Music Books

For this price, to get so many great song - great deal! All the songs from the Lauren Kennedy Album (that aren't from other shows) plus songs from the "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes" album. Also a great selection from Last 5 Years, Songs For a New World, Parade, and Urban Cowboy. Even if you have some selections books, you still have great additions.

I particularly enjoyed the selections from "Parade", it's an amazing show. Jason Robert Brown is an amazing composer, and everyone should have this book for some of the brilliant songs in it.

Jason Robert Brown's music is eclectic and impressive. I bought this book after learning "Christmas Lullaby" and have already found several other songs I want to use in this collection. In case you have never heard of Jason Robert Brown, he wrote the music and lyrics for "Songs for a New World" among other musicals. Brown's music is intriguing and not your usual Broadway stuff. The collection contains twenty-four selections from his musicals (Songs From a New World, Parade, The Last Five Years, and Urban Cowboy), as well as other songs from CDs of his music (Songs of Jason Robert Brown, Wearing Someone Else's Clothes.) The piano accompaniments are full and not watered down - an important benefit for serious performers and pianists. One caution: the songs and piano accompaniments are challenging and require careful preparation to be performed successfully. The necessary effort will yield rich rewards in terms of increased musical knowledge and enjoyment.

If you are looking for unusual but eminently worthwhile audition or performance material, this book is a great place to go.

Jason Robert Brown is one of the leading names in the "new" musical theater. Outstanding collection for students, teachers and GREAT audition material.

I'll admit that I was suspicious of a collections of JRB songs. I already had the vocal selections for his shows, "Parade", "Songs for a New World" and "The Last Five Years". I just thought it was another way for the publisher to make a few more dollars. That was until I looked at the contents. This collection had things in it that are not available anywhere else...Particularly songs from JRB's album "Wearing Someone Else's Clothes", among others.

The music is very challenging and is arranged to be very close to what Jason actually plays. This authenticity is something I enjoy about all of the vocal selections from his composition.

Buy this collection and enjoy an emerging Broadway super star composer.

Great entertainment from the the first to the last page, even if you aren't a jazz buff. Mr. Crow was a bassist and he must have heard most of those anecdotes on the grapevine.

I love every moment since I read this book. This book would take u on forever even if u're a craver for jazz music. It tells all the details from Wynton, Duke, Miles, Hirt, Coltrane, Bird, all of 'em right here on 1 book. Go get it or u'll miss out a world of good music.

For anyone into jazz, if you don't have a copy of this book, you're in for a rare treat. Wonderfully captures the essence of jazz and jazz musicians. Great stories, unique personalities, and guaranteed a laugh a minute. Caution: Don't read it while you're eating and/or drinking...you'll probably choke to death. Thanks for a very special book Bill!

I bought this book for my son, whoÕs a musician, but I heard him laughing so much as he was reading it that I asked to borrow it. Even if youÕre not a musician, or even very knowledgeable about jazz, this is a really entertaining book. Almost every chapter has at least a couple of laugh-out-loud lines. It also gives you a good feel for what the lives of jazz musicians were like Ð the camaraderie and competition, the inventiveness, the struggles over money, the often terrible working (and especially recording) conditions. There are also poignantly funny stories about problems with drugs and alcohol, and even about the racial prejudice that musicians had to put up with. My favorite story in the book was about Bessie Smith storming out to confront a group of Klansmen gathering outside the tent where she was working. Peppering them with curses, she ordered them to "pick up them sheets and run." They did. Great woman. There are lots of great women (and men Ð mostly men) in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know a little bit about them.

A - "About half a beat behind the drummer." Or. Q - "How can a jazz musician end up with a million dollars?" A - "Start with two million." Or. Q - "What do you call a person that likes to hang around with musicians?" A - "A drummer."

Jazz Anecdotes by Bill Crow is much more than a collection of jokes skewed towards a jazz musician's cattywhumpus view of the world. It's even more than a collection of colorful war stories about life on the road, playing lousy clubs, and trying to keep a band together. It's really an insider's look at the world of jazz, and a wonderful one. If nothing else emerges from this book certainly one learns that only love could keep a jazz musician playing, given the obstacles of this lifestyle.

