Three stars may seem a bit harsh, as the book itself, is well written , and obviously Chris Welch has a love for Grant, and Zeppelin. He had quite a bit of access to the band, relatively compared to other journalists, from early on, even accompannying the band on tour.
The facts early on in the book are fascinating and contributions from Micky Most in particular, shed a great light on early rock and roll tours, which Grant, drove for, and became tour manager to a number of legendary performers of questionable mental stability.
The fact that Mickie and Peter shared an office, but different clients, reveals many a comic moment, and obviously fueled Peter's knowledge for the job of handling Led Zeppelin.
From here on in, more than half the book really just covers familiar ground for Zep fans with an already bulging bookshelf of Zep titles, including Chris' own Zep biography, save for a more detailed account of the infamous Bill Graham incident, revolving around Grant's son.
My main disappointment, arises with the post Zep years, barely given any space, briefly mentioning his activities in and around his home town, baring in mind that this covers more years than his piloting of the Zeppelin ascent. Surely this was a real opportunity to read more of the man and not necessarily the beast of legend, stories of this time, from only colleages such as fellow managers who only touch on superficial matters.
It would have been so much better, if Welch could have got more contributions, from his family for a more balanced account of the man away from the industry, and most noticably Page and Plant who could have really illuminated the personality of the man, and contradicted the more gratuitous stories that have surrounded the myth of the band thus far.
For the people new to Zeppelin story though, this is as good a place to start as any, with some wonderful anacdotes, especially the one about John Bonham and the midnight sandwich!
I suppose we must wait for Robert's and Jimmy's own revelations to appear, I for one though, am not holding my breath, a sadly missed opportunity this time out!
