Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion
- Downloads：9259
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-16 11:32:49
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tom Beaujour
- ISBN：B089YDP2T7
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Michael
，
Sure， it's easy to make fun of hair metal， but for those of us who grew up listening to it， it was a lot of fun and yeah， chick really dug it。 I pre-ordered the book not knowing what to expect and it's way more than just a rise and fall of a genre of music that simply wanted us to have a good time。 Was it over the top？ Sure， but that was the point， and for a time there was no way to escape it。 It's a well written book that allows the bands that were a part of the rise， and eventual demise of th Sure， it's easy to make fun of hair metal， but for those of us who grew up listening to it， it was a lot of fun and yeah， chick really dug it。 I pre-ordered the book not knowing what to expect and it's way more than just a rise and fall of a genre of music that simply wanted us to have a good time。 Was it over the top？ Sure， but that was the point， and for a time there was no way to escape it。 It's a well written book that allows the bands that were a part of the rise， and eventual demise of the genre to tell their stories and it makes for an interesting book。 A few surprises and weirdly enough， it features Nelson and Winger who some say helped kill the genre。 For those who weren't able to experience it， they now can in a way and while there are going to be some who say the behaviors and actions of those involved were a bit gross， but that was just how things were back then。 It was all about getting laid and having fun。 The book details a lot more than the music， but the actions of the bands themselves。 As adults we can look back and say that maybe that behavior wasn't exactly politically correct， but it sure was fun。 It allows us to relive those days and remember the bands who sometimes looked like chicks。 The book is an interesting read that peels back the curtain and gives us the stories we've heard before and some that we haven't。 It's a book for both fans， and newer fans that weren't around for the glory days of hair metal。 While it may have worn out its welcome we still come back to the music because it's fun and while some of it hasn't aged well， some of it has。 You have interviews with bands like Skid Row， Cinderella and even obscure bands like Pretty Boy Floyd who could have been huge if their album had been released a year or two earlier。 Well written and one that fans and non fans can read and enjoy。 。。。more
Jim Gahring
，
Really enjoyed this
Richard Reyes
，
Author’s way of storytelling is so good， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you Author’s way of storytelling is so good， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you 。。。more
Sam Branstner
，
Certainly a must read for anyone who lived through the decade of decadence。 I loved this book。
Jeremiah Dollins
，
I am a child of the 80s。 I was raised on MTV and the hard rock bands that overcharged the cable lines with their excessive fashion， misogyny， and guitar solos。 Bon Jovi， Poison， Mötley Crüe 。 。 。 loved them all。 W。A。S。P。？ Ozzy？ Scared the living hell out of me。 G'N'R？ Inspired both love and terror。 All I knew of their lifestyles was that they lived fast， had women drapped over their arms， owned expansive homes and sports cars， and played to stadiums packed with adoring fans。What I didn't know yo I am a child of the 80s。 I was raised on MTV and the hard rock bands that overcharged the cable lines with their excessive fashion， misogyny， and guitar solos。 Bon Jovi， Poison， Mötley Crüe 。 。 。 loved them all。 W。A。S。P。？ Ozzy？ Scared the living hell out of me。 G'N'R？ Inspired both love and terror。 All I knew of their lifestyles was that they lived fast， had women drapped over their arms， owned expansive homes and sports cars， and played to stadiums packed with adoring fans。What I didn't know you could literally fill an entire book with。 And so someone has。 Nöthin' But a Good Time is a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes anecdotes， reflections of the business， and a look at how culture changes， yet the awesome things never do。Some highlights:* Jack Russell of Great White telling the story of how he got arrested for robbing his own home and shooting the family maid。* Ozzy's tour with Mötley Crüe。 Sure， we've heard the stories， but they never get old， even as the storytellers do。