Fact and myth seem to bob and weave through these tales, which is perhaps appropriate. I am a little uncertain about Lester Young's claim that he started playing the sax only after giving up on the drums because he noticed that when a gig was done and girls were milling around the bandstand, the sax players quickly packed up their horns and left with girls on their arms while the drummer desperately tried to pack up and when he was done - left empty handed.

Jazz Anecdotes is rich in content, interesting for novice and aficionado alike. The careers of great individuals and the storied histories of seminal bands are examined in detail. What's fun is that some of the "legend" is worn off, replaced by the person. Jazz truly is America's greatest contribution to world culture, we should all be proud of it. It's worth remembering that the music is not a monolithic entity but an organic, dynamic thing - the product of a diverse and eccentric group of splendid individuals. Bill Crow's book takes you inside that world.

Frye gives great direction for ministry. As a student who is still studying to be a pastor I recommend this book to anyone who interacts with people and wants to do in a Christlike way. John writes this book in such a way tham we aren't just leaning his neat tricks, we are learning from Jesus and his example. Great book, very helpful for anyone who sees Jesus as someone worth following.

JESUS THE PASTOR was a book assigned to me for a Christian Ministry class at John Brown University. From the moment I read the cover, I knew that I was going to love reading it. Few books have excited me this much about the role of being a pastor and about the person of Jesus Christ. In my personal journey to becoming a pastor myself, John Frye has put the road in front of me into perspective.

God has used JESUS THE PASTOR in conjunction with other events in my life to teach me that even while I am training to assume the OFFICE of pastor that I can and am called to assume the ROLE of pastor in my everyday life. Being available to others and leading a life ordered around Christ as the focus of ministry is an exciting, blessing, and yet humbling road. Through this book, God has taught me so many things and revolutionized my view point of what it means to be a pastor.

Far be it from me to try to teach my elders, but I would recommend this book to ANY person who occupies the office of pastor in the local church. The Church needs committed servant-leaders and under-shepherds to guide the body of Christ. This book is one of the tools God is using to make that happen.

This is a book which necessarily contemplates the question for those pastors or those contemplating the office, where does one turn when in need?

Frye answers: to multiple sources to find Jesus the Pastor: The Word, spiritual gifts and brother pastors and saints.

His compassion and heart for the sheep and those who will be brought into the fold is touching and commendable.

This reviewer's concern is directing one away from the only source of power and salvation: The Word Incarnate. Is Jesus not located where He wishes and mandates that He is? For sure? For 100% sure?

Jesus locates Himself in the gospel purely preached and in the Sacraments administered according to His mandates! This is where every pastor and individual will find Him! We find Jesus there to forgive our sins as pastors, strengthen our faith and keep us in this faith, and deliver us finally to the church triumphant.

What Frye suggests that I cannot agree with is seek spiritual gifts for empowerment. Consider Luke 16:19ff. Does Jesus suggest that we find salvation in any other place than in the Word? Further, Matthew 7:21-23, "(Did we not) do many might works in your name?" and 1 John 4:1-2 demand that any spirit which would detract from Jesus Incarnate in Word and Sacrament is not from the Holy Spirit.

In last days that we are in, when every church growth program and latest is not delivering the numerical growth they have been proclaiming is Biblical, where do they turn?

These moments of desparation show us where faith is. Only in what God has spoken and mandated that He be found: in the Gospel purely preached and Sacraments administered according to His mandates.

For all the compassion and desire to be God-pleasing that Frye so humbly speaks of in this book, to lead pastors to anything other than God's Word is not what God has said. Let us consider what His Servants of the Word should be!

Thus, I cannot recommend this to pastors or those contemplating the office due to these serious misleadings. Wish he would have more directly and in detail, expounded the Biblical admonitions for pastors, such as 1 Cor. 11, 2 Cor. 4:12; 2 Cor. 11:2; 1 Tim. 3-4, etc. For a good treatment of these, see Jonathon F. Grothe, "Reclaiming Patterns of Pastoral Ministry: Jesus and Paul." It likely is out of print, but nonetheless, you will be blessed by obtaining and reading.

This book comes from a man with formal theological training, who then went through personal growth in Christ. First learning About God, to personally learning From God. Wonderful insight to the real meaning of Christianity, a Spirit empowered, personal and intimate relationship with Christ. Frye, personally has found the invisible realm of God, with the daily practice of disciplines to make room for God's Spirit to touch his life and bring him the compassion of Christ towards other men, with the only way possible, through God's Spirit and the faith and intimacy with God, that it requires. This is a book that remains within in evangelical thought in the and the framework of literal Biblical thought, yet goes the step further in seeing the spiritual principles behind the letter. Being one step closer towards seeing God outside of written words.

