Until now, the only Faith No More biography has been "The Real Story", Steffan Chirazi's worthy effort that ended in 1994 with Jim Martin's departure. The frustratingly formatted photo-book has numerous errors, but it has since been admitted that the wrong, un-edited, version of the book was published at the time.
For there to be no FNM biographies in the 20 years since has constantly shocked me. For a band that is so influential why no more books? The band themselves probably haven't helped, with Patton in particular not being interested in a book on his life.
At the very least, I thought, someone could compile the hundreds interviews out there? Fill the gaps with anecdotes of the author's own experiences as a fan? I've been tempted in the years to attempt one myself.
Greg Prato's book is exactly that, interviews and quotes collected into a coherent story. I can't therefore complain about the style, it's exactly what I asked for.
Greg borrows heavily from recent informative interviews by faithnomoreblog.com and faithnoman.com, without whom the story would be far less interesting. It shows though that now is the perfect time for the book, with the reunion tour to draw on, and thousands more words to quote from recent interviews about Faith No More's early life.
I (being insanely well read on Faith No More) still managed to learn a few things, and still managed to enjoy the read. I'm never all that interested in other band's opinions on the band if they haven't actually toured with them, so some of the interview segments with Devin Townsend dragged, but the Soundgarden interviews were worthy. I did like that negative comments from other bands have been included as well. It isn't just a big fan love-in.
The tone is a little too chatty, with far too many uses of "blah". The last chapter on "inspiration" quotes could have been left out. The second-to-last chapter, "Shit Terrorist", about Patton's various adventures with Shit and his particularly brand of sexuality, is pointless, but I know people want to read it, and I assume Greg did too. There interesting meaning about fame and being honest in the public eye, when you read between the words, but still...
Weaving in the history of Mr. Bungle's three albums, and a bit of Fantomas, was a good call, filling the gaps between Faith No More albums nicely.
A few errors, or half truths, still crept in:
These are pretty small omissions, but they grated.
This isn't the book I've been waiting for. The early years are covered in a rush, and the complexities of 1984's search for a permanent singer and guitarist much over simplified. The narrative in 1989/1990 jumps all over the time-line, in ways the later years don't. Strong details of missing Angel Dust songs irritate after no discussions of similar songs from The Real Thing or King For A Day era.
One day someone will clear it all up, with extensively sourced interviews with the band, and artifices extracted from the band's attics. It's happening now, in dribs and drabs over at faithnoman.com and faithnomoreblog.com, but the pace is slow.
3/5 - It's the book I asked for, but not the book I want.
Note that Bill Gould went as far as to make it clear this is an "unauthorised" book:
Okay, I'm not going to make a formal statement for this but as you people here are fans, just be aware: I haven't read the book, though it should be said that this book is NOT band authorized. Based on a previous experience with Mr. Prato (who to his credit genuinely considers himself a fan) I would hope that this will be a fun and interesting read, but also advise FNM fans to keep a critical eye in regards to it's content.
So start on the Authorised one Bill...