Music Books

This is a great and comprehensive resource for any orchestra librarian or administrator! A Must Have!

Daniel's Orchestral Music is an amazing resource. As a music librarian, I find it indespensible. It is huge time saver, with loads of information all in one convenient package. I particularly like the updated instrumentation format, which is easier to understand and gives more complete information.

This is my bible! Could not live without it. Far surpasses all previous editions.

This book is a necessity for any conductor, orchestra librarian, or artistic director as it is an invaluable resource. It is significantly more comprehensive than the previous edition but nonetheless is a work in progress, missing many great, but obscure composers. The inclusion of the various appendixes with catagorization by duration, composer nationality, etc. are extremely useful. All being said, it is an essential part of any serious musician's library and will serve you well.

The fourth edition of Daniels' handbook is a must for anyone involved in selecting repertoire for the symphony orchestra. The appendices are extremely helpful, the precise instrumentation for percussion and auxilary instruments is valuable, and the listing of nationality, birth/death dates and places for the composers is useful. This handbook is truly a time-saving and informative reference work.

This book is impressively well written with a dry, concise and insightful tone. This book is not against perfectionism, but against the idea that mistakes should be always avoided, even during practice. The author suggests that music should be performed with a strong body awareness, and that this should be cultivated during practice in a way that is a sort of dialogue between ourselves and our bodies; in this dialogue, errors are a way for our bodies to communicate with us, so we should be able to make them boldly and then recover from them as much information as we can. This, in the end, makes the correction of the error deeper, and our performances more confident.

The book is not a step-by-step guide to practicing using this method; it's more a pedagogic book detailing the philosophy behind this approach. Still, it's very though provoking even for non teachers and for amateurs musicians, especially adults returning to music after previous bitter experiences.

This book is absolutely enjoyable to read. I just couldn't stop reading it...I did not want to continue practicing without hearing all that William Westney had to say about practicing techniques (for any instrument, though mainly piano) and musicality. He uses great resources if you want to learn more about what he writes. His focus is getting in touch with the innate musician within you...a very positive and motivating book...highly recommended.

If you want to truly refresh your thinking about teaching music, this is the book. Explore with the author ways to bring enthusiasm and joy into the learning process... how to use 'honest mistakes" as tools. Be prepared to learn why traditional methods can sometimes harness creativity. This book described for me a way to help my students relax and welcome the journey into music. Whether teaching by traditional methods or not, this book is a must. Thanks, Mr. Westney, for the great read and the inspiring words.

Not really being part of the culture to which the author is reacting, I found this book to be captivating, if a bit strident. The unfortunate tendency towards perfectionism taints a great deal more than music instruction. The expectations of deference and respect on the basis of position weaken bishops and U.S. presidents as well as maestros and music teachers. Still, the control freak element runs deep. As an adult beginner taking piano lessons, I just see it from a different perspective. Take humor in the strutting of the popinjay, no need to be alarmed by it.

Also, the man either knows nothing about golf, or else cheats on his scorecard. I suspect the former rather than the latter. But, a recorded lousy golf swing is just a lousy golf swing, while one left off the scorecard is, well, a reflection of character.

However, on his home ground, the practice room and the recital stage, the author is very strong. Texas Tech is lucky to have him. Go, Red Raiders!

This is my favorite book about music-making (classical piano, in my case). Westney very convincingly makes the case for an overhaul of the way we approach music practice and performance. The 'juicy wrong note' idea promotes a wholistic, passionate attitude. It is NOT the idea of treating mistakes lightly...more, it's the attitude of making the mistake whole-heartedly and then learning what it has to tell you about your level of preparedness,an unsuspected weak point, etc. Westney does not cover specific how-to's (the best book on that for piano in my opinion is Berman's) but more the philosophy to bring to the practice room and to the performance. I'd give more stars if it were possible

I have recieved my score for the planets suite and this score is just what I wanted. The book is about A4 size and is very easy to hold, read and handle. The print size is fine for studying the score or just scanning while you listen. I am very happy with my score.

What more can be said about Holst's masterpiece "The Planets" which has not already been said been? To be sure, the music is a work of genius; therefore, I wish to comment more about the quality of Dover's printed score. This publication is a quality product. The engraving is primo (a reproduction of the 1921 Goodwin & Tabb Ltd. original); it is easily legible, accurate, and looks wonderful. Obviously, the original engravers were at the top of their game on this one, and Dover has done a terrific job of transferring the plates; it's as clean as one could wish for in an affordable study score. Even in soft-cover, the binding is durable and the pages lay flat. The inclusion of a commentary or brief analysis would have been a welcome addition, but that is a very small gripe against an otherwise fantastic publication. I give it my highest recommendation.

