Turn Down the Music and Read: Rocks Off

Still in Rotation: Slippery When Wet ... Song Sung Blue

Turn Down the Music and Read: Rocks Off

Here’s how I came to own my one and only Rolling Stones album. A cute, trouble making, athletic guy in my high school (he was the closest thing we had to Tim Riggins, in case anyone’s a Friday Night Light fan) asked me out of the blue one day what album I wanted him to steal for me from the local radio station, where he had an internship. Given my big chance with Pseudo Tim, I choked, stuttered, and managed to cough, “I don’t know, you choose.” And that’s how I got “Hot Rocks: 1964-1971”– the album, also the condition for a little while until we went back to the status quo of Pseudo Tim ignoring me, and me admiring the Rolling Stones, but only from a certain remove. I liked them on the radio, but I never added another album to my record collection.

And I think that’s why Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones by Bill Janovitz (St. Martin’s Press, 2013) was so interesting to me. It may seem squarely aimed at Stones Super Fans, but there’s a lot to love in this book, even for the uninitiated like me. Janovitz, simply put, knows everything there is to know about the band. He’s a musician, to boot—singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom—so his spot-on, detailed descriptions of what’s happening, note by note, in the songs I’ve heard for years caused me to appreciate the technique and impact in a whole new way.

Moving in basic chronological order with a chapter for each of the fab fifty, the book starts with “Tell Me” from 1964 all the way through to “Biggest Mistake” from 2005 (with one last surprise tune at the end.) Janovitz does a terrific job weaving in what was happening with the band mates, their influences, and their management as each song evolved and was recorded, as well as diving deep into how the specific sounds were achieved. For me, the chapter on “Gimme Shelter” was the most riveting, covering as it did both the tragedy at Altamont and the recording process that yielded that spine-chilling vocal break by Merry Clayton at the 3:02 mark on the song, a performance that ostensibly led to personal tragedy for Clayton.

But this isn’t a book for someone interested in the personal drama of the Stones (i.e. Keith/Anita/Mick/Marianne/Biana/Jerry etc.) or their abundant drug use. Some if that is included here, but only insofar as it affects the development of a song or the band’s musical direction. The focus starts and stays on the music.

If you’re a diehard Stones fan, this book is a no brainer to recommend–you’ll love it. If you’re simply a music fan and wonder about how the sausage is made by iconic bands who made it look so easy, it’s a fascinating read.

My only advice, if you fall into the latter category like I do, is to NOT read this on a plane like I did, last weekend. Because with each new chapter title, I’d think, now, which song is this one? I couldn’t look it up on YouTube or Spotify because there was no Wifi at 36,000 feet. So then I’d think, wait, I think I know this song, and I’d hum it, and it would always turn into “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” no matter what I started with. As soon as I got home again, I had to spend time backtracking through the book and playing each song. It’s much more efficient if you just read it near a wireless signal the first time.

(My favorite video to rediscover after I landed. Note: it is not Jumpin’ Jack Flash.)

So if you’ve got a Stones fan on your holiday shopping list, or just want to dig into how some of the most enduring songs of our time got made, this book is sure to (insert tragically obvious but musically appropriate cliché here: “give you some ‘Satisfaction’,” “put ‘Time On Your Side’,” “fit ‘Under Your Thumb’,” etc. Feel free to add your own in the comments.)

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Last month my husband and I took our kids for Africa for 25 hours. Seriously. Well, to the Serengeti in Sonoma, anyway. If you’d like to read about our getaway amidst the giraffes and wildebeest, check out my post today over at 510Families.com. Quick takeaway: if you’re looking for a way to break the ice with your kids about the birds and the bees (and one very ambitious antelope,) Safari West could be just the spot.