Joe Perry: Rocks (book review)

I was a bit skeptical when i first bought this boom because it is co written with David Ritz, and last time i picked up a book co written with him, it was horrible. But this one was a different story.

What an awesome story this was. Waaaay better than Tyler’s book. Joe Perry really spills all the beans on this one. How Tyler was running behind the band’s back to audition for Led Zeppelin and American Idol. But this book is not just about the dirty little secrets, it is more than that. Is about the rise and fall of a great guitar player and man. Full with stories about his growing up in the lake and bonding with nature.

Joe Perry really makes you feel like youre sitting with him having a conversation in his back porch. His attention for detail is incredible and thats why when you read this book you can picture everything he is sharing with you.

As bonus if you are a guitar player (like myself) you will really appreciate how he describes his recording process of albums and all the effects and guitars that went into making them. And at the very end of the boom theres a whole section with a lot of pictures about guitars and gear he used and uses.

Do not pass the oportunity to read this awesome autobiography filled with over 100 pictures.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date: October 7, 2014
# of Pages: 432

Keith Richards LIFE (book review)

I had bought this book not knowing too much about Keith Richards or the Rolling Stones, other than the infamous stories everybody knows.

From the first page of this book until about page 120 or so everything was very hard to understand for me. “Keef” explains every detail about his childhood from growing up in the streets that were bombed to going with his grandpa to bars. Throught the 1st quarter of the book you learn a lot about his choir days in school til when his voice cracked and he got kicked out of the choir.

This is by far the longest book I have read. It took me a while and while I did enjoy most of it, the first 120 or so pages didnt really interest me that much. It was cool finding out about his childhood and growing up during that time, but it was just kinda boring for me.

Now, I read this book (like many people did) wanting to know more about the infamous “blood transfusion” in Switzerland. Of course Keith explains that it was all made up because he was just sick and was going to Switzerland to get “cleaned” from drugs, and basically he meant what he said as a joke (at least thats what I understood from it). Another famous incident we all want to know is the “mars bar”. That one is exolained but it is not what I was thinking it would be (like many of the stories)

Of course throughout the book are all the crazy stories about drugs and cheating death. I got the feel that he was saying do drugs, but be careful which ones you do and how much of it you do. Is unbelievable how many drugs he did and yet he’s still alive but a lot of his close friends died overdosing. There are some cool stories about some famous people like John Lennon, Chuck Berry and a lot of the big players back then. Backstage stories are countless throught out this book!

I think a lot of guitar players (like myself) will enjoy this book a lot. Richards explains a lot of their famous songs in detail and what key he plays it in and the different tunings and all the effects used to create their unique sound. Keith explains how he started playing with 5 strings and how he developed his style.

One thing about Richards autobiography is that after you get past the first 120 pages you will not be bored. You will be turning page after page. There are interviews with his son and some of his friends, so you get to hear some of the details from different views. Every little detail about his Life he explains!

Buy this book and if you’re not a fan of the Stones you definately will be after reading it.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Release Date: October 26, 2010
# of Pages: 576