I went through this score several times with multiple recordings and it is to the tee. All the movements are in the book, in concert order, the score was written out in the proper key. If you're trying to find a score for the Planets, This is the one without having to buy the actual performance score.

This Dover score presents everything in a clear and easy-to-read way even though Holst wrote some interesting things that are difficult to notate by ear! The score does open up a new world - listening to it and reading/watching the score are two different things. I was completely unaware of Holst's gigantic forces and his wonderful orchestration that is present in the score.

There's no see through on the pages (and where there is, it is only minimal). Main languages are English and Italian terms. For an 80-year old score, it's pretty impressive and in very good condition. A very good buy I must say for $10 - my friend had to pay close to $70 for her copy (both of which are exactly the same). A great bargain!

Clean, clear, large print, handsome edition of this well known and loved classic. Lists instrumentation on every page (some editions don't list the score instrumentation except for the first page. This often makes score study [especially big orchestral works like this or R. Strauss] very hard to read).

Great price as well.

This book was super amazingly crazy popular in Sweden. It was widely adored, and also made into a film. The reviews of the English translation have also been glowing, and words like "luminous" were thrown around as though they cost absolutely nothing instead of 50 cents.

I feel as though I must have missed something BIG. After I looked at the reviews (I generally don't look at 'em until after I'm done with a book) I found myself paging back through the book, looking for what everybody found so wildly new and exciting.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the book. I thought that it was a nice little coming of age story, made interesting by the theme of the impact that popular music can have in the midst of isolation. The fact that it is set in Norrbotten made it particularly interesting for me. (I actually would really like to visit Haparanda sometime, but that's a different story.)

No, my issue is that I am not really sure why there is so much to love about it. I'm not sure if it is the translation or the writing, but I find the prose kind of clunky in places-- not luminous, whatever that means. It has its moments where it gathers itself to take flight, and almost succeeds. But then I found it sank back down into more predictable sociology of the far north-- saunas and schnapps and what not.

Anyhow, I would recommend the novel, but with reservations. It was a quick smooth read, and interesting enough. Particularly if you have an interest in Swedes or Sweden, it is worth the time to read.

This novel was recommended to me by fiddler Colm O'Riain and poet Pireeni Sundaralingam, both much more cosmopolitan than I. They keep in better touch with great European writing. It's as wonderful as they said it would be, and hard to describe because Vittula is truly another world, a least as Niemi portrays it. Picture kids at the far end of nowhere trying to make out the Beatles on short wave radio and practicing on broomstick guitars. Picture winter-goofy Scandinavian men with too much to drink, too long in the sweathouse, and too little to shoot at--in a funny/weird sort of way! Really, this book will take you to place you'll remember more vividly and strangely fondly than most of the places you've actually been. Take Me With You When You GoNutty to Meet You! Dr. Peanut Book #1

This is one of those gems that would never have been published in the US unless it came in with some momentum and buzz from afar. It describes adolesence, dipping deeply into the well, stringing together a series of vignettes that are well tied together. I'm a 54-year old businessman, parts of the book were agonizing and I actually found myself squinting through my fingers in raw embarassment. The wedding chapter was tremendous.
jk

Growing up anyplace isn't smooth, it isn't describable exactly. If you search your memories later, trying to ask why you did something, you can't, for the life of you, remember why. You just did it. Things happened. You tried to get to China. You mimicked the rock stars when you thought you were alone. You might even have licked cold locks---if you grew up in northern climes--- and got your tongue stuck. You were never the hero of your own legend. Well, folks, this novel captures that confusion perfectly. I've never set foot in Sweden, let alone in its far north by the Finnish border, where all the growing up takes place. But now I feel I know what it was like. Niemi's description, magical realism and all, gives you such joy, such interest, that I assure you, you will read POPULAR MUSIC IN VITTULA as quickly as you can. I haven't laughed out loud over a book so much for years. Hey, I even laughed in the Boston subway like some kind of weird, public transport cackler. But I didn't care. Kids fight in the woods with B-B guns, try to start rock bands to impress girls, experiment with sex and alcohol, get up the teacher's nose, visit scary old healers, watch the grownups pass out at huge drinkups, and dream of fast cars. In the very end, things turn out quite differently, but that's really familiar too. Most of the themes are hardly unique to the area, but it's Niemi's genius that he makes you feel it exotic and familiar at the same time. It's contemporary writing at its best and I think all readers in English owe a vote of thanks to the translator too.

