Customer Reviews:
Worth it for the Side Stories, and Blaze Foley.......2007-08-16
There is hardly ever a perfect or even near perfect biography. But this book is worth it, if only for the passages about Blaze Foley, a real character whose few recordings are very worthwhile, for any fan of Townes.
TVZ - A Life of Demons.......2007-07-19
This book is a must for any songwriter, TVZ fan, or listener of country music. TVZ led the life that Willie, Waylon and Kris led - except they lived through it.
Look at the hole, not at the donut.......2007-05-23
While I agree with the previous reviewers that the book is flawed, I find more interesting the phenomenon that Townes Van Zandt is still, ten years later, the center of a vortex. The fact that author John Kruth was stymied in his search for the ghost inside Townes' machine is, in fact, the answer we all sought when we bought the book. Townes worked on everyone who knew him like a customized koan, frustrating us in precisely the most infuriating and mindblowing personalized ways. All of us are the donut, and Townes is the energy at the center of it all. The joke's on us for trying to nail down anything about an evanescent creature, like trying to pick up a watermelon seed with wet fingers. I won't go into the stylistic and editing flaws of the book, but I will correct a factual one: in the photo section, a shot of Townes with Mickey White and Harold Eggers in 1982 misidentifies the man with them as "Merrick." It is Marek Gorecki, a concert host in central Pennsylvania. My final answer--I learned some stuff. I'd buy it again.
A bumpy ride, but worth the fare........2007-05-13
Hang in there with this one. Kruth gets off to a shaky start, with one early chapter consisting entirely of an account of a drunken Guy Clark essentially telling the author to go to hell. But the narrative acquires power and tragic beauty as one of the most talented songwriters of all time slowly destroys himself with alcohol and drugs. The end of Van Zandt's life will look all too familiar to anyone who's ever watched an alcoholic ride the disease to the end of the line - the sheer horror of reaching the point where he can't continue to drink, and can't quit drinking, either. If you haven't already done so, you may want to steep yourself in Van Zandt's music before you read To Live's to Fly. Besides being required for anyone who gives a damn about the art of songwriting, I'm pretty sure this is a prerequisite to sticking out this tale to the bitter end.
A Fascinating Account .......2007-04-19
This book is a fascinating account of the life of a musician and songwriter whose importance and influence on American music is only beginning to be felt. I was immediately struck by the fluidity and color in Kruth's writing. He has a distinctive voice which, while informal at times, is perfect for a biography of Townes, who never dwelled on formalities. As for chronology, I suspect that many of the people Kruth interviewed could not remember which year certain events occurred, let let alone perfectly accurate details, which aren't necessary anyway. Kruth gives us something far more valuable than a timeline, he provides the reader with a feel for the poetic craziness of Townes' life. He relies on interviews with those who really knew Townes. His friends, family and fellow musicians speak for themselves, the author doesn't get in the way with the arbitrary editorializing and artificial structure that so many more traditional biographers feel obliged to provide. Finally, Kruth avoids the cliche of Townes as just another misunderstood and drug-addicted artist who pleads for our sympathy (a major problem with Margaret Brown's recent documentary). While Townes' problems are evident, so is his wit, intelligence, humor and charisma, all qualities which contributed to his art and were obvious to anyone who ever met the man, even in the last year of his life.
Book Description
"In
Bonfire, I can't help but think of the Beat writers—Corso, Ginsberg, Burroughs, and mostly, of course, Kerouac....
Bonfire of Roadmaps, at its very best, is about where music comes from and
how it comes from. It offers us a glimpse into the heart of music.... This book is true."
—Terry Allen
Since he first hitched a ride out of Lubbock, Texas, at the age of sixteen, singer-songwriter and Flatlanders band member Joe Ely has been a road warrior, traveling highways and back roads across America and Europe, playing music for "2 hours of ecstasy" out of "22 hours of misery." To stay sane on the road, Ely keeps a journal, penning verses that sometimes morph into songs, and other times remain "snapshots of what was flying by, just out of reach, so to savor at a later date when the wheels stop rolling, and the gears quit grinding, and the engines shut down."
In
Bonfire of Roadmaps, Ely takes readers on the road with him. Using verse passages from his road journals and his own drawings, Ely authentically re-creates the experience of a musician's life on tour, from the hard goodbyes at home, to the long hours on the road, to the exhilaration of a great live show, to the exhaustion after weeks of touring. Ely's road trips begin as he rides the rails to Manhattan in 1972 and continue up through recent concert tours with fellow Flatlanders Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock.
While acknowledging that "it is not the nature of a gypsy to look in the rearview mirror," Joe Ely nevertheless offers his many fans a revelatory look back over the roads he's traveled and the wisdom he's won from his experiences. And for "those who want to venture beyond the horizon just to see what is there... to those, I hope these accounts will give a glint of inspiration..."