* Stryper's descent into alcoholism。* Gunnar Nelson admitting to his fiancee that he cheated on her early and often。* Ratt telling about getting buddy-buddy with Milton Berle on the set of the "Round and Round" music video。* Anything and everything about the Moscow Music & Peace Festival， but mainly Ozzy screaming at Sebastian Bach to shut the fuck up on the plane ride。* Tom Keifer of Cinderella talking about his first time rehearsing "You Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone" for a show with the piano lifted way up over the stage。* Jon Bon Jovi waiting for Sebastian Bach at the end of Skid Row's set so he could punch the guy's lights out after being told that Bach called him a "pussy" on stage。* Duff McKagan's commentary on the fight between Kurt Cobain and Axl Rose at the 1992 MTV VMAs。And so much more。 It's a long book。 But the sort that you want to read out loud to whomever is in the room with you just so you can see their reactions to the stuff these guys have shared。 This book is continued proof that the oral history is perhaps the best non-fiction music/entertainment genre we have。 There is nothing quite like hearing Jake "Snake" Sabo of Skid Row talk about the time Sebastian Bach left an expletive filled message on his voicemail for his entire family to hear at Christmas， followed by Bach himself sharing about how well he compartmentalizes things。As a child of the 80s， this book definitely made me spend way too much time rewatching music videos on YouTube and remembering how my after schools were spent before Dad got home and I needed to go do my homework。 。。。more
Matthew J。
，
Although Poison's Nothin But a Good Time isn't my favorite rock anthem， it holds a key spot in my life's soundtrack: at my 1988 High School Graduation Party， FHC Principal Bert Bleke joined me and friends on the dance stage and rocked out with us to this song 。 。 。 just one of dozens and dozens of great memories of growing up and going to college in this Wild Mick Brown era of sex， drugs， and rock n roll。 I don't have the physical stamina to relive those days， but "Nothin But a Good Time: The Un Although Poison's Nothin But a Good Time isn't my favorite rock anthem， it holds a key spot in my life's soundtrack: at my 1988 High School Graduation Party， FHC Principal Bert Bleke joined me and friends on the dance stage and rocked out with us to this song 。 。 。 just one of dozens and dozens of great memories of growing up and going to college in this Wild Mick Brown era of sex， drugs， and rock n roll。 I don't have the physical stamina to relive those days， but "Nothin But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion" is the next-best thing。 The book is an engrossing， retrospective， detailed group diary that recreates the ambition， passion， and party power of the 1980s hard rock scene。 More than 220 people are interviewed and quoted， everyone from Ozzy， Motley， Lita， Dokken， Cinderella， Poison， Warrant， Ratt， Quiet Riot， Twisted Sister， Great White， both Guns （and more） t0 photographers， label personnel， managers， and club owners。 Having followed and covered many of these artists as an amateur journalist （Warrant Morning Network rules！！！！！！）， I thought I knew all of the background stories。 Not so。 And not in this detail。 Two unbeknownst， amazing anecdotes: 1。） Prince funded Warrant's demo， but later dropped them because he didn't think they danced enough on stage。 2。） In 1979， Dee Snider from Twisted Sister was making $300K a year solely playing live music at clubs on the East Coast。 No record deal， no air play 。 。 。 just clubs。 That's more than $1 million in 2021 dollars！！！！ This book is a must-read for hard rock fans。 It's fun， nostalgic， and at times heartbreaking。 I recommend it highly。 。。。more
Eric
，
In the last 30 years I've become a best a casual fan of most of what is considered hair metal。 Reading this book has me digging out a lot of old albums and listening to Hair Nation on SiriusXM。 There's a lot of it that is pretty lightweight， but overall it's fun music and it's like running into an old friend。 Nöthin' But a Good Time is a MUST-READ， not just for fans of the genre， but for any fan of rock music。 In the last 30 years I've become a best a casual fan of most of what is considered hair metal。 Reading this book has me digging out a lot of old albums and listening to Hair Nation on SiriusXM。 There's a lot of it that is pretty lightweight， but overall it's fun music and it's like running into an old friend。 Nöthin' But a Good Time is a MUST-READ， not just for fans of the genre， but for any fan of rock music。 。。。more
