Music Books

I had the Runnin' Down A Dream DVD so when I purchased the book I was concerned that they would both have the same information. The book has different information and is not the same as the DVD at all. For all of you Tom Petty fans out there this is a must buy!

Book is great(I knew it would be), What amazed me was how quickly I got it!!!

Runnin' down a dream, 30 career years of one of the rock stars that have changed the american rock business compiled in a complete book full of photographs, history and many many personal tales. A must-have for any rock fan.

i really enjoyed this book. it's a great companion to the dvd set. i think it's a must have for any Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fan. well worth it.

If you want to know more about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, buy this book. Great pictures and JUST GREAT STUFF ABOUT HIM.

This is a wonderfully creative mix of Indian and "Club" music. The "Silent Ganges" track is especially excellent.

What an audio delight this album is! Most enchanting is the subtle interweaving of sacred vocal chant underlying the beautiful and often mesmerizing musical journey created by this artist. I do intuitive healing work and find this music provides a soothing tonal landscape to help a client release pain and tension and experience peace. I will most certainly explore more from Manesh DeMoor.

I have a large collection of meditation and relaxation CD's. This one is about the best. Not too much of the groove music that is popular and not too much music on prosac. Just right.

This cd is sheer bliss. There are so many different sounds occuring at once that it takes you on a mystical journey. It really invokes your spirit to move and dance. I love the womans voice in "Raindance" and several other tracks. Also the use of the digeridoo and drums combined with the chanting and electronic affects make it very interesting. The flow is unbelieveable even though every track is quite different. I have listened to many "trance like" CD's and this is by far the best one I've heard. I do a form of Bodywork I call Trance Movement Massage and this will be one of my first picks to use for my practice.

An interesting experience of meditative and somber tones, easy to wander into another world of inner peace. The last three tracks are easily the most suitable for meditation.

Biographies of entertainers are usually pretty shallow, just part of the marketing effort. This one is a little unusual because it was written by a scholar who put a lot of effort into making it both as complete and interesting as possible. The author, Dr. Charles Townsend, also became, to a small extent, part of the story. On Bob Wills final recording with his Texas Playboys, For the Last Time, Dr. Townsend kicks off the music as the announcer, saying "The Texas Playboys Are on the Air!"

My Dad loved this book! It was a great gift for him

I was a little dubious at first because the book seemed kind of thick and was written by a professor. However, the more I got into it the more I loved it. Thick with detail, yes, but the story constantly moves along and we get a rich, complete picture of the man and his music, his triuimphs and his foibles. I could just picture being in a ballroom back in the day listening to Bob Wills and his Playboys as I read through. Truly a labor of love, this book. I picked it up because I'd just recently purchased a four-CD boxed set of Wills' music -- far more than I thought I wanted to hear, but I was wrong, and after reading this book I just want to hear more and more. Truly an American musical hero, and this is one of the best musical biogs I've ever read.

Charles Townsend has captured the real Bob Wills. A fine job, a detailed account on the life and music of the one of the greatest Texas stars to have evolved on the American western scene. Well written and exhaustively researched. Worth buying and reading.

OK. I'm a little biased. My grandfather J.W. Shafer, otherwise known as "Bub Shafer" (don't ask me why...nobody knows why), was a second cousin to Bob Wills. In this book, there's a photo of Bob standing in a cotton field near Turkey, Texas and he's got his arm around a young boy that looks about 13-years-old at the oldest. The young boy was my grandfather, and the caption beneath the photo states that Bob is posing with a relative in the cotton fields near Turkey, TX.

I didn't read this book until a few years ago, and I read it cover-to-cover. It details EVERYTHING, including a consistent barrage of extensive notes and details about the writing and progression of almost every song from concept-to-recording, and all the events surrounding anything that Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys must have done. In fact, you almost feel as though you are reading a virtual daily journal as if the author walked side-by-side and recorded the details as time progressed over many decades of Bob Wills' life. It's all documented perfectly, as most of the documentation came from bandmembers or friends or relatives...and 99% of each person's accounts were cross-checked against other sources for authenticity. Mr. Townsend definitely wanted to get the real Bob Wills rather than a comic book version pieced together by wild tales and drifting imaginations.