Customer Reviews:
Hear Texas Icon Joe Ely Interview on NPR.......2007-09-29
This excellent road journal by Texas Rock and Roll icon Joe Ely is an enjoyable, refreshing read. It would make a great gift for anyone interested in music. This year Ely was selected for a lifetime acheivement award by Americana. You can go to NPR.com and key word Joe Ely to hear an interview with the author about this book. There are also songs, of course. I absolutely promise you that you will love this book!
Johnny Hughes, author of the upcoming novel Texas Poker Wisdom.
The Road Goes on Forever...And so, thank god, does Joe Ely.......2007-06-23
Joe Ely is a first class musician. Once you start listening to him, you can't stop, and now he gives us a poetic glimpse at life on the road. Bonfire of Roadmaps delves into the hard life, triumphs, and trials of life as a modern day troubadour, and it is a great read. The chapters flow rhythmically along, bursting with memorable characters, stories, lyrics, and a first hand account of what its like to crisscoss the map playing in dingy bars, auditoriums, hotel rooms, and foreign countries. Joe just keeps going. Do yourself a favor: buy this book, listen to the spoken word cd that comes with it, and then start collecting Joe Ely's albums. He's the best. It's as simple as that.
Product Description
Dylan s friends from Pete Seeger to Bruce Springsteen to Rosanne Cash to Bono to Tom Petty offer insight into the singer-songwriter s artistic genius and personality. This is an oral history of a major musician who played a significant role in America s cultural history. His story is told by the musicians who were at his side during the 60s rollicking changes and artistic breakthroughs. Bob Dylan: Musicians on the Man provides a keen portrait of the friendships that helped shape important musicians whose voices influenced our society as a whole. Herein are insights not only into Dylan s elusive personality but into the lives of the major musicians of our times.
Customer Reviews:
Aahhh......so disappointing .......2007-08-13
I am a long time Dylan fan, and have most every book written.....I hoped
this would be interviews with those who know him sharing their thoughts
and insights. But it is just a rehash of previous interviews, statements,
published thoughts, etc. Not an original interview to be found. I have
read all that was in this book elsewhere. I think it is more than a bit
misleading. I do not recommend it.
Exploitation with little substance.......2007-07-18
Whip out a book about Dylan with a cool photo on the cover and a couple of enticing quotes, and you have a good shot at reeling in enough Dylan fans to make a buck. This is a shallow effort that made me feel foolish about falling for another exploitation project. There aren't many intimate details here. In fact, this is largely a clip job woven with a collection of puff-piece essays on not particularly forthcoming sources from journalist who should have known just how low down in the profession she was going to release this. More marketing than meat. Don't fall for it.
THIS BOOK IS A FUN READ ABOUT A CURIOUS FELLOW.......2007-06-23
TO ALL OF YOU WHO GAVE THIS BOOK LESS THAN 4-5 STARS...YOUR WRONG!!!!
THIS BOOK "IS WHAT IT IS", KATHLEEN MACKAY DID NOT TITLE IT "WAR AND PEACE"....SHE NEVER SAID IT WAS THE BEST BOOK ON ZIMMY EVER TO REACH HIS PUBLIC.......DYLAN IS AN ICON AT THE VERY LEAST, AND IN A WORLD FULL OF PEOPLE THAT THE PUBLIC ADORES AND ARN'T WORTH GIVING A SECOND THOUGHT TO, THAT MAKES HIM REAL REAL IMPORTANT!!! YA DIG?? ZIMMY WILL BE RANKED AMONG THE LIKES OF COLE PORTER, CHOPIN, DUKE ELLINGTON, AND HANK WILLIAMS, FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC.
WHAT MS. MACKAY DID IN THE BOOK I THOUGHT WAS A GOOD IDEA. SHE SPOKE TO FRIENDS, AND OTHERS WHO HAVE KNOWN HIM OVER THE YEARS AND SIMPLE TOLD US HOW THEY FELT AND WHAT THE KNEW ABOUT THIS GIANT IN MUSIC...WHO IS A BIT SHY WHEN IS COMES TO "BRAGGIN ON HIMSELF".
READ THIS BOOK!!! WHAT YOU WILL LEARN WILL NOT ALWAYS ASTOUND YOU, BUT AS WAS THE CASE WITH BONO INTERVIEW...BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE AND MAKE YOU KNOW THAT YOUR TIME WAS NOT WASTED ...LISTENING FOR MANY, MANY,MANY HRS. TO A TRUE AMERICAN TREASURE. THANKS KATHLEEN.
