Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell by Dave Thompson

The subtitle "The Dangerous Glitter of Dave Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed" tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this book. Thompson is a fan and the author of over a hundred (!!) books (per his bio on the back of this one), and has delved into this trio's history previously but for this tome, he shows how these three intertwined their lives and their careers throughout the 60's and 70's (the book touches on the 80's and beyond but essentially concludes the story at the end of the 70's). Thompson interviewed all of the main characters at times and includes quotes from elsewhere, as well, as he explores the musical family tree that extends from the stars here. He is highly opinionated and makes no effort to be objective as he critiques various releases, shows and even periods of the men's careers and some of the stories don't necessarily jive with previous accounts, but that could be the fault of the interviewee rather than the interviewer. Most of the story will be familiar to any fan, but there are tidbits here'n'there, for example, he goes into more detail about post-Lou Velvets than I had heard before.

This triumvirate has been a major part of my life for over 40 years and I listen to music by all of them regularly to this day - I don't know if a week goes by that one of them doesn't appear on my daily soundtrack. So, I'm not going to be overly objective about any book on them - they are always entertaining and reminiscent of my youth, as I was just discovering the music that would stay with me for my lifetime. I couldn't say that this book is essential, but it's a fun time and an engaging read.