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Dust Bin Bob #2
Painted Black: A Novel
Dust Bin Bob is back after saving the day for the Beatles in Manila, except this time he’s hanging in Morocco with Brian Jones, the doomed original guitarist of the Rolling Stones. Brian buys an antique mirror used for the esoteric art of mirror gazing. What Brian sees in the mirror frightens him and sets the scene for his untimely death. Was he murdered? Find out in the sequel to Rubber Soul, Painted Black.
408 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 17, 2014
8 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
About the author
Greg Kihn
15 books39 followersRock radio DJ, rock musician, songwriter, screenwriter, and novelist. Kihn is known as the pioneer of the rock thriller genre.
Kihn’s first novel, Horror Show, was a nominee for the 1997 Bram Stoker Award. Big Rock Beat is the sequel, and Mojo Hand is the sequel to Big Rock Beat.
In the early 1980’s The Greg Kihn Band had a top 20 Billboard hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)” and a top 10 Billboard hit “Jeopardy”. The music video for “Jeopardy” was a MTV favorite and showed his fascination with rock n’ roll and zany horror.
Kihn’s first novel, Horror Show, was a nominee for the 1997 Bram Stoker Award. Big Rock Beat is the sequel, and Mojo Hand is the sequel to Big Rock Beat.
In the early 1980’s The Greg Kihn Band had a top 20 Billboard hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)” and a top 10 Billboard hit “Jeopardy”. The music video for “Jeopardy” was a MTV favorite and showed his fascination with rock n’ roll and zany horror.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 26, 2015
Kihn-tagious Read
I once reviewed Ray Manzarek’s “The Poet in Exile” saying it was a novel of lost opportunities. Manzarek was in a unique position to tell us what it was like to be a rock star in the 60’s and in a legendary band. He failed to translate that experience. Greg Kihn shares Manzarek’s unique position of having been in a band that had national recognition. In “Painted Black” Kihn delivers on those opportunities Manzarek passed up. Kihn let’s us feel what it’s like to be onstage in front of a screaming crowd, or what it’s like being hounded by fans and groupies so you can’t even walk down the street. Although Kihn’s
experience was in the 80’s, being a rock star must be something like being perpetually in the 60’s.
“Painted Black” immerses Kihn’s 60’s rock ‘n’ roll hero, Dust Bin Bob in the turmoil of the Rolling Stones as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards alienate Brian Jones from the band he founded. Kihn takes us on a tour of late 60’s London, the Monterey Pop Festival and Morocco in an effort to save Jones’ life. The plot is bent around the known facts of Jones’ life and, at moments. it seems a bit shoe-horned in to fit, and the mystery takes a backseat.
But Kihn does a lot right in “Painted Black”. There’s good writing such as “the heat in North Africa can be debilitating. It shimmers in the afternoon like ghosts…” The plot keeps you interested and at times you’ll find yourself not wanting to stop reading.
I once reviewed Ray Manzarek’s “The Poet in Exile” saying it was a novel of lost opportunities. Manzarek was in a unique position to tell us what it was like to be a rock star in the 60’s and in a legendary band. He failed to translate that experience. Greg Kihn shares Manzarek’s unique position of having been in a band that had national recognition. In “Painted Black” Kihn delivers on those opportunities Manzarek passed up. Kihn let’s us feel what it’s like to be onstage in front of a screaming crowd, or what it’s like being hounded by fans and groupies so you can’t even walk down the street. Although Kihn’s
experience was in the 80’s, being a rock star must be something like being perpetually in the 60’s.
“Painted Black” immerses Kihn’s 60’s rock ‘n’ roll hero, Dust Bin Bob in the turmoil of the Rolling Stones as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards alienate Brian Jones from the band he founded. Kihn takes us on a tour of late 60’s London, the Monterey Pop Festival and Morocco in an effort to save Jones’ life. The plot is bent around the known facts of Jones’ life and, at moments. it seems a bit shoe-horned in to fit, and the mystery takes a backseat.
But Kihn does a lot right in “Painted Black”. There’s good writing such as “the heat in North Africa can be debilitating. It shimmers in the afternoon like ghosts…” The plot keeps you interested and at times you’ll find yourself not wanting to stop reading.
August 16, 2019
Brian Jones the original rock star
This was very well done Greg. I will point out that the editing was bad. Lots of mistakes. That didn't detract from the overall story though. Brian Jones was the original rock star. It's a dusty old cliche now but no Jones no Stones. The fiction mixed in well with the actually hjstory of the Rolling Stones. Not everything in their history was right in the story but pretty close.