PAUL ZAMMARELLI
Not worth the money.......2007-05-22
Sure, there's some "intimate insights" about Bob Dylan in this book, but not much that we haven't read before in other books. However, my primary issue with this book is that there is WAY WAY WAY too much written about the people who are the ones giving the information about Dylan. I mean if you're really interested in the history of "Peter, Paul, and Mary" and if you really want to know how the "Band" got it's start and if knowing trivia about Liam Clancy, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson and others, then this is the book for you. If you want insights about Dylan there are a lot of books out there with MUCH more information. Again, if you're wanting to know more about Bono, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, then I'd suggest buying this book.
BEST DYLAN BOOK OF THEM ALL.......2007-05-03
OMG i love this book - i am a huge music lover (other faves include jazz) and a HUGE dylan lover...my girlfriend melisa and i love to listen to dylan together! she gave me this book and i literally could not put it down. literally. it was insane. 4 readings and 67 bags of corn chips later, i LOVE THIS BOOK and it gave me so much insight into bob dylan, my hero, from the perspectives of others in his life. he is a musical genius, and kathleen mackay is a literary genius!!! so well written, so many insights...thanx melisa for introducing me to it, i love u baby! EVERYONE BUY THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY!!!
Book Description
For years fiddlers and folklorists have prized the old-time fiddle tunes from Kentucky. Many of the most outstanding country music artists hail from the state, including Bill Monroe, widely regarded as the founder of bluegrass music. Even Aaron Copland lifted, note-for-note, a Kentucky fiddler's performance of “Bonaparte's Retreat” for the “Hoedown” section of his ballet Rodeo.
That tune and nearly 200 others are transcribed here, most for the first time. They are taken from recordings of Kentucky fiddlers, many of whom were born before 1900, practitioners of a style of playing now extremely rare. Jeff Todd Titon places the tunes in their historical context, provides biographical sketches of the performers, and offers suggestions for contemporary fiddlers who want to use the book for performance. A compact disc of recordings is also included.
Customer Reviews:
Indispensable Resource for Fiddlers.......2007-08-22
This is an indispensable resource for people interested in the fiddling traditions of Kentucky. It includes transcriptions of 170 tunes from a number of Kentucky fiddlers, some well-known (relatively speaking) and some rather obscure. The tunes also run the gamut of familiar (Arkansas Traveler) to obscure (Cotton Bonnet, Pick a Little Cotton and Spin Some Too, and many many other examples). Transcription alone may not be enough to convey the sound and feeling of the tunes so Titon has included a CD with this volume which is a selection of tunes from the book played by the source fiddlers. I wish Titon had included more tunes on this CD as it only covers a few of the 170 tunes in the book. However, for those who wish to locate more of the source tunes, there is a great resource where one can download many of them for this book (but certainly not all). It is the Digital Library of Appalachia (do a Google search and you will find it). Here you can search for a tune or fiddler and download MP3's for free. Much of Titon's book is based on field recordings done by folklorists like Bruce Greene and John Harrod, and these people have donated their recordings to the various libraries involved in the Digital Library project. For example, one can download the complete home recordings of Kentucky fiddler John Salyer on this website-- this includes all the Salyer tunes in Titon's volume and many more that are not transcribed in his book.
In my experience not all of the transcriptions exactly match the source tunes, but Titon admits in the introduction it is nearly impossible to fully capture a fiddler's setting for a tune on the written page. This is true, and I use this resource as a companion to the source tunes to clarify certain passages when needed and learn the tunes primarily by listening to them. Titon's transcriptions are clean and simple, and he does not muddy the page with a lot of prescribed bowing patterns-- he allows the fiddler to interpret the transcription and come up with his/her own bowing patterns for the tunes.
Each tune has a brief history printed below the transcription along with a list of other fiddlers who have recorded the tune (published and unpublished versions) and other books where the tune has been transcribed.
This volume also includes an excellent introduction on the evolution of old-time fiddling in Kentucky and the various tune types that have evolved in Kentucky (Titon outlines 3 different types distinguished by region). Titon includes a capsule biography section that gives a brief bio on each of the fiddlers whose tunes are transcribed in the book and in many cases a photo of the fiddler.
Overall, this is a great resource and learning tool for fiddlers and others interested in Appalachian fiddling traditions. It is in my opinion one of the best (if not the best) books on the subject of Appalachian fiddling. Highly recommended!
must have for any fiddler's library.......2006-07-09
This is a terrific book for anyone who loves old time fiddle music. Easy to read transcriptions of some different regional styles, including references to field recordings and other artists. The back of the book features biograpies of important Kentucky fiddlers with many great old photos.