My favorite parts of the book deal with the intertwined perfection and imperfection of Bob and his life. Here's a guy who was born into poverty, ran away from home as a young teenager to escape poverty, almost became a preacher when he was found by a Godly family after running away, went back home to help out the family on the farm, almost got thrown into prison had it not been that for the local policeman recognizing who he was and letting him go after a failed robbery of a tire at a closed gas station, and then you've got repeated failures in almost every line of work you can imagine. And all along the way, through all of the misery and the rejection, he always had his fiddle (known as a "violin" for people north of the Mason-Dixon line) that bailed him out of trouble.

Bob didn't WANT to use his fiddle for gain, but it always saved his rear when he was in a real pickle. He finally travels to the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the depression, which wasn't a good place to be, to tell you the truth. He gathered up a couple of guys to audition for a spot on the Light Crust Flour radio spot--Back in those days, companies hired musicians and various entertainers to perform on the radio and at live concerts. Usually, the name of the band was surprisingly enough the name of the product being pitched. In this case, whomever played for the Light Crust Flour company was named "The Light Crust Doughboys." Funny-sounding, yes, but back in the day it was a sure-fire way to make a connection with the blue-collar families that listened to the music on the radio while also being spoon-fed a healthy dose of advertising.

To make along story short, Bob and his boys were a hit. Contract disputes; however, with the head honcho of the Light Crust organization led Bob to lure his bandmates away to Tulsa, OK, where they set up shop and were known as "The Texas Playboys." Huge fame came to Bob and his band. He had the largest band in the world, and had many people laughing at the sight of anywhere from 20-30 bandmembers lining up on stage at one time on any given night. His band rivaled, and probably even surpassed, Benny Goodman and any other mainstream Big Band-style band. Almost like our nation's standing army, if you were approved by Bob Wills to be good enough to be in his band, you were "on call" and could travel and make good money whenever the opportunities presented themselves. Bob was driven, and was a definite Type-A personality who had everything done his way. I can't remember the real number, but he made sure his entire band knew BY MEMORY hundreds of songs, if not thousands. He wanted to be able to play a dance anywhere in Texas, or any other state for that matter, and he wanted to strike up his band in an instant if a spectator from the crowd hollared at Bob to play a certain song.

This brand of customer service made Bob Wills a legend. Every band member knew his role. Every band member knew he'd be cut from the team like a washed up NFL player if he didn't measure up. They practiced all day long, almost every day of the week. They would sometimes travel way out of the way on the way back home from a tour to go and play a funeral for someone, and then REFUSE to be paid for the performance and even for expenses of traveling out of the way. Bob would slip a down-and-out person a few bucks so they could buy their child some food or some shoes...and he'd make sure it stayed a secret as long as it could. In the book, there are countless witnesses who say they knew Bob was so generous because he knew what it was like to go days without a meal and have nothing but what he had on his body at the time. Bob was never consistently financially wealthy because he gave most of it away over the years.

Sadly, Bob had severe faults that often outweighed his good deeds. He was a drunk, sometimes missing performances and thus placing a huge burden upon his band to let the crowd know that "Bob has the flu and can't come out of the tour bus to play." People must have prayed for Bob a lot, wondering how one man could contract the flu as often as Bob did. He had a knack for anger and foul language, and he could "let you have it" (as we say in Texas) at a moment's notice. He couldn't stay married for longer than a day or two, though a couple of marriages were longer than the other three dozen that had failed miserably, and it was mostly due to his overly possessive handling of his wives. His wives were made to stay in the home all the time, especially when Bob was away on a tour. He feared his wife going out and potentially striking up a relationship with another man while Bob was away. The same thing happened every time: The wife couldn't stand Bob's suspicious nature and lack of trust, and who could blame them? If a bandmember stepped out of line on the tour...he'd find himself with a one-way ticket home and he might not ever be asked to go on future tours ever again.

