Veteran music journalist Koster surveys music from the state with the most to offer. In addition to well-researched and historically savvy sections on country, rock 'n' roll, and blues, Koster tackles folk, ethnic music, a variety of black musical styles, easy listening, classical, and jazz. While some formats are inevitably relegated to, at best, a passing treatment, Koster is able to apply his amazing expertise about these forms and combine this knowledge with a smart and funny writing style. His special genius is his ability to link famous names with well-known songs where the relationship has previously been unknown. For instance, how many readers will already know that the Champs, who recorded ``Tequila'' in 1958, had Texans Jim Seals and Dash Crofts as guitarists—the same Seals and Crofts who went on become easy- listening stars in the '70s? His principal weakness is his seeming desire to cast everyone as a Texan. Jimi Hendrix, he points out, was not born, never lived, and did not die in Texas, but he did, Koster notes, once buy a guitar from bluesman Jimmy Vaughan. Robert Johnson is included because he made all his extant recordings in Texas, although he is most often associated with the Mississippi Delta players he inspired. On the other hand, Koster gives proper attention to ground-breaking Texas acts like the indescribable Butthole Surfers and Austin folkster Meredith Louise Miller. Koster also intersperses his text with boxed profiles of ``Criminally Overlooked Musicians,'' to bring attention to some truly influential artists who have gone unnoticed. A lively and affectionate study for music lovers of all stripes. (100 b&w photos, 7 maps, not seen)
Pub Date: March 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-18193-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
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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