A fine addition to your Dylan library. One of the few books to deal with Dylan's output with the respect and insight it deserves. Thankfully the book is on the songs rather than the life of Bob Dylan.

With the insight of an academic yet using fully accessible, virtually jargon free, prose Mr. Hinchey's takes us on a journey through Bob Dylan's 1960's work answering the question "How Does It Feel".

A convincing thesis is laid out in the introduction and expounded in the following chapters. You don't have to agree with all the interpretations to still get a lot out of them. Having said which I have rarely agreed with as many.

It's great to finally read a serious, subtle reading of Dylan's evocative but often mysterious lyrics. Hinchey regards Dylan as a major poet, and his book provides powerful support for that view. Classics heard many times like "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" take on richer, brighter colors after reading "Like a Complete Unknown."

I bought Ken Geringer's Nobody Told Me as a gift for my husband, but after I heard hubby laughing all the way through it, I picked it up. And couldn't put it down.
Not what I expected-not your standard rock 'n roll litany of what drugs we did on what days-but a sensitive and damn funny tale that has what most books of today lack-meaning. The author, although he did work with Lennon's people and did include much insight on John and others, opens the book with his growing up during a time when he learned it was OK to say '---- off' to racist adults, stupid teachers, and the goody-goody kids in his housing development. I am 48 years old and I remember feeling the same way he did (and still do). Nobody Told Me would still be just as great a book even if Ken never met the rock (Lennon, Aerosmith, plus) and reggae (Bob Marley) musicians he wrote about. Sure, there are drugs, but it isn't a 'drug book.' My favorite story is where the author-age 15-and a friend are hitchhiking home holding a 6 foot pot plant after plucking it from where they had it growing in a state forest when a park police car pulls up. But the ranger says only-'this is a state park, boys. It's illegal to pull out our plants.' And he drives away.
Do you remember getting away with...everything? Remember hitchhiking--safely? Remember being 16 and walking down the street, unnoticed, puffing (how shocking!) a Marlboro? Remember those days of innocence and naiveté?
I passed this book onto my 17-year-old son. I want him to understand the world I once lived in, a world I couldn't begin to explain, a world he wouldn't recognize. Okay, cigarettes are bad and maybe pot isn't great either, but we had our freedom. We were free-and encouraged- not only to be ourselves, but we had freedom from fear.
Freedom is what Nobody Told Me is really about. I think we all have a lot to learn from this book (remember learning?) But it was so interesting, wild, and sorry, Ken-cute-it was the most fun I have had with a book in a long, long time. While reading it I got a lot of the same emotions I felt while seeing, reading or listening to: Almost Famous, The Graduate, Alice's Restaurant, Tom Sawyer, Catcher in the Rye, Cheech and Chong, The Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, On The Road, To Kill A Mockingbird, Hair, The Woodstock Movie, To Sir With Love, Billy Jack, anything Hendrix, Dead, Beatles, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and, the Constitution of the United States.
Thanks, Ken, for painting such a vivid picture of a time not-so-long-gone that today's generation will see, understand, and maybe, be inspired to re-create.

Nobody Told Me: From Basement Band To Jack And The John Lennon Sessions is the true-to-life memoir of Ken Geringer, partner and close friend of Jack Douglas. Geringer recounts his own childhood, his introduction into the world of music, from playing drums in a band with Bob Marley's sister to working with Jack Douglas, John and Yoko, Aerosmith, The Who and much more. A poignant, insider's look at the world of fame and a special tribute to John Lennon and Jack Douglas, Nobody Told Me is very highly recommended reading.

Nothing gets better then the crazy yet brillant minds of John Holmstrom and Legs McNeil. Every word in this compolation will make you laugh, I promise!!!! It is history in the making and they opened the doors for so many other magazines. In fact they have a new issue out now too! 25 Years later!!