Then, if you really want to know what this stuff sounds like... there is a cd included which is guaranteed to inspire you to play or just go to Kentucky as I did.
not that great.......2004-07-15
Maybe my expectations for this book were off base. The book has 170 fiddle tunes and also alot of historical and geographical references of where in Kentucky they originated from. I see that the book was funded in part by grants and it does read like alot of Masters Theses and grant proposals that I've encounted. Which is to say I think it's packaged well but also has alot of b.s. in there. I wouldn't recommend this book especially if if you want to learn some fiddle tunes, which gets back to the fact that maybe I was expecting something else altogether. On the cd there's 26 of the 170 tunes and only 9 of these are in standard tuning. Also the pitch is often way off and the transcription don't seem to jibe either. The better thing to do is just forget about the transcription and try and fiddle along. In this repect there are some pretty interesting recordings. What this book is mainly is a reference book so if you want to learn some fiddle tunes I'd say to spend your money on something else such as the Fiddler's Magazine Favorites book which comes with 2 cds and all the tunes accuratly transcribed. I don't see it on Amazon but Fiddlers Magazine puts it out ... Another good book is the Advanced Fiddling Book by Craig Duncan. It does get pretty advanced but some of the tunes are more beginning and intermediate. Also not on Amazon from what I can see but I think it's through Mel Bay. Mel Bay's Complete Fiddling Book, also by Duncan (and available thru Amazon) has some good beginning to intermediate tunes but the video which must be ordered seperatly through Mel Bay doesn't have all that many of the 300 tunes in the book so if you want a recorded rendition this is a problem as only about 10% of the tunes are on the video. What it does have though is good. Again I can see how the other reviewers gave this Kentucky Fiddle Tunes book 5 stars because it's a nice package and a decent reference book but you better be into altered tunings quite a bit... Anyway there's no way I'd tell a friend it was anything above 2 stars.
Kentucky Fiddling.......2004-01-31
There are very few good compilations of fiddle tunes from various states. While there are excellent tunebooks from a range of fiddle traditions, it is also important to have great collections of good tunes from individual states and regions. This book is an important addition to the research on fiddling traditions that comprise an important part of American folk music. The introductory materials in the book provide a fine understanding of the background of fiddle traditions in Kentucky. Titon then presents the transcriptions of dozens of great tunes, and the book includes an audio CD to help provide a better understanding of old-time fiddling in Kentucky. Highly recommended for fiddlers and old-time music fans.
Get it now, don't wait.......2002-10-17
It took me a while to cough up the do, re, mi for this one, but I'm glad I did now it's in my hands. I love this book because it's all about the music. It has enough ethnomusicoligy in it to assure you it's honest. It has a wealth of wonderful tunes both in print and on a CD. The CD gets the underlying rhythm across like notation just can't do. And the stories about the old boys and girls are a bonus. Too many old time fiddle books seem to be a catalogue of old boys. You sometimes wonder if the author ever heard them play. Not this book. This is a university press publication, so if it sells out it probably won't be available again for a long time, if ever. So get it now.
Amazon.com
The original road novel--even though it takes the form of autobiography. If Guthrie didn't actually invent the footloose, no- strings-attached American hero (remember this guy Twain who wrote something about lighting out for the territory?), he certainly solidified the 20th-century version. Guitar slung over the shoulder as he sprinted to boost himself aboard freight trains, a man of the people equally at home with urban intellectuals, Guthrie incarnated for generations of Americans the artist as free spirit. This is the book that created the legend.
Customer Reviews:
The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-02
This book written by Woody Guthrie was also made into a movie. The movie starred David Carradine and Randy Quaid among others. I have never seen the movie and I had little idea what this book was about until I opened it up and started reading.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not simply the story of a famous County singer and songwriter's life, but a "Hobo-ing America" adventure story. It was written in the Mark Twain tradition - with all the down home and backwoods country dialect included.
I enjoyed this story - it is a "real" story about real people. Woody did a fine job in telling this story.
The book has great drama and pathos and would be enjoyable reading even if you didn't know who the heck Woody Guthrie was or what he turned into. I read it as a history novel and place it in the category with the "Grapes of Wrath" or "Gone with the Wind".
bound for glory.......2007-01-13
if you area woody guthrie fan you will love this book. well done. it would be a good book for anyone who is interested in music or our country when it was younger.
Good Luck Kiddo.......2006-04-27
Essential reading for those that need a deeper understanding. There are many poetic passages, sad stories and a great reference to what America is like for those who were poor and often at odds with their country. This is a book that holds up so well today and will make you want more. Dylan probably brought you here in the first place. You won't be disappointed. Everybody should read this book.
Under read and underrated.......2006-03-22
This was a really great book. It's hard to believe one man would be so talented as both songwriter and autobiographer. It all had a very Beat feel to it, but I might actually like it better than On The Road because it's got all the fantastic enthusiasm for living, but it's so completely devoid of pretense. It immediately jumped into my top 5.
