This book was not very long but it definitely an interesting powerful read. Scott Weiland (lead singer from the Stone Temple Pilots) has had a very turbulent and creative life. He made a lot of bad decisions (over and over again apparently) but he somehow never gave up.
The book itself was not very long and very readable. Weiland describes the horrors of drug abuse in a matter of fact way that never wallows and glorifies the filth of it like other band member books (Motley Crue for one). He is very open and frank about his mistakes but the intriguing part to me was how he was able to maintain his creativity during some very dark times.
A lot of songs were written when he was dealing with his dark moments. It is thought-provoking to read his song lyrics as they relate to what he was going through at certain times in his life. I was very inspired by how he never stopped creating and kept pushing himself forward.
The book is a documentation of a man who made a lot of mistakes and how he acknowledges his mistakes and really wants to do better.
I definitely would like to own this book and that is the highest recommendation I can give for a book review.
Next, the not so great book by a rock and roll legend.
Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page is a book of photos but was actually kinda boring. The lack of text was the problem. No new insight into Led Zeppelin.
A lot of pics that if you are a fan of Led Zeppelin, you have probably seen before but that is a "rare" picture in that particular shoot that hasn't been shown before.
A lot of pictures of the stamps on his passports were featured. Again boring. How in the world did such an talented, creative, business savvy man make such a mundane book?
If you are looking for any new insight or clarification of legendary rumors about the band, this is not the book for you. Jimmy Page wanted to highlight the most important and impressive moments of his musical career. But there is barely any text worth reading among the pages.
He is obviously an extremely private person who wanted to just display his life's work through pictures and let the pictures speak for himself.
I would have enjoyed this book so much more if he talked more about his creative process and how he overcame his addiction to drugs. Also I would have loved to get his insight on the music industry today. I will search recent interviews for the answer to those questions.
Check this out from your local library or just go to your local bookstore, sit down and flip through the pages for free. Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE Led Zeppelin fan who has a collection of Led Zep tabletop books. This book should have been the best Led Zeppelin fan book to add to my collection but I was really disappointed in the lack of interesting content in this book.
Both books can be found on Amazon.
Have you read any of these books? Tell me what you think.
Thank you for reading!
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