Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones

Bill Janovitz has come up with a simple but effective concept: pick a chosen number of choice tracks from a band's output, use each as a template to fill in the immediate backstory that lead to the track's recording, with copious quotes from the band members or session musicians involved, then locate each song in a set of wider contexts, the band's history backward and forward, and the broader historical moment in which the band operated. It's brilliant and it works so brilliantly here that it's incomprehensible that the approach has not been applied to anyone from the Beatles through Zep to Steely Dan. You could quibble the final choice of tracks, specially from the post Some Girls era when the Stones started sucking some major lemons, but pretty much all the hot stuff is here, specially from that unimpeachable stretch of four albums when Mick and Keith swallowed the American South whole and spit out gold. if I had to have one book on the Stones this would be it, even above Keith's.

It's a real treat to finally find a book that goes into detail about the writing, recording and development of a band's songs. Whether you've read other Stones biographies, Rock Off is a keeper. It approaches the band from the music outward, instead of a typical biography. Don't get me wrong, it's a great reference for the timeline and dynamics of the personalities, but for once it zeroes in on the music . . . which what it's really all about.

Buffalo Tom frontman and main songwriter takes time out to analyse the Stones' back catalogue from the perspective of both fan and musician. The result is a very readable and insightful analysis of some of the Rolling Stones greater and lesser known works. Well worth reading generally if you want to learn how songwriting and recording was done in the early days of rock even if you are not a fan of Mick and Keef in particular.

Tremendous insight and research. Acquired some new favourite Stones tunes as a result of this book I really enjoyed Janovitz's writing style and would also recommend his 33 1/3 book on Exile on Main Street.

As a mega Stones fan, I've read everything I can get my hands on about the band. Rocks Off, however, is different from many of the other books about the Stones which just tout the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. That's not to say their relationships with each other and their girlfriends are not mentioned; they are and we learn more about one of Keith's girlfriends in Ruby Tuesday. Janovitz takes us into studios around the world from Muscle Shoals to Kingston to London (and to the basement of Villefranche-sur-mer)as the stones lay down the tracks. Some of their tunes were recorded at Stargroves, Mick's country home. Reading the Gimme Shelter chapter, I felt like I was in the studio singing with Merry Clayton and Mick. Brian was truly a master of all instruments and this comes through after reading only a few chapters. There are numerous intricate details to learn, such as to whom Mick refers when he mentions "Mr. Jimmy" in YCAGWYW--incorrectly I had thought it was "Mr. Jimi Hendrix." It a well-researched book that all devoted Stones followers will devour. I'm keeping my copy as a Stones reference book.