I'm one of those who are convinced that Brian Jones was murdered. It has been covered up for fifty years now. Was it Frank? Was it Keylock? Was it Mick? Keith? Klein? The Beatles camp? Everyone? We'll never know. Legend has it Brian Jones, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix were going to form the biggest group in history. Greg Touches on this legend. What a great band that would have been.
When Brian died he barely had any alcohol or drugs in his system contrary to popular myth. He wasn't stoned the night he died. Plus he was an excellent swimmer. I read all about his death. Shrouded in a lot of mystery as well as fantasy. I have my theories but like everyone else no proof.
The main character in this story is Dust Bob Bin. I wish Brian had a friend like this in real life. Clovis was Bob's friend and the two of them inadvertently get involved in Brian's life. They both become Brian's friend. Mick and Keith certainly weren't. This story takes place. mostly London and Baltimore. I thought Greg did a great job writing this. I enjoyed it very much. I've been a fan of Brian Jones since 1979. I love the Beatles more than the Stones but Brian is still my favorite musician.
If you like rock and roll fiction mixed in with historical facts then give this a read. I have to read Rubber Soul next. Dust Bin Bob and Clovis are great guys. The kind of guys you want as friends.
Brian Jones was the original rock star. He was complicated. I suspect t he suffered from a mental disorder. He was paranoid. Addictive personality. He beat women. He basically wasn't such a nice guy to be around. His parents were cold English stuck on social class parents. Brian was a multi talented musician. He played guitar different than anyone else. He was one of the first to play slide guitar in England. He played it on the Ed Sullivan show while Keith stood in the background strumming chords while he sat there watching Brian play lead guitar and get all the screams. Brian used to get more screams than Mick. He recorded 27 different instruments with the Rolling Stones. I read how people called him brilliant. I read how other people called him a mediocre musician. He taught Mick and Keith how to be rock stars and sex symbols. The guy fathered six illegitimate children. He started the 27 club. Jimi, Janis, Jim and Kurt followed suit. Just be a great jam going on in the afterlife right now. Mick and Keith have minimized him the last fifty years. Brian Jones is a legend and that is cemented in stone. He lives on through fans that discover him like me, all of the time. RIP Brian!
This was very well done Greg. I will point out that the editing was bad. Lots of mistakes. That didn't detract from the overall story though. Brian Jones was the original rock star. It's a dusty old cliche now but no Jones no Stones. The fiction mixed in well with the actually hjstory of the Rolling Stones. Not everything in their history was right in the story but pretty close.
I'm one of those who are convinced that Brian Jones was murdered. It has been covered up for fifty years now. Was it Frank? Was it Keylock? Was it Mick? Keith? Klein? The Beatles camp? Everyone? We'll never know. Legend has it Brian Jones, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix were going to form the biggest group in history. Greg Touches on this legend. What a great band that would have been.
When Brian died he barely had any alcohol or drugs in his system contrary to popular myth. He wasn't stoned the night he died. Plus he was an excellent swimmer. I read all about his death. Shrouded in a lot of mystery as well as fantasy. I have my theories but like everyone else no proof.
The main character in this story is Dust Bob Bin. I wish Brian had a friend like this in real life. Clovis was Bob's friend and the two of them inadvertently get involved in Brian's life. They both become Brian's friend. Mick and Keith certainly weren't. This story takes place. mostly London and Baltimore. I thought Greg did a great job writing this. I enjoyed it very much. I've been a fan of Brian Jones since 1979. I love the Beatles more than the Stones but Brian is still my favorite musician.
If you like rock and roll fiction mixed in with historical facts then give this a read. I have to read Rubber Soul next. Dust Bin Bob and Clovis are great guys. The kind of guys you want as friends.
Brian Jones was the original rock star. He was complicated. I suspect t he suffered from a mental disorder. He was paranoid. Addictive personality. He beat women. He basically wasn't such a nice guy to be around. His parents were cold English stuck on social class parents. Brian was a multi talented musician. He played guitar different than anyone else. He was one of the first to play slide guitar in England. He played it on the Ed Sullivan show while Keith stood in the background strumming chords while he sat there watching Brian play lead guitar and get all the screams. Brian used to get more screams than Mick. He recorded 27 different instruments with the Rolling Stones. I read how people called him brilliant. I read how other people called him a mediocre musician. He taught Mick and Keith how to be rock stars and sex symbols. The guy fathered six illegitimate children. He started the 27 club. Jimi, Janis, Jim and Kurt followed suit. Just be a great jam going on in the afterlife right now. Mick and Keith have minimized him the last fifty years. Brian Jones is a legend and that is cemented in stone. He lives on through fans that discover him like me, all of the time. RIP Brian!
April 25, 2021
While this was entertaining, it was more depressing than RubberSoul due to the focus on the Rolling Stones and Brian Jones.
