In the late 70’s, a curious paperback book was published, filled with wackily twisted facts about famous people and unusual historical sidebars of eyebrow raising information. It caught people off-guard
David Bowling’s Eric Clapton FAQ is written like a trip through that part of the authors music collection devoted to the archetypal guitar hero. As such it is comprehensive to
The cover of Neil Young’s Waging Heavy Peace is a remarkably accurate reflection of its contents. The Canadian rock icon’s name is emblazoned across the front and a present-day head-shot of the man himself with head down and eyes shaded by a fedora juxtaposes the back cover B & W portrait of a much younger version of the man sporting long black hair with the resolute eyes and mouth of an individual with as much purpose as direction.
For most of All That’s Left to Know About The Boss, John Luerssen fulfills and transcends the FAQ moniker of his book on Bruce Springsteen. In painstaking, but never excruciating, detail he chronologically recounts the events that made this son of the Jersey Shore one of rock’s most admired figures.
A writer trying to organize fifty years of popular music—a sprawling and unruly topic—has several options. One possibility is to pick a single genre, say the blues, and trace its birth and development. Another is to follow the history of an influential record label. A more dynamic approach is to tell the story of one influential musician or band, though any artist’s story is restricted by the particulars of his or her career.
It’s will-nigh impossible to resist the temptation to flip through Canyon of Dreams. Its dimensions may not quite fit the definition of ‘coffee-table book,’ but its plethora of photos make it an ideal piece to casually pick up and peruse.
The wild fluctuations of Storm Large come at the reader fast and heavy while she describes her life and growing up in not the most normal of circumstances. She is a sentence or sometimes a mere word or syllable away from proclaiming something The! Best! Thing! Ever! before wanting to destroy whatever it was. Grand statements don’t always end up as amazing events, but Storm has an obvious flair for the dramatic that is on display instantly
It is a little disturbing how many people with very serious problems wrote to the former (and future) Black Sabbath front-man regarding serious medical problems, and while he was always willing to put his two cents in, Ozzy told every single one of them to visit a real doctor. Trust Me, I’m Dr. Ozzy isn’t going to change the way you live day to day, but it will provide you with plenty of entertaining anecdotes that just may prove to be applicable to your life.
Tom Waits On Tom Waits brings together a large number of interviews conducted throughout the great man’s storied career. Covering a remarkable 35-year span from 1973 to 2008, this collection employs Waits’ own words to paint a vivid self portrait of a highly original American artist and iconoclast. The book makes for a very intriguing chronology of Waits’ development as a songwriter, recording artist and performer. Fiercely protective of his private life and notoriously reclusive, Waits nonetheless has always been a lively and unpredictable interview subject.
If you aren’t already aware of Dave Matthews Band fans and their fanatical devotion, So Much to Say: 20 Years on the Road will reveal the myriad ways in which they’ve made being crazy about DMB look easy. If you’re not already familiar with (or a fan of) DMB, the book certainly won’t make understanding that psychosis any easier.
