The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Paperback – July 9, 2002

I'm a big Mötley Crüe fan. In fact, watching the Looks that Kill video on MTV back in 1984 turned this average football loving eleven year old into a crazed headbanger and sent me on a lifelong quest for the loudest, heaviest, hardest hitting music possible.So, fitting squarely in the target group this book's aiming for, I really doubt that I can write a fair, impartial assessment of the book.For heshers like me, who grew up rocking endlessly to tunes like Looks That Kill, Shout at the Devil, Red Hot, Too Young to Fall in Love, Bastard, Ten Seconds to Love, Wild Side, Girls, Girls, Girls, and ...All in the Name Of yet still have a soft spot in their hearts for a schmaltzy power ballad like Home Sweet home, this book is like a dream come true.The astonishing rise of the band, from local LA glam metal misfits to worldwide hard rock juggernaut is told both with graphic detail and candid detachment, keeping the narrative flowing and the reader hooked with these lecherous lunkheads' exploits, while their failings as human beings and subsequent fall from grace are dealt with a brutally honest style. The story is told by multiple narrators, most of the time the band members adding some important collaborators here and there. Even if this technique might bring contradicting versions on some incidents, it makes for a truly interesting and entertaining read.This book is not for the squeamish. Much like Led Zeppelin, Queen and Van Halen before them and Guns 'n Roses after them, the Crüe built a bad boy reputation based on their sexually decadent behavior and drug excesses, but unlike the aforementioned bands, their music didn't prove to be strong enough on the long run to stand on it's own outside the band's image.That said, Neil Strauss manages to weave the story in a way that it ultimately becomes a tale that anybody can identify with: a scarcely talented yet very driven group of misfits pay their dues and achieve their dreams of rock 'n roll stardom, succeeding despite their life threatening drug and alcohol addictions yet ultimately loosing it all to their own hubris and fighting to rise from their own ashes.Yes folks, this is the formula both for a Greek tragedy and a Behind the Music special, and that's the main reason this book works so well regardless if the reader is interested in the band or not.For big fans of the band like me, this book delivers most of the dirty details we already knew and delivers a few we missed over the years.I mean, before reading the book I already knew that Vince Neil's a selfish alcoholic bum who's only in it for the girls and the money, that Nikki Sixx's an immature drug addict incapable of confronting his problems who will always blaming his failings on childhood issues and that Tommy Lee is little more than a stupid and violent manchild, but on the other hand, I didn't know about Mick's health or personal issues and was shocked about how much his fellow band members kicked him around over the years.During its 80s heyday, fans perceived the band as an airtight unit, an unlikely yet unbreakable brotherhood of wild, unpredictable rock misfits united by music, tragedy and success. True, with Vince Neil's sacking in 1992, this perception began to crumble, but the author doesn't pull any punches at exposing the band's feuding and backstabbing, proving that said brotherhood was nothing but a carefully cultivated image.One interesting point the book doesn't address is Mick's real age: despite the claim that he's about five years older than the other guys, there's a persisting rumor among hardcore Crüe fans that he was actually in his early forties when the band fame's exploded, which doesn't seem that implausible after all if you look at old band photos.In the end, The Dirt is that rare rock biopic that not only delivers all the sordid details the band's fandom expect, but also manages to build an engaging human interest story that can appeal to anyone interested in rock music.

I loved, loved, loved this book!!!! I think it is well done, well written, and provides a fair perspective from everyone in the band since each band member is telling his story. It enabled us to not just peek into the lives of a most debauched rock band, but to actually feel like we were living it with the band members. It's told that well. Just as with "Slash," "Heroin Diaries," "Walk This Way," "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You," and Steven Adler's "My Appetite for Destruction," this book doesn't disappoint in smutty details about all the band members' drug use, sex lives, and of course, their band and how they composed the songs and put them all together to eventually become one of the biggest, best rock bands ever.The sordid details of the drug use and sexual escapades just amaze me. The stories these guys have to tell---just like with GN'R---make me seriously question how they're all still here today! I mean, Tommy Lee and Nikki were injecting heroin and drinking godawful amts of alcohol; Mick was an alcoholic du jour; and Vince was both a drug addict and alcoholic, but his drug of choice was coke. They all had unprotected sex, and since the 80's was when AIDS really started coming to light, you'd think these guys would have been more concerned. Again, the fact that they're all still here, no one has AIDS, and all are relatively healthy, is just pure luck, and nothing short of a miracle. Blows my mind!!!The book also details how the songs were written and how they got their material. The creative talent of these guys is astounding, and to think they almost threw everything away due to drugs and alcohol is sad. But it made me appreciate them and their music that much more, and honestly, brought a new perspective to their music. Despite all the drugs, these guys were always able to perform and do what they needed to do to bring it on for the fans.This book, though it's easy to get lost in the sordid details of the drugs, booze, sex, and other escapades they all engaged in, is a testament to how devoted Motley Crue was (and still is) and the fact they persevered against all odds. The end of the book will definitely give you something to cheer about. I also found it touching that toward the end, when the guys are getting sober or are sober, and they become involved in serious relationships and have kids, to be touching. You see a sweet, innocent side to these guys (especially Nikki and Tommy) that you don't necessarily see prior to marriage and kids. It's so endearing to see these rough and tumble guys pose for photos with their significant others and/or kids, and see the gleam in their eyes, the pride in their heart, and the innocence of having rediscovered themselves through their kids--it really is touching. The photo toward the end where Nikki is shown with all his kids and Donna D'Errico lying on some grass----it's just so pure and innocent and I just felt like these guys are GOOD guys now, and I found myself rooting for them and hoping they would all stay on the straight and narrow and be good dads and respect themselves. I think they've accomplished that! Awesome, awesome book. It's worth every penny!!