You've got to have a strong stomach for a couple sections, say for example, if large piles of dead mice are not your forte. If you have ever seen Kaurismaki films like "Leningrad Cowboys Go America" or "The Man without a Past", you will recognize the same deadpan Finnish humor in Niemi's novel, whose characters are mainly from the Finnish minority in Sweden's rural north. I could recount a scene or two for the surfing reader, try to "deconstruct" whatever, go literary if I could, but your best bet would be to read the book. You will not regret it.

If you're looking for a funny and tender coming-of-age story set above the Arctic Circle, this is the book for you! It's set in Pajala, a small town in the remote Tornedalen region of Sweden, far north and near the Finnish border. The semi-autobiographical story is told through a series of twenty self-contained short stories that take Matti roughly from age 5-15 or so from the mid-'60s to mid-'70s. One is immediately given a taste of the book's style in the prologue, in which the adult Matti manages to freeze his tongue to a metal plaque atop a Nepalese mountain. He only manages to free himself (and live) by using his urine to break the bond, which then launches him into the story of his youth. The broad outlines of his experiences are similar to those of any other boy growing up in a remote place forty years ago. Life was boring and filled with hard work, some things were manly (hunting, work, fighting, hockey, eating, drinking, machines), and everything else is "women's work." If you're not good at manly things, well... at a minimum you won't fit in very well.

Of course, Matti is a little outside the mainstream, but manages to make his way with best friend Niila by his side. Where the book shines is in the the specifics of his childhood, in which wacky antics shine with humor and pathos, and magic realism rears its head every now and then. Some of the events covered include: discovering rock and roll music via the Beatles, a summer job as a mouse hunter, a raucous arm wrestling contest, an equally grueling sauna endurance contest, a sermon in Esperanto, a mind-boggling teenage drinking contest, tall tales of family prowess, a will reading degenerating into a brawl, starting a band with a cardboard guitar, the vagaries of a fundamentalist Christian sect (Laestadianism), first sexual encounters, and a BB-gun war. And let's not forget the transsexual hermit magician... All these individual parts are quite entertaining, even if they never quite add up to a complete hole. It's an amusing, and sometimes very funny look at growing up rural which would probably resonate much more with other remote cold climate dwellers than the average reader. A welcome oddball addition to the coming-of-age genre.

Note: The book was a runaway bestseller in Sweden, selling one copy for every twelve Swedes! Naturally, the book has been adapted as a film--which was co-written and directed by an Iranian who immigrated to Sweden as a teenager!

Michael Aczon is an amazing resource for all musicians and music business individuals. I have had the pleasure of talking with him about the business as well as reading his book. Each time I've had a question, I've checked the book to find my answer. The most useful information for me was the chapter discussing the difference between publishing/mechanicals/royalties. There is always a gray area for me surrounding exactly where the checks come from. This clarification was enough for me to give the book a thumbs up!

"Michael Aczon's 'Legal Companion' is an absolute necessity for anyone with the slightest interest in the music industry. Having had first hand experience in dealing with music industry legal issues, Aczon's guide is confirmation that all musicians (even professionals) should be vigilant concerning the 'business of music'. Ya gotta get this book!"

This book is a practical, user-friendly guide through the maze of legal topics that confront so many working musicians. Michael Aczon makes complicated legal issues seem a lot less intimdating, and much easier to navigate. I wish I'd had this book when I was first starting out, and will definitely make use of it in the future - very highly recommended!

This book is a must have for those in the music industry. It seperates itself from other music law texts with its clear, consise, and thorough examination of the music business. As a manager of a rock band I have relied on The Professional Musician's Legal Companion to help guide me through the music industry... which at times feels like a jungle.
Aczon's engaging writing allows valuable legal details to be easily remembered at times when I need them most.

I think the genius of Michael Aczon's book is that he neither gives nor tries to give us all the answers--he helps us to consider, raise, and articulate for ourselves the essential questions of our particular situations as professionals in a complicated industry. He provides the perfect starting point to enter into informed business relationships. In my experience hearing him speak and teach, this runs consistent with the straight-shooting and compassionate way he walks through the world. He generously empowers others with information, and he encourages them to be responsible and accountable for meaningful decisions that will impact their careers. The Legal Companion seems like his able emissary in the world, doing just that. I have found it entirely helpful, relevant, and useful in my own work.

If you are looking for a book as a one-stop answer guide for all the complex legal questions surrounding a career in music, you might be disappointed. That is not the author's intent, nor his philosophy. (It is debatable whether any single volume can do such a thing.) But if you are looking for a text written clearly that respects your intelligence and your values as an artist and businessperson, the Legal Companion will provide you with a solid foundation for making decisions about the business of your art. I highly recommend this book.

Real Men Don't Rehearse is laugh out loud funny. You don't need to be knowledgeable about music to feel like you are rightfully back stage with the best orchestra and musicians in the world. RMDR is an experience not to miss!

Justin Locke, who played eighteen years with the Boston Pops and other orchestras, has penned this collection of anecdotes and reminiscences from his days as a professional musician. His claim is that double bass players, of which he was one, have a unique perspective, because no one chooses to play the bass when they start--the decision tends to be made for them. While he is probably luckier than many musicians (he didn't have to audition to get into the Boston Pops, for example), by and large his observations on musical and career matters ring true, especially about practice and taking auditions for major orchestras. His funny stories didn't evoke a lot of outright guffaws from this reader but plenty of chuckles. There is some name-dropping but it's kept to a minimum, and the gentlemanly Locke mostly resists the easy temptation of conductor-bashing. Overall, his tales contain many moments to which musicians who are not superstars but nevertheless plugging away at their careers can relate. I can think of a lot of people to whom I'd recommend this volume.

Well, I got "Real Men Don't Rehearse" yesterday afternoon and it was finished by bedtime. It was GREAT! I couldn't put it down as I related to so many of the experiences Justin wrote about (I'm a freelance oboist). I was in tears reading about the charter plane emergency procedures. "BUCK-LE, BUCK-LE......OOOOOOOH" HAHAHAHAHA Now, I have never had the pleasure of touring with a group (I'm in South FL and there just aren't many touring groups, if any, from this area). The closest I have come to "touring" so far is a high school band trip (MANY years ago) to D.C., and the airplane ride Justin described sounded like what the clowns in band would pull. They never grow up, do they?

Thanks for a great book. It was a nice way to unwind last night.

My husband and I just love this book! We laughed and laughed, since the stories were so similar to our years in a professional symphony orchestra.
Buy lots of them for your friends, even the non-musical ones, as it's a delightful read.

I loved this book! I myself am a musician and bought this for one of my musician friends for Christmas. I started flipping through the book and knew I had to get a copy for myself. Lots of fun stories that both musicians and non-musicians would enjoy. Gives you an "insider's look" at the world of professional musicians. The chapters are short enough that you can read one or two before bed. (Although I just wanted to keep reading!)

I'm not really a Stones fan, but this book is an interesting examination of what we choose to make important in our lives, how we view our own obsessions (and behaviors) relative to those around us, and if/how we finally decide to back off from them. The uneasiness Mr. Baumeister's review attributes to the book is exactly what sets it apart - it makes us ask how much is too much, and whether we are sure our protagonist is on the right side of the line.
I really liked the central role Chuch (the guitar tech) took on in the narrative, and found his story quite a jarring dose of reality, casting into sharp relief the circus he was surrounded by.
Had to deduct a star for lack of props to the bass player - give Darryl some love!

The Konrad Baumeister review gives away the ending. Do not read the 4th paragraph if you intend to read the book -- which you should.

A writer and musician, Wendy Ellison Mullen brings a very special expertise to bear in Ronnie Wood's Smile And Where It Led. A rock 'n roll insider, Wendy combines her abilities as a scholar, a writer, and a fan to share with her readers an engaging and informative account of the world of rock music with its roadies, concerts, life on the road, and the recording studios in general, and Ron Woods of the Rolling Stones in particular. Ronnie Wood's Smile And Where It Led is a terrific read from first page to last -- and one that no true Stones fan will want to miss!

This book was one of those that you pick up and you dont put it down until you've finished it. I thought it was very interesting, very personal, and I really liked the story, especially the ending. It was well written, and I would highly recommend it to any Stones fan, or any music fan who has had a "fan based" relationship with a musical artist or a band. Of course, the ending was great, and how appropriate that the lyric "You cant always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need", couldnt be more appropriate. Well Done!
John Lewis

Ronnie Wood is one of the true rock greats. He has played with frankly everybody of any consequence, been a key figure in the greatest rock bands then extant (Jeff Beck, Faces, Rod Stewart, Rolling Stones), released quirky and touchingly charming solo albums, and guested onstage with talents large and small. While certainly no guitar virtuoso, his playing instead is honest and personal; he plays unlike anyone else I have heard. Throughout one gets the feeling of humor, great charm, and a love of performing. I love him.

Wendy Mullen loves him too; she loves him *a lot*. And this book is really her story, not Ronnie Wood's at all.

At a Stones concert in the mid-90s, Ronnie more or less randomly smiles one of his huge ear-to-ear grins into the crowd, Cupid's arrow strikes Wendy, and a tale of obsession begins. Intrigued and fascinated, she writes a fan letter and eventually a signed photo appears in her mail! Now she's a goner. Pursuing her fascination and new raison d'etre in any way she can, she comes across fan communities on the internet, and meets varied other monomaniancs in her travels. She and some new friends begin criss-crossing the country, and then other countries, following the Stones tours, and finding imaginative and sometimes successful ways of getting decent and even afforable tickets to sold-out shows, as close to the object of their affections as they can. They camp outside of the hotels the Stones are staying at, and make fun of the obviously stalking and dangerous, pathetic fanatics who are doing everything that Wendy et al are doing, but a few feet or inches closer to the hapless band members. They hurl objects like men's briefs or scarves onstage hoping for recognition from Wood for their loyalty and love. They dodge security to get closer to the stage, or even briefly backstage.

On rare occasion, Wendy gets a word or two from one of the Stones, even from Wood (mouthed to her in some huge concert venue from stage), more often from roadies and band employees, and gets backstage more than once. [...] Once home, having been face to face with her obsession and suddenly realized the gulf between them, she decides that there is no point in going on with this type of pursuit and 'releases' poor Woody, and herself, from her love. We are all relieved, including probably Wendy's husband.

The book, which has won actual literary prizes, is well written (Mullen reminds us time and again that she has a PhD in English lit), and the author has a keen eye for detail and there is an honest appreciation of irony (as when she and her friends look down on other stalkers). I did enjoy reading it, snideness above to the contrary. But I came away actually feeling pity for Wood and for all celebrities of his rank (and he doesn't even have to deal with the adulation Jagger gets). I have met Ron Wood at art shows, and must say that he is surprisingly approachable and charming. I have met other rock stars and can say that Wood is in that way quite an exception. But I have never had any illusions that somehow I can get Woody to pick up the phone on a Friday and invite me over for a Guiness or two.

Through the flowering of her obsession, Wendy has become hugely expert on Ron Wood's music and musical career, and her website, slideonron.com is strongly recommended for any Woody fan. But this book, well written and honest and in a way innocently and then not so innocently heartfelt, made me uneasy somehow.

New Orleans resident and attorney, Bruce Spizer, has accomplished what no other Beatle fan and/or author could ever. Using his legal knowledge and access, has shed the ultimate light on the Beatles brief but fascinating time spent on Vee-Jay records. Congratulations to Mr. Spizer for cornering the market on what would otherwise be a mere footnote in the Fab's career, and for making it a wonderful read.

This is for all the beatle fans who wanted to know everything about vee jay. I do believe the Beatles on Vee-Jay is just a sentence or two in most biographies. Vee-Jay was something that the Beatles were picked up by before Capital came to their senses. However, if you want to know everything about it from the physical shape of the records in detailed description, from which warehouse a disc was manufactured, to the details of the royalty rates and how vee jay got hold of the beatles recordings and how they chose to release them. Only a lawyer can be this detailed and this good at describing the legal issues of the Beatles various contracts. The Beatles on vee-jay is a complicated matter, something someone from today wouldn't understand but the rock and roll business wasn't always so organized or money oriented, it was a much different world. A world of Singles, which don't exist anymore, a world of EPs which never caught big in America. The story how veejay marked down an ep to a singles price to help sell copies is priceless. Not only is this a book on the beatles it gives a grand idea on how rock and roll was marketed in 1963-1964. Initially you might think these are books are dull and obsessive but these books are essential, the pictures alone are worth the price of each book in the series, never mind all the text, the text is also detailed and through, remember if there's something that doesn't interest you, you may skip over that part i'm sure they'll be plenty in this book and the others that will interest you.

Wow. A great book about a little known part of the Beatles history. Most British fans will probably never even heard of the Vee-Jay records - so for that reason I suggest they well steer clear of this book. It tells the history of each record in so much detail that it is almost exhausting. Most fans will probably not care about the different labels designs and misprints on the sleeve... and which record processing plant they were made in... but to all of the Beatles collectors out there who want to know every possible thing about the band, then this book is a dream.
Not only does it cover all the ground in exhaustive detail, but it is also accurate - a not inconsiderable detail when you read about Vee-Jay in other books. For example, Bruce lays to rest some of the fables about the Introducing The Beatles album.
It is also lavishly illustrated.
Well worth the high asking price.

The story itself is absolutely mind boggling. This incredible tale has more loose ends than a rastafarian hat factory, and just as incredibly, Mr. Spizer pulls all of the threads together into a coherent whole and ties it up in spectacular fashion. The bumbling, cheating, lying, greedy characters that make up the story of how a record company missed the brass ring and lost the Beatles almost plays out like a soap opera....but it's all true! This is one of those cases where the truth is stranger than fiction. And while the story plays itself out, one is overwhelmed by the shear volume of product that an albums worth of songs engenders. If you think that Capitol "Butchered" the Beatles, you ain't read nothin' yet. The book is replete with scads of dazzling pictures of everything from record labels to court documents and everything in between. If you're a dihard Beatles fan or a just interested in stories with a twisted plot, you won't be disappointed with this book.

I received my copy of this book a couple of days ago with the similar Apple book (see my seperate review of that one). I bought it on the strength on the Author's similar Capitol volumes and boy it's amazing how much research this guy puts into his work. The Vee-Jay story was pretty much an unknown quantity to us Aussies so it's all the more fascinating to read the twists and turns of Vee-Jay's involvement in Beatlemania back in 1963-64. The chapters are mind-boggling to read. All 4 Capitol & Others vs Vee Jay legal cases are thoroughly detailed though I have skimmed through these because it's just so much to take in. The chapter on "Introducing The Beatles" was my main interest because I have a copy of the Mono Version #1 LP which I bought in an Auction here over 10 years ago. I have verified that it's the real deal thanks to this book + Perry Cox's "Beatles Price Guide". No, it's not for sale either!! The label representations and pictures of old original 45's are amazing and enough to drool over. I can't add much more than my colleague reviewers here other than you must have this and the Author's other books (On Capitol #1 & 2 & On Apple) if you're a serious Beatle nut like me. Even if you're not it's a wonderful addition to any Rock Music book library.

This book is a wonderful mixture of fictional literature combined with the political backdrop of the reunification of Germany and an insider's view of the classical music world as seen through the eyes of a student conductor, Cooper Barrow, a conservatory dropout returning to his first love, although the challenges he faces are significant. The story follows Mr. Barrow's studies with a master conductor suffering from his own demons, in Germany where the culture, language and methods are not familiar, where he falls in love with a fellow musician, which of course has its own complications. The book is extremely well written, and is a pleasure to experience, sweeping the reader into the world in which Mr. Barrow is trying to make his mark. He is tormented by his teacher, trying to learn all he can under extremely difficult conditions pitted against other student conductors in an overly competitive environment, always with the fear of failure hanging over his head. The lessons he learns take him to new heights in his musical endeavors, forever changing his perceptions of music, and through his affair, his perceptions of life.

There is a bootcamp sort of relationship between our protagonist and his tough German professor who has been through the worst of Hitler's attrocities. Both wounded geniuses need a little bit of love and a chance to realize their true talents and role as real players in the world of concertmasters. A female oboeist from Eastern Germany plays a role in both of their lives while she deals with her own deamons escaping from the East. There is real passion in the romance that occurs, but the over-riding theme seems to be the affects of the pain and suffering that some of the Germans have lived through during the reign of communism and Hitler.

Sometimes, the story seemed a bit harsh and strained, although in the end, I think it was very realistic and the outcome certainly not a stretch. And for a non-musician, there is huge and interesting insight into the world of musicians and the huge effort and talent it takes to get to the top.

Identity and power characterize both the themes of The Student Conductor and the writing itself. Ford knows the world of classical music profoundly. Everything is depicted correctly. Astonishingly, he simultaneously captures the tremulous mindset of an American in 1989 Germany. This is a novel in the mold, curiously, of Faulkner. It is about a time and a place, but it is mostly about memory and love. Like Faulkner, Ford explores both individual and collective experiences of history as well as of life and music. While perhaps not quite on Faulkner's plane, Ford is a superb writer, though given to the occasional stiff turn of phrase. This is an extraordinary novel, and ranks with Frank Conroy's Body and Soul as one of the best fictional depictions of the world of classical music.

BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT. This for me was one of those rare books that one cannot put down. I love this book. The story keeps you involved and surprised at many of the twists and turns. Mr. Ford has managed to convey such emotion through his magnificent descriptions of the times, the music, the little know world of the conductor, wonderful descriptions of the German scene and on top of all that gives us beautiful love scenes and the tragedy and politics of Nazi Germany. Bravo Mr. Ford. Your book was a true gift.

