Private shots from inside the Stones camp – that’s what I expected.
To my great pleasure, this is a book with more than 500 pictures showing the members of the inner ‘Stones-camp’ in private situations in most cases. Are you still looking for some last-minute christmas-gift? If Stones-content is no problem, think yout it… 😉
This is a book with pictures of mostly smiling, partying people with smiling faces. No wonder. Who would take pictures while having an argument with each other?
Nevertheles – although it’s just a mass of pictures – and they are not really ordered by timeline – it’s a never before seen impression of beeing backstage, in hotel rooms or on the road (in planes, that is).
After looking at the ages and having read almost all the texts, I have the impression to get a small taste of what this family or tribe is, that encircles this band. With all wifes, children, grandchildren, friends and guests it’s a quite impressive body of individuals.
First, Jo introduces us briefly to her life and plans before she met with Ronnie. Already the first time she met Keith in New York is a story to remember although it’s told in just a few sentences.
The pictures – the oldest pictures in the book are scans from the original polaroids Jo took. They visible show their age, i.e. they have changed their colors. Although you could optimize these quite a bit with Photoshop, they look like untouched and there are visivle sratches and dog-ears from the years of carriying, looking at them and showing them around. That however doesn’t disturb my enthusiansm of looking at them at all. In fact, I am surprized and happy that they survived that long and those turbulent times in the first place. And there’s loads more of them, Jo tells us, and these 500 or so pics are only a selction of those she really wanted to publish but couldn’t. Of course, Mick, Keith, Charie and the others approved the pics for publication.
So you have pictures from the stage, but mostly from behind the band. Not only are there polaroids or pictures from the cameras Jo used during the years, but there are cut-outs from newspapers, t-shirts and costumes, comic drawings, sktches and doodlings, notes on calender-leaves, bills, laminates and even prescriptions.
You can be sure to get what you expect when having look at the chapters after the Introduction:
- The Early Years
- Some Girls
- The Rolling Stones Life
- On the Road
- Time Out
- The Show Goes On
- Keep On Rolling
In a nutshell: I really enjoyed this book and I still do!
Many thanks to Oleg Lyubner, who contacted me and was kind enough to send me a review copy of Jo’s book.
Thanks to Liz from Octopus Books for sending me the pictures in gallery 2.
REVIEWS: The Scotsman (registration needed) // theclothesline.com.au //
