henry is the kind of guy we should all want to be,ourselves. If we all took time to get to know ourselves and become more comfortable with what we find then we would get more pieces of "dynamite hack" like this...you need to find yourself? here is a good start.

A VERY good book. Deep, sometimes, deppressing, a definate classic. BUY IT, or Henry will KICK YOUR BUTT! HE's GOT SOME REALLY COOL TATOOS!!! HE CAN BENCHPRESS RIKKI LAKE!!! HE PRANCES AROUND IN HIS UNDERWEAR ON STAGE!!! Henry Rollins is a GOD! And if you believe otherwise, he'll BEAT YOU SILLY!!! nuff said.

rollins shows you the dark side of the world that no one wants to talk about.he's not afraid to tell the truth & expose the cruel & unusual particles of life. from 1000 ways to die, to flat out poetry. he sucks you into the mind's eye, proving your worst nightmares to be true. never putting the book down, you're forced to question all the qualities of life & the people in them. so, let it all hang out, learn a little more about yourself, and expose the truth

A collection of great (and maybe not so great) essays on all genres of music, from a day in the life of Puff Daddy to Roseanne Cash remembering the songs her father sang her, to Lester Bangs' criticism, to a superb analysis of Ry Cooder's personality and music. I liked all the pieces, especially the quietly admiring piece on Cooder, the thorough look at the wild life and music of Nigerian musician Fela, and an erudite explanation of the musical legacy of gospel singer Dorothy Love Coates. It's interesting that the pieces that interested me the most were about musicians I knew the least; the best writing made me want to hear their music and appreciate it as much as these writers did. That really does make for the best of music writing.

Music journalism doesn't have to be people who can't write interviewing people who can't speak for people who can't read. This volume proves it.

Editor Peter Guralnick has selected 35 pieces that are highly varied in style, subject matter, and length. One of the great things about this volume is that if you find yourself reading an article that doesn't really grab you, just move on - the next one will. With such a strong set of essays it seems almost churlish to single out individual ones of praise. David Moodie and Maureen Callahan's piece from Spin on Woodstock III "Don't Drink the Brown Water" reads like a postcard from one of the outer rings of hell. Arthur Kempton's piece from NYRB "The Lost Tycoons: The Fall of Black Empires" is a thought-provoking analysis on the rise (and fall) of Motown and the Nation of Islam. The MOTORBOOTY editor's send up of historical reenactors is hysterical and David Hadju's rumination on Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn is beautiful. And, as another reviewer noted, Eddie Dean's essay on a fanatical 78 collector is worth the price of admission alone. (And just think: us locals got to read it for free in the Washington City Paper.) On a lighter note, where else but this volume can one learn that Buck Owens sometimes includes "Play That Funky Music White Boy" and "The Macarena" in his sets (Jonny Whiteside, "Merle Haggard's Twin Oracles"), or that Steve Earle has opened for George Jones, Bob Dylan, and The Replacements (Dave Hoekstra, "Steve Earle"). I even learned a word for a sexual practice with which I was unfamiliar in a piece on a drug-addled Canadian fiddler (Rebecca Mead, "Sex, Drugs, and Fiddling").

This book is a real gem, and would make a great gift for anyone interested in music and/or writing. (I'm really glad a buddy gave it to me.) Can't go wrong on this one: there is something here for everyone.

I hope this treasure chest doesn't get overlooked. Da Capo Press is relatively small, and the topic--essays on popular music--may seem too narrow to generate widespread interest. But believe me, this book is about us, and gives us as a nation--heck, as citizens of the world--the chance to reflect on community, art, and the "shared passions" (in editor Guralnick's words) that can bring us together. These may seem like exalted claims for a book of essays on music. They're not. From Peter Guralnick's wise, sane, inclusive and non-ideological preface to the wealth of talent, insight, and love--yes, love--represented in these essays, this is the most hopeful, humane book I've read in years. Veterans like Greil Marcus are here, and brilliant newcomers like Eddie Dean join him. (Dean's "Desperate Man Blues," the story of a truly obsessive collector of pre-1930's 78 rpm records, alone is worth the price of admission.) There's even a posthumous gem from the late, lamented Lester Bangs. And the lead-off essay, a reflection on music and family by Roseanne Cash, daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash and an accomplished artist in her own right, may make you cry. It sure brought a tear to my eye.

Don't let the riches in this collection pass you by. Get this book! Read it, share it, give it to everyone on your holiday gift list. Music can still bring us together, and this book is proof. I can't wait to see next year's collection.

Guralnick's classic book has great persuasive power, particularly among young or less knowledgeable readers, for Guralnick writes from the heart and pulls the reader along with sheer enthusiasm for the subject matter. The book is most valuable for its chapters on some characters who aren't often written about in depth - Johnny Shines, Skip James, Robert Pete Williams. Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf also get their own chapters, but they're already popular and Guralnick probably isn't going to introduce too many readers to these monoliths. It's fun to read about music and performers we like - that is the key to this book's success, I think.

Where it falls short is in the area of hard fact and objective analysis. There are no footnotes, and Guralnick's prejudices result in some bizarre and some blatantly wrong statements. For example, Guralnick asserts that, as of 1971, the Rolling Stones were the one major rock and roll band who always played rock and roll music, while the Beatles never really did that (p. 35) -- a statement ripe with Stones media hype of the Sticky Fingers era. Granted, the Beatles were more influenced by "rockabilly" and less Chicago-blues-based than the Stones, but they easily fall within the parameters of Guralnick's what-is-rock-and-roll thesis. In fact, Guralnick is eager to show how contemporary rock music -- even the bulk of the Beatles' music -- owes much of its content and structure to The Blues, whether the musicians know it or not. Guralnick also insists that the Beatles never paid tribute to, or publicized, their musical influences, while the Stones recorded songs by their favorite bluesmen and appeared onstage with them. Again, Guralnick overlooks Beatles for Sale (half cover versions) and Please Please Me and With the Beatles... and the fact that the Beatles were prolific songwriters, while the early Stones recorded cover versions for lack of good original material.

The crux of the issue, unstated by Guralnick but implicit in his comparisons, is that the Beatles did not try to sound Black, and thus failed to meet his subjective standard of what "rock and roll" should be. This prejudice hampers Guralnick's central argument -- that nearly all pop music derives from The Blues -- by suggesting that blues-based music is more rare and less popular than we think. The book's thesis would be improved if Guralnick were to broaden his survey to include jazz music & its blues origins, then the influence of jazz on popular music (e.g., Frank Sinatra) and so on. Then we'd see how Mel Torme and the Beatles and Ella Fitzgerald can all fit together in that big bed we call "the blues."

The book doesn't pretend to be a scholarly study of blues & rock and roll, however. It's more like a series of magazine pieces, to be read on planes, trains and busses. It's a fine introduction to the 50s roots of modern "rock" music.

Peter Guralnick begins this book with a tribute to early rock and roll and his adoration of it and then has chapters on mainly blues performers and then Sun Records and finally the final days of Chess Records. Guralnick gives us personal insights on artists, some famous (Jerry Lee Lewis), some more obscure (Robert Pete Williams). Even if you have read every item of information on Howlin Wolf or Charlie Rich this still displays a perspective on them from a different angle. Overall a wonderful glimpse into the world of the performers from a human level.

Peter Guralnick writes so beautifully about blues, treating it with the seriousness it deserves without making it carry more than it can bear. His writing is so understated and his insights so subtle that you find yourself thinking about his profiles of these artists as you listen to them later. He brings enough scholarly bearing to them to make you realize that what makes blues so special are the things it has in common with all great art--beauty and depth of feeling.

Pete Shotton was John Lennon's best friend throughout his life, and this book gives a positive upbeat and revealing look at that friendship.

Starting from their rebellious childhood antics in Woolton and Quarrybank we are taken on a "Magical Mystery Tour" through the Quarrymen formation and onto Beatles superfame. Throughout it all Pete was the sane down-to-Earth component of John's life. Here's a glimpse of the Real John Lennon from getting every bird around (and the rest) to going off the deep end with Acid. It's sure to entertain you and keep you laughing with uncanny Lennon humor. The book is no whitewash, but neither is it the blackwash of Goldman's book. It's basically as close to the truth as a good friend can get. I also recommend The Man who Gave the Beatles Away and the new book, Lennon in America. I await the release of John's Diaries.

I very highly recommend this book to any Lennon/Beatles fan with a good sense of humour and an open mind. I Loved Every Page Of It. You wont be able to keep a straight face while you read it. What A Clown!

