Stone Alone: The Story Of A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band
Stone Alone: The Story Of A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band
During the height of the Rolling Stones’ success, Bill Wyman kept a diary, recoding the churning chaos of the band’s creative evolution, power plays, recording sessions, tours, romances, drug busts, and financial disarray. “Stone Alone” is a meticulous, shrewd and humorous look at the complex personalities of the Stones and the role they played in the startling cultural revolution of the times. 63 photos.
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A Fascinating Glimpse Into The Making Of 60′s Rock Legends,
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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|Detailed story of The Stones up to 1969,
Bill Wyman’s “Stone Alone” is an excellent biography of The Rolling Stones, with the perspective of an insider but not the one at center stage.
As the bass player and one of the founding members of The Stones, Bill Wyman was also the band’s historian, keeping detailed journals about the band, and this contributes to making fleshed out anecdotes about the band from the early days until the death of Brian Jones and their free concert at Hyde Park in July 1969.
As a bio-piece, there is the usual growing up poor in post-war Britain saga. Wyman engages readers with vivid images and a keen memory that bring this period to life, and he also builds brief pieces for the other founding members of the Stones, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts.
Having always been a casual fan of TRS, I learned a lot from this book. The major parts are fairly common knowledge in rock music lore, but here are some of the main points:
*Brian Jones was the key influence in the early days, having a genius level aptitude for learning instruments, and possessing a charisma on par with Mick Jagger’s. He was also a very screwed up guy with a number of physical ailments and emotional instability.
*Ian Stewart was a key contributor, as a pianist, then road manager after his “relegation” by Andrew Oldham.
*While Andrew Oldham profoundly influenced their growth, he also screwed them over, as did manager Allen Klein. What happened to all of that money?
*Wyman was a shameless philanderer who detailed his many road conquests, but was also a doting father to his son, Stephen.
Wyman also had a lot of bitterness toward Jagger and Richards, for their egos, their controlling of the band and ignoring contributions of other band members and reaping a greater share of songwriting royalties. Wyman details how his own projects were shunted to the side. The Jagger/Richards/Oldham “unholy trinity” also led to Brian Jones becoming a sideman, never blossoming as a songwriter, and eventual ouster from the band. Well, actually, Jones own self-destructive behavior contributed greatly to these three things.
Wyman provides amazing details about each show, from the number of attendees, the gross receipts and what happened. It was also interesting to note his bank balance at various junctures, as the public believed these guys were millionaires when they were basically broke because of the mismanagement of their accounts by Klein.
Some critiques: The book is pretty long, and the anecdotes of concert, riots and screaming girls in the early years get pretty repetitive.
I would have liked to have learned more about the music itself and how the songs came together. This book is many about the performances and personal escapades of the band members.
Still, the information presented provides a great glimpse into the Stones early lives and music from 1963-69. Having read this book, I’m eager to find the next “chapter” and delve further into The Stones music catalog from the blues/R&B period as well as songs beyond the obvious hits.
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|1963 to 1969: 7 Magical Years of Music & Madness!,
… 1963 to 1969: 7 Magical Years of Music & Madness! … That’s what this book is: about the first seven years of the life of The Rolling Stones – and it’s INTENSE! (Would you expect otherwise from a Scorpio?). … This book begins with a chapter called FLASH FORWARD that talks about more recent events, as an overview of their whole carreer, in the life of The Rolling Stones. It ends with the story of the free concert the Stones gave in Hyde Park on July 5, 1969 in memory of Brian Jones, who had “died” just 3 days before! … In between those two poles in time, Bill Wyman fills-in the cracks – from HIS point of view, which is very detailed. One comes away with the feeling that The Stones should have ditched Andrew Loog Oldham at the start, NEVER hired Allen Klein, kept Eric Easton as their main manager, and paid Bill Wyman an extra salary to look after their monetary affairs. He would have done a better job! … Yeah, Brian Jones should have NEVER given-in to the pressure of Oldham, Jagger & Richards to boot Ian “Stu” Stewart out of the performing line-up of the band; but in the same light, ALL of them should never have allowed Oldham to hire Allen Klein. BIG MISTAKE! (How in their right minds could they then have even recommended him to John Lennon to manage The Beatles, too … unless it was competitive sabotage tactics?). One comes away with the feeling from reading this book that – other than his blatant marriage infidelities – Bill Wyman is a very decent human being and a much more talented musician than most people realise. Also, he has a sincere affection, and respect, for Brian Jones, which shines through clearly. (On this, I totally agree with the reviewer from Montgomey, Alabama.) Page 307 alone will convince anyone who has any doubts about the matter that Brian Jones was being persecuted by both people in and out of the band (as well as by the law, and even by Anita Von Pallenberg). They knew his weaknesses, and they used it against him to their advantage. … The one line in the book that hits home more than any other are Brian’s words themselves, on page 289: “Ghosts of the morning can be seen on the skyline, if you watch intently enough…” – Brian Jones, Cork, Ireland, January, 1965. … All in all, this book reads like a diary of one of the greatest acts of all time. I’m waiting for parts 2 and 3 to come out one day, so we will finally find out what really went on in the seventies and eighties as well! Because, if Bill Wyman kept notes until the very end of his watch in 1989 with the end of the Steel Wheels tour (I was there in Foxboro!), then those next two books covering those two decades should be just as interesting, if not as fascinating – for, after all, without Brian Jones, The Stones were never the same. … Thank you, Bill Wyman, for an excellent expose from the inside on the working dynamics of the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band in the world! … – The Aeolian Kid.
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