This book was a cup of cool water for me during a dry period of my life.

It is so easy as a pastor to simply pick up the next kit or program that will somehow escalate your church to the "next level". John Frye has brought us back to the fact that Jesus must be our mentor and guide throughout our ministry. He is to be our primary guide in all of pastoral ministry. It is about aligning ourselves as an apprentice of His.

Through this book I learned how I could better lead others in the character and power of Christ.

Thanks to John Frye for this encouraging work!

I love this book. It gives a lot of insight into the genius of Joe Pass. I use it mostly to verify what I have transcribed by ear.

I've been playing guitar for almost 20 years now and jazz has always been a mystery to me. I always wanted to play jazz standards but never had the patience to learn them. After trying many boring and unnecessarily difficult books, I bought Dan Towey's Chord Melodies on Hal Leonard and that got me started. I was hooked. I was then looking for a more challening book, one that I could impress my audience with. When I found these note-for-note transcriptions of Joe Pass' Virtuoso recordings, I thought I'd give it a try but wasn't too serious about it. I figured this would be way out of my league.

Well, I've had this book for a week now and can't let my guitar down. I have learned the beautiful "Have You Met Miss Jones" standard by practicing over four hours a day. Unlike some books on chord melodies, Joe Pass does not use super complicated chords but rather a beautiful melody line along with swinging rhythms. For a non-jazz guitarist like me, it turned out to be a really good fit. This book is definitely for advanced guitarists but it certainly isn't out of reach for those of us who are prepared to practice hard.

The transcriptions are very accurate and the fingerings are top notch. Roland Leone did a fantastic job both in terms of accuracy and practicality. Highly recommended.

This book is a great resource for those who want to study the solo guitar style of Joe Pass. Since Joe used alot of different textures and approaches in his solo work, a musician can find many different approaches to how to build lines, create interesting harmonies and keep the interest of the listener in every song transcribed.

I had heard Joe Pass.
This book give me the opportunity to approach modestly his art.
And better feel the beauty.
Thank you Joe, thank you Roland.

This book let me feel how Joe is excellent guiter virtuoso. Try to play his tune allows me to taste his music deeply.

excellent book/cd combo that is perfect for the beginner at bass guitar who is interested in learning jump bass.


The book shipped promptly and it was like new.

Thanks,

This book just arrived and I just popped in the CD to give it a quick listen. What a pleasant surprise! The blues playing is top-notch all around, from the bassist (which you might hope for, from a bass book :-) to the guitar, drums, piano, harmonica, and even organ. If they lengthened the tracks this CD would almost stand on its own as a blues audio CD, it's that good. I've heard other "how to" books where the playing is only so-so (maybe intentionally, in a misguided attempt to not intimidate the beginner?), but on this CD everyone's really cookin', which I find really inspiring. It'll motivate me to work at getting as good.

Another good idea is that most of the band plays on the right track, and the bass playing is featured on the left channel, so it's easy to hear what he's doing and learn from it. I could see eventually muting the bass, recording my own left bass track and comparing to see how well I'm learning.

A quick scan through the book also makes me think I've made a good purchase - some good playing tips and lots of work to keep me busy this winter :-)

The CD and the examples in this blues bass instuction book are particularly perfect for those seeking the most common blues bass lines. The examples run from slow Willie Dixon blues, medium speed Chicago and New Orleans styles, into a few "swing" blues styles. Each example on the CD plays through the song in its entirety, and with cool variations. There are twenty-two examples in all, and each is representative of a very popular blues groove. What makes this bass book/cd standout from others is that it defines particular styles and artists and associates that sound for players to groove on. A HIGH SIERRA BASS PLAYER MUST HAVE!

I am a rank beginner on the bass, and have found that playing blues is one of the easier ways to feel like you are learning/playing a song without a lot of intense effort. I don't say this to say blues is easy, but more that the repetition in it is far easier to follow than many rock bass lines that move off into solos. This book sets out several (there are not LOTS of them) different styles and songs to practice, and it is done in a clear fashion with comments about the type of player(s) that made these styles famous.

If you're a well experienced player, you may be disappointed. But if you are not that experienced, this can give you that feeling that you really are making progress.

