2018 was a year for rock n' roll autobiographies, or so it would seem with the publishing of Kenny Jone's "Let The Good Times Roll: My Life In Small Faces, Faces and The Who" and Roger Daltrey's "Thanks A Lot Mr Kibblewhite: My Story". Both are similar reads because both men were, for a short period of time, members of The Who together and they both grew up in humble, working class backgrounds in London (with lots of criminal elements around them) while one got into horse riding and polo the other fly fishing. Both were in a 60's mod band and led quieter and more frugal lives than their drug taking, money spending band mates and both were ripped off by managers and both had a host of middle age related health problems that have you feeling you've tapped into the text of a late night infomercial as you struggle to retain interest in yet another long description of a medical ailment or injury!
Being a fan of the Small Faces and the Who, I had to buy both and I did so without reading a review or chatting with anyone about either of them, I wish I had done the latter. Unlike Pete Townshend's mildly interesting "A Life" or Ian McLagan's raucous "All The Rage" both of these books are tedious, poorly written and dryer than last week's plain toast. I think it's in their delivery that suffers the most. Townshend's book was at time long winded but he had a way of keeping you interested and Mac's witty anecdotes were well timed and hysterical. Roger and Kenny (or their ghost writers) lack any such wittiness or timing and both remind me of hearing The Who are touring again and you find yourself asking "Why won't it stop?", the same thing I thought as I drew closer to the end of these books.
"Let The Good Times Roll" follows Jones through his post war upbringing in London's East End. I am always fascinated by stories of life in post war Britain and Jone's description of it with a dose of villainy from his less than law abiding relatives adds to a bit of charm to it. If you've ever read a book on the Small Faces then you'll learn nothing you already haven't heard about them here. You will be surprised, like me, to learn that according to Kenny, that Ian McLagan had a temper and was no shirking violet when it came to making his feelings known and whereas Rod Stewart is a prima donna villain in Mac's book he comes off more favorably in Kenny's, who in fact lets him off lightly for missing their induction into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame and not taking part in the dreadful "Faces reunion" that saw Mick Hucknall as his replacement. Then there's the awkward subject of Kenny replacing Keith Moon in The Who. He is at times almost apologetic for filling Moon's shoes and though I always thought that they'd have been better off calling it quits when he died you can't help but feel bad for Kenny as he reminisces about being a member of the Who with Roger Daltrey repeatedly making him feel unwelcome. The rest is all downhill from there, another band, another horse and the process of The Who breaking up is like, in the word's of Robyn Hitchcock's "Balloon Man" "like a slow divorce...". And like The Who's never-ending run of reunion tours I just couldn't wait for it all to end. The back cover reads "The Small Faces were the most creative, The Faces were the most fun and The Who were the most exciting". I'm still confused by the last one as the book itself seems to say otherwise.
"Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite" is almost a mirror to "Let The Good Times Roll" with it's post war reminiscing but with the neighborhood of upbringing changed from the East End to the West End. The most interesting part is his journey through school and becoming a "hard nut" in a system where inspirational and compassionate teachers are hard to find (the title comes from his headmaster who expels him on his 15th birthday telling him "You'll never make anything of your life Daltrey".) But like Jone's book it's equally dry and if you know anything about The Who you won't learn too many things about them from reading this book, though Daltrey's impressions of his band mates are interesting: Moon is an asshole who spends his time going out of his way to annoy all and sundry and must always be the center of attention but is so crippled by stage fright he was get out of his mind to mount the kit and while swallowing everything possible his drumming ability vanishes in the last few years of his life as fast as his money. Entwistle is a quiet, dry, exceptionally cruel bass muso who likes spending money as fast as Moon but on ostentatious items from Harrod's in addition to pharmaceuticals and booze while Townshend is an intellectual snob whom Daltrey loves like a brother in a "love-hate" relationship much like that of Jagger and Richards. A score card is needed to keep up with which member was responsible for more Who reunions.
There are a few surprises though. Daltrey's teetotal-ling/health nut image is shattered by his admission that he was addicted to Quaaludes (aka Mandrax) for a bit in the 70's and his explanation of their break from managers Lambert and Stamp is told in far greater detail than in any other book and goes far beyond the story briefly touched upon in the 2014 in the documentary on them (which Roger and his wife Heather played a large part in). And on the subject of managers there's an interesting story of their manager Bill Curbishley, a one time Shepherd's Bush mod and ex-con (wrongly convicted of a robbery he did not commit) and his entrance into the band's orbit. There's also an amusing scene where Roger and his business partner go to Broadmoor to visit Ronnie Kray in order to secure the rights to a film on the Twins (which later was also sold to someone else who ultimately made the film using the Kemp brothers). But these and other minor points of interest aside there's not a lot keeping me glued to it and like Jone's book I couldn't wait for it to end.
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