It was interesting to see the implications that hard rock and rollers were the target of the police and other government entities.
It was also interesting to read about the magic mirror and how intuition is used.
I really enjoyed the Monterey Pop chapters, and plan to read more about that event.
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
It was interesting to see the implications that hard rock and rollers were the target of the police and other government entities.
It was also interesting to read about the magic mirror and how intuition is used.
I really enjoyed the Monterey Pop chapters, and plan to read more about that event.
I borrowed a copy from the public library.
March 11, 2018
Somewhat entertaining, particularly if the reader like music (Stones, Beatles...). Writing is juvenile at best... almost laughable; hard to believe any editor really took a look at this before it was published!
February 24, 2025
This was a fun little series, albeit only two books, but rock musician Greg Kihn had a good thing going with mysteries before his untimely passing. If you like rock and roll and like the Beatles and Stones, do yourself a favor and reard Rubber Soul and this one, Painted Black.
February 2, 2016
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a veritable time machine. Greg Kihn brought me back to the 60's and the last days of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones. The atmosphere of London, Baltimore, Monterrey, and Morrocco felt genuine. Kihn adds in so many real-life cameos - Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, The Who, etc. - that I felt like a rock and roll groupie, hanging out with the best rock acts of the 60's.
Beyond the incredible, realistic atmosphere, the story was well-written, too. Dust Bin Bob, while fictional, feels real, as if Kihn was simply writing a non-fiction account of Brian Jones' downfall. I credit that to good writing. Dust Bin Bob isn't campy or over-the-top; he seems like he simply fits into the tapestry that is the late 1960's.
My only real "problem" with Dust Bin Bob is that there is not enough of him in the book. While he is present for a good amount of the book, there are many scenes told from other characters' points of view. I would have liked Bob to be the lens through which the reader views the story. He needs to be more of a main character, not just a supporting actor.
Knowing that this is a fictional account, I do have a few problems with the content of the story, mostly with the mystical and supernatural aspects of the story. I didn't like the use of a ghost or the whole scene with the enchanted mirror. That is not to say that these parts were poorly written, because they were well-written, but I'm just not a fan of ghosts or things like that. I think the inclusion of this material was a little hokey. However, that's my peccadillo, not everyone's problem. For those readers who enjoy that sort of paranormal content, these aspects may add to the story.
I did like the conspiracy plot that underscores the story, particularly the way that the author blends Brian Jones' paranoia with an actual plot to get rid of him. Don't they say that it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you? Kihn plays on that theme nicely here.
In the 80's, Greg Kihn sang a song about not songwriters not writing them like that any more. Here, Kihn does write like that still. His novel brings you back to the late 60's in a wonderful way, filling the story with the people and places that made the 60's a monumental period in pop culture. I enjoyed the novel immensely and wonder when I'm going to see Dust Bin Bob again and which rock legend he's going to try to save.
This book was a veritable time machine. Greg Kihn brought me back to the 60's and the last days of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones. The atmosphere of London, Baltimore, Monterrey, and Morrocco felt genuine. Kihn adds in so many real-life cameos - Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Janis Joplin, The Who, etc. - that I felt like a rock and roll groupie, hanging out with the best rock acts of the 60's.
Beyond the incredible, realistic atmosphere, the story was well-written, too. Dust Bin Bob, while fictional, feels real, as if Kihn was simply writing a non-fiction account of Brian Jones' downfall. I credit that to good writing. Dust Bin Bob isn't campy or over-the-top; he seems like he simply fits into the tapestry that is the late 1960's.
My only real "problem" with Dust Bin Bob is that there is not enough of him in the book. While he is present for a good amount of the book, there are many scenes told from other characters' points of view. I would have liked Bob to be the lens through which the reader views the story. He needs to be more of a main character, not just a supporting actor.
Knowing that this is a fictional account, I do have a few problems with the content of the story, mostly with the mystical and supernatural aspects of the story. I didn't like the use of a ghost or the whole scene with the enchanted mirror. That is not to say that these parts were poorly written, because they were well-written, but I'm just not a fan of ghosts or things like that. I think the inclusion of this material was a little hokey. However, that's my peccadillo, not everyone's problem. For those readers who enjoy that sort of paranormal content, these aspects may add to the story.
I did like the conspiracy plot that underscores the story, particularly the way that the author blends Brian Jones' paranoia with an actual plot to get rid of him. Don't they say that it's not paranoia if they really are out to get you? Kihn plays on that theme nicely here.