What a great bass blues book, with an unfortunate title. Keith covers some of the blues "greats" - "Duck Dunn", Tommy Shannon, etc. by using blues tunes to showcase the individual styles. Presented in notes and tabs with an accompanying CD. The CD allows you to "dump" the bass and play along with the band. Also, good commentaries on what makes a good blues bass player. The "Jump n" part of the title made me think the book only covered "old" blues styles, but it is a great overview of many styles.

What a blessing to listen to these sermons of my brother in Christ Dr. King. Never throughout my life did I hear these. Why?

America, wake up!!! You are a great nation, because of the freedom bestowed upon us by none other than Jesus, the Messiah (Christ).

And those people, brought here as slaves (believe me I've heard it ad nauseam going through school, but just listen), have helped make us a great nation!

Now listen - we are ALL slaves - every one of us. To who? To ourselves!

If you think I'm a religious zealot - absolutely, freakin' not. I am a former slave, that's all. No more, no less. Saved by the blood of the Lamb. And now filled with the love of His Spirit, and loving my fellow man, regardless of color or background.

I look forward to meeting you in heaven Dr. King!

(Let's pray for Dr. King's constituents, that they would come to know the Lord, and love all, black and white, and gain God's strength as Dr. King did.... and keep loving one another, faults and all - 'cause we know we all got faults, but our hearts should be turned towards perfection! Thank you Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords!!!)

Simply phenomenal added dimension of Dr king that the general public who know him as an inspired civil rights leader must come to know. He was nspired, energized and directed by the word of Almighty God and conscience. Oh for leaders today to be likewise constituted.

The sermons in A Knock at Midnight are both deeply moving and a powerful reminder of the greatness of Dr. King. This collection should be read and heard by everyone, especially the young of today who have been fed a Dr. King who somehow only delivered one speech ("I Have a Dream"). As a middle school teacher I found the sermons to be an excellent way for my students to move beyond the platitudes about Dr. King to a much deeper understanding of his life and ministry. To read and listen to these great sermons is an absolutely wonderful experience, but at the same time a sad reminder that today we have no great voice of moral authority like his. Fortunately we do have his words and voice preserved for us and our children.

A fabulous collection of soul-stirring preaching by one of this century's finest preachers. Many people know King as a great political leader, fiery orator, and creative organizer. This collection of sermons will convince the world that King was first and foremost an anointed preacher. His sermons ring with authenticity and resound with relevancy. Kings messages speak profoundly to our troubled times and offer both prophetic insight and divine guidance as we attempt to find our way into the next millinium. This collection of sermons, with their superb introductions and commentaries, is perhaps one of the finest efforts of its kind. It will certainly be a source of pleasure and insight for generations to come.

Notice I refer to the cassettes and the companion book as an EXPERIENCE as I both listened to and read the REVEREND King! Although the media focused on the visible part of his ministry, the civil rights movement, his sermons are profound and awesome in their implications for today as well as their in their powerful delivery during the mid-1950's through 1960's. Although I will cherish both the cassette series and the book, it is through hearing the SPEAKING of Dr. King that really made me breathless! Thank you LORD God for sending us your messenger Dr. King to give us a wonderful earthly ministry for a brilliant and brief time (much like Jesus Christ). Simply awesome!

along with bob dylan's "chronicles volume one," this is one of the two best music books i have ever read. mr lankford writes about his experiences on the road as a white drummer in an otherwise black blues band with great skill and wonderful narrative sense. this is a completely enjoyable book that i would recommend you best read soon.

I can only echo the sentiments of other reviewers when I beg Mike Lankford to write some more.

Even if you have no interest in the subject matter, Lankford's fluid style will thrill you to the end. We start with his love affair with rock music & drumming, the numerous bands he was in as a youth and conclude with a series of anecdotes regarding his time in a small touring every-band with a couple of ageing yet highly-talented black guys who needed a drummer. Brilliant!

I've loaned this book to several of my fellow musicians (most of whom have seen a little time on the road) and most of them have since bought copies for themselves. I've also recommended the book to my son, who has visions of a life in a rock band (and whom I feel hypocritical in trying to dissuade since it was my young adult dream, too). Mike's book speaks directly and honestly about the life of the journeyman musician and the danger and boredom that it entails. But at the same time, he conveys the wonder of a young teenager discovering the magic of the music. This book makes great reading for those who've been there and for those who could have been contenders.