BOUND FOR GLORY IS GREAT.......2006-03-21
I'm not even done reading it but I love it. This is one of the best books I have ever read. When you read it, it makes you feel like you are right there with him. At times it is very funny and also sad. Even if you dont like Woody's music its still a great book to read.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
David Hajdu (pronounced HAY-doo), the prizewinning author of the magisterial jazz biography Lush Life, now steam-cleans the legend of the lost folk generation in Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña. What a ripping read! It's like an invitation to the wildest party Greenwich Village ever saw. You feel swept up in the coffeehouse culture that transformed ordinary suburban kids into ragged, radiant avatars of a traditional yet bewilderingly new music. Hajdu's sociomusical analysis is as scholarly as (though less arty than) Greil Marcus's work; he deftly sketches the sources and evolving styles of his ambitious, rather calculating subjects, proving in the process that genius is not individual--it's rooted in a time and place. Hajdu says Dylan heisted many early tunes (e.g., "Maggie's Farm" from Pete Seeger's "Down on Penny's Farm"): "Dylan [told] a radio interviewer that he felt as if his music had always existed and he just wrote it down ... [in fact], much of his early work had existed as other writers' melodies, chord structures, or thematic ideas." But Dylan and company made it all their own, and Hajdu vividly evokes the scenes they made.
Positively 4th Street is very much a group portrait. When something amazing happens, Hajdu puts you right there. The unknown Baez barefoot in the rain, bedazzling the Newport Jazz Festival and becoming immortal overnight. The irresistibly irresponsible Fariña talking his folk-star wife out of shooting him dead with his own pistol. The "little spastic gnome" Dylan transmogrified into greatness onstage, bashing Joan with the searing lyrics of "She Belongs to Me." A stoned Fariña advising Dylan to cynically hitch his wagon to Joan's rising star and "start a whole new genre. Poetry set to music, but not chamber music or beatnik jazz, man... poetry you can dance to."
The book is as delectably gossipy as Vanity Fair (one of Hajdu's employers). Richard married the exceedingly young beauty Mimi and helmed their career, but he might have dumped her for big sister Joan, whose madcap humor and verbal wit harmonized with his--except that he ineptly killed himself on a motorcycle first. Bob mumblingly courted both sisters, but when he cruelly taunted the insecure Joan, Mimi yanked his hair back until he cried. The account of Bob and Joan's musical-erotic passion is first-rate music history and uproarious soap opera. Hajdu's research is prodigious--even Fariña's close chum Thomas Pynchon granted interviews--and his anecdotes are often off-the-cuff funny: "[Rock manager Albert Grossman] was easy to deal with.... It wasn't till maybe two days after you would see Albert that you'd realize your underwear had been stolen." Full disclosure: Hajdu was one of my long-ago bosses at Entertainment Weekly, but that's certainly not why I heartily endorse this book. It's scholarship with a human face, akin to "poetry you can dance to." --Tim Appelo
Book Description
When twenty-five-year-old Bob Dylan wrecked his motorcycle near Woodstock in 1966 and dropped out of the public eye, he was already recognized as a genius, a youth idol with an acid wit and a barbwire throat; and Greenwich Village, where he first made his mark, was unquestionably the center of youth culture.
In Positively 4th Street, David Hajdu recounts the emergence of folk music from cult practice to popular and enduring art form as the story of a colorful foursome: not only Dylan but also his part-time lover Joan Baez -- the first voice of the new generation; her sister Mimi -- beautiful, haunted, and an artist in her own right; and Mimi's husband, Richard Fariña, a comic novelist (Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me) who invented the worldly-wise bohemian persona that Dylan adopted -- some say stole -- and made his own.
A national bestseller in hardcover, acclaimed as "one of the best books about music in America" (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post), Positively 4th Street is that rare book with a new story to tell about the 1960s -- about how the decade and all that it is now associated with were created in a fit of collective inspiration, with an energy and creativity that David Hajdu has captured on the page as if for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
Must Read.......2007-04-11
I was reading this book while filming a movie on Bob Dylan this summer-I lost the copy before I was finished but had to buy it again to see how it ends-really a fascinating insight on the whole West Village Folk music scene of the 1960's.
Bob and Joan and Mimi and Richard.......2007-03-26
My Hadju has very little sympathy for any of the characters in this narrative. In his view, Bob is a self-centered jerk, Joan is priggish, Mimi is callow and Richard is a self-promoting charlatan who probably needed medical intervention. Mr. Hadju's only sympathies lie with Mimi who is little and beautiful and sorely used. Oh please. What I found missing was any sense of forgiveness for just how young they were. Only Richard can be held accountable for his caddish behavior because he was older and should have known better. The others were all painfully young and their behavior, reprehensible, naive, touching and all should be interpreted through the highly charged haze of youth. I doubt that anyone's life could withstand this level of strutiny at the age of 22.
I am not a fan of Mr Hadju's writing style, but the book is packed with information.
Sure to become a classic.......2007-03-01
American folk in its both in its development and maturation held the same drama and pathos as any other American music that fused with social movement. The figures that Hajdu chose to focus on in his excellent book became very influential artists of the time, Dylan even attaining a cult-like status.
