Nöthin' but a Good Time Audiobook By Tom Beaujour, Richard Bienstock cover art

Nöthin' but a Good Time

The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion

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Nöthin' but a Good Time

By: Tom Beaujour, Richard Bienstock
Narrated by: Amy McFadden, Gary Furlong, Richard Bienstock, Tom Beaujour
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About this listen

This program includes introductions read by the authors.

"A backstage pass to the wildest and loudest party in rock history - you'll feel like you were right there with us!" (Bret Michaels of Poison)

Nöthin' But a Good Time is the definitive, no-holds-barred oral history of 1980s hard rock and hair metal, told by the musicians and industry insiders who lived it.

Hard rock in the 1980s was a hedonistic and often intensely creative wellspring of escapism that perfectly encapsulated - and maybe even helped to define - a spectacularly over-the-top decade. Indeed, fist-pumping hits like Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, Mötley Crüe’s “Girls, Girls, Girls”, and Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” are as inextricably linked to the era as Reaganomics, Pac-Man, and E.T.

From the do-or-die early days of self-financed recordings and D.I.Y. concert productions that were as flashy as they were foolhardy, to the multi-Platinum, MTV-powered glory years of stadium-shaking anthems and chart-topping power ballads, to the ultimate crash when grunge bands like Nirvana forever altered the entire climate of the business, Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock's Nöthin' But a Good Time captures the energy and excess of the hair metal years in the words of the musicians, managers, producers, engineers, label executives, publicists, stylists, costume designers, photographers, journalists, magazine publishers, video directors, club bookers, roadies, groupies, and hangers-on who lived it.

Featuring an impassioned foreword by Slipknot and Stone Sour vocalist and avowed glam metal fanatic Corey Taylor, and drawn from over 200 new interviews with members of Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, Poison, Guns N’ Roses, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Winger, Warrant, Cinderella, Quiet Riot, and others, as well as Ozzy Osbourne, Lita Ford, and many more, this is the ultimate, uncensored, and often unhinged chronicle of a time where excess and success walked hand in hand, told by the men and women who created a sound and style that came to define a musical era - one in which the bands and their fans went looking for nothin’ but a good time...and found it.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

"Nöthin’ But a Good Time is an unflinching, all-excess look at an era that many snooty critics have written off as stupid, and its pages present a strong case for how people have underestimated the music and the dedication of the musicians who lived it." (Kory Grow, Rolling Stone)

©2021 Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock (P)2021 Macmillan Audio
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Critic reviews

"From the streets to the Strip, the studio to the stage, this is an epic tale told by the people that lived it. It's a backstage pass to the wildest and loudest party in rock history - you'll feel like you were right there with us!" (Bret Michaels)

Featured Article: Totally Tubular—The Best Audiobooks of and About the 1980s


When you think of the 1980s, what comes to mind? Big hair? Shoulder pads? Ronald Reagan? Madonna? The 1980s were a big time of change in politics and pop culture, and that time remains fresh in our minds because of the iconic moments that mark its importance in history. Whether you're nostaglic or curious, this list of listens will immerse you in the decade that brought us Pac-Man, MTV, Madonna, Ronald Reagan, and the Rubik's cube!

What listeners say about Nöthin' but a Good Time

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brought back good memories

The people telling the stories were not good. The mispronunciation of names was too much

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Exceeded my expectations by a considerable margin! Thank you!

I really wanted this title when it first came out but then after reading the reviews I got the impression that it was just going to be the same old regurgitated story, the narrators were just atrocious, and it was all that negativity that kept from making the purchase for about 3 years or so (it’s Oct. 2024 now).

I’ve got many titles about various musicians including Mötley, Megadeth (Mustain’s and Ellefson’s), Willie Nelson, Paul Stanley, Alice In Chains, Van Halen, Steven Percy, Sebastian Bach, Tom Werman,and others I just can’t recall off the top of my head.

I really like the genre all the way around. As far as demographics: I was born in 1972. I first saw Mötley at an in-store in Austin when I was in 6th grade. I really dig what they are selling and never stopped.

Anyhow, all of that to say that I absolutely loved the audiobook. It was a lot of different stories from a lot of different bands, and most of the info I’d never heard before. As many critics have mentioned, the narrators mispronouncing multiple names is pretty annoying; but at least they are consistent and do eventually get used to it to some degree. In the end it should not be a deal breaker. BUY THIS TITLE.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good but dense

It’s a lot of rapid fire stories one after the other. I was interested since I grew up through it all but there is a lot of info coming at you in succession

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A little long, bad narration

The woman narrator was good but the man was terrible. He had a lot of mispronunciations.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book about the best era of rock music

Great book for fans of hair metal and hard rock. It tells so many of the stories that confirms some rumors, debunked some others. It’s really cool to get a first-hand look at that error from the artists who did it then and are still doing it today.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Good book. Average audio book.

If you grew up when I grew up, this book will no doubtedly bring back a lot of memories about the music scene from the 80s and early 90s. I wasn’t sure what I expected when I downloaded this book, but I heard it mentioned on a YouTube video so I thought I would give it a shot. While the contents of the book is without question very detailed and does tell a magnificent story, the format took a little getting used to. After about 30 minutes into the production, I actually shut it off for about two weeks because all the audiobook is is direct quotes and interviews with the members of various rock ‘n’ roll bands from the 80s. There is barely any author input. It’s just an entire book of quotations and it definitely took a little getting used to because it’s not written like a typical book. I have a feeling this is more effective in print than audio format. It does not mean I did not enjoy it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So Many Memories

Excellent snapshot of what the music, attitude and zeitgeist were back in the 80s and 90s without being cheesy nostalgic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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If you love hair bands, this book rocks!

I loved this book so much! Telling the stories of 80s hair bands though a series of vignettes is just perfect!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

LOVED. IT.

Funny. Sad. Nostalgic. Informative. Extremely well-written (or compiled, I guess), and well-read. I laughed out loud several times. And I've reconnected with the genre that I grew up with. Great book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good, but difficult to follow

Bought the book too, but definitely preferred the audio version. 80's fans will love this.

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