Music Books

Only Dawn Powell could create such an intimate, sorrowful portrayal of two thwarted artists in a smug little town that doesn't recognize their intelligence. Very sad, yet gently funny as well. Dawn Powell apparently didn't think this was one of her more successful books. It always amazes me how poorly some artists judge their work for this is one of her best novels. Read it and weep.

Dawn Powell's "Come Back to Sorrento", was published in 1932 under the title "The Tenth Moon" to little notice from critics or from the public. But this poignant, mostly understated novel set in a drab midwestern town called Dell River is a gem.

The two main characters in the book are Connie Benjamin and Blaine Decker. When we meet Connie as a housewife in her mid-thirties, she is leading a life she finds sterile and barren with her husband Gus, a cobbler, and her two adolescent daughters. As a young woman, Connie had visions of a career as an opera singer, even though this ambition seemed to be based on little more than a commendation of her voice by a famous teacher. Connie also has a past in which she ran off with a young man named Tony who did acrobatics with a circus. Tony aboandoned her, and Connie lives with dreams of a singing career that perhaps could have been and with faded memories of Tony.

Blaine Decker comes to Dell River as the high school music teacher. He rents a small apartment above Gus Decker's shoe repair shop. Decker is a pianist by training (with small hands) who likewise has never had the artistic success of which he dreams. He spent his early years in Europe during which time he was a friend of a writer, Starr Donnell, who had written, as far as Decker knows, one novel. Powell hints throughout the novel at Decker's repressed homosexuality.

The novel explores the relationship that develops between Connie and Blaine. With their shared love of music and their broken, and probably illusory dreams, they feel stifled by the small town of Dell River. They share confidences with each other and at the same time quarrel severely with each other over their respective failures to pursue their dreams. The relationship is at bottom frustrating and unconsummated. It never becomes sexual.

There are wonderful pictures in this book of music and its capacity to bring meaning to life. The seriousness with which Powell discusses the pursuit of classical music in this work contrasts markedly with her picture of frivolous people and activities in her subsequent satirical New York novels. Powell also shows how music can be a means by which people evade their own selves and their own reality. There are also good depictions in the book of life in a small town, particularly those people who teach in High Schools, and of many secondary characters.

As do Powell's latter works, this book contrasts life in a small town with life in the cosmopolitian city, here represented by Paris more than by New York. But there is a certain inward focus to this book which is not shared by her latter satirical pictures of New York. The characters here are limited by Dell River and its environs, but their problems and discontents lie within themselves, in their lack of self-knowledge, and in their failed dreams. The book lacks the sharp cynicism of the latter novels but features instead reflectiveness and sadness.

Powell's writing style in this novel is rather flatter than in her subsequent works but it fits the atmosphere of Dell River that she conveys. There are several moments in the novel or lyricism and intensity.

This probably is not a novel that will ever enjoy wide readership. But it is rare and a treasure.

This book has been well-summarized by the other reviewers. I can only second their recommendations and say that this book is spellbindingly written and contains two extended passages (I will leave it to other readers to find their own favorite parts)that are among the most brilliant writing I have ever encountered. Just be warned that it will break your heart. Now if only Steerforth would reissue her "Story of a Country Boy" which I just found an ancient copy of and which is just as good...

This is an extremely well written book. It is the story of a housewife and the local high school Music teacher. Both of whom live in their pasts, which they have embellished to the point of unrecognition. This is what binds them together as they create their "salon". I love Dawn Powell and her real forte is creating these amazing character studies that are both hilarious and pathetic. I would highly recommend this book and any other of Dawn Powell's works

What a haiku evokes beyond the language, a few words summon a large panorama, Dawn Powell did in this novella. With artful simplicity, the author relates a somewhat comic and somewhat cosmic fable of two lost souls that blend unrealized dreams into reality. Powell writes with the sensitivity of an empath. In the bearly visible twitch, the eye that cannot contact, the unconscious hesitations belie the character's pretense so that the secret is just between Powell and her reader. In the far less precise language of psychiatry, this is termed the "as if" self. This deceptively simple story succeeds as myth for within the doubling up of solitary dreams, their souls sweep the cosmos.