Lastly, the attack at Pearl Harbor paralyzed his career. Almost all of his bandmembers signed up to join the military in the days after the attack. The good 'ole days were over for good. He drifted away. And then as time went on, several country-western artists (Merle Haggard) paid tribute to Bob and recorded a reunion CD with some of Bob's surviving bandmates. At this time, Bob was crippled from a severe stroke and sat in a wheelchair in the recording studio. "Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, For The Last Time" has Merle Haggard at the helm for many songs, and he does a great job. During one song, "When You Leave Amarillo, Turn Out The Lights..." Bob breaks his paralytical silence and moans audibly on the CD at different points throughout the song. It's a sad sound, and I think it's due to the fact that Bob's memory was not as plagued as the body was at the time...Amarillo held a special place in his heart because his one "true love" lived there when he was a young man. He had lost track of her, but found her in Amarillo and went to her house with flowers for what he knew would be a great reunion of two kindred spirits. The father greeted Bob and told him she was just engaged and the soon-to-be-groom was on his way at that very moment to see her! It crushed Bob something fierce, and he stayed until the young man got to her house. Bob stood right up in the man's face and let him know that he better treat her well. He assured Bob he would, and then Bob wallked out of the door and back into the cold Amarillo winter...crushed, heart-broken, and without anything to really live for. To me, this incident was the beginning of a dark and terrible time for Bob. He went a long time before clawing his way back to the top, and I seriously doubt he ever forgot that cold Amarillo evening. Listen to the song, and hear Bob's groaning when the lyrics say, "...when you leave Amarillo, turn out the lights..." There's something there that says Bob might as well have died in Amarillo than continue on with the thought that he missed marrying his true love by only a few days or months. I am married six years now, and thank the Lord I will never know what that feels like. It must be awful.

Bob represents all of us: We want to do good for other people, even when we have nothing to give or everything to lose. But we also do bad when we know we shouldn't. And through the good and the bad, what's really important is that we never give up trying to do what's right in the face of wanting to do what's easy and convenient for that part of us that desires to do bad. Bob was so eerily conflicted inside: "Do I use my fiddle like some bargaining chip, as a cheap trick to dodge the bullet? Or am I really playing the fiddle because I love it and I want to spread joy to people who love this music?" I think he loved his fiddle, and he loved the music he made--it shows in the quality and in the passion of his music. It was that hint of suspicion that he had of himself, the part of him that said, "Bob, you're using the fiddle as some sort of tool to get what you want, and it's wrong for you to betray the true nature of music to do so" that tore Bob apart all his life. I don't think he ever found peace with himself. He was his harshest critic, and that's a sad thing. When you see older folks from his era get all misty-eyed when they hear his music or when you ask them about Bob Wills and what he meant to them when they were younger in Bob's era...you know he was way too hard on himself. But he couldn't enjoy it to its fullest potential. Born a victim, died a victim. Born to physical poverty, died with emotional poverty. And it was Bob who robbed himself and made himself poor in the end.

The music? It lives on. In dance halls across Texas. On classic country radio stations. In the books. On the CDs. In the hearts of people who know a good fiddle lick when they hear it. As Waylon Jennings sang one time to the enormous cheering of some dance hall's patrons who were listening and dancing to Jennings' live performance, "...In Texas, Bob Wills is still the King." For that, Bob should be proud had he lived a little longer. He would have been a richer man for it.

You would do well to get this book, and read it. It'll teach you a lot of life lessons. Some day, when I have the money...I'm going to make a movie out of it. And what a masterpiece it will be. "The Texas Playboys are on the air!"

-- Pecos Shafer of Amarillo, TX.

With web sites such as imdb and allmovies, a book of movie credits may not be necessary anymore.

It should be in libraries, though.

Still, the best of its kind!

