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Title: Rock Confidential by Coral Amende ISBN: 0-452-28157-1 Publisher: Plume Books Pub. Date: 31 January, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.25 (4 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN' AND DISSIN' THE DIRT!
Comment: Here's a ditty that hits all the right notes. Coral Amende, who tackled the underbellies of country music and Hollywood in her previous disinterments, leaves no (Rolling) stone unturned in her quest to find the gossip and gag-reflexes hidden in the world of rock music. There's everything from their real names to contract challenges, rumors and rampages, devilish divas and bad breakups ... even a special "How Deep is Your Love?" sidebar, in which rock icons discuss their manhood --- or lack of. We love the late Freddie Mercury's quip: "My hose in my own. No Coke Bottle, nothing stuffed down there." Wonder what Tom Jones has to say about that? Find out for yourself!

Rating: 1
Summary: no news is no news
Comment: An amazing book filled with facts about rock-n-roll musicians that you already knew - the author goes on for pages and pages about led zepplin trashing hotel rooms (that was newsworthy, what 35 years ago), the who getting drunk and high (again, hardly a newsflash, and other boring historical details about old, has been acts. Occasionally, she breaks out of her beatles-stones-zeppelin-who mode and mentions rock and roll artits artists that are recognizable from the past decade - but when she emerges from the past into the present, she focuses on marilyn manson, korn and nirvana. The only mention of black artists (other than little richard and chuck berry), is when dr. dre is quoted talking about the beastie boys. Not much on female artists, other than the go-gos and stevie nicks. There is mention of bands and performers that i've literally never heard of. There appears to be little to no original research - everything i read in here i've read elsewhere. A great concept, but the author never reached the possibilities of it. A complete waste of reading time unless you're really facinated by keith moon vomiting stories.

Rating: 4
Summary: Yes, rock stars prove crazier than you thought.
Comment: I have to admit, going into this book I knew that rock stars weren't like everyday normal people and quite often led lives of debauchery and drugs but, on finishing the book, I was struck by the many tragic (and sometimes just plain stupid) ways in which some of these people lived and died. Also to be found here is the occasional tale of irony that can only be found in the life of a rock star.

It's truly amazing that some of these people are still alive when you read through the section on substance abuse. Whether it be drugs or alcohol, the excesses to be found here are mind boggling: case in point, one rocker who drank two cases of beer a day for two years and another who did daily acid trips for the same (two years) duration.

From page to page the reader finds that, while these people may be very creative musically, they're far from being the average joe in their lifestyles as well. Everything seems to be done on a larger scale by these artists and it's these appetites that they have, whether it be substance abuse, the thrill of driving fast or constant need for attention, that leads some of them down the road to financial ruin, mental illness or, ultimately, death.

Still, this was a fun read and, while not as strong as the author's previous book, Hollywood Confidential, I still enjoyed reading it. I found myself quite often laughing out loud or shaking my head with disbelief at the tidbits revealed in this book, such as when one rocker in critical condition was lying in his hospital bed and was approached by a fan who crawled up on his hands and knees and asked for an autograph, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed "Hollywood Confidential" and wanted more of the same. As with that book, this book is great for reading by the pool while on vacation. I hope the author continues to give use more material in the future.