Customer Reviews

Motley Crue: The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band

5 star:		(180)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This folks, is not a Cinderella story it's a Rock`N' Roll story which means that there are plenty of overly loud music, sex, drugs, alcohol, bad marriages, porn actresses, conquests, tragedies, overdoses and revival, tears, tragic death, car crashes, breakups and reunions and swear words. If you don't wish to encounter such tales move along this isn't the book you are looking for because the above description represents almost the totally of Motley Crue's existances. However if you're a Hard Rock/Metal/Motley Crue fan, enjoy honest and sometimes shocking biographies or anything interesting, you'd be well advised to pick up The Dirt if you haven't yet. The highs were high and the lows were low, in this book lays all the dirt.

There are three unofficial "acts" in The Dirt as I see it. The first is the band members getting together, recording their first two albums and basically being kids enjoying all the excess and debauchery that comes before fame, earning local recognition and realizing they were going to be the biggest band in the world. The second act sees the band achieving worldwide success and their struggles with celebrity, Nikki's drug overdoses, Vince Neil `s car crash and jail stint, failed weddings and excessive touring. In the third act the band's popularity wanes as we reach a new decade, the 1990's and they lose momentum with the new Grunge/Alternative music scene, splitting with Vince Neil and being dinosaurs without an audience to play to. In this act the original lineup gets back together and Tommy Lee departs and there are more failed weddings. The Dirt gets it right because band members get pretty much equal coverage, some are more detailed and talkative like Nikki Sixx and some are more quiet and brief like Mick Mars but it's all good. What I thought was fantastic is how every period of the band is covered adequately and nothing is left behind, album or tour and approximately the same amount of space is spent everywhere making it without a doubt the most balanced bio I've read. Some books give higher coverage of the highs and the success and try to build up the legend; The Dirt is an honest coverage of the Motley Crue journey from then to its release date.

The main subjects of interest here are obviously the four and original members of Motley Crue; Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Tommy Lee. You might have heard of them over the years on tabloids and hum... adult videos. Nikki was the mastermind behind Motley all along, the lyricist and soul of the band hiding an addiction to heroin. Mick was the old school blues-obsessed guitar player older than the rest of the band that barely seemed human and hid in alcohol. Vince Neil was the womanizer who killed his best friend and was constantly with women. Tommy Lee was this trippy, happy-go-lucky, hopelessly romantic and childlike "dude" as he would say. Put those four different personalities in one band, add drugs and alcohol and you have 1) a recipe for disaster and 2) a really captivating story for a book. Nikki's chapters were the most interesting because they are so intimate and personal and I feel he reveals the most. What we learn from Mick is interesting because unlike the rest of the band, he seems to have a smaller ego and doesn't need or directly pursue attention as much. Tommy is this really lucky kid who got to live his dream and marry Hollywood actresses. The most heartbreaking chapter award goes to Vince Neil. The way he talks about his four year old daughter Skylar dying of cancer is saddening and very emotional and it's clear that this was a tough time for Vince. He has a son that he barely talks about and he makes it clear that when he lost Skylar his entire world changed, he didn't seem to care about anything at all except his daughter that is. I liked reading about Vince's career once he went solo and all the happened in between his departure and reunion with the band. Same with Motley, their short period with Corabi was interesting to read about. One of my favorite parts was reading about Vince Neil's car crash that killed his best friend and everyone's angle on this sad story, no doubt Vince must deal with a lot of guilt even today. Then there's Nikki's OD where everyone thought he was dead. It's hard to pick favourite moments because Motley Crue, just like this book, is just one wild crazy ride from begging to end.

Neil Strauss is a master of the biography genre, already had made an impression on me with some of his previous work notably Marilyn Manson's The Long Hard Road Out of Hell and he was obviously an important part in putting and assembling this book together and making coherent the way it is. What works so well with The Dirt is how the stories are told by individual members in an honest way, each taking turns to describe the events as they happened. What helps the book even more is the entourage of the band chiming in to tell their own stories. I can think of manager Doc McGee, whose contributions were highly readable. Or Doug Thaler, A&R man Tom Zutaut who got the band signed. Even John Corabi who replaced Vince Neil for the self-titled album and toured with the band gets a few chapters in the book and his story is just as interesting to read his perspective of someone joining an already established band that was in peril at the time. One of the best things of the book is the total honesty that lies in from cover to cover. Nikki's youthful hate and his resentment towards his parents is wholeheartily felt, Vince's chagrin over his daughter's death, band members hating each other, opinions, punches thrown.... The only mystery that remains at the end of the book is how those guys managed to get through the 80's and beyond and are still together. Oh, and Mick Mars! If there is one thing that could have made the book better it would have been more Mars, who is a highly secretive, solitary person and this book is the only insight fans are allowed in his life.

As I recall The Dirt was one of the very first Rock biographies I have ever bought and it set a high standard for every musician bios that came after it. It was more than ten years ago and through the years it remains my favorite out of all the music related work I own. It seems to me that ever since this book was released, everyone who's ever been in a band has released or is writing one, The Dirt wasn't the first bio that went to the extend and earned as much success as it did (*That would probably be Stephen Davis's "Hammer of the Gods" on Led Zeppelin although it doesn't have any input from the band itself. Therefore the first rock bio to earn that title would be Aerosmith's "Walk This Way") but I think it has to take credit for the abundance of books on the band and the subject that have come out since. It's more than just a tale of decadence and rock and roll there's also a very human side to it and to see four individuals who seemed for quite a long time indestructible tell all about their fascinating lives and stories makes us realize how they really aren't so different from us regular/normal people.

If there was sixth, seventh star I would give it to The Dirt, this book was a big part of my rock'n'roll education and the blood, sweat and tears found in this book are highly entertaining. I read this as an impressionable teenage fan of the band so, there you go. I think even someone who is not into Motley Crue the band could enjoy the book but may end up being shock or think it's a just a "let's make a band, get drugs, party, tour, have groupies, record etc. and repeat" or a typical rock journey which is not the right attitude to approach reading this book, it's really unlike anything or any bio you've read previously. As a fan of the band and the music I enjoyed this book tremendously, what can I say it is a page turner whether you like them or not, approve of them or their actions or not. Fantastic read, if that's what you're looking for. The highest recommendation possible.

Greeeeeaaaaattttt book !!! Lots of fun to read and you can't stop !! Very fast shipping and great condition !!!

I Loved this book, I have actually read it twice....It is the best book I have ever read...I was and am a Motely Crue fan from their first album (yes album)...After reading this, I can't fathom how they are still alive...its a great read and trust me you won't be able to put it down!

This was a great book......great pictures and the stories of these guys is just amazing. The fact that it is so in detail about each band member and how they told each of thier stories is amazing. The fact that they are all clean and sober is just as great. This band is amazing and I do feel that the music will live on forever. Don't ever judge a book by its cover. Highly recommended.

In my opinion, this is the most gut renching, unadulterated truth that I have ever read. From laughing out loud, to being completely disgusted, the boys of Motley Crue cover all basis and pulled no stop when it came to this autobiography of their lives as they lived it.

They had drugs on tap, sex on tap, and a boat load of trouble that followed them everywhere they went. The fact that some people dislike this book because of their "Hedonistic actions", they must realize that this IS life as it was and still is today. I highly recommend that people read this book just so they can know what is out there and what really happened/happens in the world of rock as we know it.

I bought this book of a little old, probably Mid-60's lady working at Chapters, as I set in on the till she says to me "Oh my god I love that book. I'm not sure who Motley Crue is but that is one of the best books I've read" I read the entire book that night. From the first sentence I could not put it down. Their twisted insane world just drags you in with the frequent "HOLY SHIT" break. It's UNBELIEVABLE. I've read A LOT of book but this one was the only one I read all night and finished on the way to work the next morning. I recommend it to everyone and even made my dad read it. It's just insane. Totally worth owning, because I've now read it atleast 10 times. I just started reading it again last night actually... Although I still have half left to finish tonight :) BUY IT it'll be the best decision you make.

Nothing more to add then the other reviews because this book is simply the bomb! Very graffic, great story telling. it is really a complete story/guide on Motley Crue from their first struggling days till today. Easy to read & enough images at center of book. If you read a lot of rock bios you will notice that other rock bios such as Slash & Aerosmith concure & complement many stories from the dirt. Don't need to be a fan to read this book.

Back when I was in high school, Motley Crue was one of the biggest bands around. Stories would always surface about how they were wild party animals, how there would be women all over them, and how there would be drugs and booze a-plenty. Of course I always figured this just to be rumours, told by mothers to scare their children into being straight A students, and wishful thinking on the part of me and my friends.

But after reading this book, which is written in a very unique style by having a member from the band each write a chapter, I can tell you that everything you heard, or everything you thought you heard about the band, is true. This book does a nice job of letting the reader into the 'inner sanctum' of the band. Through reading what the band members have to say, it's easy to see why they ended up breaking up like they did. Yet at the same time it was one hell of a ride.

Definitely pick this book up if you're a) interested in Motley Crue, b) interested in what it's like to be in a world famous rock band or c) interested in finding out how too much alcohol and too many drugs can ruin a good thing.

In 1982, a priest whose moniker has long since escaped my memory published a treatise on human sexuality. I don't remember much about this delightful tome, except for the fact that it had a cherry-red cover and its opening chapter presented this provocative question, "Is Sex Dead?" Outlining a cogent theory for the demise of meaningful and transcendent sexuality in an era of over-familiarity, promiscuity and rampant irresponsibility, the courtly cleric nevertheless managed to disgrace himself by condemning birth control, pain relief during childbirth, sexual equality, etc. ad nauseam. Father Rusty P. Nuss, as I shall call him, squandered his moral capital with my then-23-year-old self with his subtly disguised misogyny and overweening arrogance. Thus, I nearly forgot about this crimson-covered claptrap.

Until I read "The Dirt."

If you think you know how decadent and depraved rock superstars can be, think again. If you're a groupie and harbor any delusions that you're a muse for your hard-rocking demigod, climb off that pudendal block and join the real world. If you think you know the real meaning of the term "booty call," click those ruby-red slippers and remind yourself that you're not in Kansas any more.

What's not to loathe about "The Dirt?" As it turns out, very few and far between indeed. Self-indulgence to the point of psychosis! Telephones used for gynecological tools! Vomitus as a pheromonal inducement! Managers, producers, girlfriends, ex-wives and colleagues driven half-mad by the juvenilia of the gents in Motley Crue! Yes, yes, it's all here - and less.

The authors of this depressing book don't mince words - so I won't beat around the, uh, bush either. "The Dirt" is appalling. It's disillusioning. It's perplexing. But most of all, it's icky. Of the four band members, Mick Mars and Vince Neil emerge as the most sympathetic. In fact, Mars asks one of the book's most insightful questions: "What's wrong with women?" Believe me, you'll ask yourself the same thing after reading this excremental excursion.

However, there are passages in the book that are deeply meaningful. They involve a beautiful blonde cherub who tragically died of cancer in 1995. Neil's poignant and heartfelt tribute to his daughter, Skylar, pierces the soul and evokes profound empathy. As for Mars, his fight with terminal illness and chronic pain hasn't afforded him the luxury to sink to the depths of Sixx and Lee (two immature, impulsive, selfish brats who don't need any more pampering - they need Pamprin).

This reviewer remains profoundly perplexed by a lead singer who can concurrently outline a surfeit of sleazy sexual escapades while offering a lovely epistle to his adorable daughter. "Skylar really showed me what love was," the singer declared on VH1's "Behind the Music."

But I'm also annoyed with this band for leading my thoughts back to Father Nuss. I don't like the idea of placing my trust in the tepid theories of someone who wouldn't know a clitoris from a clavicle, but "The Dirt" is warping my thinking. At length, I had to take action. I tore out and reserved all the pages related to Skylar Neil and walked outside in the evening dusk. Soon I saw a quaint, horse-drawn carriage bearing a newly-engaged couple. How nice, I thought. How romantic. This gave me ideas. I waited for the animal (the horse, not the humans) to pass, and then I placed the book atop a pile of something around which even flies don't congregate.

Call me an extremist, but if you'd read more than a few pages of this priapic freak-fest, you'd do the same.

If you have followed Motley Crue throughout their career, even part way, then you know what's in this book. There are some tidbits of stuff in there that have not been made to the general public before, and are the only interesting items to read. But over all, this book is beyond boring. Tommy and Nikki slept with every Playboy Playmate in existence. So? Then they married them all, divorced them all, and whined about them all. Sorry, but you get no sympathy if you go through Playmates the way normal people go through paper towels. They had the good life and screwed it up. Royally.

Synopsis of the book - woke up, did bags of dope, slept with numerous women, passed out. Turn page and repeat.

The true shining light of this book what the chapter on Vince and Skylar. That was truly heartbreaking. No one should have to go through that much pain.

Save your money - go see them in concert.