S.T.P.: A Journey Through America With The Rolling Stones

Thirty years ago, the Rolling Stones swept America, taking Exile on Main Street to Main Streets across the nation. Everyone held their breath to see what would happen; the Stones' previous U.S. tour had been a chaotic circus culminating in the infamous death of a fan at Altamont. And this tour (the "Stones Touring Party") was rumored to be wilder than ever: bigger shows in major arenas, with a far larger entourage and even more drugs. Robert Greenfield went along for the ride, and came away with a riveting insider's account, called by Ian Rankin "one of the greatest rock books ever written." The reality lived up to the rumor: take one part Lee Radziwill, a dash of Truman Capote, set the scene at Hef's Playboy mansion, and toss in the county jail for good measure. That was the Stones Touring Party, the ultimate rock 'n' roll band at the height of its spectacular depravity.

Customer Reviews:

For Stones fans.

By A Customer - November 7, 2002

A readable and interesting book. I wasn't that interested in those on the peripherals of the Stones touring party, which fills much of this book, but the bits including the Stones themselves are very interesting and entertaining. In the intro, the author says this book has been out of print since 1974, and just got back in print in June, 2002. (I just read a passing reference to it in the Nov., 2002 issue of VOGUE. First I'd heard about it.) He's there when Mick and Keith get arrested for hitting a photographer. He's there when the Governor of Rhode Island tells the chief of police to spring Mick and Keith from jail, for public safety (the waiting audience for a Stones show could riot if deprived of the Stones!). He's there to show that being on tour with the greatest rock and roll band in the world CAN, truly and believably, get mind-numbingly dull. It's an interesting inside look, by a journalist who is impressively objective. (He doesn't despise nor worship the Stones, and actually... read more

'OUTLAWS IN LOVE...KINGS OF THE DECADENT LAWN.'

By k.west "Quest" - July 29, 2006

I read this book sometime around 1975 when it first surfaced as a highly literate diary chronicling the Rolling Stones 1972 tour of America.Basking in the reflected glory of the (then and arguably still)'greatest rock n' roll band in the world';the author is afforded access all areas,and guides the reader from bickering rehearsal sessions,through rigid security meetings and late flights,until finally you are granted a carte blanche ticket for the greatest show on earth.Greenfield's cultured and informative reporting hurls you head-first into the crazed and ruthless world of the maelstrom that is The Rolling Stones in all their sometimes heavy-handed glory.Wonderfully entertaining stories unfold throughout this incredible journey as the outlaws

in love march like kings,across the decadent sprawling lawns of

mighty America.Pure zeitgeist.Great stuff.

After reading this book you just wanna'play 'Exile on Main St.'

at serious volume and wish... read more

Meanders, doesn't live up to its promise

By Surferofromantica "S.O.R." - January 24, 2012

Greenfield also wrote a book about the Stones' Exile on Main Street sessions, a flawed tome about a fascinating moment in rock `n' roll history (perhaps the most fascinating). And while that book has been derided and mocked somewhat, I somehow learned more about the Stones in it than I did in this book, which I had high hopes for but which ultimately disappointed me with its shapelessness and its many, many "who cares moments".

The book hardly features the Stones, going more into the setup of touring, the mechanics of it, the madness, the insanity, the transportation and some of the parties. In this way, it's a bit like some sort of nutty rock `n' roll staging Apocalypse Now, complete with its very own new journalism McGuffin. There are a few incidents recounted, such as a scuffle with a photographer and an arrest in Rhode Island as Boston burns (the book's most dramatic, feel-good moment). There's the opening of the tour in Vancouver, the dates in San Francisco and hanging... read more