Shards of memories, are picked from the realities that defeated them and together they build a palace of dignity that not only holds at bay, their individual sufferings, but becomes wide enough to bring a muted sort of redemption to others, afflicted with similar destinies.
Through music and desire, (platonic, alone) a middle aged housewife, and a odd and tattered music teacher shake off fate and taste, if briefly, what they had been denied. Woven in the tale, is the past of childhood trauma and rejection, abandonment and 'making do,' that the odd duo become nothing less than extraordinary people who choose happiness and get it. In this it is a morality tale, par excellance.
Anyone who has ever reached out of despair with a rebound of delight, who has taken an old piece of cloth and thrown it in some transforming wrap over their head, or around their waist, as Connie does, remembers that triumph, so rare, but perfect brilliant touch. Suddenly, an old dress, has color and shape, bohemians, they are beyond the ordinary in fashion and finance.

There are no authorial statements here, Powell has her own transformative power, whereby sentences do indeed show, voluminously what she composed sparingly. Her genious for showing human instincts is beyond any of her peers. Perhaps the most stunning is her instinct for understanding that ancient animal survival rule whereby we must hide our wounds and primal sufferings or risk in discovery- annihilation. There is none of the confessional self-absorption that was the legacy of the psychoanalytic fever, that was in its American childhood at the time she wrote the novel.


Anyone who has suffered and not hurt others, is rare indeed. The sublime experience between the two does not rely on inflicting pain upon others, a far more common means of elevating conditions of esteem.
The message, if I may, is in the true artistic gift that they benefitted from, but if spoken, would have broken the spell. They saw the Touilleries in an unweeded garden, the Volga in a brown shallow river, and in the unattractive, uncultured, midwestern town, they found a quaint village to delight in.

The physical conditions of life bore down upon their paradise and yet Connie and Blaine, prevailed, looking we are told through colored pains of glass, bringing the grey, unsympathetic world into prismmatic shimmering color.

It is a love poem to the artistic process that is a gift for life as much as technique with a brush or an instrument or a sentence. This contrasts effectively with her more cynical tales of the corrupted artist and the exploited audience.

A glorious book.

paul howes is the ULTIMATE springfield fan. he hasn't spent hours listening to every syllable springfield ever sang. he has spent his life. and then some. because more than a few of the recordings he disseminates were not released to the public or are parts of tv specials springfield made during 40+ year career.

and his love for dusty and her unique, one of a kind voice is captured in page after page of this healthy tome that devotes itself to her recordings.

even when he doesn't like the performance or the arrangement, he still maintains impartiality and great respect for a woman that was loved, idolized, almost forgotten then reclaimed by her new and old fans from all over the world.

and this book is a perfect reading companion for when you are enjoying one of springfield's wonderful interpretations of a song she made her own.

and the beauty of that--there's more than a few.

This is a great reference book for all of Dusty's recordings. It includes the Where and When of each song she ever recorded.

Paul Howe's excellent book (now in 2nd ed.) is now available for preorder through The Dusty Springfield Bulletin and also through amazon UK. US fans are waiting for amazon to offer it here. PLEASE !!
[...]
Let's Talk Dusty!

Here's what we Dusty fans waited many years for. Several more compilation CD's and a couple more DVD's have been released in the U.S., U.K., Australia and the rest of the world since this comprehensive overview of Dusty's career was published in 2001, so the book is only complete up to that point. No matter, because these pages cover all of the known, individual studio recordings she made, including several alternate versions, album session outtakes and single mixes that have turned up over the years on various collections. There are many live television and radio recordings floating around out there, many of which have yet to see CD or DVD release, but this book is as complete a volume as we could have reasonably hoped for. And the pictures! There are many photos here I had never seen before, making this book even more of a special treat. The casual listener who is only familiar with Springfield for the four or five songs that get endlessly recycled on the radio could probably not care less about this book, but for us rabid fans, this is indispensable. Highly recommended, and nothing in here to disrespect the woman whose real legacy is a catalog of great music, NOT a string of sleazy tabloid stories. Avoid DANCING WITH THE DEMONS, a badly written "biography" which I won't even dignify with a negative review.

Dusty Springfield was a legend in the music industry. She was tough and a perfectionist without apologies. This book is about her music legacy and not about her personal problems with addiction or her sexual orientation. There's more to her person than who or what she sleeps with. Dusty was one of a kind. She died too soon at 59 just when she got awarded the O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) on her deathed and died two weeks before her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Sadly, there is one honor that I think she should receive and that is the Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording. If I only had $25,000 dollars to spare, I would do it for Dusty.

