The Dirt is not your standard rock cliché biography, admittedly all the standard tropes are there, wild partying, self destruction, drug addiction, egos and bad management. What sets it apart is how Mötley Crüe took these cliches and hurled them to an altogether different level. The book follows the fortunes of Nicki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Vince Neal and Mick Mars from grimy LA poverty to global debauched superstars.
The band freely admit that there lived their lives without fear of the consequences, and the first half of the book is a tale of fighting, destruction, orgies, drinking and drug taking with no concern for anyone but themselves in a feat of decadence that would even arouse jealousy amongst several Roman Emperors. At times this becomes just irredeemably sordid, at the beginning the band live in a house that would disgrace a smack house and then proceed to involve themselves in some seriously depraved activities. Unsurprisingly this is not for the faint hearted, indeed at least one friend gave up reading halfway through so disgusted was he by their antics.
Inevitably their lifestyles catch up with them and they discover that life does have consequences after all, in the case of Vince Neil these are extremely tragic. The second half is dedicated to the band's struggle, with overdoses, prison, themselves and each other, all set on a background of series of catastrophic failed relationships. The most spectacular and most infamous of which is the marriage of Tommy Lee's and Pamela Anderson. Ended prematurely by domestic violence, prison and the central theme throughout the book: outright, unrepentant narcissism.
The book is written and structured in such a way which takes it beyond the run of the mill ghost written biography. Each band member takes turns to write a chapter which overlap chronologically. There are also chapters written by other parties mentioned in the book like the bands managers and record execs. The result is that the reader is provided with multiple views of the same incidents, which often contradict, allowing the reader to view different perspectives and come to their own conclusion. This interesting narrative structure raises the book above its contemporaries in the rock star gone mad genre and makes this a good read even if you know nothing about Mötley Crüe.
The writing is lively and entertaining whilst the editing and pacing are exceptional. Neil Strauss deserves a lot of credit for managing to put together, with what must have been an exceptionally difficult subjects, a coherent, page turning read.
The band freely admit that there lived their lives without fear of the consequences, and the first half of the book is a tale of fighting, destruction, orgies, drinking and drug taking with no concern for anyone but themselves in a feat of decadence that would even arouse jealousy amongst several Roman Emperors. At times this becomes just irredeemably sordid, at the beginning the band live in a house that would disgrace a smack house and then proceed to involve themselves in some seriously depraved activities. Unsurprisingly this is not for the faint hearted, indeed at least one friend gave up reading halfway through so disgusted was he by their antics.
Inevitably their lifestyles catch up with them and they discover that life does have consequences after all, in the case of Vince Neil these are extremely tragic. The second half is dedicated to the band's struggle, with overdoses, prison, themselves and each other, all set on a background of series of catastrophic failed relationships. The most spectacular and most infamous of which is the marriage of Tommy Lee's and Pamela Anderson. Ended prematurely by domestic violence, prison and the central theme throughout the book: outright, unrepentant narcissism.
The book is written and structured in such a way which takes it beyond the run of the mill ghost written biography. Each band member takes turns to write a chapter which overlap chronologically. There are also chapters written by other parties mentioned in the book like the bands managers and record execs. The result is that the reader is provided with multiple views of the same incidents, which often contradict, allowing the reader to view different perspectives and come to their own conclusion. This interesting narrative structure raises the book above its contemporaries in the rock star gone mad genre and makes this a good read even if you know nothing about Mötley Crüe.
The writing is lively and entertaining whilst the editing and pacing are exceptional. Neil Strauss deserves a lot of credit for managing to put together, with what must have been an exceptionally difficult subjects, a coherent, page turning read.
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