Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More

Faith No More has been my favorite band since 1989, when in jr high I bought The Real Thing tape. I have heard all or most of their tracks. I have watched everything available on YouTube (concerts, interviews, music videos, behind the scenes). I've often felt like I'm one of like 10 or 50 or 100 people who would actually call FNM their absolute favorite band. When I saw this book mentioned on a FNM fan site, less than 10 mins later I had placed the order on Amazon.
4 stars because this is the only book of its kind. I've read books on Led Z, Curt Cobain, Jimi, etc etc, the most popular musicians and bands...some are great, some are meh. But a book on FAITH NO MORE??? Sign me up.
You can tell the author is a fan (he says as much) and he has pretty decent journalistic skills, but not amazing. For example his **mention** that Bill G while touring in Europe woke up drunk on a secure military base.........and he'll leave it at that. WHAT WHA HUH?!!?! Yeah I mean there are some really interesting (if sensational) things that are glossed over and you want more.
Too often the book just lists shows played and the more rote details such as set list and crowd size. Meh. I would prefer behind the scenes stories of what the band was like in the green room, how they communicated during shows, etc. For example, Mike Patton often faced M Bordin while singing. Why? Did he have a special connection w/ MB? Did he need the beat of the drums to help him time his lyrics? Did he derive power from one of the strongest drummers in the game? Was it simply a coincidence? The question should have best asked, even if the answer was a shrug of the shoulders. Nearly every live perf by FNM includes Mike Patton circling, Mike Patton lunging to his knees to hit powerful notes and Mike Patton singing with his back to the audience/his front towards Puffy. I think a good journalist with an eye for detail would have at least mentioned this in the book.
There are a lot of crazy M Patton stories out there and obviously they were not included because Patton wasn't interviewed for the book (mainly Roddy, Bill and Puffy provided the quotes); and also the writer said in the epilogue he was grateful Patton didn't stand in his way of releasing the book. Clearly there was some fear of Patton, and recounting potentially embarrassing stories would have probably exacerbated the situation. **There are SOME crazy band stories, but they are sanitized. This book is almost an Official account -- meaning the band approved the pages.
Roddy, Gould and Puffy are the main sources. Chuck M was interviewed some but not a lot. Jim Martin's quotes are mainly taken from his 2012 blog interview about all things FNM, although Martin was in touch with the writer. The main absence is Patton. Which is unfortunate because I'm pretty sure with no Mike Patton, most of us wouldn't know FNM. In most interviews he comes off as glib and aloof. Rarely you'll see him being sincere with an interviewer. This is just how he is. There may very well be a serious side to him, he often doesn't relay it in interviews. I've never seen him give less than 100% on stage -- clearly this is where he expresses himself. A book analyzing what makes him tick would probably be impossible given his reticence.
About half of this book focuses on the early days -- pre-Patton. Honestly, I only care about FNM once Patton joined during Real Thing. I've heard all the Chuck M stuff, but I just don't feel like it was the same band. Even though most of the FNM material started with Gould, who has been with the band the whole way -- and he IS a great bass player. When they let Jim Martin bring his metal influence, and when Patton is tempered by the more conservative Gould...that is when FNM is at its BEST. (Patton unfiltered, like in Fantomas and Tomahawk -- I'll pass. Too unstructured and not enjoyable for my listening tastes.)
Angel Dust is covered pretty well, but King for a Day and Album of the Year are not covered very much. The 2nd biggest story in the history of FNM has to be Jim Martin leaving, because even though they had a comparable studio guitarist for King, Menta and Hudson are not close to Martin in skill, ability and voice. Martin may have been crazy, but he was one of the best rock guitarists of all time.
Hence, Angel Dust, to me, is the most interesting album. The one time FNM was firing on all cylinders. Trey on King was a close second in ability, and then the guitar element dropped off considerably starting with Menta. Some might say that since FNM started with a bass/keys/drum foundation, lead guitar wasn't as necessary. Poop on that! The Angel Dust line-up was the best, it was transcendent. It was too bad egos got in the way.
The book does an OK job of covering the band's genesis to its present day, even with considerable amounts of Patton and Martin not included.
If you're a FNM fan -- buy the book. I learned a lot about the personalities of Gould, Puffy and Roddy. I saw some of the struggles I never knew existed. It makes you appreciate the band's success even moreso. I always thought of FNM as a fringe band appreciated by only some. This book gives more perspective as to the influence FNM had on genre, other bands, and the expectations, disappointments and triumphs that they faced. It humanizes the band and its members in a good way.
Even though the writer missed the boat in this uneven book, he came from a true and respectable place and he did a competent job. If you are not interested in FNM, there are much better music books out there. But if you're a fan, this book is required reading. Much opportunity missed, but also much information and insider talk revealed. Good.