Like any biography of young people it is filled with betrayal, misunderstandings and bruised egos. As they are portrayed, Dylan and Farina were by far the larger and more fragile of the egos and they hint of the "me" generation's self-importance. The Baez sisters remained "truer" to folk, being less inclined to wed it to rock and other styles. The tragic death of Richard Farina is one of the many turning points in this book that treads lightly on nostalgia. The genius and fallibility of the four figures is portrayed distinctly and without foreshadowing what will become of them outside of this exciting time when music moved people to change the nation.
A disappontment.......2006-12-29
Positively 4th Street had received adulatory reviews. I looked forward to reading it, but was enormously disappointed. The book tells of the tangled relationships among four young people. Nobody comes out looking especially well. My experience has been that people in their twenties often do not behave commendably in their romantic lives. By focusing on these relationships, the book has the distasteful smell of dirty laundry.
Secondly, by presenting four interlocking biographies, the book implicitly equates the four lives covered. Unfortunately, there was an enormous difference in stature among Bob Dylan and Richard Farina and Joan and Mimi Baez. In order to make a go of his book the author must exaggerate the flaws of the mighty and minimize those of the lowly. This authorial imperative makes for an unfair book.
Finally, Mr. Hajdu has a fine magisterial voice - even when he does not know a thing about the subject at hand, like harmonica playing, for example. If he gets every fact wrong on that, how can he be trusted on other matters?
Hero worshipers, stay away.......2006-11-21
Though he is almost, but not quite, forgotten today, Richard Farina was once a hot property. He wrote a novel, "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me," that swept the college campuses; and he and his wife, Mimi Baez, recorded two albums, "Celebrations for a Grey Day" and "Reflections in a Crystal Wind" that were both artistic and commercial successes.
Farina was ambitious for much more. He wanted to be bigger than Bob Dylan. He wanted Dylan's fame, Dylan's sales, Dylan's girlfriend, Dylan's respect and a motorcycle like Dylan's.
David Hajdu's meticulously detailed "Positively 4th Street" tells a tale that might just as well have been called "Grabbing for the Brass Ring."
Nobody ever came closer more times without getting it than Farina.
It all started with Carolyn Hester. When the "folk revival" began in Boston in the 1950s, the beautiful Hester was an early coffee house star. If anyone was going to break out to national fame, Hester would have seemed the favorite.
But bursting out of the pack of unknowns to surpass her came Joan Baez, with a bell-like voice and, in Hajdu's interpretation, lots of luck.
Farina, a charming schemer, was on another track but he latched onto Hester, moving from first meeting to marriage in 18 days.
From then on, "Positively 4th Street" is an appalling and almost Byzantine account of the ambitious and the unscrupulous climbing over each other's backs for the brass ring.
Baez caught it first. She helped Dylan, who treacherously overtopped her. Farina made his bid, dumping Hester and pursuing Baez.
But he and Dylan were both also angling for Joan's beautiful young sister Mimi. The sisters are supposed to be the models for the story in the Lovin' Spoonful song "DId You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" but Hajdu debunks that and some other rock and roll myths, notably the one about Dylan being booed off the stage at the Newport Folk Festival for playing a Stratocaster.
A witty writer, Hajdu never seems to be caught off balance in all this confusion. A typical example of his waspish reporting is this line about Farina and his friend Alfredo Dopico: "Richard and Alfredo were largely redundant: of Cuban ancestry, about the same age and size, strong-featured, impetuous, and volatile, they were both treacherously fond of beautiful women, marijuana, and Richard Farina."
In this crowd, Hajdu sees more clay feet than a shoeshine boy at the Congressional barber shop, but he never confuses that with the impact of the music on the rest of us.
It doesn't hurt, for dramatic purposes, that Farina wrote more than once about death on a motorcycle and with almost perfect timing got killed on one the day of the booksigning party for "Been Down So Long." (Meticulously, Hajdu clears up the misconception that it was on the book's release day; that was two days earlier.)
Only Mimi Farina comes out of this book as an appealing human being.
Hero worshipers should stay away. Music lovers will be fascinated.
Book Description
Southern Music/American Music is the first book to investigate the facets of American music from the South and the many popular forms that emerged from it. In this substantially revised and updated edition, Bill C. Malone and David Stricklin bring this classic work into the twenty-first century, including new material on recent phenomena such as the huge success of the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the renewed popularity of Southern music, as well as important new artists Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Escovedo, and the Dixie Chicks, among others. Extensive bibliographic notes and a new suggested listening guide complete this essential study.