Kirsti
，
I love oral histories。 A lot of the people interviewed in this book love oral something else。This is an affectionate， detailed look at 1980s-era bands who were part of the hair metal/cock rock/glam metal movement。 They fought and made up and succeeded and failed and had confidence and doubts。 It was the best of times， it was the worst of times， it was the most hairsprayed of times。The authors and at least some of the interviewees understand that sexism was a problem during this era。 So there's a I love oral histories。 A lot of the people interviewed in this book love oral something else。This is an affectionate， detailed look at 1980s-era bands who were part of the hair metal/cock rock/glam metal movement。 They fought and made up and succeeded and failed and had confidence and doubts。 It was the best of times， it was the worst of times， it was the most hairsprayed of times。The authors and at least some of the interviewees understand that sexism was a problem during this era。 So there's an attempt to address that。 I especially liked the interviews with the former members of the band Vixen， who seem to be smart and levelheaded women。 I especially disliked the interview with someone I had never heard of， who said he would never want to be in a band with chicks unless the band was Heart。 First of all， I don't think the members of Heart would touch him to scratch him。 But what's really sad is that he still doesn't seem to understand that he dismissed 51 percent of the population for no good reason。There's a little in here about homophobia， but at the time nobody seemed genuinely upset about it except Kurt Cobain。 He was of a slightly younger generation， of course， so that may have been part of it。 It seems odd that in all these bands with all these musicians， apparently nobody was gay or bisexual。There's nothing in here about race。 It seems deeply weird to me that in a movement that took place in Southern California， practically everybody interviewed is white。 Everybody admires Slash， and there's one mention of Living Colour。 That's it。Of all the massive egos in this book， the one I enjoyed reading most about was Kip Winger。 Tall， handsome， talented， intelligent， insufferable。 Just full of defensiveness， even after all these years， and seemingly always ready to tear down others' talent and accomplishments。 All I remember about him from back in the day is that he had great hair and they were mean to him on that Beavis and Butt-Head show。 I figured it was a bad roasting but that his fans wouldn't care。 It turns out that three days after the Beavis show aired， they had to cancel the Winger tour。 The poor man got laughed at in a McDonald's。 All that would stick with me， too。Reasons this type of music went out of style， according to the authors and interviewees:• SoundScan was invented， so sales figures were suddenly far more accurate instead of just estimates。 It turned out that lots more people were buying country music than anyone realized。 （Also rap and hip-hop， but the book doesn't mention that。）• The record companies hired too many of the same type of band and flooded the market。• Most of these bands sounded similar， and almost all of them looked similar。 • It was a new decade， and people wanted a new sound and a new look。• In a brief period， several bands released albums that confounded their fans' expectations。• A lot of bands either had addiction problems， didn't communicate well， got too caught up in the fringe benefits instead of focusing on music or even marketing， or simply ran out of ideas。 。。。more
Louis
，
If you grew up in the 80s bombarded by these bands it’s a trip down memory lane。 Looking back it’s easy to see why this music faded away with the onset of grunge。 They all looked the same， sounded the same， acted the same & carried on like idiots。 It’s dumb and a lot of fun。 There were a few bands not mentioned which surprised me but when you’re writing about the scene with everything I mentioned above it’s pointless to do them all。 If you’re unfamiliar with these bands then check them out！ The If you grew up in the 80s bombarded by these bands it’s a trip down memory lane。 Looking back it’s easy to see why this music faded away with the onset of grunge。 They all looked the same， sounded the same， acted the same & carried on like idiots。 It’s dumb and a lot of fun。 There were a few bands not mentioned which surprised me but when you’re writing about the scene with everything I mentioned above it’s pointless to do them all。 If you’re unfamiliar with these bands then check them out！ The music will put you in a good mood。 。。。more