In the 80's, Greg Kihn sang a song about not songwriters not writing them like that any more. Here, Kihn does write like that still. His novel brings you back to the late 60's in a wonderful way, filling the story with the people and places that made the 60's a monumental period in pop culture. I enjoyed the novel immensely and wonder when I'm going to see Dust Bin Bob again and which rock legend he's going to try to save.
February 17, 2017
Painted Black is a novelization of Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones last days. The fictional characters are pretty silly and thinly drawn. I would recommend a Brian Jones biography before I'd ever consider this fictionalized novel with name, place and song droppings on each page with little effect.
April 12, 2015
Greg Kihn (yes, THAT Greg Kihn --- leader of the great Greg Kihn Band) not only can write catchy songs but is also quite a clever novelist. Dust Bin Bob, London record/antique store owner and friend to the many emerging rock stars during the 1960's, returns in PAINTED BLACK.
This novel features the late, great Rolling Stones guitarist --- Brian Jones. Not only do we travel through Brain Jones' psyche and perspective during this great era in music but we also get to re-live Jones' untimely death and what may have actually been behind it. Often reading like a documentary and chock-full of music superstars from the U.K. and U.S., PAINTED BLACK is a treat for all music fans with many eye-opening passages that will make you re-think and fondly recall memories about this musical era.
This novel features the late, great Rolling Stones guitarist --- Brian Jones. Not only do we travel through Brain Jones' psyche and perspective during this great era in music but we also get to re-live Jones' untimely death and what may have actually been behind it. Often reading like a documentary and chock-full of music superstars from the U.K. and U.S., PAINTED BLACK is a treat for all music fans with many eye-opening passages that will make you re-think and fondly recall memories about this musical era.
May 22, 2015
Greg Kihn, a well-known rock musician himself, fictionalizes the events leading up to the death of Brian Jones, one of the original Rolling Stones, while staying true to the basic chronology of Jones's tenure in the band. I loved two of his characters, Dust Bin Bob and Clovis, both of whom (along with their wives), play a central role in the story, while being totally fictional.
Very enjoyable read, especially for those of us who were "there" during this very fertile period of rock music. Highly recommended.
Very enjoyable read, especially for those of us who were "there" during this very fertile period of rock music. Highly recommended.
July 3, 2015
This was a book I won on goodreads. As with the first book in the series, Rubber Soul, I so very much wanted to like this book. It was better written - or edited - than Rubber Soul, but not really believable? Is that the word I am looking for? Plausible? I did like the twist about the famous musicians coming to a timely end; I thought that was interesting. It was better than Rubber Soul, but another one I would jump up and recommend. Sorry.
April 15, 2016
Pleasantly surprised by this quick fun read steeped in '60's rock'n'roll. I didn't know Greg Kihn was an author until we became MySpace friends what seems like eons ago. Anyway, he knows his 60's rock and weaves a fairly believable tale of murder, drugs, etc. Had to skim quickly through one of the Moroccan scenes though, got a little too graphic.
Loved the jug band parts though, and descriptions of various music festivals.
Will definitely check out more of Mr. Kihn's books
Loved the jug band parts though, and descriptions of various music festivals.
Will definitely check out more of Mr. Kihn's books
April 11, 2015
I receive a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. The characters of Dust Bin Bob and his friends are well-drawn, the plot is clever and the book moves quickly. However, while the author's research is impressive, Brian Jones come to life only in flashes. If there was a 3.5 star level, I would have awarded that, and I definitely would read another book about DustBin Bob.
May 7, 2015
I did not read the book before this but I did enjoy this book. Brian, one of the members of The Rolling Stones, buys a mirror and sees his death in the mirror. This is the story of what happens next. I enjoyed this fictional look at the behind the scenes of rock and roll. THis was a very creative read.
November 3, 2015
Smooth, easy flow.
If you want a fun, easy flowing read, then this is it. Love the back drop of the legendary Rolling Stones early days and seemingly being on the inside of rock and roll. The added injection of the paranormal is very real to the 1960's and gives a twist to the tragic death of an unsung Stone great!
Highly recommended!
If you want a fun, easy flowing read, then this is it. Love the back drop of the legendary Rolling Stones early days and seemingly being on the inside of rock and roll. The added injection of the paranormal is very real to the 1960's and gives a twist to the tragic death of an unsung Stone great!
Highly recommended!
May 21, 2015
Excellent reinvention of a rock legend.
The story was entertaining and the writing was more than acceptable. An adventurous re-telling of a story we who love rock history enjoy hearing.
The story was entertaining and the writing was more than acceptable. An adventurous re-telling of a story we who love rock history enjoy hearing.
April 22, 2016
Loved this book, from page 1
Acquired tru good reads giveaways
(thanks good reads)
Acquired tru good reads giveaways
(thanks good reads)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews