Life

By: Keith Richards

Narrated by: Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley, Keith Richards

Length: 23 hrs

Publisher's summary

With the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the riffs, the lyrics, and the songs that roused the world, and over four decades he lived the original rock-and-roll life: taking the chances he wanted, speaking his mind, and making it all work in a way that no one before him had ever done.

Now, at last, the man himself tells us the story of life in the crossfire hurricane. And what a life. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records as a child in post-war Kent. Learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones' first fame and success as a bad-boy band. The notorious Redlands drug bust and subsequent series of confrontations with a nervous establishment that led to his enduring image as outlaw and folk hero. Creating immortal riffs such as the ones in 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'Street Fighting Man' and 'Honky Tonk Woman'. Falling in love with Anita Pallenberg, and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the US, Exile on Main Street and Some Girls. Ever increasing fame, isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Mick Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Solo albums and performances with his band the Xpensive Winos. Marriage, family, and the road that goes on for ever.

In a voice that is uniquely and intimately his own, with the disarming honesty that has always been his trademark, Keith Richard brings us the essential life story of our times.

©2010 Keith Richards (P)2010 Orion Publishing Group Limited

One of a Kind

Absolute pleasure of a biography. Quite enjoyed it. A grand fitting narration to the grand rocker.

good start… declining towards the end.

First and foremost: This is a subjective review.
I enjoyed this book – but I also expected somehow "more". The first few chapters that deal with a very young Keith Richards are very interesting, nicely written and I even don't mind the narrator as much as others did. In fact, I think they're as close to Richards himself as it gets and still be listenable.

But by entering the middle/last third of the book it became kind of a drag with seemingly endless repetitions. I knew drugs played a huge part in Keith Richard's life but at a point it all just overshadows so much the events you'd like to hear more about, that it made me want to skip chapters.

"Life" just did not offer me any new insights in the actual life and thinking of a music legend. If you've followed Richard's life from the newspaper's view, then you'll learn new things from the first half/third of the book, the rest will feel as old news.

One of the best experiences on audible!

The cast, the narrative, the storyline, the lifestyle, the history, the attitude and the stories, a musician’s pure gem!

Well worth a read even if not a Stones fan

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Someone who was driven by and lives his passion of creativity. The success and money was always secondary. He just keeps going and going…..with laughter and the odd tear. Thank you Mr.Richards for entertaining us.

Keith Richards' Life: free any old time.

An audio edition of Keith Richards’ best-selling autobiography Life should silence most sceptical critics of audio books, who regard the format as an oversimplified substitution of reading. The Rolling Stones' founder and lead guitarist proves that, at least one literature genre–memoirs¬–is better listened to, than read. Even though, he himself rarely features on the twenty-three hour record.

Instead, Joe Hurley, New York singer, imitates Richard's voice, while Jonny Depp leads the narration with a trademark lucidity, ensuring that the record beat any competition at the Audiobook of the Year award in 2011.

Despite a very provocative character of the story, taken to the extremes by skilful narrators, Life is far from being just an audio guide for heroin addicts or a collection of satirical monologues about Mick Jagger. Depp and Hurley dramatize a lifelong experiment that Keith Richards endured to create the Rolling Stones and keep the band rolling for fifty odd years. In this experiment, he managed to find the right combination of hard work, passion for music, and sheer desire to create something outstanding, which yielded miracles like Jumping Jack Flash and Gimme Shelter.

Life is also about another realm that exists in parallel with our world, hidden behind fences of ocean villas, VIP clubs and private parties. Occupied by rich and famous, the realm is built on the absolute freedom. Free to have anything, to say anything, to take anything, 'to do what I want', Keith's point is that humans are not designed to cope with such amount of freedom.

At 68, he sounds genuinely astounded with the fact that he survived his experiment. While most of the others who were unfortunate enough to taste freedom with the Rolling Stones, did not.

great storytelling

Would you listen to Life again? Why?

No, I generally dont do books twice

What was one of the most memorable moments of Life?

narratives & storyline

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Keith & Jonny were superb

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

rolling with the stones

Great story. Amazing narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's very well written, funny and engaging. Extremely well narrated by Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley and Keith Richards

What was one of the most memorable moments of Life?

Great stories about how the Stones started

What a life!

It is my favourite autobiography. Thank you Keith for your music, thank you for things for us mortals.

Amazing

I would have read LIFE, but I am so happy that I did not. Listening to Richards, Depp, and Hurley was simply so engaging that I think this a case where listening beats reading. The book itself is of real substance. I think this is a autobiography at its best.

Very interesting

Interesting book to learn more about the life of a character such as KR. In terms of the narrators, I found that Jonny Deep was pretty good with the parts that he did, even though a bit monotone sometimes. Joe Hurley took a bit to get used to as he has a very strong accent, but he could really translate the personality of Keith Richards and that enriched the storey. I got a bit lost sometimes when he transitioned to different characters as it was not very clear all the time whether is was Keith talking or somebody else. Keith himself does the final chapters, and his english is not very clear, so I suppose it is good that he did not read the entire book. Overall, a very good audiobook.