Book Review: The Stone Age - Lesley-Ann Jones.
THE STONE AGE
LESLEY-ANN JONES
BONNIER BOOKS
By Paul Davies
Not the usual sycophantic erring biography hardened fans of The Rollin'(g)Stones might expect. This is one cut from far finer material. As an astute biographer and renowned go-to showbiz and music journalist, Lesley-Ann Jones rolls back the years and comes right up to the present her golden prose revealing a unique portrait of this dark, decadent and much documented legendary band of ‘sexy noise’ and notoriety. As an undoubted fan of the Stones' music, she forensically peels back the multiple layers of misdirection, mystique and lies - her first-hand observational account surrounding Bill Wyman's seduction of a 14-year-old Mandy Smith is explosive stuff - to reveal the stark unvarnished truth at the still-beating but deeply bruised heart of this defiant rock institution. Stylishly putting her fine scribing skills to highly engaging and charismatic use, she probes deep into the psyche and strolling bones of current and past members, partners, associates, girlfriends, and the inevitable casualties burned by being too close to their satanic majesty’s inner circle. In doing so, she leaves no stone unturned as she lays bare the grimy dirty work going on beneath this venerated band’s gleaming music machine.
With painstaking research and assiduous fact-finding, sixty years of feral music and misbehaviour are dissected by this author who has met each band member - except Brian Jones - down through the years and interviewed current and past associates. Smartly avoiding the pitfalls of descending into a scurrilous reckoning, Jones presents an honest and balanced overview of a band still on the road, and those abandoned by the wayside and forever lost in their slipstream 'as casualties of the stone age' asserts Jones. 'They might be gathering moss, but on they roll', this author comments, into their seventh decade as the greatest living and performing band on this spinning planet. Lesley Ann Jones captures the realities behind the superstardom and the scandal buried beneath the legend. A must-read from and about a classy act.
