Veteran record producer and journalist Harvey Kubernik is a Los Angeles insider with ties to some of the most influential performers and producers in the music business. In this examination of the music and pop culture of the 1960s, we read Kubernik's conversations with famous people who speak very freely: Ray Manzarek, Berry Gordy, Grace Slick, Andrew Loog Oldham, Jim Keltner, Jack Nitzsche, Chrissy Hynde, Ravi Shankar, and Keith Richards. There is also an epilogue on Roger Steffens, a renowned scholar of reggae music. No matter how much you think you know about the pop culture of the 1960s, you will find new information here. Certain predictable topics -- the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan -- come up in almost every interview. Other names prominent in the interviews are Phil Spector and Sonny Bono. Reading Kubernik's interview with Marianne Faithfull, we learn that she and Mick Jagger often listened to Vivaldi and Marvin Gaye in the mornings; Steven Van Zandt reveals that he is the son of a Goldwater Republican; Allen Ginsberg discloses that Bob Dylan tried, unsuccessfully, to get Phil Spector to produce a recording by Ginsberg.
Spirited, insightful, and gracefully written, this is the definitive account of the friendship and rivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones."
Singer-songwriters' lyrical reflections have a magical way of expressing our own sentiments and feelings. Almost all of the singer-songwriters discussed here — including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Tom Waits, Amy Winehouse, The White Stripes, and many more — sing in an exotic and raw vocal style, which one would not traditionally call reassuring, and yet their profoundly unique voices appear to be the only ones capable of conveying their unique messages. One of the key elements being studied in this book is the fact that singer-songwriters often suffer from a deep sense of loneliness, perhaps associated with a sense of being the only one who could adequately sing and perform what they compose. Often, even those who write within a famed partnership still compose for that other voice exclusively, much to their chagrin. The irony here is that it is this very tendency towards self-absorption that allows these artists to speak so eloquently for all the rest of us. Utilizing firsthand musical reflections on the nature of the singer-songwriter psychology and its consequences on art and private life, Dark Mirror explores the intricate nature of isolation and self-absorption in the singer-songwriter's creative work. Lyrical reflections have a magical way of expressing our own sentiments and feelings. Almost all of the singer-songwriters discussed in this volume-including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Tom Waits, Amy Winehouse, The White Stripes, and many more — sing in an exotic and raw vocal style, which one would not traditionally call reassuring, and yet their voices appear to be the only ones capable of conveying their own unique messages. One of the key elements being studied in this book is the fact that singer-songwriters often suffer from a deep sense of loneliness, perhaps associated with a sense of being the only one who could adequately sing and perform what they compose. Often, even those who write within a famed partnership still compose for that other voice exclusively - much to their chagrin. The irony here is that it is this very tendency towards self-absorption that allows these artists to speak so eloquently for all the rest of us. This work is divided into three principal sections: part one delves into the singer-songwriters who function primarily as solo artists; part two explores singer-songwriters who function primarily as part of a team - and who wouldn't write quite the same material for a different partner; and part three surveys those who function as members of a larger thematic community or stylistic tribe, within which they share certain creative sentiments. Utilizing firsthand musical reflections on the nature of the singer-songwriter psychology and its consequences on art and private life, Dark Mirror explores the intricate nature of isolation and self-absorption within the singer-songwriter's creative work.
An accurate, detailed and fascinating account of the life of a man whose story should have been told in this much detail long ago. Author Mark Wilkerson interviewed Townshend himself and several of Townshend's friends and associates for this biography.
“In this authoritative, unsparing history of the biggest rock group of the 1970s, Spitz delivers inside details and analysis with his well-known gift for storytelling.” —PEOPLE From the author of the iconic, bestselling history of The Beatles, the definitive account of arguable the greatest rock band of all time. Rock star. Whatever that term means to you, chances are it owes a debt to Led Zeppelin. No one before or since has lived the dream quite like Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. In Led Zeppelin, Bob Spitz takes their full measure, separating myth from reality with his trademark connoisseurship and storytelling flair. From the opening notes of their first album, the band announced itself as something different, a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute primal force, of English folk music and African American blues. Spitz’s account of their artistic journey, amid the fascinating ecosystem of popular music, is irresistible. But the music is only part of the legend: Led Zeppelin is also the story of how the sixties became the seventies, of how innocence became decadence, of how rock took over. Led Zeppelin wasn’t the first band to let loose on the road, but as with everything else, they took it to an entirely new level. Not all the legends are true, but in Spitz’s careful accounting, what is true is astonishing and sometimes disturbing. Led Zeppelin gave no quarter, and neither has Bob Spitz. Led Zeppelin is the long-awaited full reckoning the band richly deserves.
The Stone Roses captures the magic—and chaos—behind the UK band's rise, fall, and recent resurrection. The iconic Brit pop band The Stone Roses became an overnight sensation when their 1989 eponymous album went double platinum. It was a recording that is still often listed as one of the best albums ever made. Its chiming guitar riffs, anthemic melodies, and Smiths-like pop sensibility elevated The Stone Roses to a cult-like status in the UK and put them on the map in the U.S. But theirs is a story of unfulfilled success: their star imploded as their sophomore effort took years to complete and the band broke up acrimoniously in 1996. Sixteen years later, they reunited and have been playing sold out gigs, thrilling fans around the globe, and working on new material. In 2013, they nabbed the coveted headline spot at the Coachella Festival. With one hundred interviews of key figures, forty rare photographs, and exclusive insider material including how they created their music, The Stone Roses charts the band's rise from the backwaters of Manchester to becoming the stars of the "Madchester" scene to their successful comeback years later. Going beyond the myths to depict a band that defined Brit pop, Simon Spence illustrates their incandescent talent and jaw-dropping success while contextualizing them in the 90s music scene. This is the definitive story of The Stone Roses.
Andrew Loog Oldham was the original manager of the Rolling Stones, created their image, and made Mick Jagger and Keith Richards into songwriters. Without Andrew Loog Oldham, the Rolling Stones would not have become "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World." This is his story.