Richard Alderson has written a practical guidebook for singers and especially teachers of voice and choral directors who would like the wise advise of a professional singer and teacher. As a professional teacher of voice, I recommend it highly!!

This book is to a singer what pornography is to an adolesant teenage boy. a must have! all the info that would turn any singer on, and you don't have to hide it from mom!

I find this book really helpful and insightful regarding all the aspects of singing, breathing, producing sound in general, etc. It not only helps with singing, but it for instance also helps you learn better breathing habits. I'd recommend this book to anyone.

I should probably also add that to learn to sing you need a teacher too, but for as far as books go, this is possibly one that I would have to put on my list of favorites. I find it hard to imagine that any other book will provide more insight.

For people who need to do without a teacher I'd most certainly recommend this book. You might want to search for CD's or DVD's as an extra learning aid too, to help you visualise/audiolise things if you find this hard to do. An instrument might be nice. You probably need something to produce the desired notes so you can sing along with them. This will be a great help when doing the suggested exercises. But even without such help, the book contains plenty of practical info.

At first I was turned off by this book's textbook appearance, once however I successfully pushed myself past the cover I was fascinated. Like most voice teachers, I've read my share of "This is the Only Way to Teach Singing" books. I have found that the more truly knowledgeable a person is, the more they recognize how many variables exist and how many approaches may be necessary in order to arrive at the desired destination. Rather than pontificating on his particular brand of vocal technique, Richard Alderson focuses on indisputable physical activities and his discovery of vocal mechanics through experiences with his students. Alternating between descriptions of functional concepts and first-hand stories of their application, this book was a pleasure to read. I often found myself unable to put it down. - Okay, but what can I say... I love voice :-)

This book is another of the many great books out there on vocal pedagogy.

Richard Alderson, a professional singer voice teacher and choral director taught at Northwestern University. Taking a very practical approach, Alderson introduces the principles of voice teaching. Later chapters cover breathing, voice production, resonance, vowels, registers, articulation, and several chapters on choral voices and changing voices (boys' and girls').

Alderson is informed about proper vocal technique, and the book's bibliography demonstrates his reliance on the best sources. Alderson's book seems much more pragmatic than other books on vocal pedagogy like Richard Miller and others. Alderson also makes many analogies to many other fields, especially athletics. Many teachers will find this helpful--it can be very difficult to explain to students what they should try to do to correct their singing.

At the expense of his practical explanation, some voice teachers may miss some of the "nuts and bolts" as to what is really going on in the voice. This handbook does not explain all of the inner workings of vocal production. Better sources can be found in books by Clifton Ware, Richard Miller, and Oren Brown.

Fans of good aesthetics will probably also wish this book had a different cover (this one shouts, "Welcome to the 1970s!").

All that aside, this is a useful book and voice teachers will find it helpful. I would also recommend James McKinney's book as another great resource. Enjoy!

"The desire to worship is rooted in our hunger for heaven. Our coming together for worship is a foretaste of heaven. In his book that is both spiritual and intensely practical at the same time, Kevin Navarro explores this vital connection between our fragmented experience in the here and now and the hope we all share for the time that certainly will come when heaven will come for us."

Michael Card, Award-Winning Musician, Author and Teacher

When I closed this book, I felt a tremendous mixture of hope, excitement, affirmation, and renewed devotion to the work of crafting weekly worship services. Kevin Navarro ennobles the entire effort of preparing the Sunday "dress rehearsals" for our ultimate worship experience in heaven. I'm grateful for the hard-won lessons, practical advice, and inspiring vision offered in these pages. Let our weekly celebrations resound with greater joy, profound hope, and a taste of eternity whenever we gather together!

Nancy Beach, Teaching Pastor and Creative Director, Willow Creek Community Church, Barrington, Illinois

"Here's a book on worship to be read by every church musician, pastor, leader and worshipper. Everything you always needed to know about an effective worship service."

Leith Anderson, Author and Senior Pastor of Wooddale Church

This is a book for those who know that "something's wrong about the way we are doing our worship." If you want to get off the "consumer track" and "do truth," then this book will help you reverse the trend and go in a direction that is more satisfying to the soul because it gets to the heart of what worship is all about.