Mike Lankford creates such a vivid picture of life on the road that I actually feel myself being tossed about in the back of that van he writes about. My only confusion: Why haven't we gotten another book from this guy?!

This is a musician's biography that soars above its genre. The writing is so good that truth loses importance. Life meets art. If another book is not forthcoming from Mike Lankford soon, he should be incarcerated for squandering a national treasure.

Schechter has done for Judy and Liza what Koeschel has done for Wolfgang. It's all here: the mood, the method, the magnificence, in two encyclopedic texts that detail the lives and good works of two of the most fascinating and talented women of our time and all the ages--the Fantastic Garland and her equally incredible Daughter Liza Minnelli. Schechter has not only written two great books, he has done the world a terrific service in collecting some of their TV appearances on DVDs that have given a permanent showcase to material that otherwise might have been gone and forgotten forever, to the great loss of all of us. Colorful, informative, and fascinating, these two books on Judy and Liza, as well as the DVDs that constitute exhibits A-Z, should provide fans and would be admirers alike with endless pleasure and information, as they make an incalculably important and significant archival contribution to our heritage. Not to be missed. Martin Kantor, MD. Author of My Guy: A Gay Man's Guide to a Lasting Relationship and Together Forever: The Gay Man's Guide to Lifelong Love

If you are a fan of one of the greatest performers we have had, this book is for you. It includes many rare photos and a chronicle of her professional life over the last 40 (!) years. Schector, a long-time fan, has finally done the professional tribute to this star that needed to be done. You won't find what's in this book anywhere else!

and I would call that thing "a burning, selfless love." No, not the love you'd find between a man and a woman or a confused grad student... but the love and respect you might find between two bitter rivals who look at each other with a knowing nod and hint of a smile.

Liza's never been hotter than she is now and this scrapbook is just the thing you'll want to read to get you caught up on her deepest desires and secrets.

I know Liza is trying to put that awful David G. (I refuse to write the name "Gest") episode behind her and possible find love with someone who's less into getting bad plastic surgery and looking creepy.

I once met David Gest at a Rest Stop on the Jersey Turnpike. He was hitting the vending machine because his Fiery Habanero Doritos corn chips were stuck between the glass and that little spinny thing.

I was nice enough to help him out. I bought another bag of the corn chips and his dropped down. Unfortunately, my bag became lodged the same way his had. He didn't even say thank you. He just grabbed his chips and walked out. And I was the one the security guard yelled at! Can you believe it?

The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook is the most loving and complete biography available today. Mr. Schechter succeeds in revealing the TRUE Liza, an incredibly talented, charismatic legend in her own right.

Thanks to the Liza fans for all the kindness and support of the book.

Here are some of the professional reviews the book has gotten to date :



From Booksoup.com :

Liza Minnelli has mesmerized her audiences with her remarkable talent and pure joy of entertaining for decades. Her appeal is universal and timeless. For those us who have had the pleasure of closely following her career, no other performing artist can compare. "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" is a comprehensive pictorial history. Schechter has done an amazing job of chronicling Liza's career accompanying his research with pictures both familiar and new to the avid Liza fan. For longtime Liza fans like myself, the book is treasure of Liza remembrances and certainly the ultimate Liza "reference" book.

****

From NYTheatre.com

http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/bookshop.htm


The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook
by Scott Schechter

Perfect for any fan, The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook is just that - a scrapbook of an almost five-decade career. With a fond foreword by Billy Stricth, this book chronicles Liza's life by decade. There are brief overviews of each ten-year span, and then details and at least a brief synopsis on every movie, television show, Broadway show, and recording Liza has ever done. Furthermore, as if that was not enough, there are billions of pictures - pictures with other celebrity friends, cameos from various television and movie stints, covers of playbills and recordings, etc. The book is so indubitably complete in its coverage of Liza's career that there is even a picture of Liza with Kermit the Frog from her episode on "The Muppet Show!" This is an incredible, cohesive, and all-inclusive record of Ms. Minnelli and is a must have for any fan because of its comprehensive coverage and plethora of pictures.
- Seth Bisen-Hersh

http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/bookshop.htm

****
From GENRE magazine, January-February 2005 issue, "The Feed" Column : "audio / film / PAGES," Editor (and reviews by) Michael Liebermann :

"The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" Scott Schechter, Kensington, Biography, 242 pages, $22

"If you're looking for objective criticism of Liza Minnelli's storied career in music, film and theater, or an expose of her latest missteps in love, then keep on browsing. But if you fancy a stroll down gay memory lane -- from growing up Garland through 'Cabaret'to the oft-forgotten 1980 TV spectacular 'Goldie and Liza : Together' -- you can't do much better than this true fan's scrapbook."

