Biographical essays of well-known as well as fairly obscure musicians and industry types. Escott has made a career out of telling outrageous, sometimes salacious, tales -- he gets to the rawer, visceral side of the story pretty quickly, which is relatively easy when you're talking to folks who worked in the scraggly, scruffy early years of country, rock and blues. He's an engaging, consersational writer, and this latest collection is a delight. Includes essays on artists such as Dale Hawkins, Don Everly, Johnny Horton, Tim Hardin and a particularly cruel skewering of Pat Boone. In one of the most fascinating sections, Escott profiles the founders of record labels such as Decca, King, Starday and Hi -- a fascinating and very illuminating appoach to presenting the history of popular music. Beautifully laid out, well written and highly recommended.

This groundbreaking work offers the reader insight to the world of Stax in the sixties and seventies. It allows the reader to understand the forces behind the ascension and eventual decline of one of the greatest recording labels in the history of modern music. In the course of absorbing this wonderful book, the humble reader is able to gain an understanding of the societal, cultural, and racial catalysts for the music produced. In the latter part of the book, the reader sees the painful decline of Stax from their pinnacle to their nadir in the course of only a few short years.

Extremely highly recommended -- the best musical history book I have read.

Also recommended: The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, Volumes I, II, and III (box sets with excellent liner notes by Rob Bowman)

Also -- It Came from Memphis' for a good background on the lesser known, but nonetheless important musicians who originated in Memphis.

This Book was all that.Staxx is as Important as Motown.It's a Incredible Story.especially when A Black Label Blows up Down South in the 60's.you only ever here about Sun Records &Sam Phillips and his discovery of Elvis Presley.so this is Very Important on a Social Front.The Many Great Artists on Staxx.this Book is strong from start to Finish.

Angels Don't Know Karate by Debbie Dadey and Maria Thornton Jones
This story takes place in the school yard with friendly Eddie, Howie, Liza and Melody.
Eddie doesn't believe in angels. Eddie is double dared to climb a tree. He tries, but Eddid fell out of the tree, and is caught by a stranger. His friends try to convincehim that she was his guardian angel. The stranger hands them tickets to a karate demo to watch the stranger. The next day Melody believed the strangers angel Miss Michael was a guardian angel. The four friends spied on Miss Michaels for proof that she is an angel. They found no proof and she left the school. Melody still believed she was an angel but Eddie didn't because angels don't do karate.
I really liked the book because it was about an angel. I think that everyone that believes in angels like I do would really like the story. If you don't believe in angels you might change your mind after you read this book.

The book was a really good book. I'm happy there are a lot of different kinds of books by the same author. I have'nt got a chance to read them all.But from all the books I've read so far. I think other kids would like to read it, or read allof the books by Debbie Thorton I love her books. The characters are really curious there always trying to solve mysteries.

I really liked this book because it was so athletic. My favorite part was when Eddy fell off of the tree and Angela grabbed his ankle before he hit the ground. They got free passes for karate lessons after Eddy fell. It is very rare to fall and not be caught.This is the#1 best book.
If I were any of you kids out there I would really,really,really, ... want to read this extremely good book. This book was so good that when I was reading the last chapter, I couldn't sleep until I finished. Read this book. You won't regret it. Everybody loves these Bailey School Kids books! THEY ROCK!

Strange occurrences and weird adults are nothing new (really) to the 3rd grade of Bailey Elementary School. However, when the thirsty new school counselor shows up with pale skin, pointed teeth and a CAPE, the gang gets nervous. Could this be the famous Dracula come to their school?? He DOES like to sit in the dark in his office and most of the gang thinks their own teacher is a vampire!!

But, would a vampire-especially one as famous and ancient as Dracula himself-drink pink lemonade?? The gang is about to find out!!

This marks the 16th installment in the Bailey School Kids series, and is definitely one of the more creepy books in the series. Having a vampire for a teacher is bad enough, but having TWO in your school is asking for trouble! Especially if one is the most famous vampire in the world with an unquenchable thirst!

Of course, the books are all written with the possibility that the supernatural creatures (vampires, genies, ghosts and even a few aliens and a pirate) could be nothing more than eccentric people. Of course, it's hard to believe it, and that's where the series' appeal comes from.

Like other Bailey Kids books, "Dracula Doesn't..." is a quick read for advanced readers and adults. It is also a very good choice for beginning/intermediate readers who are looking for something silly and fun. A number of reluctant readers have decided that reading actually CAN be fun after picking up one of the books in this series (there's currently over 40 of them, at last count). It isn't necessary to begin with #1 and progress to the end, for each stand easily by themselves, though there are characters that appear in more than one book.

All in all, it's a fun series and as a reading teacher I've found myself hooked on these things and will likely wind up reading (and reviewing) the whole series. Get one yourself and see if you don't enjoy following along with the gang!

If you want a book abuot mystery this is the book for you. It is very funny and interesting. There are some very funny characters and scary ones too. There is a new counselor in town. The kids think he is very scary. I find this book very interesting.
There was a kid so scared of the counseoer he wore a scarf all up arond his neck. Two days later they found the counsler go into Mrs.Jeepers basment.Then the next day at school the principal told the kids the counsler had to leave. Then he said he had to fly. So they know it must mean something. They also remembered that his hands were cold.

Do you like mysteries because you will like this one! The name of the book is Dracula Doesn`t Drink Lemonade. The author is Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. The characters are Liza, Melody, Eddie, Ben, Huey, Howie, Mr.Drake, and Principal Davis. The mystery takes place at Bailey School. Liza and Melody really told Ben to stop fighting with Huey. What partly happens is their principal tells them to go to the nurse's office. Liza and Melody are in shock because Ben is faking he is sick! Do you think Mr.Drake is really a Dracula? Do you think Mr. Drake really pushed Ben? Read the book to find out.

But if you are a long time Coltrane fan, there is nothing new here. And the guy is not a musician, so expect the usual metaphores when trying to describe what is happening when Trane and company play. Since the actual master tape for the session runs a little over 60 minutes, there is not much to tell about the actual session itself, and many pages are devoted to where he was born, when he plays with Miles, what other people think about it (even that guy from the Byrds!) etc. But if you are just getting into jazz and into Trane, it is a good purchase. Good photos as well.

Ashley Khan's A Love Supreme is a useful book and is a must read for both casual and serious jazz fans and followers of John Coltrane. Khan gives us an entertaining view of the events leading to and surrounding the recording of this famous and important album. But as was the case in his book on Kind of Blue, his lack of technical understanding of the music leads to misinterpretations and faulty conclusions, and sometimes has him sounding more like a fan than a historian or critic. As a saxophonist and pianist who has studied Coltrane's music since the sixties, I feel a few points need to be clarified.

A Love Supreme was a very important album, but much more so a spiritual statement of Coltrane as opposed to a musical statement. Coltrane had two powerful forces shaping him: his drive to explore new harmonic, rhythmic and modal territory, essentially bringing jazz up to date with the advances that had already occurred in modern classical music. At the same time, he was driven by a spiritual awakening and quest, and the two forces fused in what became a spiritual journey through music in his later years. This is why his later music is less intelligible to most of us: it mattered less as music, more as a spiritual statement for him. If you approach it simply as music, you probably won't get it.

A Love Supreme came along right at the nexus of these two forces, and serves as the signature of his expression of his spiritual quest in his music. Importantly, he chose an accessible format and presentation for it, making it very easy to grasp for his many fans, and for many who did not share an interest in the complexity that embodied so much of his musical search, or who may simply have been attracted to it by the spiritual nature of the album.

But as a musical statement, A Love Supreme is not as significant. Taken in the context of what came before it (the historic explorations of 1961, Crescent) and what came after it (John Coltrane Quartet Plays and Ascension) it is clearly just a way station. Throughout, the musical statement is notable in its simplicity: the four note motif of Acknowledgement, the single modulation and resolution of Resolution, the basic minor blues theme and structure of Pursuance. The ground covered in Psalm was much more effectively conveyed in Alabama on Coltrane Live at Birdland; Psalm is important more as a spiritual statement.

Khan overlooks the best clue as to the musical significance of A Love Supreme, hidden in Crescent's liner notes. In them, Coltrane states that he is looking for a new kind of form, one in which theme and variations are more integrally combined. I remember reading this for the first time 1963 and thinking what a difficult objective he had set for himself, one that he masterfully achieved in Crescent, and which he continued in A Love Supreme. It is a direction he could have kept following productively for a while, had he chosen to challenge himself musically in that way. But he didn't. Instead, he chose to fuse his musical and spiritual journey in A Love Supreme, eventually exploring a path that was ultimately a musical dead end and led to the breakup of the classic quartet. It's been reported that toward the end of his life he spoke of reintroducing structure to his music, and this would have been the ultimate experiment for a man whose musical life was defined by experiments.

But to say as Khan does that A Love Supreme was a musical culmination is simply not true, and an overstatement of its real significance. For a man of Coltrane's many gifts and directions, one musical culmination is not adequate. For the Coltrane who played within a harmonic framework, Crescent is probably the culmination: a fusion of theme and variation, harmonic complexity, emotional power. For the modal player, The John Coltrane Quartet Plays is the culmination. Here is the last frontier of modal playing in a format in which the soloist makes a statement, the drums keep time, the pianist plays related harmonies in tandem with the bass player linking the other three. (Indeed, Nature Boy gives us a hint of what's to come). The next stop is Ascension, in which Coltrane takes A Love Supreme one step further, loosening the harmonic and rhythmic constraints that would result in a statement that was spiritual first, musical second. (For the culmination of his free playing, my vote would be Ascension just for what it tried to do, though by its very nature, this type of music resists classification and comparison.)

Now none of this denigrates the importance of A Love Supreme: indeed, the album is pivotal in Coltrane's musical and spiritual journey. But it adds some nuance to Khan's portrayal, which is while very useful, uninformed on a musical level. I also don't think it matters what rock and roll players (except for Donald Fagen, who is really a jazz composer) thought of A Love Supreme: their musical contribution to the period doesn't merit a vote. They liked it, great. So what.

But faults aside, A Love Supreme is a book that all jazz fans should read, while they're listening to the transcendent gift to the human race that was John Coltrane.

I loved this book. In fact I was just ordering a few extra copies to give as gifts to serious jazz connoisseurs when I came across this drivel from Rich Fontana in the customer reviews section. I felt that as a fan of both the album and the book, I am compelled to reply to his assiduously prepared critique.

In taking the author to task for being a fan, he misses the point of the book entirely: it is intended as a passionate celebration as much as carefully researched study. The author admits it unabashedly, Coltrane himself stated that an "emotional reaction" to music was paramount (in a '64 interview with Leonard Feather) and how else can one measure the effect and influence of a spiritual album without engaging the emotional?

As stated clearly by the author, and Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner - A Love Supreme was indeed a culmination of the quartet's three years together, not a culmination of Coltrane's career. Yes, Crescent was important and the author states that, even proposing it as an effective blueprint for the four-part suite that ALS is. Mr. Fontana's argument that his own perspective on Crescent is significantly different from the author's goes so far into the realm of picayune that - if it were deemed important enough to be published -- the vast majority of readers would end up scratching their heads and closing the book. (And while on the subject of hair-splitting, Crescent was recorded and released in 1964 - not 1963 - as Mr. Fontana maintains, an important matter in the hyper-charged Trane timeline.)

As to Kahn's use (another small matter apparently missed by someone who relishes detail: the author's name is K-A-H-N) of rock n' rollers (and minimalists, and world musicians) in gauging the reach and influence of ALS. One of the primary intentions of the book is OBVIOUSLY to show how Coltrane managed to transcend stylistic and categorical boundaries - and still does. In the same way the old Blindfold interviews in Down Beat - in which say, Coltrane would praise Lester Young, leading certain fans to ferret out and enjoy old Count Basie recordings - today's far-flung media allows a Carlos Santana oreven the dreaded Bono to help point their fans to the music of Coltrane

In the end, Mr. Fontana comes across as one who requires his music writing the same way: dry, analytical, single-minded. Jazz - and music in general - is NOT rocket science and should not be left to the cold, hard interpretation of one person (such as Mr. Fontana's own, opinion-as-fact portrayal of Coltrane's musical path.) In the virtual round-table Kahn has produced in this book, there is life and passion (and a helluva lot of great photographic images), powered by his own perceptions but mostly by the input of others: jazz musicians, jazz fans, even regular (G-d forbid -- non-jazz) listeners. He trusts his reader to figure it all out for him or herself, that somewhere among all those voices sits the general truth of music, Coltrane and A Love Supreme.

I applaud Ashley Kahn for making a very readable, authoritative book that exudes love and respect for its subject. This kind of writing will do more to breathe life into the jazz continuum than the boring tomes that more often pass for jazz writing. I can't wait to see what Kahn comes up with next.

The description of Mrs. Mary McCray as an adult in Montclair, New Jersey and her struggles for "full freedom" are truly inspiring. I felt as if I was sitting in that kitchen listening to the anecdotes as they were told. I found the early part of the book, however, to read like a research paper with the footnotes included.

It seems to me that this book, along with Edward Ball's Slaves in the Family, offers a new and important look at the history of race relations in America. Both of them deal with situations that were not unique, but carefully swept under the rug. I applaud both authors for their work, and since Mrs. McCray has said she's writing another book, there is at least one reader, here in the nation's oldest city, who is anxiously awaiting it.

Ms McCray's ability to put us back in time is timeless, a true depiction of how life was and is for so many African Americans...Her ability to convey the innocence of childhood and reality through the eyes of her mother and through her own experience is something extrodinary. A warm and compassionate story of love, triumph, and struggle through one of the darkest times in American history. Written very tenderly so you can smell the warm pies and cakes baked in the Allen home, the flowers that she nurtured. Her legacy? Her children who were reared with self respect and taught to be proud of who they are as a people. Freedoms Child is a must read for all, black or white, it will grip you leaving you laughing, crying and ulitmately wishing we could have been there. A story of a mother and the love she gave her children. A story of a woman in the "Red Hat" who would not lie down. A story of coming of age. A story that every American should read. When you finish this book you will just sit back and smile! I know because Carrie Allen McCray is my Grandmother!! Lane McCray

Don't get me wrong, Batman as a vampire is the most compelling concept I've come across in comic-land. The first two books were so cool and intense that years later I still read it with eyes intent on the page. I can't say for others, but for me it speaks of the heart's deep inner urges, longings, appetites, and pent-up rage and regrets. Bloodstorm was, for me, the penultimate description of the human condition. Only Christie Golden's book, "Vampire of the Mists," can touch what the creators have done in this trilogy.

Having said that, I must admit that the third installment here carries two basic flaws:

First of all, it loses touch with what makes Batman a living, pulsing character. I can't speak for others, but I can't identify with an unleashed, hell-bent-for-slaughter-and-mayhem Batman pushed past an insanity even the Joker never had. This Batman kills without compunction, guilt, recrimination, or reserve. He's ten times worse than any criminal he savages, and he's SCARY in ways that Batman never was meant to be, even in Elseworlds!

Second and more importantly for me, he looks U-G-L-Y ...with a capital UGH! I don't WANT to look at an animated rotting dessicated corpse of a once-Batman-turned savage killer running about tearing out necks and cutting off heads! I can only handle so much gore, and the creators gave more to spare here!

Call me silly, but one of the reasons I loved the first two installments is that Batman looked so COOL as a vampire! All shadows and cape and fangs ...he was creepy, but in a COOL way. He was all that Batman pretended to be... for real! But this Batman is just an ugly, insane monster.

Aside from all that, it was still a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. The end of Bloodstorm left me hanging, sad, and wanting more. Crimson Mist left me with a feeling of closure, as Batman dissolves into dust, leaving his cape behind to find that peace that he so longingly searched for.

Este es un muy buen libro que completa la trilogia de vampiros (Red Rain y Bloodstorm siendo los otros dos), el arte es continuo con los libros anteriores y el relato excelente. Personalmente creo que Red Rain cuenta la mejor historia, Bloodstorm (mi favorito) entra de lleno en el mundo del detective y Crimson Mist da un buen termino a la serie. No considero cinco estrellas ya que me hubiera gustado ver a un Batman un poco mas humano en Crimson Mist, y quizas una historia un poco menos apresurada.

...I make my way over to the graphic novels, and low and behold I find part 3 in the Batman/ Vampire trilogy! Of corse, I have not read the first 2 books but I picked this one up since it was in paperback and all the other copies I found were in hardcover...being the avid Batman Graphic Novel reader I am, I expected Batman to cure himself from being a vampire (that's all I had heard. That he became a vampire, and knowing my folklore, there is a cure to gaining your humnaity back). No such luck. :(
Batman is dead, I'll tell you that much. For you Batfans like me who expect him to always survive in the end, give up hope now, because he's already dead at the beginning of this book.
Boy, and another thing, if your like me, you'll have a sick feeling after reading this book. But that's because you see practicaly every famous Batman character hacked and slashed beyond reconition. And trust me, it's not all that great to see your favorite childhood characters treated that way. No sir. :(
But all in, this everything I didn't expect it to be, and that's why it's a good read. It's dark, it keeps true to Vampire folklore and the art is great! I just love Kelly Jone's art, it's so gothic!
You must pick this book up! It is a damn fine Batman novel. And if you don't like Batman, pick it up anyways because it's also a damn fine Vampire novel.
But word to wise, read the 1st 2 books beforehand... oh... and bring a barf bag.

My name is JonPaul Szybnski . I read the book Trolls Don't Ride Rollar Caosters by Debbie Dadey,and Marcia Jones. This was a great kids book. The main characters n the story are Eddie,Howie,Liza,and Melody. They all go to the carnival and want to ride the new ride called the Monster.It is the biggest and scariest rollar caoster there. The four kids are only elevan or twelve , so there scared. Eddie is the brave kid so hes not as scared ,and liza is very scared she just wants to ride the merry go round.So all four kids ride the rollar coaster ,but then all of a sudden it comes to a complete stop.Liza and Melody are so scared they have to climb down a three story ladder.While they were climbing down they heard these strange luaghs.When they got down they rode the merry go round.Eddie was so boared . When they were done they saw a lady that was on the roller caoster with them.As they wre walking over to the lady Eddie saw a sign that said strongest kid contest.So before hey went to the strange lady Eddie signed up. They walked up to th lady. Liza whispeed to Melody she looks like a toll.How asked the ladies name,she said J.J. A few weeks later they went to the strongest kid contest.They saw J.J. again.she was tying to take down the tent to ruin the contest. Liza stopped her.It was allmost the end of the contest . just Eddie and the kid they called the bully.The Bully swung ,ding .He had the highest score yet.Eddie swung,Ding,Ding . Eddie won the contest.The four kids just figured out what happend to the Monster.

Do trolls ride roller coasters? Find out in this book.

Eddie loves the fair and wants to go on The Monster, a roller coaster. There is someone who hates the noise of The Monster. What is bothering this person?

Everythings noise is going out. The person is selling t-shirts with trolls on them. They look like her. But if J.J (the troll) doesn't have a jewel, then she's bad! The Bailey School Kids have to stop J.J. before the whole world is out of sound!

If you like the Bailey School Kids series our you are just looking for a short and adventerous book, this book definetely is the best. Now, trust me, I have read every single one in this whole series and this one is my favorite. I like other ones as well, and I think that they are all good, but I like this one a little bit more.

This is about 4 kids who thinks they saw a unicorn. There was unicorn magic happening in Baily City. Mr. Wither's a stable owner donated his business to Baily City. Thanks to the 4 kids they helped keep the stable and other animals safe and clean. A dog and cat appeared by magic in the barn. This is the place where the unicorn maybe lived. The 4 kids tried to do funny things to see if the unicorn really is a horse or is a real unicorn. Do you think so?

I made a barn out of a shoebox and made my story inside the box. I made a scene of all the things that happened in this book. I turned this project into our teacher Mrs. South at school. 3rd grade

I think this book is a good holiday book. It really gets you in the mood for the holiday you're waiting for, especially Christmas. It's about the four kids in this series. Melody, Howie and Eddie doubt this, but Liza thinks that there is something special at Bailey Stables, a unicorn. Eddie wants to prove her wrong so he cooks up a plan to show her she's wrong. Find out if Eddie's plan is successful, or if there really is something magical at the stables. It's guaranteed that you'll like this book.

This was a really good book because it had a littel bite of mystery.I also liked it because itwas really fun.it was funny to.

Very good writing and style, intriguing story. However, I guess I just didn't expect to feel somewhat sickened and a bit depressed by the story. If you want to be AFFECTED, than this book is for you. It'll grab hold of you and won't let go. It just wasn't what I was expecting. If I want to feel disgust at the actions of human beings, I'll go ahead and buy a book about Ted Bundy.

Updike at his effortless best in this profound yet brilliantly flowing novel that explores the alkward relationship between religion and science...

The story is narrated by Roger, a morally dubious yet entertaining and witty doctor of divinity at an Eastern university. Roger is approached by a gangling, spotty computer scientist (who is also a born-again Christian) seeking a grant to "scientifically" prove the existance of god!

Things get complicated when the student begins having an affair with Esther, Roger's wife, while he himself begins an affair with a distant relative who lives across town in a housing project. Within this simple yet touching quadrangle of relationships come excepts from Roger's lectures on heretics, and comments on modern cosmology...

Add to this Updike's effortlessly telling descriptions, from the feel of cold streets to the elaborate rituals of academic board meetings and you have a very fine novel indeed.

One slight critisism - the computer technology so lovingly described is virtually obsolete already. This makes Roger's Version an unusally dated Updike work.

I thought that this was a very enjoyable novel - indeed, shades of "Rabbit Redux". The plot centres on Roger Lambert, a Professor of Divinity, his wife Esther, his half-niece Verna, and Dale, who is convinced that he can prove the existence of God by scientific analysis.

The book is really a paean to uncertainty. Is religious faith or faith in science a sure way of explaining the meaning of life? Are human relationships as certain as we should think or wish them to be?

Updike devotes much space to a fascinating analysis of the struggle between the scientific and traditional Christian explanations of the Creation. The question arises of whether the theory of evolution has in fact become a new religion, demanding faith rather than reason, and complete with its own zealots and heretics.

Running parallel to that is Roger Lambert's own views of the lives of the other characters in the novel. And here the reader is not sure how much is real and how much is Roger's fevered imagination. Is Esther really having an affair with Dale or is it just "Roger's version" of what might have been happening?

I felt that Updike was at his challenging best in this novel - exploring many interesting themes in an entertaining way, for example the uncomfortable interaction between Roger's middle-class world and the underworld occupied by Verna is particularly disturbing, and exposes latent tensions in society.

G Rodgers

I think that it is a good book because it is funny and because it is short and fun. You can laugh while you read it. The stories all have Monsters in them. I love Monsters. I like the book because it is a mystery.

Liza is taking figure skating lessons. But there is hockey going on. Melody, Eddie, and Howie are signing up. But the coach is strange. Is he Frankenstein? What's up with those potions? Does he slam hockey pucks? Will he turn everyone to minature Frankensteins? Find out in this book!

This was a really good book. If you like Bailey books you should definitely read this one.