Screen World 57 is a valuable collectors item for the movie buff to the film afficiaado. It contains reviews of every major film released in the U. S. and abroad. I have purchased this book every year since 1972. I wonder what this collection could be worth?

In one printing or another, this latest edition bring my collection
up to date.

If movies are your thing (and they are mine) this is the book to get to remind you of the past year in movies. We are talking indies, foreign, b movies and of course Academy Award winners. Volume 57 already? Can't wait for #58!

The 2006 edition of the Screen World Film Annual is a wonderful treat for anyone crazy about movies. The book is beautifully laid out with statistics and over 1,000 photos of movies released in 2005. Screen World includes domestic and foreign film releases, promising new actors, biographical data and obituaries. This is the 57th volume and I am proud to say I have every edition. I highly recommend Screen World, it's the best film annual there is!

The music of Frank Sinatra is timeless and though the title contains the words "the 101 Best Recordings", you may find that it is just a starting point and find your own 101 favorites. You have over 1000 songs to choose from so your picks are bound to be different than the authors. The book lays out 101 excellent songs, gives information to listeners (date recorded, album it can be found on, arranger, etc.) and tells the background of the song and sometimes an anecdote about when it was recorded. The book is not only for longtime fans of Sinatra's work (though they will be more familiar with all the names, etc.). If your Sinatra cd collection extends to one cd of his greatest hits, then this book can help you figure out where to go next. The stories and anecdotes may not mean much but you can figure out if you want to explore Frank's Columbia, Capitol, or Reprise years. For the experienced Sinatra listener, the book is excellent for starting debate with fellow Sinatra fans or perhaps rediscovering a gem you've forgotten or never really listened to before. Obviously, it is not a biography so don't expect stories about Frank the man, just Frank the singer. My only complaint is that I wish they gave more detail to the songs. I realize they had 101 songs to review, but I wanted more background about the recording session and Frank's opinions and views of the songs. However, there are other books for that.

While this slight volume can't hold a candle to something like Will Friedwald's comprehensive analysis of Sinatra's recorded career, it's quick and handy. Moreover, while the authors' selections will inevitably produce disagreements, their choices are unlikely to provoke incredulity (no "My Way," or recommendations from the "Duets" albums). And when there are multiple versions of the same tune, which is more often than not the case, the authors give helpful rankings of the best choices. But just to give you an idea of how necessarily inadequate a collection limited to 101 recordings is, Sinatra's absolutely sublime, definitive Reprise recording of "I Hadn't Anyone Til You" is not mentioned. Still, I find myself making more use of this book than any other about Old Blue.

Sinatra's approach to lyrical interpretation and his unique sense of tempo is what set him appart from the rest. Sinatra 101 is an excellent compliment to any Sinatra record collection. Too bad there is not a CD Box set of all the songs listed in the book so that readers could read along as they listen to the master at work. As a vocalist and student of Sinatra's sound, I have greatly benefited from Sinatra 101. Sinatra 101 has expanded my knowledge of the music and provides an excellent reference source which I have used to educate audiences during live performances. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED READING FOR ANY SINATRA FAN.

How do you pick the 101 greatest Sinatra recordings? The authors certainly came up with arguably the definitive list,and presented it in a most enjoyable read.Another reviewer wished there was a CD boxed set to accompany the book. I did the next best thing. I have an extensive Sinatra collection and I happen to have all the 101 songs(the correct versions). I bought some high quality cassettes and simply went through my CDs and tapes and put together the audio to the book..three 90 minute and one 60 minute tape covered the 101 songs.Needless to say, it was a labor of love putting these songs in order and is fascinating to read the descriptions and history of the songs as they are playing.

While the popularity of the Sinatra persona will rise and fall as fashions change, the music is timeless. "Sinatra 101'' spotlights the songs and the stories behind them. In concise, to-the-point language, the authors, Ed O'Brien and Robert Wilson, offer the sort of critical insights that will send you rushing back to the songs themselves, giving you the chance to fall in love with the music all over again. What more can you ask?

Judy Collins somehow made it through the worst time of her life and she shares it with us, plus a CD included to boot. Who can ask for anything more?

Judy Collins shares her life lessons, pain, and joy with her millions of faithful fans. This book is very emotional, spiritual and inspiring. The CD songs are just beautiful! Buy it now for the CD insert is only for a limited time only. :)

While listening to the current recordings of this remarkable performer, humanitarian, and personality, one is immediately struck by the warmth of her voice and its enduring stamina and honesty, the same can be said about, "Singing Lessons, A Memoir of Love, Loss, Hope, and Healing. If anyone wonders if it is possible to survive unbearable tragedy, and thrive, they only have to read this book. If anyone wonders about physical, spiritual, and emmotional vibrancy, beyond the age of 40, they have only to read this book! It has been said that to survive any great tragedy, you have to go through it and experience it honestly. For those of us who have gone through far less than the loss of an only child, this book is a triumphant road-map on how to grow and survive any of lifes unfathomable, unexpected, and unreal experiences. Judy Collins is a shinning example, not only for those trying to cope with an enormous tragedy, but many of the new comers in todays music and entertainment industry who could well learn a "lesson" from her tremendous example on how to be a "good" star, someone who is truly grateful for the position they have achieved, and seeks to give back to the world, a true sense of caring, a steady sense of responsibility, and most of all, an enduring sense of the "real" kind of love, that makes this book "sing," and the journey possible and worth the effort to continue.

The writting style is stunnigly beautiful and impressive,just as authour's music always had a certain healing power.Many singers/actors are not capable to remember anything more than their LP's and awards - celebrities memoirs are too often simply boasting about their career - but Collins have a perfect ballanced view on her past and she writtes about her inner life much more than her career,which is mentioned basically briefly. Portraits of her father and mentor Anthonia are described with affection and of course the book never stops reflecting on her son.This is a clear picture of Judy Collins life from her point of view - no celebrity gossip,no recording dates,what really matters here are feelings and precious memories she shares with reader.At times I thought her story about son sounds a bit obsessive - until it made me realise that I think about my mother every day and she died 12 years ago,so I guess we never really let go.Not only that second half of the book brings very helpful observations how to cope with depression,Collins also have sharp witt and she saved certain original sense of humour which must be life-saving quality (on her knees in the bathroom of the White House,she laughs at herself),the whole book is a warm,affectionate celebration of spirit still shining bright after tragedy and life downfalls.

Read SINGING LESSONS by Judy Collins . . . this is a very
touching memoir of her life, her son's suicide and companion's
serious illness, and how she managed to survive these
events.

Judy Collins has always been one of my favorite performers . . . I also enjoyed reading about how her career evolved, as well as how she played with such other favorites of mine as Tom Paxton, Leonard Cohen, Joni, Mitchell, and Peter, Paul and Mary.

Best of all, the book came with a four-song CD (much to my
surprise) . . . what a treat to be reading her words at the
same time I was listening to her sing!

There were many memorable passages; ...P>[Andrew Weil confirms what I have learned through trial and
error about depression.] "The best single treatment (for
depression) is vigorous, regular aerobic exercise, at least
thirty minutes a day, five days a week." Most of the time, after I spend a half hour or more exercising, any cloud of depression lifts so completely that I feel a small miracle has been accomplished.

Sonar 2.0 is such a complicated program. I haven't even messed with many of the features, including MIDI, but have gotten quite good at audio editing. This book made a huge difference. I found it much clearer and easier to follow than the online help or manual that came with Sonar. Highly recommended!

I'm using Home Studio 2002 XL, which as one of the reviewers pointed out is basically just a cut down version of Sonar 2. I had hoped that this book would help me to really learn how to use the advanced features of Home Studio/Sonar, but I was disappointed to find little advice on technique in the book.