****

From OUT magazine, January 2004 issue; "OutFront" Reviews : "What's New and Hot" : "ETC" (Page 27) :

"A must-have for Liza fans, Scott Schechter brings us 'The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook' (Citadel, $21.95), a vibrant volume about her career, with over 200 rare and never-before-seen photographs."

****


Featured on November CNN "American Morning" Show

****

GREAT write-up on the InSightOUT Book Club's webpage :

CLUB REVIEW

From Cabaret to her recent stint on "Arrested Development," Liza Minnelli has never let the scandal that seems to run in her family's blood taint her dazzling career. And her life in showbiz, which spans five decades, is celebrated with this scrapbook of photos, facts, and diva pride!

"The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" takes you back to the beginning of the dynamic performer's life as the daughter of Judy Garland-and her first public appearance at age 2 1/2! From there, she launched a career that garnered her Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, and it's all covered here! Along with page after page of fantastic photos, the scrapbook looks at Liza's illustrious career: New York, New York, Flora the Red Menace, Liza at the Wintergarden, and The Act. There are essays about every major performance she's ever given, including her sold out appearance in Victor/Victoria. Plus, you get all the trivia and facts you could desire-and need! Everything Liza, including discography, videography, lists of awards and much more. Photos throughout. 242 pages, 8 1/2" x 11", softcover.


THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER -- Tuesday, November 16th, 2004

Reuters via Yahoo! News, Mon, 15 Nov 2004 4:13 PM PST

'SCRAPBOOK' DELIVERS THE GOODS (Headline)

By Robert Osborne NEW YORK

Liza Minnelli has certainly had her share of publicized woes of late, but something's on the horizon that should cheer her considerably.

Scott Schechter has compiled a magnificent book on the one aspect of L. M. that always seems to get short shrift or is altogether ignored these days, i. e.,her years of delivering the goods in front of cameras and on stages throughout the world. That work has won her, to date, an Oscar (1972), three Tonys (1965, '74, '78), an Emmy (1973), a Grammy (1989), two Golden Globes (1973, '86) and an ever-loyal fan base, something Schechter covers in monumental detail in "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook," in bookstores this month via Citadel Press, with a foreword by Billy Stritch.

No stone is left unturned in looking at the career of Minnelli and, for a refreshing change, no stone is hurled at her, either; here, it's strictly Liza's professional life and accomplishments that the author is emphasizing. And nothing goes unrecorded, be it a TV "Match Game" appearance on NBC in 1967, a 1987 concert in Stockholm, Sweden, or, this year, singing "Oscar" and "God Bless the Child" at a private party at the Ars Nova Theatre in New York. Besides being a dandy reference guide for anyone hunting for a Minnelli fact,"Scrapbook" also includes plenty of interesting info on
Minnelli projects that came close to happening but didn't. She was announced, for instance, in 1975, and again in '77 and '79, to star in the film version of "Chicago," playing Velma to Goldie Hawn s Roxie Hart (with, at one point, Allan Carr producing, Frank Sinatra playing the lawyer, Nancy
Walker as the prison matron and Carol Channing and Ann Miller as competing newspaper reporters); later, in 1992, it was rescheduled but with a
difference: Lewis Gilbert was to direct, with Liza switched to the role of Roxie and Goldie as Velma.

We all know how that turned out. In 1982, Liza tested for what was to be an "Evita" directed by Ken Russell; she sang "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," causing Russell to publicly comment, "We had found our Evita"; the entire venture, however, was KO'd until it was finally made 14 years later with a different leading lady. Schechter also lists dozens of other projects that
almost happened ("Sunset Boulevard," "The Carmen Miranda Story") and, carrying out the "scrapbook" motif, there are miscellaneous color photographs, candids and reproductions of Playbill and album covers and Liza-related ads. One thing comes through loud and clear: The lady may like
to play, but she has also worked.

