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I am continuing to read books about complex people (particularly, men), and am currently in the “musician” category. To find my next read, I did a bit of Googling and found Rolling Stone’s list of top rock memoirs.
It probably comes as no surprise that Keith Richards’ memoir, “Life,” is at the very top of the list. So, I got the audio version from my local library via the Libby app.
I had no expectations going in, and was ready to hear whatever he had to say (I find this gets the best results).
Here are some quick facts about the book:
Title: Life
Author: Keith Richards
Release year (2010)
Co-written with James Fox
Topics covered: Survival and longevity; Early life and musical influences; Formation of the Stones; and Fame, addiction, and relationships.
The audio version is read by Keith Richards, Johnny Depp, and Joe Hurley… more on this in a bit 🙂 It’s ~23 hours long, which was a little intimidating. I’ve listened to longer books (Washington’s biography by Ron Chernow was 35 hours), but still.
I’m not sure if it’s because I listened to the book, but it sounded conversational, which I enjoyed. I’m impressed by the breadth of stories and moments Richards can recall.
Richards, of course, covers his time in the Stones, and I was delighted to hear about his obsession with sound, rhythm, and guitars, as well as his creative process behind the songs. He shares his perspective on the music vs. the “rockstar” image, which is fascinating.
It’s so neat to hear how these things differ from artist to artist!
A good portion of this book discusses addiction, understandably. As someone who’s read several books covering addiction (it’s either the sole subject of the book or a large part of it), Richards has some unique things to say on the matter, which will stick with me.
Richards’ stories are not glamorized; they are grounded in consequences (though his fame spared him the worst punishments). It seems like, even during his addiction, he was fully aware of the importance of who he surrounded himself with, the work it would take to get (and stay) clean, and how far he was willing to go to feed his addiction.
I found his reflection on his addiction to be refreshing and very human.
I was pleasantly surprised by just how much Richards was willing to reveal. In my experience, the unauthorized biographies often share darker sides (understandably), but Richards went there!
I don’t want to give anything away, but he says a lot about his relationships with Mick Jagger and Anita Pallenberg. Both sections of the book were fascinating and offered real insight into him as a person.
I really enjoyed this book, and I’d recommend it to any music fan or anyone who loves reading memoirs. I know the honesty of this book is the main reason I enjoyed it so much, but the added layer of the audio was a contributing factor.
There are mixed reviews of the book’s narrators, but Joe Hurley’s sections are HIGHLY entertaining. I’m not sure if he’s doing his personal rendition of Richards, but it is delightful. I listened to the entire book in less than a week, and I credit Hurley’s talent as a voice actor!
Have you read this book? I’d love to know your thoughts!
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