trying to kick heroin. The end. The author's writing isnt as bad as the Angry Chair's author, but he definitely should not wait for the Nobel committee to call. He also made lots of historical mistakes about bands like Pearl Jam was Mother Love Bone with a new singer and then Mad Season was Pearl Jam with Layne Staley on vocals. I'm not even a hardcore fan of these bands and I know he's wrong. He also quoted Starr mentioning "Ingve Nomstein." How can you write a book about metal and not know the name of everyone's favorite cheesy metal guitar hero Yngwie Malmsteen?
Rating: 
Summary: no more aic bummer
Review: I was hoping a new aic album was in the works. The box set was cool. after reading unchained i was amazed this was the end of the road. The other grunge bands were good "aic was the best." They never get the mainstream press thats why I am shocked that it's all over. if you thought the kurt cobane story was shocking read unchained. It's a shame aic the band will not stand the test of time but their music always will. Gotta go "time to jam on some aic!"
Rating:
Summary: Finally , a book on Mike
Review: Kudos to John Brandon on a remarkable biography of Mike Starr. This book SHOULD have been written years ago, but I'm glad to see it took a few years to make sure it was done right. The detail and description Mr. Brandon uses in his book is out of this world. It was great read and I recommend it to anyone who has the slightest interest in the band.
Rating:
Summary: Do Not Buy This
Review: Let me preface this review by saying that I love Alice and Chains and have since "Facelift". I'm so disappointed that I payed hard earned money for this terrible book. The author writes like a ten year old. I thought that this was a novel. A person can finish this book on the toilet in one sitting. I reccomend leaving it there when you're finished (if you finish at all). There was no information in there that any novice Alice in Chanins fan doesen't know. This book was ridiculous. The author mispells names, the writing is choppy and ludicrous. I hated it
Rating:
Summary: Mike Starr is one of my best friends, but I will listen...
Review: Mike tells me that you were invited to one of their parties,and your info is second and third handed at best.He also says that the picture of him is not real.Believe me,I recognize Mikes body,and he is shorter and chunkier.Please explain why you did this,and if this is partially true,fill me in.I dont hate you, but if there is something I am missing please let me know...(949)212-7980.
Thanks, Renee Budrewicz
Rating: 
Summary: Finally something new on the topic
Review: This book comes at a time when you really can't get anything that seems like a fresh perspective on the topic. Alice has always been my favorite band and I have always wanted know what happened to Mike Starr after he left them. This book answers my questions. I just wanted to commend the author for writing this book.
Rating:
Summary: HORRIBLE and not factual
Review: This book is filled with nonfactual information about other bands and Jerry Cantrell. This book is written by an outsider who has taken the word of a drug addict as truth. Horrible story that is poorly written and so short you can read it in 90 minutes. I love how Mike claims cobain and him were great friends. Don't waste your time on this book that is inconsistent with any other biography about Seattle in the early 90's that I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Read between the lines
Review: This book is poorly written. It is also very short. It's written like the author did a couple interviews with Mike and some relatives and friends and pieced the book together overnight. However, it is worth to read if you are an Alice In Chains fan. It tells some interesting stories. Caution: you have to read between the lines. For example, Mike indicated he had to leave the band because Jerry Cantrell no longer wanted him in for certain reasons, but some of the stories Mike tells of himself while in the band and after the band indicate he was very wild, and there were probably incidents and issues he simply doesn't want to reveal or maybe doesn't remember that are part of the reason he had to leave the band. Plus, he did sleep with Jerry Cantrell's girlfriend, that was pretty bad in itself. Also be cautious of what the book said about the present time (Year 2001), the book says Layne Staley is a severe drug addict at this moment, and Jerry Cantrell is a poor, broke crackhead that no record company will ever invest another nickle in. First of all, it is mentioned in the book that Mike has not seen Layne since 1996 so he doesn't know this about Layne first hand. Second, Jerry Cantrell is about to release a double album, so obviously that fact was wrong. Where did the author get his current information? Is he just recycling rumors? I hope this book sparks enough interest so someone who knows how to write and research can do a better book, but this is all that's out there right now so it's better than nothing. One thing I did respect about this book was that it was not a nasty tell-all book. Mike didn't dish out a lot of gossip about the band members, other than himself. The drug use he talked about was not anything not already known. I'm sure there were many other stories he did not tell, possibly because he doesn't want to burn his bridges back to the band. P.S. Alice In Chains is one of the best bands in the world and we can only hope they will get back together someday.
Rating: 
Summary: Only read it if you are a diehard fan!
Review: This book is terrible. It was written by John Brandon based on interviews with Alice In Chain's ex bassist Mike Starr. Mike quit AIC around 1992. This book repeats its self over and over again. Mike is constantly telling us how much women like him.
This book is so blantantly biased I don't know how they could expect anyone to take him serious!
When they weren't referring to how much of a lady's man Mike was they talk about how jealous Jerry Cantrell (guitarist) was of Mike. For some reason I have a really hard time buying that one. There were obviously other things going on if Mike quits one day and then changes his mind that next and they don't let him back. I don't think it was Jerry's jealousy either. Mike also claimed that Jerry wanted to kick Layne out of the band. This is absolutely ridiculous. It has always been apparent that Jerry and Layne were close at least at one time and had respect for each other.
I am glad that I read this book only because I am a huge AIC fan and I would read about any book about them. If you read this book just take everything Mike says with a grain of salt.
The worst part of the book is when Mike admits he hasn't talked to the any of the band members in years, yet continues to comment on their wellbeing. I have a hard time believing that Jerry is a crackhead when he has been on tour supporting his album and is going to release a double disc cd. So Mike lies blantantly right there. In his book his dad says that no record company will drop a dime on Jerry because he is so messed up. I live in Seattle and I have actually seen Jerry around town on 3 different occasions and not once did he appear to be on crack or extremley messed up on any drug. If he was as messed up with drugs as Mike says he is I think you would be able to tell by looking at him. I think it is quite obvious that he had this book written because he was hoping to make a few bucks off of his time with AIC.
Rating:
Summary: So that's what happened! Now I know!
Review: This isn't the greatest book I've ever read or even the greatest book I've ever read about rock and roll but it is a great explanation of what happened to Grunge pioneers Alice In Chains. There has been so much mystery about this band which is one of my favorite that I could never get a straight answer from anyone about what happened--especially to Layne Staley. Sadly, now I know the inside story. I really enjoyed the read and I hope the band can still turn things around despite all the ugliness.
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