Wild Tales

A Rock & Roll Life

By: Graham Nash

Narrated by: Graham Nash

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

From Graham Nash - the legendary musician and founding member of the iconic bands Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Hollies - comes a candid and riveting autobiography that belongs on the reading list of every classic rock fan.

Graham Nash's songs defined a generation and helped shape the history of rock and roll - he’s written over 200 songs, including such classic hits as "Carrie Anne," “On A Carousel,” "Simple Man," "Our House," “Marrakesh Express,” and "Teach Your Children." From the opening salvos of the British Rock Revolution to the last shudders of Woodstock, he has rocked and rolled wherever music mattered. Now Graham is ready to tell his story: his lower-class childhood in post-war England, his early days in the British Invasion group The Hollies; becoming the lover and muse of Joni Mitchell during the halcyon years, when both produced their most introspective and important work; meeting Stephen Stills and David Crosby and reaching superstardom with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and his enduring career as a solo musician and political activist. Nash has valuable insights into a world and time many think they know from the outside but few have experienced at its epicenter, and equally wonderful anecdotes about the people around him: the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix, Cass Elliot, Dylan, and other rock luminaries.

From London to Laurel Canyon and beyond, Wild Tales is a revealing look back at an extraordinary life - with all the highs and the lows; the love, the sex, and the jealousy; the politics; the drugs; the insanity - and the sanity - of a magical era of music.

©2013 Graham Nash (P)2013 Random House Audio

Reliving my life through his story

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

If you love early rock and roll you'll love this book. It is right up there with the very best of them.

Loved this wild ride!

This was a standout memoir. I was engrossed from the minute I pressed play. Aside from the amazing content, which is a given if you know anything about this artist, the writing itself is actually high quality and Graham was able to create vivid imagery to enhance his narrative. The author's narration was phenomenal as well, and this was especially critical when reading lyrics; Nash's ability to sing his lyrics rather than recite them brought this book to life. One of the most captivating audiobooks I've listened to - 10 out of 10.

Nash, The Sweet Voice Of Reason In a Difficult but Talented Group

I think we all have our favorites in CSN (you can't justly include Neil Young because his participation, while greatly beneficial, was like that of a capricious butterfly, darting in and out), and I admit that my favorite is Stephen Stills,I feel his talents are very underappreciated. I have no idea how difficult he is to work with, but I know someone who worked with Crosby professionally and I fail to see how Stills could be more difficult than THAT, so to me it seems incredibly short sighted and unfair! I have seen all of the documentaries and read all of the books,and it bothers me to hear all of these stories where Stephen wasn't included. He's clearly a protectionist and apparently has an ego, but his contribution is so amazing! I enjoyed Nash's honesty about his humble beginnings and the struggles of his parents. His mention of Radio Luxembourg, The Everly Brothers (loved the story from his boyhood meeting of them!) , John Sebastian, Cass Elliott, and Ahmet Ertegun are such COMMON influences in up and coming rockers in the 60's-the only things not mentioned were possibly The Band, Bob Dylan, and Fred Neil! I enjoyed the book and the fact that the author narrated. I love his passion for politics and the environment(I'd love to hear his take on tRUMP!) and the story of his rise to fame is a good one, he's very talented and down to earth. Here's where this book went south for me just a little bit. I was anticipating the story of why his marriage ended, and what happened between him and Crosby that was so bad that he will never speak to him again. This book ends with Nash extolling the many virtues of his wife Susan and his best friend David Crosby, when, in truth, he left his wife for a woman young enough to be his daughter(reportedly with a strong resemblance to a young Joni Mitchell), and he has vowed to never speak to Crosby again. Considering that Crosby's frankly outspoken remarks about Neil Young divorcing Peggy after decades of marriage and marrying Darryl Hannah were pretty harsh, he's made it very clear that he's pretty judgmental about men "upgrading" to newer models, often literally. My hunch is that this is related. While it's not kind to put someone who has been there for you on blast and to be that outspoken and judgmental about their personal life, that IS who Crosby is and has always been, and to be that unforgiving now when he's down on his luck and in poor health, this is a choice Nash is going to regret. Anyway, perhaps this needed addendum will be in the next book, very disappointed that these subjects weren't addressed.

Very cool!

some fascinating stories and little known facts directly from one of the Worlds finest musical talents. well worth a listen.

Great stories

Best part of book is that you are hearing it in the 1st person. Just having Graham narrating made it that much better. One thing I was surprised about was there was not one mention of Jim Morrison, no iterations between them. You are an rock n roll icon mr. Nash

Lots of details of the 60's Laurel Canyon crowd

I finished most of it, but had to bail very near the end when Nash, a hard-wired liberal, physically joined the Occupy Wall Street radicals. As I grew up in the same era, I well remember each historical event he recounts and every contentious iteration of CSNY. I especially enjoyed the details and explanations of the stories behind the story, like his certainty that Cass Elliot died from drugs because he had known her to still be using, even though the official cause of death was heart failure . What I had to wade through was his condemning finger wagging at anyone who does not ascribe to his politics, causes, and beliefs. If I ever do a re-listen, I will fast forward through those parts. In a nutshell, I reasonably enjoyed this listen.

A Great Story for fans of the Hollies and CSN!

What did you love best about Wild Tales?

I loved hearing Graham's story from himself, rather than a paid reader, as was the case with Clapton's audio book and Keith Richards'. Graham is generous to the many people who came into his life and is full of wonder and excitement about how his life changed when he entered the music business. Escaping the rigidities of British society and learning to express himself musically is a major theme of his account, which led to his leaving the Hollies and coming to America and joining Steve Stills and David Crosby to start a new group, CSN. For those of us who are long time Hollies fans, his detailed account of the events leading to his departure is something we've wanted to hear from him, personally, for a long time. It was hard to stop listening to his story, and I give it a full five stars. The only negative was his constant use of the "F" word, which was ubiquitous! So, be prepared!

What other book might you compare Wild Tales to and why?

The audio versions of Clapton, Richards and Townshend autobiographies. Those where the author is reading his own book, are the best. Townshend's book is an example, whereas the Clapton book and Keith Richards is read by a paid reader. Even so, I recommend them all to those of us who are "children of the 60s"!

Have you listened to any of Graham Nash’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is his only performance that I am aware of for a book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, absolutely, although I was not able to. It is over 14 hrs long. A great buy.

Excellent!

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended if you are a fan of this genre. Nash does an excellent job of reading.

Loved hearing it from The author!

If you could sum up Wild Tales in three words, what would they be?

David Crosby constantly

Who was your favorite character and why?

Graham Nash seems like the perfect person to write about CSNY, since he seems to be the most normal of them all.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the Joni Mitchell parts and wish there had been more.

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

Drugs make you an artist

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book, but it did get bogged down with too much about drugs, and not enough about his relationships. Wish he had talked more about his wife, Joni, Rita Coolidge, not just constantly about David Crosby.

Good audio book

Well spoken, good story, interesting life. I would recommend. Didn't really follow graham when I was growing up but it was fun following his life and listing to his crisp clean views.