****

The NY POST -- "PAGE SIX" -- Sunday, November 14th, 2004 :

HITS THE SPOT :

IT'S not all bad news about Liza Minnelli, who was just hit with a lawsuit by her former chauffeur. At the book party for Scott Schechter's "Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" tribute tome, the author announced Minnelli's first theatrical movie since "Stepping Out" in 1991. Liza will play an offbeat self-help seminar leader who helps Parker Posey on her quest to find her G-spot, in "The Oh in Ohio." It co-stars Danny DeVito and Mischa Barton.

****

The SECOND Review of "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" this one by Phill Hall of Boston's EDGE and also to appear in the NY RESIDENT paper in a few weeks :

"The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" by Scott Schechter
Grade: A+
by Phil Hall
EDGE Literature Critic
Monday Nov 1, 2004

Just from the title alone, "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" seems predestined to find a place on the coffee table of many gay homes. But forget the stereotypical gay worship of this show biz icon and zoom in on the rich contents. Scott Schechter's extraordinary tribute to Liza with a "Z" is brilliantly researched, lavishly illustrated and endlessly entertaining. It is impossible to come away from this book without possessing a deeper love and respect for Minnelli.

Schechter breaks down Minnelli's career in a neat manner: a decade-by-decade career-based mini-biography (all scandals are removed from print), followed by a chronological appreciation of Minnelli's theater, film, television, recording and concert careers. Schechter uncovers a wealth of long-forgotten facts and photographs which will delight Minnelli's fans: Minnelli dancing on stage with then-unknown Elliott Gould in a touring company of "The Fantasticks," her simultaneous Time and Newsweek covers for "Cabaret" (and you thought Bruce Springsteen was the only entertainer to accomplish that?)

The book is also rich with Minnelli trivia, including unlikely appearances such as a concert for the inmates of a Chicago jail (two months after she won the "Cabaret" Oscar). There is also an unexpectedly large amount of little-known data on projects which Minnelli either turned down (including the role of Daisy in "The Great Gatsby" opposite Robert Redford) or which fell apart before production began (including the film version of "Evita" under Ken Russell's direction).

Schechter is uncommonly generous to Minnelli, to the point of presenting the most glamorous and flattering photographs available; later-life tabloid photographs which show Minnelli's problems with weight control are conspicuously absent. Yes, "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" is a love letter to the great star. And honestly, what's wrong with a love letter to someone who truly earned the love of her fans?

Citadel Press, $21.95, 228 pages

****

The FIRST REVIEW for "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook"

LIZ SMITH : NY Post -- Friday, November 5th, 2004

"DEDICATED TO Liza Minnelli's artistry." That's what it says on page one of Scott Schechter's "The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook" (Citadel Press). This is a glossy valentine to the great star, concentrating on her long, award-laden stage, screen and recording career. The sensation of her "private" life is not emphasized. Tons of previously unseen photos and plenty of Minnelli minutiae. (Her first reviews, even as an awkward teen, are a thrill to read; she had style from the start!) Flip through this and be reminded that Liza is an artist, one whose commitment to her audience never wavers.

****

A very interesting look at the Washington D.C. music scene of the late 1950's early 1960's with memories shared by those that knew a young Jim Morrison.

I've read a number of Doors books and whenever they talk about his school yrs I often wondered if anyone would investigate it. This book covers Jim's High School yrs from 1959 to 61 graduation. Some of these stories make sense to a number of antics Jim has later done as a rock star. I remember reading that Jim would just leave The Doors for days & no one would know where he ventured. Jim as a 17 yr old done this as well. Plus talking to his high school friends about faking his death. No one ever remembers Jim even talking about forming a band or shown any interest in rock music. Besides influences of philosopher Nietzsche, French poet Rimbaud, British Poet/artist William Blake I liked the chapter that talks about Jim's books and favorite authors like Kafka, James Joyce, Camus, and the Beat Generation Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg to name a few. They also list some the of titles w/ a brief discription. Very interesting to see where Jim got his influences.