A must read for any music fan, I never knew how crazy their history was. Also Chuck Rules!

This is a must read for fans, or anyone that enjoys music bios!

A hilarious and insightful account of the warped genius of this underrated band!

I loved this book from beginning to end. It was a journey in a sense. I found out a lot about things I've always heard and wondered and stuff I've never heard at all. If you're a fan of FNM...this is a must read!

Got this for Christmas. I read a lot of rock biographies, and this is the best I’ve read.

Great background and details about a band that is hard to get background and details on.

It’s been a few years since Sol Invictus, and God knows if we will ever see see or hear these guys again. This book is a good way to keep FNM fresh for now.

Hopefully this isn’t the last scratch we get to fix that never-ending FNM itch.

This is the first review I write about something I buy here (and I've bought a ton of books over the years), but seriously, this book is awesome. I'm a few chapters in and I must say the research Adrian did on the band is beyond what anyone would expect.
As you read this, it feels like you're reliving it, or as if you were following a video crew who was making a documentary on the band. The bits, the quotes, the author's point of view... everything is so thorough that it can be submitted as an academic dissertation, though it's not heavy or difficult to read.
I seriously recommend this book to any FNM fan, to anyone interested on the rock scene of the 80s and 90s or to anyone who wants to know how you have to work really hard to make it in the music business.

The amount of research that went into this book shines through on every one of the over 300 pages. A chronology of Faith No More, in all its incarnations, with all of its revolving members, and all the drama therein.
The book is a web of interlaced quotes from those who were there, expertly tied together by the author making a cohesive story which leads you though the complete lineage of the band.
This is a must for anyone who calls themself a FNM fan; even a casual fan will enjoy learning, as there is a lot here to absorb. So grab some Caffeine, and get this book.

Are you a fan (like me) and thinking you know everything about the big F from SF?

Nah man, you must know more, you must read this!

I learned about a lot of music because of my time as a DJ at a college radio station. One of those bands was Faith No More via the song “We Care A Lot”. We gave it a ton of airplay. Shortly after that their lead singer was history. Maybe they were too? Fast forward to 1989 – The Real Thing burst on the scene and completely changed my life. It was frenetic, catchy, and nothing like I had ever heard before. They intrigued many others and inspired a laundry list of musicians.

Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte is the story of a group that is unable to be labeled, although many people have tried – mainly frustrated music critics. The book takes the reader on a journey from the early beginnings to recent happenings with interviews from band members, record producers, label executives, and others involved in their history.

I would be remiss to gloss over the content. Everything you would ever want to know about FNM is found in the pages of this book: from the revolving door of guitarists to internal struggles – both personal and professional to lighthearted stories on the road. Harte, who has run the website newfaithnomore.com since 2009, provides one of the most comprehensive biographies I’ve ever read. Even Bill Gould (Faith No More’s bassist and co-founder) stated, “It provided me with more than a few revelations … and I’m in the band”.

Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More needs to be in your To-Be-Read list if you are a fan (casual or rabid) or an audiophile in general due to their influence in the landscape of modern music.