Even the most Beatle-weary reader will be charmed and engaged by this intimate account. (Three 8-page b&w photo inserts,...
A close confederate of the Beatles chronicles the band’s rise and fall in an easygoing memoir—about everything except Yoko Ono.
Bramwell grew up with John, Paul, and George in Liverpool, and lat became an important fixture at Apple Records. He was the all-purpose guy who filmed their recording sessions, promoted their material, and, perhaps most importantly, was someone they could relax with at a pub. Told in real time, Bramwell’s account captures the taste and feel of the moment yet also evolves along with the band’s intellectual, artistic, and personal changes. Though Bramwell can’t climb into the Beatles’ heads, he does re-create the serendipitous atmosphere that surrounded their songwriting. And his steel-trap memory carries the big picture along with a mob of details, many of them personal. Rather than focusing entirely on the Beatles, the narrative encompasses the whole scene: the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and numerous others come and go throughout. Bramwell appears to be such a sweet character that his portrait of Yoko Ono comes across like a bite on the kneecap. He loathes this “she-wolf garbed in black,” the “fraud” who talked macrobiotic while shooting heroin, who destroyed all that was once so good in the process of feeding her insecurities. Bramwell doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the last few years of the band’s partnership. He’s more than happy to blame the breakup on Ono and on Allen Klein, who would “cook the books and milk the company dry.” He also has some pointed things to say about the Merry Pranksters and Hare Krishnas.
Even the most Beatle-weary reader will be charmed and engaged by this intimate account. (Three 8-page b&w photo inserts, not seen)Pub Date: April 18, 2005
ISBN: 0-312-33043-X
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2005
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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