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ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE

Name: ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE
Author: Barney Hoskyns
ISBN: 1-56282-836-3

THE BAND AND AMERICA

by Barney Hoskyns ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 21, 1993

Though relying heavily on others' material, a well-written, enjoyable account of a 60s legend.

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British journalist Hoskyns (Vogue, Spin, etc.) wends his way through 60s mythology and the mystique of the remarkable rock group known as The Band' to deliver a nicely readable, straightforward bit of pop-music history.

The compelling irony of The Band's career, Hoskyns shows, is that they achieved their greatest celebrity by breaking up: Martin Scorsese's film of their final concert, The Last Waltz (1978), "transcended the limitations of the genre and...caught both the sweep of the band's history and the edgy reality of live performance.'' The four Canadian members of The Band (Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, and Garth Hudson) and their Arkansan drummer, Levon Helm, had backed singer Ronnie Hawkins as the "Hawks'' since the late 1950's, when most of them were still in their teens. Their striking out from the domineering and limited Hawkins—plus guitarist Robertson's strong desire to be part of "something more vital...than a travelling alcoholic freakshow''—led these talented musicians (each played a variety of instruments, and most sang) to a historic hookup with Bob Dylan and to his switch from acoustic folk to electrified rock. The first year with Dylan was a frenetic mix of world travel, often hostile audiences, drugs, and mayhem in the midst of an explosion of creativity that "was pop...rock 'n' roll...and R&B...fused with an avant-garde, anti-mainstream sensibility.'' The release, in 1968, of The Band's Music from Big Pink album offered down-home, gut- bucket country blues—a notable departure from the hard-and-acid rock of the day. As Hoskyns says, the group's very name was "born of a beguiling mixture of humility and arrogance. They were just `the band' but they were THE band.''

Though relying heavily on others' material, a well-written, enjoyable account of a 60s legend.

Pub Date: July 21, 1993

ISBN: 1-56282-836-3

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1993

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
JONI
edited by Barney Hoskyns

- BOOK REVIEW
SMALL TOWN TALK
by Barney Hoskyns

- BOOK REVIEW
LOWSIDE OF THE ROAD
by Barney Hoskyns

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.