Readers may not want 119 takes of “House of the Rising Sun,” but after Anthony fills them in on its rich, complex history,...
Lovingly researched backgrounder on a more-fascinating-than-you-can-ever-imagine song.
Pulitzer Prize–nominated AP reporter Anthony believes that “House of the Rising Sun,” best known in the version recorded by British blues-rockers the Animals, is one of the most vital pieces of music in American history. So he crisscrossed the U.S. to find out all about the tune. His travels took him from a bar in Slemp, Ky., where he grilled the natives for firsthand information about folk/blues legend Roscoe Holcomb, to New Orleans, where he picked the brain of Animals frontman Eric Burdon. He met some fascinating characters along the way, but the hero of the story is musicologist Alan Lomax, who in 1937 “collected” what Anthony considers the song’s most noteworthy early incarnation, a scratchy field recording of “The Rising Sun Blues” by 16-year-old Georgia Turner. Even Lomax, who made big claims for American vernacular music, might have been surprised to see Turner’s two-minute version beget a 300-page book. Anthony spent more than $10,000 on CDs and currently owns 119 versions or derivations of the tune, including renditions by gospel stalwarts the Blind Boys of Alabama, Latin bandleader Xavier Cugat and the ever-popular Timo Kinnunen One-Man Band. His obsession may seem a little nuts, but the author makes a case for the song’s importance with such passion and skill that many will ultimately be persuaded.
Readers may not want 119 takes of “House of the Rising Sun,” but after Anthony fills them in on its rich, complex history, they’ll probably hit up iTunes for one or two. Or maybe even ten.Pub Date: June 19, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7432-7898-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
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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