It's a very comprehensive overview of the features of the program, but apart from a few small features I'd overlooked there was very little that I hadn't managed to already learn from the included help files (which are pretty good) or previous experience with Sequencers and using MIDI.

In particular I was interested in more information on how best to arrange and mix songs, in particular using aux-buses, but I found that less time was spent on this topic than on explaining the different effects (in more detail than I thought necessary).

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh, and perhaps I'm looking for a different kind of book. I work with computers for a living, so I'm used to finding my way around new software - I guess if you aren't then this is probably a good tour of what the software can do.

I review this book as one who does not own this particular piece of software, but as a prospective Sonar user. I wanted to do a little research to see if Sonar was the way I wanted to go, and I found this book extremely informative. It makes what might be a scary program for the novice very approachable and user-friendly. If I do wind up purchasing Sonar, it's unlikely I'll even need to read the manual with this excellent resource available to me. Outstanding!!

Sonar 2 Power! is an excellent book. It is, by far, the best book available on Sonar, and a must have for anyone who uses Sonar. I have found it was great for intitially getting up to speed on the software. And now that I know the software much better, it is still full of tons of helpful information. Sonar 2 Power! lets you quickly dive right into those features you are interested in. Best of all, the author, Scott Garrigus, is able to make learning quick and enjoyable. It is clear that Scott has a great deal of enthusiasm for making music using his computer and Sonar; he does a very good job of getting this enthusiasm across, which makes the book all the more enjoyable to read. The author has a Website...for his readers.

This is a good book for Cakewalk Home Studio 2004 (and XL) users as well, because Home Studio 2004 is basically the same as Sonar 2 with a few missing features that Home Studio 2004.

I did a comparison of it to my recently acquired 2004 XL upgrade and other than the synchronization function, a couple of UI changes (Snap to Grid button changed locations), and a few effects that Home Studio XL doesn't give you, everything works identical to the Sonar 2 version in the book.

I haven't read the Cakewalk Power Book, but I did notice it looked thinner on the shelves than Sonar 2, and chose to buy Sonar 2 because I thought it was more comprehensive. I've been very happy about the purchase and what I've learned about Home Recording.

A simple technique to understanding the work words do in poerty and song writing. The practice is gentle and not difficult to perform.
Of all the praise I could heap upon Pat Pattison, the one bonus dimension is that of nuances, which are able to enhance poetry through the use of subtile qualities that words may possess, such as, shades or implications or reflections as to a more appropiate choice of words for a greater Songwriting experience: Essential Guide to Rhyming: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Rhyming and Lyrics (Songwriting Guides)]].
I have sent this book to collegues and students to share the potential for skill enhancement.

This book does an excellent job of explaining the types of rhymes available to songwriters. How to choose the appropriate rhyme, and where to find it in a rhyming dictionary. I have had no previous experience in lyric writing or poetry and it was very easy reading, yet there is enough depth to last a very long time. You will need a rhyming dictionary for the exercises in this book, Pattison recommends 'The Complete Rhyming Dictionary' by Clement Wood. Overall this book is excellent for beginners, with enough content to assist more advanced lyricists.

This book explains rhyme and its importance to writing and inspiration. The author lays out the approach to writing much differently than I have been approaching it for years. This has opened up a whole new level for me in lyric writing - inspiration is much less of an issue because of this book. I highly reccomend this book for beginners, but it can improve even the best lyrical writings. This book is filled with exercises to improve your writing, and if you take the time to do them, you will be a better writer.

You will need a rhyming dictionary to use this book, as it is primarily an instruction on getting the most from your rhyming dictionary. This book explains how you can put a complete idea together using only a rhyming dictionary.

I happened to mention to a couple of friends of mine that I was reviewing a book on rhyming this month and one of them said, " What a dumb thing to write a book about, dude, I mean, a word either rhymes with another word or it doesn't...so you don't need a whole book for that, duh!?!"

My other friend was shaking his head in affirmation of this noble theory.

This confirms that I really need to do whatever it takes to find some smarter friends.

Songwriters need to be expert rhymesters and despite what the rest of the world might think about it being the most natural thing in the world, it's an ability that's got to be developed to the extreme for us to be able to write great songs to the extreme.

Enter: the book!

Songwriting: Essential guide to Rhyming by Pat Pattison.

Pat begins this book by describing the number one "rhyme crime" in the business, transitive verbs. It's the rhyme that you find when a good rhyme doesn't show up so you flip the sentence upside down and jam it into your song like, "My love for you is not a fake, your heart I will now pledge to take".

By the time the listener gets to the verb "take", they have to try to remember that the "heart" was the object. It forces the listener to think backwards as they listen forward and this confusion will not attract your listener to your work.

Yoda, from Star Wars speaks almost exclusively, using transitive verbs like, "Much to learn, you still have". This may work for Yoda but it has no place in a song, so unless Yoda suddenly gets a major label deal...

Back to the book.

Pat offers some great solutions for transitive verbs and also solves the other problem that goes along with them which is how to express universal themes without cliché rhymes. This will be amazing stuff to check out.

Pat also deals with a problem that I have whereby, I don't really like to write with a dictionary and a thesaurus and a stack of grammar books on my piano but he writes convincingly that a good rhyming dictionary is good to keep at arms reach since rhyming is a purely mechanical thing and may help find you the word you need fast enough to keep your muse on track. This now makes a lot of sense to me.

Through the remaining chapters, Pat shows you all the types of rhyming available to you and if your anything like me and don't know all that much about; masculine and feminine rhymes, identity, mosaic rhymes, perfect and imperfect rhymes, additive and subtractive rhymes, assonance and alliteration then you need to get your hands on this book.

The real point of the book, really, is to lay out the rhyme types and let them expand you opportunities to BOTH say what you mean AND rhyme. The book presents the rhyme types in descending order, from the closest to perfect rhyme to the most remote rhyme types. And better, the book shows you how and when to use the different rhyme types.

This is the last of the three books by Pat Pattison that I have had the pleasure of reviewing in these last three issues of The Muse's News. They were, "Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure", "Writing Better Lyrics", and "Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming".

I have almost run out of superlatives to express the value of the material in Pat Pattisons books but I would have to say that his books actually define lyric writing for me and have impacted my work like no other outside influence. If this is what you want to bring to the table for your next songwriting project, hit a good bookstore...

I think this book is the greatest, but practically on the
first page, the author proves to his readers that they must
use a rhyming dictionary to create. Going it alone is pure
"silly". He says "finding rhymes is almost never a creative act. It is a purely mechanical search."
Well, I have a small rhyming dictionary by Webster, but this is
not a good one at all. I need specifically The Complete Rhyming Dictionary, edited by Clement Wood (Doubleday) because "it divides rhymes into Masculine, Feminine, and three-syllable rhymes."
Once I get that, then I can really work with Pattison book and
learn.
So if you are buying this book also buy the Wood Rhymer right away and save postage.

this is a great book for the chirstian who wants to see souls saved. Only read if your serious about evangelism.

I have long had problems with books on evangelism. Too much seems to hang in the balance according to feelings. How I feel about this or that, whether or not I feel like I ought to do such-and-such. Spurgeon unapologetically reminds us of every member of the church's responsibility to share the Gospel. Yet he provides very practical and surprisingly relevant advice for those who would wish to do so. This is the only book on the subject (outside of the Bible, of course) that has motivated me to go a-soul-winning. I would recommend it to anyone who is afraid of evangelism, a seasoned evangelist, or someone curious about this thing called evangelism. It speaks to all three and more in a timeless and accurate manner, without a hint of dryness; indeed, it's a pretty entertaining book to read overall.

This book is amazing. If you are looking for a humbling book that WILL kindle that spiritual fire in you, this is it. Spurgeon is a great author. His works have succeeded 115 years after his death, which should give you an indication of his ability to teach. This is a must-have book for anyone involved in evangelism of any kind.

How did it happen that we've moved so far from our purpose as Christians? All creation waits for us - the Christian - to be revealed so that they too have the hope that is within us! Spurgeon once again gets us back to basics and teaches us about ourselves so that we can fulfill the call - the way God intended. I read the first half of The Soul Winner on a flight from Colorado to Ohio and could not stop the flow of tears while I once again felt God speaking to my heart and leading me back to the passion of soul winning. This book will cause your heart to break with the things that break God's heart. I am buying more and passing them along to others from church leaders to my family. Quick - get the book before it's too late - in more ways than one!

This book should be read out aloud from cover to cover. Not only does it reveal some of Spurgeon's greatest lesson: the one in which he had most experience, the job of winning converts. It does as well set a relevant example for contemporary preachers.

I cant say enough about this book. its like entering another world. I picked it up and I didnt put it down till it was over..... and the ending.....I promise you, it will blow your mind.......

I was inspired enough to write this little piece about the book:

On the road with Father Yod....

In Aug, 2008 my band Solvents, left our cozy homes in Pt. Townsend, Wa. to take our music on the road for three weeks. Being cramped in a mini van with 3 other people is a hard, boring existence. Fortunately, we had a copy of The Source: The Untold Story of Father Yod,Ya Ho Wa 13 and the Source Family in the van with us. I had already read the book and filled the rest of the band in on the story of Father Yod and his amazing family. Soon, we were all taking turns with the book. I have to say, this is THE perfect book to have in the van while on the road. The photos alone make the long drives so much easier. The story is easy to read and grabs your imagination. We were hooked in no time at all.
We all felt the spirit of Father Yod with us on the tour. When times got tough I found myself asking Father Yod for guidance. The others felt the same way. I remember our drummer after a bad gig, thumbing through the book and "praying". Later, he told me it made him feel better.

The best "Father Yod moment" was in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our van broke down and we had to shell out a sizeable amount of cash to get it going again. We had to be in Boise, Idaho that night and we weren't sure if we were going to make our show. Tensions were high and I'm sure we were all contemplating taking a greyhound home. We were driving along arguing about what we were going to do when out of no where, we saw a hang -glider sitting in somebody's yard! All at once, we saw the sign and knew we had to press on to Boise. We flew like the wind and made it to our gig right on time. Before we played, we all took a moment to give thanks to Ya Ho Wa.....

I have collected a large number of books on communes and hands down, this book is the most interesting, the most informative and the most open story about the experiences The Source group has had. If you're only going to buy one book to learn about life in a cooperative and collaborative society, BUY THIS ONE. You will learn more from this book than you can in most conversations with people who have "been there." That the group designated a historian to annotate their experiences solidifies an authenticity of experience you won't find outside of the other commune book experiences. A terrific read.

Oh how good it is to have a refreshing, honest reflection of a time when pushing the limits, opening the senses and growing past traditional norms was a way of life. This book presents beautiful photographs and true accounts of a unique period of our history.

Beyond judgements and discussions of this "family" being a cult, are woven in truths which have become mainstream in our society today. Father, Jim Baker was a revolutionary, visionary, luminary who opened the door for healthy living.

Thank you so much for creating this body of work. It just goes to show that The Secret and those who we look to today for enlightment have roots in a time which was not as receptive as we are today. It is truly an amazing reflection and a breath of fresh air.

This book is most amazing. It has opened up a belief in me that there is some light on this planet that has been in the hands of darkness and the grip of greed by those who have the power. This group made a difference and I hope they keep going. The writing was supurb and the story timeless.

This book was fascinating. I couldn't put it down and when it was finished I wanted more. There was lots of great information and stories of a bygone era...a magical time in history, a magical time in Los Angeles, and a magical time in the lives of those who lived being part of The Source Family. The pictures of a that era and the family were great...definitely recommended for anyone interested in spirituality, group living, and that unique time of the early 70's.