As a lit scholar, this is one of my favorite books! I was in grade school when this material first appeared, but still I can see why it sparked a whole movement. Holmstrom's blend of irreverence, honesty, and sheer enthusiasm must've seemed radical during the self-indulgent, PC Seventies. But for all its hilarity and straightforward charm, Punk's material works on several levels. Just check out the famous interview/comic book story on Lou Reed from the first issue--the punks' attitudes turn what would have been a disaster for any other journalist into a telling victory. Like the Ramones, this magazine showed that you can be brilliant and not make a fuss about it; humor, common sense, and a no-bs attitude show more wisdom than any number of convoluted Jethro Tull lyrics. All this, and an exclusive interview with Boris and Natasha!

It's not often that a magazine from almost 25 years ago seems as fresh now as it did back then. We are still in need of Holmstrom's and Legs' rakish sense of fun, although their work has left obvious imprints on our culture--the Simpsons, for one, could not have been without Punks' art & attitude. Buy one for yourself, and more for all of your friends; they will be your friends for life.

I think I have read this book at least 5 times. It easy to read and includes info about all the stars of New Orleans Rock and Roll.

This book is the original and still definitive book on New Orleans rhythm & blues, the music that was the true forerunner of what popularly became rock 'n' roll. As a boy in England, Broven was so thrilled by Little Richard's performance of the song "Long Tall Sally" in the movie DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK that he ran from the matinee showing at his local theatre to buy it before the record store closed. It was only years later that he discovered that Little Richard's hits, like those of his other favorite, Fats Domino (who dominated Louisiana music and rhythm & blues in the 1950s and is appropriately pictured on the cover) were recorded by New Orleans studio musicians who created the backbone of rockin' rhythm & blues. Other musicians featured here include Roy Brown, who popularized the word "rock" in rhythm & blues long before Alan Freed in his 1947 classic "Good Rockin' Tonight" (which like Little Richard and other New Orleans records were significantly covered by Elvis Presley); Aaron Neville, Dave Bartholomew, Lloyd Price, Allen Toussaint and legendary drummer Earl Palmer, the last four of whom have recently been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Similarly to Charlie Gillett's groundbreaking classic THE SOUND OF THE CITY, Broven thoroughly covers the record companies who came to New Orleans to mine the city's musical gold, but he also takes an in-depth look into the musicians which made the city a musical force. RHYTHM & BLUES IN NEW ORLEANS features interviews with many of them, including Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack, whose lengthy reminisces during an English tour inspired the book. It is a must for anyone interested in the history of rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll, black culture or New Orleans culture.

This is my favorite book,and possibly Long's best (ROCK JOCKS... is more factual and interesting but less entertaining.) This collection of Long's short stories, drawn from his incredible personal experiences, is creative, adventurous, and riveting as ever, but here he has truly perfected his writing style which flows seemlessly. "My Friend Phil" is worth the purchase price alone, and is the roaring gut laugh til you are crying funniest prose in the history of the english language. Any outdoors person with a pulse must own this book!

Yet another anthology from John Long, however, this time it's all his own stuff, which is infinitely better than a collection of other writers. This includes some fiction, based on fact, and fact. Some stuff is repeated here from his previous books and instructional rock climbing guides. Surprise! 'Green Arch' again. This does, however, still has enough new stuff to keep any John Long fan happy. His fiction I haven't seen anywhere else and it is very good. Overall, next to 'Rock Rats,' his best book.

I normally find "how to" books dull. Not this time. I feel like I've been climbing with someone form the old school. It's not often you can gain true experience from reading a book.

This book will give you the basics of what you need to know to begin rock climbing, or to help you move on from top roping to lead climbing. But, unlike the other "how to" books out there on rock climbing, it is written in a breezy, entertaining style that will hold your interest like a good novel. You won't feel like you're reading a "how to" book at all. It even makes you laugh! I recommend it highly.