Robert Webber, Myers Professor of Ministry, Dir. of M.A. in Worship and Spirituality, Northern Seminary

What a wonderful book! "Here is a book that anyone dissatisfied with the quality, Christ- and Scripture-centered nature, or impact of their worship services must read. While some may feel that Navarro's goals of excellence at times lie beyond their reach, no one can doubt his heart for seeing people brought to Christ and brought up in him through worship. His track record, moreover, first as a worship pastor and then as a senior pastor, at a church where I once served as an interim, speaks for itself--steady growth, qualitatively and quantitatively, in a congregation that dearly loves this infectiously upbeat leader who also models integrity and humility in everything he does."

Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

Are worship services at your church flat? Predictable? Not really connecting people with God? Then get ready to fiesta in the Complete Worship Service! In this encouraging and challenging book, Kevin Navarro invites us to move past the "worship = music" myth and into a fuller approach to worship: a creative, corporate feast of praise, prayer, the Word of God, and the Lord's Supper. And he shows us how to practice hospitality that encourages members and guests to engage with God in worship. Weekly worship can be much more than a dreary duty; as Navarro ably demonstrates, the "Complete Worship Service" can be the appetizer course at your church for the heavenly banquet to come. Navarro writes with the heart of a worshiper, a pastor, and a jazz musician. The Complete Worship Service is filled with biblical insight and practical application. Pastors and lay leaders alike will benefit from Navarro's field-tested recommendations for practicing welcoming hospitality and designing meaningful worship services. I can't think of a better book to stimulate and inform conversations in your church about worship that engages the whole people and the whole person.

Dr.Robb Redman, Pastor of Forest Hills Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, TX Author of The Great Worship Awakening

When it comes to worship, nothing matters if the only One worthy of worship is just a footnote beneath worship glitz. Kevin Navarro prods our hearts back to Jesus and to worship services that give life, not just lessons; a foretaste of heaven, not just so many factoids to get through another week. The Complete Worship Service is a timely, passionate anecdote to the worship humanism saturating contemporary services.

Sally Morganthaler, Author of Worship Evangelism and Founder of Sacramentis.com

Are you satisfied with your church's worship service? Do you leave feeling you have experienced "a taste of heaven"? If not, I would like to challenge each of you to purchase The Complete Worship Service as a gift to your church board, pastor, worship leader, worship committee, or whoever else may be in charge of choreographing your weekly worship service. This book could change your church from the inside out.

Diana Pederson, BellaOnline's Christian Literature Editor

Worship artist and pastor Kevin J. Navarro walks us through the complete worship service in this step-by-step guide. From desire to experience, Navarro has given pastors, worship leaders and church leaders alike a useful tool in developing a taste of God's kingdom for their churches and communities. He directs us through each element of the dynamic worship service, including hospitality, marketing, presentation and music selection. The book discusses the quality of the worship service as a whole, not just the songs we sing. As Navarro closes out the last chapter he makes a comment that must be taken to heart: "People are not just looking to be entertained. They are looking for life. They are looking for hope. They are looking for Jesus." The crafting of a complete worship service is not about putting on a good show. It is about creating an atmosphere, a taste of heaven, a place where people can find life.

Andrew K. Forman

Do you really belief that the Bible is the infallible word of God? Dr. Kevin Navarro challenges us to act as if we actually are the bride of Christ. The central theme is understanding that the worship service is a precursor to the marriage feast of the Lamb as promised in the Revelation of John. If you want to understand what a worship service should look like, take this journey through the complete worship service with a successful senior pastor with a heart for worship. This is essential reading for anyone that is serious about worshipping God. Whether you are in full time ministry or just a Christian who is tired of having to put up with second best in the worship service, this is the book for you.

The "Complete Worship Service" is an excellent, thought-provoking follow-up to "The Complete Worship Leader." Not another "how to" book which focuses on getting people in the church doors, but rather a challenge to exam what we're doing and Who we are doing it for. Yes, there are lots of practical illustrations and ideas, but the heart of the book is more about ushering people into a genuine worship experience, reminding them of the hope we have in Jesus. I would highly recommend this resource to anyone looking for a new direction in their worship services, and as a check-up for those whose patterns and practices might be routine and lacking inspiration.

I'm always encouraged to come cross (even through books) the forerunners like Pastor Kevin talking about the worship renewals and improvements. The book was practical to review where we are, what is applicable now, things that needs to be changed...etc. Should be time and labor consuming once we decide to put our hands on, but should also be rewarding to invest our time and labor in creating the welcoming and caring environment. And there's more to creating these circumstances, which is introducing and experiencing the taste of our Home that we long for. I thank Pastor Kevin's practical insight and substantial suggestions, giving me a chance to stop and review what I do, where I am for further improvements.

