Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2406 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-12
• Released on: 2007-10-12
• Binding: Hardcover
• 358 pages

Spectator
'...generally Ronnie is out to entertain and amuse, much as you suspect he would be in real life'

FT Magazine
'Wood is a charming guide and offers useful suggestions such as 'never holiday with a dealer, or the mafia'

Times
'Matey and conversational, it reads as if Ron is sharing a bottle of Chivas Regal with you'

Customer Reviews

Routine and shallow
Ronnie obviously wrote the book himself rather than employing a ghost-writer. That sounds like a good idea for someone who's quite creative: but in my opinion the excessive name-dropping and routine style hamper the book's impact, and this could have been smoothed out by getting a more accomplished writer involved.
There are plenty of anecdotes along the way so it's quite entertaining, but to me it seems a rather shallow affair,just a quick run through a set of diaries, and I didn't feel that I understood Ronnie any better at the end. A lot of the sections come across as boastful: almost every star mentioned is his "great friend", and he can't resist mentioning exactly how his paintings get enthusiastic receptions from celebrities and politicians, and entry into famous galleries. I'm sure they're very good, but it must have occurred to him that it's the signature that really counts when a painting is the work of a member of one of the world's most famous rock bands!
Buy it for the insights into the shady world of rock music and mis-management, but don't expect great literature.

Disappointing !
I bought this book on the basis of previous reviews and that I have been a fan of Ronnie Woods since his days with The Faces. However, after just 15 pages I gave up as the memories of his childhood, as a 2-4 year old, were just so implausible. How could a 3-4 year old have the coordination to sit on his drunken fathers bicycle cross-bar (while his father was riding the bike) and steer the bike home because his father was incapable of steering ? He also apparently remembers (from the same incident) the feel of his fathers stubble against his face ! I really wanted to enjoy this book but I'm afraid that after the first 15 pages I just couldn't take any more ridiculous recollections.

Ronnie Fraud Pt. 2
I have to agree with the Ronnie Fraud reviewer to a large degree. Much as he comes across a likeable bloke and obviously a good mate the doubts set in for me when he suggested Peter Grant, Plant, Jones and Bonham tried to hire him on guitar instead of Jimmy Page - strange given that Jimmy actually started what became Led Zeppelin himself rather than the other way round! From then on I wasn't sure what was real and imagined. Ron is clearly a pretty decent musician (obviously given who he has played with) but not now or ever a Page, Clapton, Townshend or whoever despite his pretensions to be something special. An amusing and able sideman but no more. The funny stories come across as 'name dropping' and not particularly funny too I'm afraid. It is a quick and easy read but not worth the high praise it has received.