Customer Reviews:
Essential Reading on American Music.......2003-12-21
The updated version of this important study is a welcome addition to the history of American popular music. Each chapter is a thorough overview of various genres and eras of folk and popular music in America. The central claim that most of what we perceive to be American music is deeply rooted in the music of America's southland is a strong one, and it adds to our understanding of connections between regional culture and history. The excellent discography provides a terrific guide to important musicians and recordings, and the new information on Cajun, Zydeco, Norteno, and contemporary acoustic music update the earlier edition.
Book Description
Sandburg was not only a poet but also a noted collector and performer of american folk music. This anthology contains words and music to 290 songs that people have sung in the making of americanca. New Introduction by Garrison Keillor; Prefatory Notes by the Author; Index.
Customer Reviews:
Bedrock of American folk singing .......2006-08-02
Back in the early 1960s when I was a high schooler getting into music, I took this book out of the library and took this book out of the library, and took this book out of the library.
People trying to find great folk songs with both wit and wonder and laughter, heart ache and beauty probably have been doing this since Sandburg published this book in the 1920s. Being so familiar with this book, back in the day, and still today, I can identify different folk singers who have a repertoire of traditional songs by the ones who like myself studied this book and learned to play its songs, and those who had learned from the Lomax Collections, though in all the big Lomax books, there were credits to the inspiration and work Sanburg put into this book, as well as songs taken from this book.
Sanburg wasn't a folklorist, but a poet and someone who liked to sing these songs and play the guitar. He includes a few songs that aren't folk by any description like the very funny "Horse Named Bill" written by a friend of Sandburg's named Sinclair Lewis whom you might heard of!
The legions of folkies who once had only this book and the Lomax collections have spewed forth generations of serious scholars of folk music in this country and the world. Specialized monographs can be found on Kentucky fiddling or the musics of Mali, on down picking banjo, and Black song before the blues. With the specialization that has developed over the decades, few would even attempt to write one book and call it the American Songbag.
Especially if you like to sing and play, this book will take you back to an easier time, with some good songs. You will be surprised at how many of them you know the tune to, even if you can't read the music!
Literature? Folk Song Anthology? Both!.......2003-09-09
An absolute classic of American arts and letters, the "Songbag" has been cited by traditional musicians including Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. It's a primary source of American cultural heritage.
Sucking Cider Through A Straw.......2003-01-02
Compiled with difficulty and a lot of elbow grease during the years when American master Carl Sandburg was also writing Rootabaga Stories, Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and poetry volume Slabs Of The Sunburnt West, The American Songbag is one of the many valuable gifts Sandburg produced for the American people. A collection of 290 "songs, ballads, and ditties," each entry consists of the extended lyrics and "complete harmonizations or piano accompaniments."
These folk songs are grouped under loose headings such as 'Dreams And Portraits,' 'Pioneer Memories,' 'The Big Brutal City,' 'Picnic and Hayrack Follies, Close Harmony, and Darn Fool Ditties,' 'The Great Open Spaces,' 'Hobo Songs,' and 'Tarnished Love Tales And Revolutionary Antiques,' and 'Mexican Border Songs' among others.
Many, understandably, have a British origin - 'The Foggy Dew,' 'Barbara Allen,' 'As I Was Walkin' Down Wexford Street,' 'Pretty Polly,' and 'The House Carpenter' - while the origin of others, like 'The E-RI-E,' 'The Ballad Of De Boll Weevil,' and 'The Buffalo Skinners' seem to be distinctly American. 'Turkey In The Straw,' however, like "When The Curtains Of Night Are Pinned Back,' is a "classical American rural tune," and "as American as Andrew Jackson, Johnny Appleseed, and Corn-on-the-Cob." Sandburg provides a brief introduction to each song, many of which are informative, while others are humorous and so idiosyncratic that each only muddies the waters of clarity if taken at face value. American music lovers may believe that 'Shenandoah' is a wholly American creation, but Sandburg sensibly suggests that the original may have referred to the name of a foreign ship or an Indian chief, rather than to 'the Historic Virginia valley.' 'She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain" was adapted by mountaineers from the "old-time negro spiritual" 'When The Chariot Comes.' 'The John B. Sails' has its origin in the West Indies. Sandburg seems to be underscoring the fact that most songs, like most people, come from somewhere else; origins are often hazy and partially a result of wishful thinking.
Musicians, educators, and youth leaders should have special interest in this book, which is as pure a piece of Americana as Duncan Emrich's Folklore On The American Land. The American Songbag will also thrill lovers of Americana and those searching for a legitimate, productive, and useful avenue into our country's history. Highly recommended for all audiences.
...a grain of salt.......2001-07-21
I purchased this book partly [because of what others ere saying.] The lyrics of the obscure selections from American popular music are of some value but the arrangements of the music and the tune transcriptions are terrible. This is not a book to buy if you are looking for music.