This is a very well written book. Not only is it filled with practical tips and advice, its revolutionary in its underlying premise that the complete worship service should provide participants a "taste of heaven". Though I've thought a great deal about the elements of heaven yet to come and the tastes of heaven available in this life the author has made a connection I've never made - and it's a brilliant connection. As a result of this book I see the worship service in a whole new light, filled with untapped possibilities. Our congregation needs to read this book; our leadership team needs to read this book!

Part One is my favorite part of the book and I've highlighted many well-written lines. Chapter One is an outstanding analysis of the human dilemma. Well summarized on page 21, "...people have been trying to get a fix like drug addicts all week long when what they are really searching for is a taste of heaven." Asking the question, "Are they getting that taste on Sundays?" is just great! Focusing the worship service on this goal is fantastic. This is a great chapter and a great goal.

In Chapter two the author adds the reminder (pg. 28) that, " we must have a theology of contentment" since this is not heaven, "we will never be completely satisfied until we experience the jubilation of the kingdom perfected." Matthew 18:20 and Psalm 16:11 are key texts for the idea of the worship service offering a taste of heaven. On page 30 the author adds, "We should be crying out to God through prayer every week that He will show up and manifest His presence in our midst." Well said!

My favorite lines in Chapter Three: "Because God has created us in His image, we are forever longing for another world. We long for the world where God dwells" and "(the worship service should be) so God centered and Spirit-charged that it is though we have entered another dimension." A lofty goal!

Once the author has laid this foundation he fleshes out his ideas with the nuts and bolts aspects of the complete worship service. Its great stuff and I was immediately motivated to analyze my own church and come up with creative ways to put the author's suggestions into practice and expand on those ideas. I would consider this book an essential handbook for any church seeking a fresh approach to the worship experience.

I like this book. This book helps the aspiring jazz musician to be well on their way to creating good music on their instrument. Mr. Ligon uses three types of linear harmonic outlines that creates and can develop a jazz solo. I think this book is good for a beginner just starting out in learning how to improvise. It is very sound in its knowledge and presentation of it. Mr. Ligon cites many excerpts from improvised solos of very great jazz musicians to support his outlines. And there are exercises to go with it. This is important stuff for all jazz musicians to know and, I believe, it is a book that should be in any college or university teaching jazz music.
Books like this and many others prove that jazz music is NOT a mystery. Jazz is music that anyone can enjoy!

This isn't going to sound like a very intelligent and well thought out review, but if you're a professional musician and have had this experience you'll appreciate it: I don't remember too much about this book, other than that after I worked through most of it I went from not really being able to solo to being able to solo...
The specific text from the book is gone from my mind... but the concepts became part of my playing.

Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony is a great study of how to create coherent solos and well structured melodies by playing the changes and connecting the tones. As a swing based player who had to deal with being overdosed with modal theory this was the first book I ever read that really helped me play in the swing/bop/hard bop based tradition that I love.

As mentioned, the book hass become part of my playing, but I left my copy back in the States ages ago... however, the all I rememember is that I found every page to be practical and enlightening and it opened up a world of ideas. Along with Amadea's Harmonic Foundations for Jazz and Pop, I'd definitely rank it as one of the most important Jazz improv texts I've ever got (and one of the few useful ones.) - - Thank heaven its FINALLY up on Amazon - - I'm definitely getting it AGAIN !

The first two chapters cover Linear Harmony and Embellishing Devices. Armed with these you are now well equipped to explore `Outlines'. These are three basic melodic structures that turn up over and over again in jazz improvisation. The rest of the book is devoted to exploring how great players use these in practice in real solos. There are hundreds of examples of their creative use.

In my view, if you only improvise using these structures you will be an outstanding player! They are extremely powerful tools.

Connecting Chords With Linear Harmony is a must buy: it is a fresh approach to the skill of jazz improvisation.

The other reviews for this book convinced me to purchase it and they were right. Great book to understanding harmony and chords. Jackie McLean the great alto sax player said you could only do so much playing by ear. You had to learn the structure of music to really be great and this book has all the information to help move you in this direction.

