Andrew Darlington is an impassioned rock journalist from the UK- a famous one over there too, I reckon, have written for high profile Brit rock rags like Hot Press, Zig Zag, and International Times, among many others, in his storied decades long career. Sure, you and I have probably never heard of him, but while we scraped along with puff pieces and semi-literate PR reworkings and belligerent, mouthy con artists like myself in the American rock press, our brothers across the water had this highly literate, incisive, and extremely detailed gentlemen out here in the trenches getting the real story of rock and ruin from his legendary heroes. Well, not Elvis, he died before Darlington got his ultimate head to head, but all the rest of 'em, anyway. This book is a far-reaching collection of some of Darlington's best interviews with some of his most high profile subjects, and it's for fans of real rock journalism, it's a treasure trove of compelling stories and surprising revelations. It's interesting to note that the week I got this book, I almost accidentally destroyed it. I was at work- the real job, not this one- and I jumped out of the cab of a truck before making sure it was in park. It was not in park, it was in reverse, and went sailing down the parking lot, heading for a clutch of new cars. Thinking fast, I dived for the truck, and slammed down the brakes with my fist seconds before the whole sordid event got me fired. Everything worked out fine, except my bag landed in a puddle and the book was soaked through and through. Later on I was on the subway, peeling apart the pages, when I realized what a difference there is between a cat like Darlington and myself. He has an amazing eye for detail and covers all his bases, even when the interviewee would rather not talk about whatever he's dredging up. He's a completist with an almost obsessive knack for presenting the big picture. He's a pro in an industry that doesn't even require professionalism. I'll bet he even makes his deadlines on time. As such, even when he's going on about some band or artist that I'd never, in a million years, bother listening to- Can, Kraftwerk, Joe fuckin' McDonald from Country Joe and the Fish-it's still a fascinating read. And when he's got a genuine firecracker on his hands- like Grace Slick, for example- then, things really get cooking. She flies off the handle about drugs, booze, hippies, and sex with a knack for a kind of off-the-cuff profane poetry of bitterness, like this classic- "Rock and roll could be an oxymoron, but God knows, there are plenty of traditional morons in rock and roll." All the while, Darlington rolls with it, adding in puzzling evidence like this, when discussing China Kantner's proposed birthname- "It was Grace's original intention to call their child 'god' "with a small 'g' because we wanted to keep her humble". Amazing. Elsewhere, he dives headfirst into the quietly insane world of mysterious, secretly gay mega producer Joe Meeks, who's career was cut short with a gunshot to the head. Although obviously not an interview, it's a brilliant piece of writing that's part devotional fan-boy gushing and part true crime reporting. Darlington even goes so far as to almost convince you that marginal alt-rock talent Skin of Skunk Anansie is some kind of bi-sexual skinhead prophet of a new, weird revolution. Almost. There are some equally engaging talks with Ian Hunter, Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Robert Plant, Siouxsie Sioux, and Dave Davies, among many others. A fine collection of thought provoking rock talk.