After finishing 'The Student Conductor' and replacing the dust jacket, I noticed that the front flap contained a blurb comparing its author, Robert Ford, to John Fowles. I hadn't thought of that but instantly agreed on seeing it. In fact, make it a blend of Fowles and Erich Ambler. Mr. Ford's writing exudes erudition and clever insights without even a hint of showing off or straining for effect. He effortlessly creates an authentically European ambiance and engages the reader with his characters' (and his own?) finely-tuned sentiments contrasting today's healthy Germany with its profoundly divided and dysfunctional predecessor during the cold war. In this setting Ford weaves an Ambler-like tale of intrigue involving a promising American apprentice conductor, a brilliant but unstable teacher who seems bent on surreptitiously destroying his best pupils, and a beautiful oboist with an enigmatic past.

But that's not all. Ford delivers much more than just an engaging yarn to anyone who might be curious about the trade secrets of conducting, the ambitions and anxieties of classical musicians, and the nuts and bolts of orchestra management. He has mastered the technique of using professional jargon and recondite references in such a way that the reader is gradually drawn into the psyche of the protagonist (Cooper Barrow, the student conductor) and begins to acquire an enhanced musical understanding that feels real. And in fiction, the feeling is what counts. I confess to a little thrill of edification on learning that the famous tuning note A-440 actually vibrates 443 times per second.

A trio of tiny glitches stands out only because the book is, overall, so perfectly crafted. On page 15 "lay" is used where "lie" belongs. On page 216 "lay" again appears where "laid" should be, and on page 231 "affect" incorrectly takes the place of "effect."

Mr. Ford's first novel is a treat on several levels and I am glad to recommend it with enthusiasm.

If you love soul music and want to understand it from the inside out this book is for you. It is full of facts, myths debunked, and a scholarly yet very sensitive and thoughtful perspective on what the music means to us and why.

In "Sweet Soul Music," Peter Guralnick explains what made soul music great. He views soul as a distinct genre, separate from Motown, which was performed primarily by black singers for a black audience. Soul told the story of the rapid social upheaval transforming the South while reflecting the gains made by the civil rights movement. According to Guralnick, soul was different from other forms of R&B because it involved straining the boundaries of the listener's expectations and hinting at a conclusion without actually reaching it. Unlike Motown, the musicians who performed soul were freelancers and individualists who emphasized the underlying feeling of a song more than keeping the mechanics exactly right. Guralnick says that because the musicians, songwriters, producers, managers, and engineers who created the music worked at isolated regional outposts far removed from the major record labels, they were able to define their own roles within the movement.

"Sweet Soul Music" traces the origin of soul to the song "Crying in the Chapel" by the Orioles, which blurred the lines between gospel and R&B. "I Got a Woman" by Ray Charles, which followed, solidified soul as a distinct genre and exerted a profound influence on the future of music in the U.S. Guralnick explains that "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge then brought white fans to the table. The book tells the stories of the heroes of soul, including Sam Cooke, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin, explaining in great detail how each set goals, viewed their careers, related to their peers, and overcame obstacles in order to achieve the extraordinary success that they did. Many of the stories are memorable, enabling the reader to see how a particular event changed an individual artist's view of the world, influenced that artist's decisions, and shaped the music itself.

The book is at its best, though, when telling the stories of the lesser-known talents who paved the way for future artists to succeed. Guralnick explains how Arthur Alexander's single "You Better Move On" was criticized in Nashville for sounding "too black," but eventually found the audience it deserved and opened new doors for other Muscle Shoals artists. William Bell's successful touring to support the single "You Don't Miss Your Water (Till Your Well Runs Dry)" not only to put Stax on the map, but enabled Bell to set the gold standard regarding philosophy towards fame and stardom. Guralnick explains how Stax's decision to open a record store and carry competing labels' stock gave the Stax musicians an opportunity to study hits closely, learn why they were hits, and discuss what future hits should sound like.

The book concludes that soul never fully recovered from the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an event that caused relationships among many of the movement's key players to become frayed. Guralnick says that soul was a genre that could only exist in a particular time and place because of the influence that the struggle for civil rights had on the music. Overall, "Sweet Soul Music" offers an outstanding look at why soul left such an extraordinary legacy for artists and fans today. The book is strongly recommended for anyone who wants to understand why soul left such a powerful impression on listeners at the time, and continues to do so today.

Like Robert Palmer's superb "Deep Blues," Guralnick's extensive look back at the roots of R&B and soul music combines criticism, biographical profiles and social history into one rich, printed tapestry. Meticulously researched, the book shows its author's deep love of the music without sacrificing objectivity.

