Joe Layden has 3 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 7 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 377 ratings. The most-rated is Runnin' with the Devil.
Runnin' with the Devil
Summary
The manager who shepherded Van Halen from obscurity to rock stardom goes behind the scenes to tell the complete, unadulterated story of David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and the legendary band that changed rock music. Van Halen's rise in the 1980s was one of the most thrilling the music world had ever seen - their mythos an epic party, a sweaty, sexy, never-ending rock extravaganza. During this unparalleled run of success, debauchery, and drama, no one was closer to the band than Noel Monk. A man who'd worked with some of rock's biggest and most notorious names, Monk spent seven years with Van Halen, serving first as their tour manger, then as their personal manager until 1985, when both he and David Lee Roth exited as controversy, backstabbing, and disappointment consumed the band. Throughout Van Halen's meteoric rise and abrupt halt, this confidant, fixer, friend, and promoter saw it all and lived to tell. Now, for the first time, he shares the most outrageous escapades - from their coming of age to their most shocking behavior on the road; from Eddie's courtship and high-profile wedding to Valerie Bertinelli to the incredible drug use that would ultimately lead to everyone's demise. Sharing never-before-told stories, Monk paints a compelling portrait of Eddie Van Halen, bringing into focus the unique combination of talent, vision, hardship, and naiveté that shaped one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time - and made him and his brother vulnerable to the trappings and failings of fame. Runnin' with the Devil is manna from rock heaven no Van Halen fan can miss.
©2017 Noel Monk (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
No Ordinary Dog
Summary
No Ordinary Dog is the powerful true story of a SEAL Team Operator and military dog handler, and the dog that saved his life. This program is read by the author. Two dozen Navy SEALs descended on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. After the mission, only one name was made public: Cairo, a Belgian Malinois and military working dog. This is Cairo's story, and that of his handler, Will Chesney, a SEAL Team Operator whose life would be irrevocably tied to Cairo's. Starting in 2008, when Will was introduced to the DEVGRU canine program, he and Cairo worked side by side, depending on each other for survival on hundreds of critical operations in the war on terrorism. But their bond transcended their service. Then, in 2011, the call came: Pick up your dog and get back to Virginia. Now. What followed were several weeks of training for a secret mission. It soon became clear that this was no ordinary operation. Cairo was among the first members of the US military on the ground in Pakistan as part of Operation Neptune Spear, which resulted in the successful elimination of bin Laden. As Cairo settled into a role as a reliable "spare dog", Will went back to his job as a DEVGRU operator, until a grenade blast in 2013 left him with a brain injury and PTSD. Unable to participate in further missions, he suffered from crippling migraines, chronic pain, memory issues, and depression. Modern medicine provided only modest relief. Instead, it was up to Cairo to save Will's life once more - and then up to Will to be there when Cairo needed him the most. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
©2019 Will Chesney (P)2019 Macmillan Audio
Mustaine
Summary
The fall and rise of a heavy metal icon. Dave Mustaine is the first to admit that he's bottomed out a few times in his dark and twisted speed metal version of a Dickensian life. Impoverished, transient childhood? Check. Abusive, alcoholic parent? Check. Mind-fucking religious weirdness (in his case the extremes of the Jehovah's Witnesses and Satanism)? Check. Alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness? Check, check, check. Soul-crushing professional and artistic setbacks? Check. Rehab? Check (seventeen times, give or take). Near-death experience? Check that one, too. James Hetfield, with whom many years ago Mustaine founded a band known as Metallica, once observed, with some incredulity, that Mustaine must have been born with a horseshoe up his ass. That's how lucky he's been, how fortunate he is to be pulling breath after so many close calls. And Hetfield is right. Mustaine has been lucky. He has been blessed. But here's the thing about having a horseshoe lodged in your rectum: It also hurts like hell. And you never forget it's there. Mustaine has battled through it all to achieve dizzying heights. From the early, heady days of Metallica, being unceremoniously let go only to become a world-famous rock star - founder, front man, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (and de facto CEO) for Megadeth, one of the most popular bands in heavy metal - Mustaine's is a story that will inspire, stun, and terrify.
©2010 Dave Mustaine (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers