Other Reviews

In any other family Miles Copeland would be an obvious standout, the most successful member of the family.  But his younger brother Stewart is the longtime drummer of The Police. His other brother Ian was a concert promoter and booking agent who helped break the New Wave movement in America.  And his father, Miles Axe […]

It’s kind of amazing how fifty-two years ago an album was released by a group of non-professional girls who liked to hang out with rock stars, and made no other albums, yet their names are still known to the rock & roll world. Thanks in part to Frank Zappa, the GTO’s – the infamous Girls […]

The density of content in Seth Walker’s hard/softcover book Your Van Is On Fire belies its page count and dimensions. In fact, presented in slightly less than a hundred pages and 6” x9” size, this heady combination of prose, poetry, and graphics imprints a positive spin to its title, as in ‘that guitarist is ON […]

Before Neal Casal took his own life in August 2019, one of the final wishes he stipulated was for a book to be created from the photos he had taken over the years. The result is Tomorrow’s Sky: Photographs by Neal Casal, proceeds from the sale of which benefit the nonprofit music Foundation that bears […]

Christopher McKittrick’s previous book, Can’t Give It Away On Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones in New York City, is an adoring if ultimately academic chronology of the iconic British band’s love affair with The Big Apple. Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty And Los Angeles is somewhat similar in its concept, but the author delves […]

If you are looking for an enjoyable read that takes you into another person’s reality, then Chris Hillman’s new memoir, Time Between: My Life As A Byrd, Burrito Brother & Beyond, is just the book for you. It has everything you’re looking for: good stories, fun photos, and music that connects you to times and […]

The coffee-table dimensions of Ready Steady Go! (12.5” by 12”) are by themselves indicative  of the main thrust of the book, that is, to explicate exactly how big, in how many different ways, was the British TV series subtitled (as is this BMG publication ) The Weekend Starts Here. To be sure, there were other […]

It’s no surprise a number of books have been published devoted to Warren Zevon, the indubitably eccentric singer/ songwriter who passed ever so tragically in 2003. Likewise, it’s hardly a coincidence that, in keeping with the man’s mercurial persona, the publications have taken many forms.  from the touching but candid likes of wife Crystal’s memoirs […]

Two of my favorite reads in recent years were time-capsule coming-of-age stories that close friends of mine, sensing kindred authors, strongly recommended: J.R. Moehringer’s “The Tender Bar” and Steve Rushin’s “Sting-Ray Afternoons.”  These memoirs oozed with all of the nostalgia and wistfulness you would expect from still-kids-at-heart writers reexamining their childhood-into-adolescence years with awe, gratitude […]

So it’s a few weeks past Christmas and you are still sitting there with money or a gift card burning a hole in your pocket because you haven’t decided what to use it on. Well, I’m here to tell you that you wouldn’t go wrong throwing that gift cash on a copy of Elton John’s […]

Photographer Jay Blakesberg proved long ago he’s got a discerning eye. But even a cursory glance at his latest book, Secret Space of Dreams devoted to images of Jerry Garcia titled, suggests his vision is becoming sharper all the time. The cover shot doesn’t tell it all, but like the best choices for such designs, […]

Reformation of The Black Crowes roughly a month after the publication of Steve Gorman’s Hard to Handle provides better marketing for the book than any PR team could’ve imagined. The nebulous circumstances and seemingly arbitrary nature of the reunion, taking place ever so suddenly under the aegis of long-estranged brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, only […]

Boston Lyric Opera has once again successfully adapted and tackled politically and socially topical subjects in “Fellow Travelers”, an opera by Gregory Spears with Libretto by Greg Pierce. In a tale of covert romances, politics and power “Fellow Travelers”, based on the best-selling novel by Thomas Mallon, superbly balances a contemporary storyline with a gorgeous […]

When I was a kid back in the seventies, Debbie Harry was so freaking cool. She was like a sexy glacier drifting across the magazine pages and through the radio speakers. Nothing seemed rushed about her or her music. It just lingered along and stayed in your head all day. A good thing. Although Chris […]

When you read a book about a favorite artist, you can tell when it has been written by someone who respects them, happens to be a longtime fan, because of the way they treat the language of what they write. It’s not that they necessarily gush or sugarcoat unfavorable details about the subject’s life, but […]

It still hurts for many of us to even think about Amy Winehouse, let alone listen to her music. I know that for me, eight years after her death, the thought of Amy is a sad one, conjuring wistful emotions about her lost potential, her youth, the way in which fame brought out the darker and […]

Cliches abound regarding recollections of the original Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in 1969 i.e., “if you remember, it, you weren’t there.” But the fact of the matter is, the sensory overload arising from attendance at the iconic festival does require some concerted effort, first to recall, then clearly distinguish the details of those memories. […]

If you have ever stared into the dreamy romantic eyes of Benjamin Orr from the other side of a video screen and wondered what he was like, then Joe Milliken’s new biography of The Cars singer/bassist, Let’s Go, will put any fears you had of him being an arrogant rock star aside for good. With […]

Anyone who has followed Judas Priest throughout their career knows the sonic contributions of guitar player KK Downing. But in his new memoir, Heavy Duty: Days & Nights In Judas Priest, the British blonde six-string slinger tells you just how much he did, without making himself appear like he’s bragging. In fact, he’s almost nonchalant […]

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play in a band with Pete Townshend or Rod Stewart or Steve Marriott? Well, drummer Kenney Jones did and he spends 345 pages telling you about those heady days when rock & roll was gaining momentum towards being one of the greatest forms of music […]