Guralnick provides plenty of background on the "race music" that spawned R&B and the great soul music of the sixties and early seventies, on which much of the book concentrates. Like most, if not all, of the great blues musicians, the early pioneers of soul came from humble, mostly southern beginnings, and made little or no money from their work, which was liberally sampled by white musicians.

A good portion of the narrative revolves around the fascinating rise and fall of Stax Records, the tiny Memphis-based label that brought together white executive leadership and musicians with raw black talent from the South. Despite initially primitive recording conditions, Stax developed into a powerhouse that was home to some of the greatest musicians in soul music, from Otis Redding to William Bell to Carla Thomas to Sam and Dave to Johnny Taylor. The label became representative of the growing sense of black pride that defined the era, one in which civil rights, of course, moved to the forefront of America's consciousness.

All of these musicians and many more, including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James Brown, to name a few, are given finely drawn profiles by Guralnick, and he treats their contributions to American music with the respect that they deserve. Throughout, he is intent on letting the artists tell their stories in their own words, and remains content to use his own fine writing to direct and bind together the narrative.

Another great accomplishment of the book, for me, was Guralnick's successful effort to illuminate the ties between white and black musicians during this period. Yes, many of the most successful producers, notably Atlantic's Jerry Wexler, were white, but so were many of the musicians. Most had grown up in the south around blacks and were intimately familiar with African-American music. The Stax house band, which included Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, was white, and they performed on many songs penned by great black songwriters such as David Porter and Isaac Hayes. Think of the great, ominous organ introduction to Aretha Franklin's "I Ain't Never Loved a Man." The white player is Spooner Oldham. This musical cross-fertilization is a notable point, one not often brought into considerations of the era.

As a young kid coming up in the mid-60s, I loved the music that Guralnick writes about here, and I could tell -- even if he hadn't said so -- that he did too. He goes beyond that love to really dig into its roots and understand it, and succeeds admirably.

'Sweet Soul Music' is a fantastic book, the best book I've read on the subject. Having said that, it isn't by any means a complete history of Soul Music (it completely omits the great music that came from New York, Motown, Chicago and Philly), nor is it a complete history of Southern Soul Music (the book ends with the acrimonious break up of Stax/Volt records, even though great Soul was still being made elsewhere in Memphis). Guralnick's book starts off looking like a history of Soul Music (there are early chapters on Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and an amazing and hilarious chapter on Solomon Burke), but then the book changes emphasis and becomes the story of the involvement of white musicians in Southern R&B.

Guralnick's thesis seems to be that Southern Soul achieved its great creative flowering in the 60s as a result of the partnership between black and white musicians, and even though he interviews a great number of musicians and businessmen - black and white - he can't help himself from empathising with the young white hipsters that made up the house bands at Stax and Muscle Shoals, with the result that the book becomes very much a story told from their point of view (Guralnick calls Dan Penn the "secret hero of this book" - fair enough, but surely James Brown should have been its overt hero). After these white musicians were intimidated out of the business during the racial tension that followed Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, Guralnick concentrates more on the politics and seems to lose interest in the music itself.

Which is a great pity, since Southern Soul in the 70s went on to even greater heights (James Brown's rhythmic revolution, then Al Green's great synthesis of the sexual and the spiritual). Though I learnt a great deal from the book (my CD collection has mushroomed after reading it) it felt to this reader as though the book had ended just before its real climax.

I bought this book in the gift shop at the newly resurrected Stax Records museum in Memphis... the Satellite Record Shop, next door to the museum. I've lived in Memphis all my life, although I'm about 15-20 years younger than most of those made famous by the Stax phenomenon. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it served to fill in the blanks about many things I had only heard about superficially growing up here. I'm bothered by a lot of factual errors, not noticeable or important maybe to many, but this is about my home. At least the author and/or his editor could have been more sure of producing a factually accurate book. The edition I bought was published in 1999... the original in 1986. Did no one else catch these errors in the '86 edition? Here are a couple of examples: He refers to a Memphis radio station, KWEM, which was and is actually in West Memphis, Arkansas, and whose call letters are KWAM. (Everybody knows stations east of the Mississippi River start with a "W" and all those west of the Mississippi start with a "K".... radio and TV stations alike. Does the author know where Memphis is?
He refers to a naval base in Tipton County, TN, where Booker T. & the MGs would play, when in fact it's in Shelby County, the same county Memphis itself is in. Does this change anything in the big picture? Probably not. Is the book any less enjoyable or informative? No, not really. But if you considered yourself a true New Yorker, and someone kept writing about it, calling it Gethom City, or The Big Orange, well, you get the picture. I do wonder how many other errors the book may contain that I didn't catch?