A rare insight into a rock legend

This is the finest audible book I've listened to. The narrators (Depp and Hurley) although diametrically opposed in terms of vocal style, both add so much to the listening experience. This is an experience not to be missed. Imagine yourself sitting with Keith in front of a roaring fire in the middle of winter and Keith is reminiscing about the many milestones in his professional and personal life.

The Audible novel puts you there.. seriously. On top of everything else, Keith shares his techniques, guitar tunings, and songwriting methods with ease. As an amateur guitarist, I have learned more about the instrument and various tuning methods (specifically Open G) in a week of listening to the book than I have in over 30 years of trying to teach myself.

In this book, Keith openly discusses his drug habits, but always counsels the listener to stay away from drugs. This is no mean feat.... the book is full of stories of what happened under the influence of Heroin, cocaine, marijuana and various other uppers and downers, but amazingly you come away from the experience with some understanding of why Keith (and others) would subject themselves to the problems that this lifestyle introduces, without the feeling that Keith is in any way endorsing this lifestyle.

I have to say, prior to the book, my impression of Keith Richards was that of an aging rock star who should have quit long ago in his prime. A rock personality who was almost always "out of it" on drugs or alcohol, and who was almost an anachronism in this day and age.

What I learnt however was that this is a highly intelligent and articulate man who has an amazing capacity to recall events from the past 40 years or so, and in the process has given us, the reader (or listener) an unprecedented insight into an amazing life at a turning point in 20th Century culture.

Read or listen to "Life".... you won't regret it.

Thanks Keef for a great body of work and an amazing biography.

Keep on rockin'!

4 people found this helpful

fantastic Mr Richards.

This is the second best audiobook I've ever listened to. The section Keith reads himself is simply marvellous- cooking tips, pet care, it's all in there! Fabulous!

4 people found this helpful

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.

4 people found this helpful

Too long, too much rambling!

I love me a rock bio TRUST me! but I couldn't get through this to be honest. The man is a legend I admit and has had a pretty cool life but you have to wade through so much rambling that it gets hard to stay focused. Gave it a while but couldn't last. Sorry Keef!!

2 people found this helpful

I just loved it! Am now in the Richards fan club..

What an amazing guy. What I loved most about this book, was the fact that you discovered how incredibly talented Keith was/is, but you also learned he is a good, kind hearted and giving man, despite his flaws. He was so different in so many ways to Mick it would seem, no wonder they each brought something so different to their writing partnership, as The Glimmer Twins. I wasn't so fond of the first narrator (ie Joe Hurley), I think it wold have been better to have just had one narrator throughout. This book has really opened my eyes up to The Stones and what makes them so bloody great. They certainly know how to work hard!

2 people found this helpful

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.

1 person found this helpful

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.

1 person found this helpful

Soul Survivor

This is among the very first audiobooks that I listened to, back in 2013, and the one that got me excited about this format! It was an eyeopener, as it made me realize how much fun a book could be when left in the hands of a proper narrator (or narrators, in this case). This is partly why it feels so special to me. Actor Johnny Depp, musician Joe Hurley and Keith Richards himself, all take turns bringing to life the story of a true rock n' roll legend. While I listened to this memoir, and for a long time afterwards, I became fairly obsessed with the Rolling Stones, and in particular, with the album Exile on Main Street, which to this day remains one of my favorites. I already liked the Stones, and the album, but when I learned all the details about how it was made, it became all the more powerful. (I should add that I'm also very fond of some of his solo work.) It's all there, how a young kid from Dartford grew up to love the blues, country and rock, mastered the guitar and worked the whole world into a frenzy. Richards shares with his fans some of the pain and the glory that he's been through, and a little bit of the mischief that he's known for. All in all, a stupendous listen.

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!

Decent read

Of the 3 narrators I like Joe Hurley the most. He seemed to really enjoy his role. Johnny Depp was awful.
Keith's need to be modest and self depreciation is tiresome