It seems that every rockabilly/R&B and rock & roll artist from the mid-50's has laid claim to "inventing" rock & roll, yet upon examining the historical record via recordings (eg: early demos, as well as pre-fame obscure label recordings) only one name stands in the gap as legitimately qualifying for the title of "inventor of Rock & Roll" and that would have to be Bill Haley, a white country singer from Boothwyn, PA, whose early 50's experiments with adding R&B/jump blues and swing to his nightclub appearances with his band "The Saddlemen" resulted in a new vibe in music that took hold like wildfire, first in Philadelphia, and upon getting the music out on the radio, the rest of the world. They called the new music "Cowboy Jive", for lack of a better name! The name "Rock & Roll" supposedly was coined by Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed who frequently played Haley & The Comets' recording of "Rock A Beatin' Boogie" where the phrase turns up in the lyrics of the chorus. A direct connection to "Cowboy Jive" if ever there was one! The book "Sound & Glory" is an intimate, detailed story of Bill Haley's rise in the late 40's and early 50's and the evolution of his band "The Saddlemen" into the "Comets" from the small country music combo into a small rockabilly combo, and on to a 6 and 7 piece full-blown rock & roll band with sax and piano along with steel guitar. The stories in the book are first-person interviews with the original band members, and many of the other people around him from his early radio days through the ups and downs of his later career. The extremely rare photos the book is filled with alone, are worth the price; most of them being from Jack Haley's family collection, and have never before been seen in print. Haley was also the first rock & roll artist to tour overseas (something Elvis never did), which he continued all the way up till the end of his career. Another TREMENDOUS plus is an exhaustive Haley discography meticulously compiled by the late Herbert Kamitz, an Austrian Haley scholar. "Sound And Glory" belongs in the library of every serious afficianado of rock/pop and rockabilly music.

Anyone who is interested in rock 'n' roll and its history, should buy a copy of this book. This book pretty much tells how the first rock 'n' roll band got started. Even surprises like the FBI trying to find dirt on Haley, because Hoover was a racist and didn't want blacks to mingle with whites during concerts. One concert Haley made them remove a rope that was segregating crowds. This is only one of many things I found interesting in this book. No doubt Elvis was the king, but as you read this book, you will understand why Haley is the true founding father of rock 'n' roll! - there are two books out about Haley, and both are very good, but this one goes a little deeper.

Heard the taped version of TOUCHING THE ROCK by John
Hull, a moving memoir of a university lecturer who slowly
lost his vision over a period of several years . . . he recorded
his thoughts in a diary, and I must admit to being touched
about how both he and his family dealt with his
condition . . . even typing this brings teary thoughts to
mind . . . imagine having seen a child as a youngster,
then not being able to see her again as she grows up . . . or
never having seen another child from the time he was
born . . . it makes me want to hug my daughter, Risa . . . and
to appreciate all that I do have!

This book was given to me as a gift a few years ago, and while I am neither going blind nor am actually blind, I found many of the ideas and experiences and thoughts and feelings expressed in this book to be very similar to my own. I have some particular cognitive difficulties (prosopagnosia, often called "face blindness") which give me a rather different outlook on life from most people, and I was amazed to see just how much in common my outlook on life was when compared with the author's life experiences. Well, maybe I wasn't that surprized, but it was still an eye-opening (no pun intended) experience for me to read this book in that context.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this book very very much. It reads more like a personal journal or diary than an actual book, and that gives the whole book a very personal experience when reading it.

If you've ever wanted to see the full vocal arrangement for "Since You've Been Gone", it's here! Play/sing along with your favorite videos and cds. This is more fun than humans and hamsters should be allowed to have!

The "Weird Al" Yankovic Anthology is the long-awaited sheet music of Al's most popular songs. The quirky satire of family vacations is profiled in "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota." The agony of love gone very, very bad is the theme of "One More Minute." "Weird Al" Yankovic has a marvelous talent of bringing out the kid in all of us while putting a smile on our faces. If you like Al's music, you'll love to play it on the piano and sing it in the shower.

I am not a book reader, probably to my discredit. But not only did I read this one, I read it twice. It is a truly fascinating account of how Woodstock came to be. After reading it, one will be more amazed than ever that the event happened at all, once one sees all that these two guys overcame or endured to bring it about. It is a captivating and entertaining book.

I was at the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair. I was young.

This book is an amazing, and surprisingly humorous, inside look at the machinations I never saw. The sometimes bizarre efforts that made Woodstock possible.

Even if you don't agree with the Woodstock sentiment, you should buy this book as a reference to THE icon of 1960s America.