A Treasure.......1999-12-15
Sandburg's American Songbag is a national treasure. I suppose the words and music of these 280 songs, ballads, and ditties that people have sung forever could be found elsewhere, but where? This important work, which breathes life back into some of the most memorable old songs, was originally published in 1927.
Book Description
Jean Ritchie is the best known and most respected singer of traditional ballads in the United States. The youngest daughter of one of the most famous American ballad-singing families, the Ritchie family of Perry County, Kentucky, Jean still carries on her family's legacy as a singer of folk songs and traditional ballads. It has been nearly thirty years since she originally published Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians, and the music found here tells the story of the “Singing Ritchie Family” at a time when railroads, coal mines, and hillbilly radio were making their first incursions into the mountains of eastern Kentucky.
Built upon a foundation of balladry inherited from old-world Scotland, the family's repertoire was certainly eclectic but not haphazard. The Child ballads, lyric folksongs, play party or frolic songs, Old Regular Baptist lined hymns, Native American ballads, “hant” songs, and carols brought together in this collection were assembled by family members who actively sought out fragments of tunes and completed them by adding or embellishing verses and melodies.
This new edition has faithfully retained all seventy-seven line scores of the songs and added four new ones, Loving Hannah, Lovin' Henry, Her Mantle So Green, and The Reckless and Rambling Boy. The original headnotes and photographs tell the history of the song as well as how it became a part of the family's life. Chords are indicated for accompaniment; however, music notation and the printed word can only present a reasonable facsimile of any actual song. Jean's singing is simply the best guide to how the song should be sung, so a new audiography and videography have been added to this edition.
Customer Reviews:
No house arrangements in here!.......2002-07-27
I love this book because it preserves the rough edges that the music of everday people has. If JR learned the verse to a song that didn't rhyme, she didn't "fix" it. The melodies are often asymmetrical, the ballads often have odd twists to their stories, and the emotion is just pure.
If you're looking for a book of songs for the camp-fire, this may not be it. If you're looking for the real songs of Appalachia, look no further.
Uncommon.......2000-06-07
As an amateur singer of folksongs, country, and "oldies", I was looking for a book with familiar tunes and lyrics. Although I only recognized a few of Ms. Ritchie's songs, I found the histories of each song very interesting. I took a chance and purchased the book, not sure of what I was getting. What I got was a nice read about the history of song, and a new interest in a person who obviously has a passion!
Book Description
An extremely gifted singer/songwriter, John Denver possessed the unique ability to marry melodic music with gentle, thought-provoking words that endeared him to his countless fans. Now, for the first time ever, John Denver's lyrics have been printed in their entirety: no other book like this exists! It contains lyrics to more than 200 songs, and includes an annotated discography (one that shows the songs), and an index of first lines. This collection also features a foreword by Tom Paxton, who was greatly influenced by Denver, and an introduction from Milt Okun, John Denver's first record producer, and the founder of Cherry Lane Music.
Customer Reviews:
Ron's review.......2007-03-08
Overall I like this book. The foreword by Tom Paxton and the introduction by Milt Okun are well worth reading.The comments about the songs are the best part of the book as they tell about how these songs began and developed and the people and places that had such a strong influence on them.
The only dissapointment came from finding neither music or chording in the book which was not a fault of the book itself but rather of the limited information about the book that was available from the description
All in all this is a very good book if you are a John Denver fan and a great help to those of us who have a hard time remembering the words sometimes
Nice book, but what does "Complete" mean?.......2004-05-11
There are a couple typos/errors in the book, but nothing significant or that would reduce its inherent value.
HOWEVER... What does "The Complete Lyrics" mean to you?
If it means the book contains lyrics to all the songs JD wrote or sang, that'd be incorrect. There are a TON of songs (even ones that he wrote!) that are not included in the book. So I'm left with the final conclusion: Of the songs that ARE included, yes, their "complete" lyrics are there. But wouldn't you assume that ANYWAY? DUH! I feel the word "Complete" in the title is misleading.
Great Songs.......2002-06-20
I love the lyrics of John Denver. I always have. And to find them all in one neat little volume is great. The commentary that is provided on certain songs was written by John for his anthology songbooks. I recogonize every one of them. And I like that even the lesser (and downright UN-known) songs are included.
The little blurb by Tom Paxton is touching and to the point and was a treat to read.
However, Mr. Okun, if you're reading this, PLEASE, OH, PLEASE, do NOT perpetuate the "John Denver Never Wrote a Song In A Minor Key" myth! I can think off hand of at least two songs without blinking: "Wooden Indian" From "Poems Prayers and Promises" is written in E Minor. In fact that is the only chord in the entire song. (A very powerful song, at that). And "Aspenglow", best known from "Rocky Mountain Christmas" is in A minor. There are a few others as well. (That I'm sure John would have known about).
The inclusion of the myth is the only reason that I've given this 4 stars and not 5. I'm a stickler for accuracy.
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