I've spent the last several months building up my jazz chops for a new gig. After getting through the song list fluidly, I set about supplying missing ingredients in my playing. Neil Olmstead's Solo Piano book supplies some. Mark Levine's Jazz Piano and Jazz Encyclopedia books supply many. This book goes where those books do not: it shows how to create ii-v-i runs that do not sound like scales and arpeggios stitched together like a crude Frankenstein's monster. It describes three very simple outlines, spends a short chapter discussing embellishments, and then takes the reader through more and more complex examples of where these outlines appear in the work of giants. My ii-v-i runs are improving as I integrate these outlines into my playing. My active listening is also improving as I learn to identify the outlines and embellishments in recordings, and practice transcribing them. You can learn this stuff the hard way, or you can use this book and start using this important secret ingredient almost immediately.

Any book on any subject is necessarily a finite work; you can only cover so much in a given volume, and you've got typically between 150 and 300 pages to make your point and to cover the material you promised in your outline (whether that outline appears in the book as the foreword, introduction, entire first chapter or merely the table of contents). That said, when a book actually DOES this...adequately covers its stated objective without wandering off topic too much...it is a great book, and probably more rare than it should be. This is one such great rare book.

Barry Cleveland gives us an overview that is as comprehensive as possible of exactly what the subtitle of the book states: Joe Meek's Bold Techniques. As a recording engineer, I'm primarily interested in knowing how he ran a session in the studio, how he handled (mishandled, in some cases?) equipment for a desired result, what equipment he chose, how he might have achieved a certain sound, and such related questions. It is widely written that Joe Meek was eccentric, opinionated and stubborn, parts of his personality that probably would have been present even had he not been mentally ill. He was homosexual in London in an era where this could get you not only persecuted, but prosecuted in the legal sense, and this gave him another strata of anxiety on top of his depression and schizophrenic paranoia. Some of these problems led to financial difficulties, which in turn brought yet another layer of stress. All these things are known and well documented in other places, and Cleveland mercifully spares us most of those details in his book, leaving the bulk of his space for actual recording tools and procedures, just as he promises.

Obviously, who Meek was in toto as a person did have an effect on how he approached his work (this is true of all of us), but the temptation could have been to bog down in those aspects because of their tabloid nature...Joe Meek didn't live a quiet, boring, peaceable life like some of us. But this is a biography of Joe Meek's work, and Cleveland strikes the right balance, talking about Meek's more outrageous personal nuances enough that we get a sense of the man so we can understand where he was coming from as he did his work, then talking about the work itself, which is why we chose this volume and not a biography on Joe Meek's life.

Were Meek's production techniques bold? For their time, certainly. I believe that some ideas are just a product of their time--for example, others were working on the telephone at the same time as Bell; on the phonograph at the same time as Edison. Those men got the credit because they got to the patent office first, perhaps, but it was just the right time in history for those inventions to be realized. Joe Meek's techniques are not unheard of today, but they were bold for their time because he came upon the ideas early...in the decade before the rest of the recording community caught up. In my early career (mid-1980's) I used some of the exact same equipment Meek did, according to the descriptions in this book, and I have to say it is somewhat astonishing he got the results he did with the technology of 50 years ago--so primitive by today's standards. It makes me wonder what he'd be doing now with our computer-based digital editing tools had he lived to see them.

I knew very little about Joe Meek in any sense before picking up this book; mainly I wanted to know who was behind his namesake line of Joemeek processing equipment that is so widely available today. This was exactly the book I needed, it told me exactly what I wanted to know, and was a very satisfying read. I finished it with all my questions answered (all my reasonable questions; there were some things no author could answer, there isn't the raw data, but I didn't leave the book frustrated, wondering "why didn't the author discuss this?"). If you want to know about Joe Meek the man, this may not be enough for you. If you want to know about Joe Meek the record producer, this is definitely your book too. (By the way, the included discography is quite comprehensive as well.)

This book shares some of the tricks and techniques of this legendary producer and shows how all pop recording and record production since has been influenced by them. The included recording and notes are especially helpful.

To anyone who is old enough to remember hearing the original 'Telstar' on the radio, this is a wonderfully researched bio on the life and work of a vastly underappreciated godfather of audio engineering. Also being a huge Deep Purple fan, I was surprised to learn that the great Ritchie Blackmore, was a first call session player for Joe (as a member of the Outlaws) and that there are some enticing recordings he made that I now have to spend the rest of my life searching for!

Great stuff. The equipment & discography are very well researched, in addition to the personal stuff. And you just can't beat the included disc of studio experiments, on the bizarre factor.

