Ronnie: The Autobiography

Ronnie: The Autobiography
by Ronnie Wood

Ronnie: The Autobiography
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Book Summary Information

Author: Ronnie Wood
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-11-11
ISBN: 0312531028
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Book Reviews of Ronnie: The Autobiography

Book Review: Much less than I expected.
Summary: 2 Stars

It's hard to believe those who gave this book four or five stars were reading the same one as I just finished. I picked a hardback copy up (first edition, no less) for a buck, simply because I was expecting some interesting anecdotes and insight into the early British rock scene, and (as other reviewers noted) something about the creative background to his work, insight into working with all of those big-name musicians, etc. And while there was some of that (Wood's recounting on playing both with the Faces while doing a summer tour with the Stones, and the details of his replacement of Mick Taylor were interesting enough), there was precious little of this. However, if you want to read about how one squanders tons of money on drugs and shady commercial ventures (with organized crime types Wood associated with), or about his more lurid exploits, this will do (with a heavy focus on drug use, of which he comes across as almost proud of the excess).

While grammatically the book is written okay, it is disjointed and can get difficult to follow. There are many sections where Wood will be recounting some event, and throw in the first names of people involved that he doesn't bother to identify. He'll go on long tangents about somewhat unrelated things. It's also interesting to see how many people Wood believes he 'influenced'.

I've always had a high regard for him, ever since seeing the first U.S. tour with the Small Faces (before they dropped the 'Small' from their name), in fact, since he played bass with the Jeff Beck Group. I'll never forget seeing him break into that great slide guitar sound from the song 'Around the Plynth' from First Step. It remains one of the best rock shows I ever saw, and Wood was on fire. Unfortunately, while I still hold his playing in high regard, as a person he lost some luster (and I'm not even referring to him leaving his wife Jo, "the love of my life" he claimed for a young stripper or his arrest for beating her).

There are are lot of photos in the book, many of them nice to have (especially of the early days in London with so many up-and-coming musicians); there are also a fair number of pictures of Mr. Wood using all manner of drugs, some in blazing color.

If you don't expect too much from this fragmented (and to be fair, somewhat self-serving) book, it might be worth a couple of bucks. That's about it as far as I'm concerned.

Summary of Ronnie: The Autobiography

For the first time, a member of the world?s most famous rock ?n? roll band tells his?and their?story.  Raw, unsanitized, nasty and fascinating. An incredible journey.
 
The first of his family to be born on dry land, Ronnie Wood came from a family of water gypsies and was raised in a council flat near Heathrow Airport. Growing up only wanting to paint and play music, Wood was always talented. And in the 1960?s, he was often in the right place at precisely the right time?becoming the  guitar player for everyone from the Birds to Jeff Beck to the Faces and then to Rod Stewart . But Wood and his guitar-playing became super-charged when he joined The Rolling Stones. They were rock royalty from their earliest days, and from the first time Wood performed with the band, careening down New York City?s Fifth Avenue on a flatbed truck Wood has been at the center of the court and in the middle of the ferment.  No band has ever combined the Stones? success--both artistically and materially?with their longevity.  No other band has ever survived the creativity and clashes of such big personalities.
 
But with success came excess?and as mayhem and hysteria followed Ronnie on his adventures through the extremes of rock ?n roll, the drugs got harder and his relationships?especially with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the women in his life?became increasingly complex.
 
A fascinating portrait not just of the Stones, but of the greatest rockers of the 1960?s and beyond?from Eric Clapton to Rod Stewart, Jimmy Page to Keith Moon, Jimi Hendrix to Pete Townshend?RONNIE is a rich, revelatory book. Readers have never had a view of the rock world like this before.
 

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