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Omnibus Press, London
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Japanese Edition 1986 Shinko Music Pub. Co. Ltd |
| Funtopia Review: |
A cynic might say that Farren's "In Their Words" books are nothing more than commercial money spinners, which perhaps to a degree they were, and Farren himself admits in his memoirs that by 1976 'The Stones... were beginning to get right my up nose'. So, even if this 1980 compilation was not necessarily a labour of love it still boasts nearly two decades worth of interview material and numerous photographs that must have been no mean feat to compile. In the acknowledgements Mick mentions 'sifting through hundreds of rock mags, music trade papers, and taped interviews'.
Like the earlier "Elvis In His Own Words", the book is compartmentalised into various subjects beginning with the minimal 'Prelude' that consists of three comments from an ex-neighbour and school master of Jagger's, as well as his father, respectively. The other chapters are more substantial and range from 'In the beginning' to 'The nature of the game', which sandwich other choicely titled chapters such as 'Drugs', 'Sex and violence', and the 'Politics of delinquency', oh, and let's not forget the 'Music'. Inevitably these chapters accordingly deal with the Redlands bust, Keef's voracious appetite for drugs, Altamont, and various criminal convictions amongst other things. Brian Jones's 'We piss anywhere man' is a classic, and is probably a reference to being caught urinating on a petrol station forecourt. So, like the earlier Elvis counterpart, although the interviews here were not commissioned especially for this book it does bring together a diverse collection of comments and thoughts which even the most ardent Stones' fan would have been hard pushed to have collected themselves. Although many thousands more words have been written about the Stones since this publication in 1980, this easy to digest oral record chronicles the more interesting and definitive period of the Stones' career. But to all intents and purposes it could just as easily have been called "The Glimmer Twins in their own Words" - getting on for ninety per cent of the book is culled from interviews with Mick 'n' Keef. Having said that, let's face it,these two have nearly always been the faces of the Stones, and it's always been them who've garnered most interest, especially after the death of Brian Jones in 1969. Jagger and Richards, being who they are, have never really been ones to hold back on their forthrightness and ensure that the content of this book is more interesting than that of "Elvis in his own Words". Nevertheless, although the casual reader will find something of interest here, it is more likely to the more avid Stones fans, or musicologists, and Mick Farren collectors of course! RD September 2001 |