jamie fraychak
，
Fantastic read if you love 80's hard rock！ Fantastic read if you love 80's hard rock！ 。。。more
Judy Santos
，
The author is so talented， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you The author is so talented， I suggest you join NovelStar’s writing competition this April。 If you are interested kindly check this link https://www。facebook。com/104455574751。。。 for the mechanics of the writing contest this April and also， I am sharing your book in Facebook to help reach readers。 Thank you 。。。more
Catherine Perkins
，
Headbanger HeavenAbsolutely brilliant。 If they'd filmed all of those interviews， I'd pay good money to see it。 Love that it was written in an interview format。 Lots of inside the band stuff that， unless you were there， you would have no idea that it happened。 While I didn't spend a lot of time on the Sunset Strip， I did hang out with many bands who came to Vegas。 Some very fun & crazy times。 Thank you for letting me relive some of it， through this book。 80's bands ROCKED！ Headbanger HeavenAbsolutely brilliant。 If they'd filmed all of those interviews， I'd pay good money to see it。 Love that it was written in an interview format。 Lots of inside the band stuff that， unless you were there， you would have no idea that it happened。 While I didn't spend a lot of time on the Sunset Strip， I did hang out with many bands who came to Vegas。 Some very fun & crazy times。 Thank you for letting me relive some of it， through this book。 80's bands ROCKED！ 。。。more
Sandy
，
As a teenager whose bedroom was plastered with posters for most of the bands covered in the book， it was a no-brainer that I would want to read this。 Although I was expecting more of a narrative， I actually enjoyed the odd transcript format that pieced together interviews with different people into topics。 I remember a lot of the events， from the chaos Sebastian Bach caused on the Skid Row tour to the Moscow Music Festival， from when they happened， so it was cool to hear about them from the band As a teenager whose bedroom was plastered with posters for most of the bands covered in the book， it was a no-brainer that I would want to read this。 Although I was expecting more of a narrative， I actually enjoyed the odd transcript format that pieced together interviews with different people into topics。 I remember a lot of the events， from the chaos Sebastian Bach caused on the Skid Row tour to the Moscow Music Festival， from when they happened， so it was cool to hear about them from the band member's perspectives。 This is a LONG book and I'll admit to skimming through some of the sections with bands I wasn't interested in， but if you were a fan of the era， there will be something in this book for you。 。。。more
Daniel Hunt
，
5 stars easily。 I thought I knew most of the stories from this era。 What I learned after reading this is I still had a lot to learn。 If you like this music then it’s a must read。
Mike
，
While not all of this is new （some of the quotes， especially those from heavy hitters， are culled from podcasts， previously released interviews， and the like）， it's still a tremendous compilation of the memories of the folks who were at the epicenter of the 80s rock explosion。 For a fan of the genre， this is at times insightful， entertaining， and poignant。 Well worth the read。 While not all of this is new （some of the quotes， especially those from heavy hitters， are culled from podcasts， previously released interviews， and the like）， it's still a tremendous compilation of the memories of the folks who were at the epicenter of the 80s rock explosion。 For a fan of the genre， this is at times insightful， entertaining， and poignant。 Well worth the read。 。。。more
Suzy
，
