Rating: 
Summary: Michael Stipe's view revealed in black and white
Review: This book includes not just black and white photographs shot by Michael Stipe while on the road with Patti Smith, but also many polaroid photos taken by Patti Smith's guitarist Oliver Ray. Oliver Ray's photographs are designated by a little "O" near his photos.While Stipe certainly has some real gems here, he doesn't demonstrate complete mastery over his camera equipment, which to my knowledge was a Leica M6. Many of the images here are blurry and/or out of focus. But that is ok, it evokes a certain frantic 'on the road touring with a rock band' style. Oliver Ray's Polaroids are on the other hand, wonderful. Taken with a cheap Polaroid Land Camera 100 (circa 1960s) using instant Polaroid 667 black and white 'peel-apart' film (which is still sold), Ray achieves stunning results especially when you understand the' limited featured' camera he worked with. This book is an interesting study for anyone who is as fond of Polaroid photography as I am. If you are an R.E.M. and Michael Stipe fan, or a Patti Smith fan, then of course you will enjoy this book. However if you are seeking true pristine photographic works of art, look elsewhere. Most of these images evoke a more 'grunge' (for lack of a better word) feel. There is some great prose by Stipe, Ray, and many others including Patti Smith. And, there are many famous people depicted including the likes of Allen Ginsberg. One note about my copy of the book-after just one reading, the binding fell apart and the first quarter of the book fell apart into separate pages from the book. This was very dissappointing and should not have happend under normal reading...
Rating: 
Summary: Beware!
Review: When I first saw this in a bookstore, I passed on buying it because the photographs are absolutely awful. But I'm a huge Patti Smith fan, and when I read a review saying that it was worth getting just for the text, I took the bait. Bad move. The text isn't bad, but no big deal. And again the photos are just terrible, "arty" in the very worst way-- badly framed, mostly out of focus, uninteresting shots to begin with. Considering the opportunity Stipe was afforded, this is a real shame.
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