Guns N' Roses: The Most Dangerous Band in the World

Wall's 1990 book on the mighty Gun'n Roses is still a great read. The noisy, frivolous, gaudy people this book celebrates wanted to destroy the temples of doom - not eat babies. But this stuff was considered dangerous, subversive, contagious and, like good art, a whole lot more fun than you think you're allowed to have. Mick Wall's position as a top UK rock scribe gave him access to many of the world's best bands. As an interviewer he gets very close to the musicians and as a consequence the book is more of a dialogue between friends than a serious interview, and that's exactly where its appeal lies. A book for the hard rock fan and the late 80s nostalgist, it's still a lot of fun to read after all these years. But also check out Nick Kent's book The Dark Stuff, the chapter titled "The Daze of Guns'n Roses" gives an interesting perspective on the band.

Unfortunately this book was published in 1991, so it's a little outdated (truthfully, the book was published right before Izzy left the band), and it's a pity that Mick Wall didn't update the book in later years. Wall is a fine writer with a penchant for bringing life to the band's strangest ticks and smallest personality quirks. His portrayal is honest but respectful; I still don't understand why the band chided him in "Get in the Ring." This is a flawless study of the interesting personalities that once comprised Guns N' Roses.

This is a very good GNR book. Any fan of GNR will appreciate. This book is about the 80's only though (But hey, i can't blame the author because he wrote that book before the Use Your Illusion days).