Synopses & Reviews
The first significant fresh reporting on the legendary band in twenty years, built on interviews with all surviving band members and revealing a never-before-seen side of the genius and debauchery that defined their heyday.
Veteran rock journalist Mick Wall unflinchingly tells the story of the band that pushed the envelope on both creativity and excess, even by rock ‘n roll standards. Led Zeppelin was the last great band of the 1960s and the first great band of the 1970s—and When Giants Walked the Earth is the full, enthralling story of Zep from the inside, written by a former confidante of both Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Rich and revealing, it bores into not only the disaster, addiction and death that haunted the band but also into the real relationship between Page and Plant, including how it was influenced by Pages interest in the occult. Comprehensive and yet intimately detailed, When Giants Walked the Earth literally gets into the principals heads to bring to life both an unforgettable band and an unrepeatable slice of rock history.
Review
"Sensational."--
New York Times "Entertaining, thoughtful."--
Los Angeles Times "His access and attention to detail make this a definitive work...an essential source for anyone eager to learn about the era when rock stars ruled the world."--
Publishers Weekly "Wall does well to shine light on the myths and music magic of Led Zep--rendering what could
have been cartoonish real and sincere."--
TimeOut Chicago “[T]hat Wall can add so much fresh detail to the Led Zep story is in itself an extraordinary achievement…(and) he manages to humanize these planet-striding giants while doing so…”
--Classic Rock Magazine “It deftly strikes the balance between lofty authority and finding a way to get inside the heads of its subjects.”
--The Guardian (UK) "[T]his is the big one: a fat, juicy biography of the biggest band ever."--Daily Telegraph (UK)
Review
“Wall’s account pulls no punches, cataloguing each of the primal scenes—early performances, indecent exposure, Jim’s sexuality, decline and death—with a detached, knowing eye.” —Guitarist
Review
“[Wall’s] attention to both the musical and business parts of the equation is a welcome addition…” —Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Jim Morrison was the terrible angel of the American sixties, and his latest biographer Mick Wall tells his story with a passionate, wide-open drive, like Jim’s famous Shelby GT Ford Mustang with a nitrous oxide hookup. Here James Douglas Morrison emerges more and more as a stand-up, reciting American poet, and an artist whom this author makes you really feel for.” —Stephen Davis, author of
Hammer of the GodsReview
“For Doors fans, and readers of rock biographies in general, this should be considered a must read.” —Booklist
Review
“A thorough look at the Doors’ career, this book is a musical, cultural, and legacy-examining history of one of the most important bands in rock and roll.” —Library Journal
Synopsis
Spanning the entire history of the Doors, this book will long remain the definitive biography of a band that forever changed popular music. But it’s not the story you think you know.
Yes, Jim Morrison died in Paris in 1971—but not in a bathtub. The other Doors were saddened and shocked but had already fired him anyway. It wasn’t Jim who wrote the hits; it was guitarist Robby Krieger. It wasn’t Jim who saw a bright, acid-flared future for the band but keyboardist Ray Manzarek.
And so, the band that started out as the “American Rolling Stones,” noted for their wildly unpredictable performances, their jazzy vibe, and the crazed monologues of their front man, ended as badly as did the sixties: abruptly, bloodily, cripplingly.
Along with evoking the cultural milieu of Los Angeles in the sixties, in Love Becomes a Funeral Pyre bestselling writer Mick Wall captures the true spirit of that tarnished age with a brilliantly penetrating and contemporary investigation into the real story of the Doors.
About the Author
Mick Wall is England’s best-known rock writer. The founder of
Classic Rock magazine and a contributor to
Mojo,
Rolling Stone,
Playboy, and others, his books include the definitive biographies of Axl Rose (
W.A.R.), Led Zeppelin (
When Giants Walked the Earth), Metallica (
Enter Night), and Black Sabbath. He lives in Oxfordshire.