4 stars！ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️As a teen in the 80’s who was a little metal head （and proudly， I still am）， I loved this book！ All of my favorites are packed in to this gem。 Mötley Crüe， Guns ‘n Roses， Van Halen， Ratt， Skid Row， Poison and countless others detail the good and bad that shaped their lives and careers back in the day。 Not only musicians are giving details - we also have band managers， roadies and club managers giving insight。 The interview format is genius and gave the reader a realistic view of 4 stars！ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️As a teen in the 80’s who was a little metal head （and proudly， I still am）， I loved this book！ All of my favorites are packed in to this gem。 Mötley Crüe， Guns ‘n Roses， Van Halen， Ratt， Skid Row， Poison and countless others detail the good and bad that shaped their lives and careers back in the day。 Not only musicians are giving details - we also have band managers， roadies and club managers giving insight。 The interview format is genius and gave the reader a realistic view of rockstar life in the 80’s。 The “cast of characters” at the beginning of the book is awesome！ I’m super nostalgic when it comes to music and still listen to these bands daily。 They will always be my favorite and a big part of my life。 Now if we could only get concerts to start back up again I’d be in heaven！ I can’t wait！ Rock on！ 🤘🏼Thank you to NetGalley， St。 Martin’s Press and Tom Beaujour & Richard Bienstock for my advanced copy to read and review。 。。。more
Angel Mayumi
，
I really enjoyed reading your book。 I read enthusiastically and understood the story。 。。。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Eric
，
99% a Good Read。 Just since there were a few sad stories。 Definitely worth reading。
Bill
，
If you’re a child of the 80s and enjoyed the music you’ll love the read。
Jacob Shelton
，
i still can't wrap my head around how the publisher made the e-book smell like cheap vodka i still can't wrap my head around how the publisher made the e-book smell like cheap vodka 。。。more
Leah
，
❐ Overall Rating 3½⭐ | Narration 😐 = Okay❐ Narrated by Amy McFadden & Gary Furlong❐ Listening Length: 15H 58M❐ Non-Fiction❐ Pop Culture --The 80’s Hair Bands❐ Covering details of how these bands made it or didn’t make it， their agents， make-up， costumes， and even their groupies Not as good as I hoped it would be。。。but not bad， either。 The bands above are just some of the bands that you’ll hear about in this book。 While it’s very comprehensive， covering a little something from each of the 80s ❐ Overall Rating 3½⭐ | Narration 😐 = Okay❐ Narrated by Amy McFadden & Gary Furlong❐ Listening Length: 15H 58M❐ Non-Fiction❐ Pop Culture --The 80’s Hair Bands❐ Covering details of how these bands made it or didn’t make it， their agents， make-up， costumes， and even their groupies Not as good as I hoped it would be。。。but not bad， either。 The bands above are just some of the bands that you’ll hear about in this book。 While it’s very comprehensive， covering a little something from each of the 80s hair/glam bands， it’s not all that in-depth。 Although it would have been a lot longer if it had been more in-depth， I guess， and since I already found it to be tedious， I’m glad it wasn’t。 The narration was okay but they only had two people voicing many people and so it felt like it was just; two people， you really had to listen to catch which person was speaking and it moved from one to the next quickly。。。and sort made me tune out a little too often。（cawpile score = 6。71/10） 。。。more
Georgette
，
4 STARS。 Great oral history。 Believe it or not， the thing that really annoyed me was the constant comparisons- nearly every chapter- to Duran Duran。 The Duranie was annoyed by that。
Rochelle
，
I loved this book！ I was a teenager in the 80’s and have great memories of listening to “hair metal” bands and watching their videos on MTV。 The variety of musicians， producers， club owners， promoters， etc。 interviewed really gave a great inside view into the 80’s rock scene。 It was a really interesting， fun read and I laughed out loud many times。 If you like shows like Behind the Music or are a fan of 80’s music you would love this book。
Becki
，
I love this book！Ok， let me start by saying I was born in the late 70’s， so I was a kid when 80’s hair metal was big。 But I have a sister who is almost 6 years older than me， and the coolest parents in the world。 So my first concert was Pat Benetar when I was 8， and my first hair metal show was Def Leppard and Europe when I was 10。 The year after that was Poison and Tesla。 And on and on。。。 Now， at 43， I’ve been to over 200 shows and seen hundreds of bands。 So reading this was like reading 500+ p I love this book！Ok， let me start by saying I was born in the late 70’s， so I was a kid when 80’s hair metal was big。 But I have a sister who is almost 6 years older than me， and the coolest parents in the world。 