Extremely interesting book about Joe Meek, the innovative English recording engineer and producer who made hit records in his flat. Has lots of detail and pictures of Joe's recording gear and recording techniques. Discusses how Joe Meek pushed the recording gear to it's limits while creating new sounds. Highly recommended.

I am very impressed by Barry Cleveland's book. He provides a great deal of specific information about Joe Meek's recording techniques and equipment. However, be not afraid, this is not done in a pedantic technical manner; it's very readable for the non-technical.

Being well familiar with most of Meek's recorded output, I especially enjoyed Cleveland's detailed commentaries on certain of Meek's recordings. For my taste, Cleveland could have gone on for many more pages on the same subject with different tracks.

I perceive Cleveland to be outside of the intense (mostly English) Meek cult which brings some fresh perspective on his work.

What more can I say? This was a good read that I raced through and will no doubt revisit frequently. The CD of "I Hear a New World" is a great bonus. It's surprisingly different from the RPM release. It makes me appreciate the work Roger Dopson and his associates did to bring out the RPM version.

Crowded House was one of the best bands I've ever seen, and they made great records, so why didn't they sell millions of records all over the world?

Read this fantastic book--complete with interviews from all the band members--and find out some of the reasons. The book is detailed and raw with emotion because many of the interviews took place right after the band broke up.

It is a sad tale, but not for the reasons you might think.

Overall, it is an excellent read for both hardcore and casual fans alike.

Crowded House was one of the best bands I've ever seen, and they made great records, so why didn't they sell millions of records all over the world?

Read this fantastic book--complete with interviews from all the band members--and find out some of the reasons. The book is detailed and raw with emotion because many of the interviews took place right after the band broke up.

It is a sad tale, but not for the reasons you might think.

Overall, it is an excellent read for both hardcore and casual fans alike.

A great read about a great band that never quite fulfilled its potential. Something So Strong shows that writing and performing wonderful songs is only part of a band's journey. There's also dealing with the music business, and fashion. 'Something So Strong' gets inside the band, tells detailed stories about how the music was created, and also tells the other story: how the music business operates. The band made some mistakes - releasing 'Chocolate Cake' was one of them - but so too did Capitol. It's the best book on how a record is made and marketed since 'Star Making Machinery'.
PS, contrary to what it says here, the book is readily - and cheaply - available through Amazon's UK site amazon.co.uk .

`SOMETHING SO STRONG' by Chris Bourke is arguably the greatest book ever written about a rock band. It is detailed, entertaining and informative. As well, the book is almost impossible to put down. Although the author is clearly a fan, he doesn't dodge around any contentious issues. He seems to have had unfettered access to the individuals involved with Crowded House and that, of course, is always a plus. Any music buff, regardless of whether you're a Crowded house fan or not, will enjoy reading `SOMETHING SO STRONG'. I've read dozens of books about musical groups and this tome is far and away the best. If I have a beef, it's that the Canadian market (where the band was huge) is pretty much ignored. For that you must read `PRIVATE UNIVERSE' by Doole and Twomey.

The ballad of Crowded House, told by Chris Bourke, is entertaining, thanks to the way it was written. What makes this biography so enjoyable is that the author doesn't tiptoe around issues that arose during the band's lifetime. Although Crowded House kept aiming at the US market, the impact that they had in Europe, as well as Australia, is equally important, perhaps even more so, than this. Unlike other reviewers, I don't think it is necessary to label the band as US '2 hit wonders' when clearly they've made an impact elsewhere. Bourke chronicles this struggle well, and top marks go to his research. Great book - must for any Crowdies fan.

If you have a huge collection of unlabeled tapes, this book will help you ID the tape by listing every song played with every song played BEFORE and AFTER it. It's a blast to just leaf through. There isn't another book like it anywhere. You really have to get a copy of this book. It's not like it's an optional purchase. The information in this book is not found anywhere else.

You HAVE GOT TO HAVE this book if you're into live Dead. It is ESSENTIAL. There is no substitute, only knockoffs. Superlatives fail, this book is the be-all and end-all of Dead volumes. GREAT fun to browse through, and CRUCIAL for identifying live Dead shows on tape!!! BUY IT!!! USE IT UNTIL THE PAGES DISINTEGRATE FROM USE!!! IT'S THE BEST!!!

