A doggedly researched but plodding, unambitious bio of the fondly remembered late ’60s swamp-rock band. Though Creedence Clearwater Revival had nine top-ten hits and has remained perpetually popular on the radio since its 1972 demise, the group has become practically as famous for the number of lawsuits that have percolated in its wake. From early on, rock journalist Bordowitz focuses on the tensions between singer/songwriter/guitarist John Fogerty and his bandmates, as Fogerty gradually took over the band (originally called the Blue Velvets, then the Golliwogs) from his older brother, Tom, who was shunted from singing and songwriting to rhythm guitar. John rapidly emerged as both a gifted songwriter and a tyrannical leader, and Tom quit within three years of their first hit. The band fizzled out with a last album on which John Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook, and drummer Doug Clifford split singing and songwriting duties equally. Fogerty claimed he had simply acquiesced to the others— gripes about creative input, while Cook says, —John wouldn—t even play on our songs, other than rhythm guitar.— In subsequent years, Fogerty and the others fought endless legal battles with Fantasy Records, which had a cutthroat contract with the band and helped them to invest their earnings in a Bahamian banking scheme that went belly-up. Fantastically, Fantasy sued Fogerty for copyright infringement in the mid-’80s because a song on his solo album allegedly plagiarized one of the band’s songs, which Fantasy owned. (Fantasy lost.) The other three members made their peace with Fantasy, and bitter public exchanges among the survivors (Tom Fogerty died in 1990) have made clear that there will never be even a one-time Creedence Clearwater reunion. Endlessly describing how Fogerty and the others —festered along— with recriminations, Bordowitz offers no perspective to keep the narrative momentum from slowing to a crawl in the long post-breakup half of the book. (40 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-02-864870-6
Page Count: 356
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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