So my first concert was Pat Benetar when I was 8， and my first hair metal show was Def Leppard and Europe when I was 10。 The year after that was Poison and Tesla。 And on and on。。。 Now， at 43， I’ve been to over 200 shows and seen hundreds of bands。 So reading this was like reading 500+ pages of nostalgia for me。 It took me longer than usual to read simply because every time an album cover， picture， video， or style was talked about， I pulled it up to look at or watch online。 Watching these videos after 30 years just added to the enjoyment of the book， and I highly suggest you also do this。 In fact， the next edition of the book should have that as a great big suggestion on the cover！As for the book itself， it was a great read。 It’s written in an almost interview style; each chapter has a subject and then it’s filled with various musicians and industry people commenting and telling stories that relate to that subject。 It flows seamlessly from one person to the next， so sometimes you don’t even realize you went from reading Warren DiMartini’s words to Sebastian Bach’s words to Lonn Friend’s words。 There were so many things I got a peek into and read about that would never have been shown to the world without this book， and along with some hilarious stories， I learned a lot of crazy and interesting things。 If you love metal， read this book。 If you love hair metal， read this book。 If you love rock， read this book。 If you love music， read this book。 If you love the 80’s， read this book。 If you love stories about rock stars， read this book。 If you are curious about the business side of music， read this book。 If you were there for any of this， read this book。 If you wished you were there for any of this， read this book。 Everybody， just go read this book！ 。。。more
Nicole
，
Love it or hate it， a definitive and in-depth dive into the hard rock/hair band scene of the the 1980s and early 90s。 Great anecdotal interviews， analysis of the highs and lows of the genre， and a well organized book。
Amanda Dixon
，
The best thing about this book is that it is about the music and everything that went into creating these bands and their images。 I love the way it is written because it comes off as very conversational。 Like a bunch of guys sitting around talking about the good ol’ days。 One of the most enjoyable reads about 80s rock n roll。 Rock on🤘🏼
Micky Johnson
，
This was just so fun to read。 Obviously only for big fans of the genre， which I was growing up and still am - saw my first Motley Crue show in 1990 when I was in 5th grade and my first GNR show in 1992 （with Soundgarden） when I was in 7th grade （I had very cool parents） and had tickets to see both again last summer - which was all， of course， postponed due to COVID。 I love all kinds of music （in 2014 I went to a Garth Brooks show one night and another Motley Crue show the next， literally） but th This was just so fun to read。 Obviously only for big fans of the genre， which I was growing up and still am - saw my first Motley Crue show in 1990 when I was in 5th grade and my first GNR show in 1992 （with Soundgarden） when I was in 7th grade （I had very cool parents） and had tickets to see both again last summer - which was all， of course， postponed due to COVID。 I love all kinds of music （in 2014 I went to a Garth Brooks show one night and another Motley Crue show the next， literally） but the “hair band” era was one that truly defined a big part of my life。 。。。more
Lisa
，
Ah， memories。 Saw Motley Crue and Kiss play in Vegas and it was AWESOME！
Scott Delgado
，
I liked this book， but I know some people will be annoyed by the format。 It feels more like a book version of a long documentary。 It is predominantly made up of snippets of interviews。 It's still good， but if you are looking for a more formally written book， this isn't it。 It's pieced together with these interviews。That being said， if you are a fan of the era， I'd say it is a must read。 And even if you're just casually entertained by that scene， it's still a fun read。 I liked this book， but I know some people will be annoyed by the format。 It feels more like a book version of a long documentary。 It is predominantly made up of snippets of interviews。 It's still good， but if you are looking for a more formally written book， this isn't it。 It's pieced together with these interviews。That being said， if you are a fan of the era， I'd say it is a must read。 And even if you're just casually entertained by that scene， it's still a fun read。 。。。more
Donna Walker
，