If you are a taper, collector, trader, or just forgot what opened the second set in the last Philly JFK show, then this book is a must. Finally make a setlist for all those unidentified MP3s. Check off what you have to make trading easier. Get goosebumps over one of the transitions you forgot about. Kick yourself for working and not seeing the second night. If you collect you gotta have this or wait for the next one coming soon.

Have you ever looked for that perfect show? Ever wondered how many times "Me & My Uncle" was played? Ever was curious about who all were guests at Dead shows? Do you ever trade Grateful Dead music? If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, this book is a MUST HAVE! It contains setlist from almost every Dead show played from 1965-1995 including helpful timings, "every time played", and "feedback" columns. If you are a Dead trader & you do not own a copy of Deadbase shame on you. It is the bible of Grateful Dead music. Peace.

Have fun, & if you get confused...LET THE MUSIC PLAY!

This is the Baseball Encyclopedia for Grateful Dead tape collectors. No serious collector should be without this wonderful and informative book.

James Campion is one of the bright young nonfiction writers of the new century, and he got a head start on this one. Back in 1995 the Jersey rock scene was changing and the craziness of life on the road in the clubs began with the swirling tide of Dog Voices. Their outrageous story is all-true in this thrilling page-turner. "Deep Tank Jersey" is "Almost Famous" times one-thousand.

It was one of the best books on rock and roll I've ever read, and I've read my share.

Buy this book to see just how pathetic the world of NJ music is. I found it by accident, bought it on a lark and am glad I did. It reafirmed every joke about NJ i've heard...

Leave it to James Campion -- the elfin Jack Kerouac of his time -- to expose the soft underbelly of the Jersey bar band scene in a gripping narrative which captures the sights, sounds and (god awful) smells of a Jersey summer as only an insider can do.

Although diminuitive in stature, Mr. Campion's oversized ego makes up for his lack of size and virility, as he becomes -- in essence -- the plot, characters and narrator of his cute little story about a bunch of punch drunk never-was'z.

I first came across Dr. Campion on his weekly cable show, "sports night", in which he was the host, producer, cameraman, gopher, sales manager, & Christ Object -- the Harold H. Heckuba of rancid cable tv.

Of course, the melodrama of Mr. Campion's personal life -- particularly his bachelorette party -- would make for dramatically more interesting reading than the sordid tales of a bunch of losers, but that will likely be saved for his memoir, which we understand is tenatively entitled "Meet me at my Summer retreat in Joe Namath's crotch region," due out in 2025 along with his Jesus book.

Salu, Dr. Campion!

I heard about James Campion on a Hunter WS. Thompson site, and picked up Deep Tank on Amazon.com and absolutely loved it! There is nothing down here that compares to the Jersey scene. I was up there once and couldn't believe the atmosphere for music. This is the BEST book on traveling musicians ever written. Campion is the new Gonzo king!!

In DTJ, James Campion journals a summer with "Dog Voices", one of the hardest working cover bands on the Jersey circuit. He manages to infiltrate their camp, gain their trust, and become one of them. His insightful personality and unique writing style make the book incredibly interesting; especially when you consider it's not a chronicle of a celebrity act AND when you realize he doesn't even use song titles during the descriptions of their performance(s). JC has been a long-time columnist for the Aquarian, a popular music weekly on the East Coast. This book, along with his other entitled "Fear No Art: Observations on the death of an American century" (which compiles his "Reality Check" columns from that paper) are great reading for fans of satire and substance.

Stacy is one of the true industry leaders. Any DJ, whether new to the business or seasoned veteran, can get some pretty valuable information from this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants wants to generate more business.

This book is a great thing to have. It brings thing to your attention that you would not have thought of. It has helped me to better market myself and helped improve my business.

Once again Zemon has used her many years of experience and talent and lent us her superb advise. The book is a constant reference to me as well as other DJs lucky enough to read it. A must read for newbies as well as seasoned single- and multi-op mobiles looking to increase their marketing savvy.

I've been DJing for years but knew I was lacking in marketing knowledge and sales skills. I read this book, immediately put some of the ideas into practice, and saw results right away! The DJ Sales & Marketing Handbook and The Mobile DJ Handbook are my two most important reference manuals for the sucess of my mobile entertainment business.

Although I am not a DJ, I purchased this book to help me in marketing my photo booth rental business that I provide to special events.

The book contains real-life specific marketing advice to any business serving the special events industry like how to break in to the Bar Mitzvah Market, when to advertise for different event types, what to do after completing an event, how to deal professionally with complaints..etc

A must read to create a successful business.