WOW! Mark Opsasnick's new book "The Lizard King Was Here..." is by far the
most scholarly and erudite book on Jim Morrison yet! So much factual
never before released information on Jim's life and times in Alexandria,
Virginia that it boggles the reader's mind. One on one interviews with
dozens of Jim's former high school classmates and exhaustive research has
opened a whole new wonderful vista on Jim Morrison's life before he turned
his attention to the west and LA and his cofounding The Doors in 1965.
If you are a Doors fan or not this book is required reading! Puts to shame
all the other efforts by dubious authors to get to the psyche of The
REAL Jim Morrison. If you read this book you will come away knowing a lot
more about Jim than you ever thought you would. The book is packed full of
details about Jim and his Alexandria milieu that will keep you turning the
pages for more and more. This is a FUN book! Rare photos too! Add it to
your library today! This IS the real deal!! I'm on my 3rd reading!!
-Richard Castleton,VA.

Many of Jim Morrison's influences have been well documented: the French symbolists, James Joyce, the Beat writers, and the 1960s Los Angeles scene. Still, there are gaps in understanding his terrifying genius and talented rage.

Mark Opsasnick highlights the influences of one of the most misunderstood periods in Morrison's brief life, his high school years in the once-sleepy town of Alexandria, Virginia--right outside of Washington, DC. Opsasnick documents these influences with plenty of cultural history and numerous, skillful interviews with people who knew Morrison, or perhaps knew him as well as anyone did.

Unlike some other accounts of the band, the author's scholarship and attention to historical detail are simply exceptional. He is thorough, though never pedantic. Opsasnick, a talented cultural historian, makes these languid years return, alive again in all of their strangling proventialism. Yet he does this without bowing to cheap nostalgia or contemporary cultural haughtiness. He writes like someone who is intensely interested in his topic, the times, and his town. Maybe this is why this book book is so hard to put down.

Opsanick does not try to solve the mystery of who Jim Morrison "really was". (In fact, he lets the reader ponder a delightful new enigma as an epilogue.) Instead, he describes a key developmental period of a petulant introvert, who would later reinvent himself and shock the world. And in doing so, the author wrote an immensely enjoyable book for anyone with even a casual interest in the Doors, the DC area, or the cultural hollowness of the late 1950s.

First, I echo the comments from all the other 5-star reviews; they put it best.

Second, I have lived in Arlington/Alexandria since 1989 (with a short detour in the Army) and I am amazed to find that I have been to some of the same places that Jim inhabited while he was here. I never realized that I used to live just a few blocks from his high school, and used to walk through the same tunnel that was shot in his "PINMAN" movie.

More than just a story about Jim Morrison, the book is a story of DC/Northern Virginia in the 60s, and would give anyone (even a non-Doors fan) an informative cultural history of how our hometown has changed in the last 40 years. How did teens and young adults live before the Metro? What did they do for fun before they had the City Paper and the Internet to tell them what to do?

Some of the places described in the book (Harrigans Restaurant for example) sound like such treasured venues it's a shame that they're gone. I almost wish I never learned they existed, because DC lacks the lustre it once had.

If you are a Doors fan, you should buy this book. If you are a Doors fan from DC, you MUST buy this book.

The Return of the King sheet music book is pretty amazing. If your an avid fan of Lord of the Rings (or even if you just like the music), this is the sheet music for you. It has a nice selection of different pieces from the movie. The pieces range in skill level which is also nice. All in all a great buy.

This sheet music has everything except the Rohan theme.I love the diversity.It's so much fun to play-from the regal Gondor theme to the homey Shire theme.I love the 10 straight minutes of The Return of the King track.And the beautiful music for Arwen is captured in Twilight and Shadow.Overall,a very satisfiying book.A perfect gift for any lotr fan who knows piano.

This book has been very hard to put down ever since I first got it a few weeks ago. I just can't stop playing "Into The West" and "The Return of the King". This book really, really shows the genius masterpiece in its right form, that Howard Shore composed for the Lord of the Rings. Most of the songs are fairly easy to play and great just for your own enjoyment/entertainment but also perfect for solo recitals, or group performances. Buy this together with 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' for your ultimate enjoyment!

The battle for Middle-Earth rages on, and the forces of good have one final stand against the face of evil. Also, Frodo and Sam go through their hard times together, yet with love being their success. And there is a very shocking surprise for the people of Dunedain. I would call it the most emotionally satisfying book I have ever read.

I love this! It is much better than the Two Towers or Felloship books. Why? Because I'm a pianist, and these solos are actually fun to play. The other two books are covered in my handwritten changes to the extent of looking like a Beethoven autograph. While I still make changes in ROTK, these are much better arranged for the pianist who enjoys playing.