There are only three decent books on John Lennon: Albert Goldman's, Ray Connelly's and Pete Shotton's "In My LIfe". This book is almost completely free of the schmalz that ruins other biographies. It's truthful and frank and is quite fascinating. A good thing about the book, is that it focuses on the man rather than the music. From reading it, you do get an idea of what he was really like. Regrettably, I lent my copy to a friend who promptly left it on a table in a cafe or hostel in Paris (early '96). So if you found it - I want it back!

Much insight on the band on and off stage. And Peter Grant, this brilliant and threataning manager is brought out from behind the shadows and emerges as a pivotal individual in rock history.

Simply a fascinating man, who was just as human as you or I. If he made any errors, the worst in his life were hiring John Bindon onto his security staff, and marrying a woman who was not a "single man woman.". I also now understand why he was referred to as the "fifth member of the Band".

The Book is very informative and thorough. The only problem I had with the book is that Welch even considered using Richard Cole as a source of information. That cost him one star. I also don't like the photographs of Peter giving us the finger. That almost cost him another star.

...by Chris Welch, and this time on the heavy-hitting mananger behind Led Zeppelin: Peter Grant. Despite a few glaring factual errors, such as the story behind Swan Song's (Zeppelin's vanity 70's record label)logo, and a few typos this is another good Welch-penned Zeppelin effort. Being a big fan of the band I was very surprised on the chapters devoted to the group's film Song Remains The Same, and their devastating 1977 US tour. These chapters alone are worth your time and money. This book, S. Davis'Hammer Of The Gods, and Richard Cole's Stairway To Heaven, read back to back will tell you all you'll need to know about the best hard rock band the world has ever known: Led Zeppelin!

I really appreciated this book. Chris Welsh has been one of the greatest insiders of Led Zeppelin and provides numberless details about Peter and his relation with the band. I liked very much the info that came from interviews with people related, like Mickie Most, Allan Callan, Ed Bricknell and Warren Grant, among others.
The book also has the merit of being original on a very worn out subject. Indeed a very good buy for both Zep die-hards and neophites.

This review is based on the first edition.

Like many rock bio's, the presentation, organization, writing and editing is often inconsistent. This work has many of those shortcomings, and at times I was vexed by the use of British colloquial jargon and jumpy anecdotal constructions. There is also a fair amount of psyco-babble about what went 'wrong' but that is manifest: Peter is a schizophrenic, and drug use in his or any other case has little or no role in this unfortunate illness (despite what a reviewer states below). This is a medical fact.

But for those who, like me, want any kinds of insights into his impetuous and genius, this book provides some texture and history. And the author is obviously a fan and his genuine enthusiasm for the artist provides a sympathetic context for this tragic figure. And although Greeny is back on stage, which is a wonderful story of its own, the performances I've seen are lack-luster. This book provides a means of understanding his personal and musical journey.

The story of Peter Green is a story of triumph, drugs, the fall from grace, redemption, another fall from grace, redemption again, and over half a lifetime of playing the blues, and being one of the greatest guitarists to come out of Britain. Yet he, his story, and his band (The Original Fleetwood Mac) have long been overlooked.

Oh well. At least we have this extraordinarily written biography to add to our Mac collections. Martin Birch certainly delivers here on a book that is well written, insightful, accurate, detailed, and certainly no less than inspiring. It is about time that someone decided to write about the roller coaster ride that is the life of Peter Green. It is also nice to see that Green is still around, playing the blues, and hasn't succumbed to his traumas as so many fellow musicians have. (His bandmate Danny Kirwan, Syd Barret, and all those drug casualties.) Certainly a worthy read, not just for Fleetwood Mac fans, not just for blues or rock and roll fans, but for everyone who wants to stories that will touch your heart.

I have read this book and it is inspiring and tragic about one of the greatest rock and blues guitarist coming out of the Uk as a member of John Mayall's Bluesbreaker before founding one of the most successful supergroups Fleetwood Mac, and his songs as "Black Magic Woman" (covered by Santana), "Rattlesnake Shake" (covered by Aerosmith) and "The Green Manalishi" (covered by Judas Priest) are exceptional. His LSD abuse led to his nervous breakdown and leaving the business for more than two decades despite his low-keyed comeback in the late 1970's and eaerly 1980's. Now he is back and reclaming his throne as a guitar extraordinaire and with his new band in the shack, and it was good to see this Rock n' Roll Hall Of Famer not living in the Syd Barrett example

And I thought I knew everything about the Stones: who was in the original band and what happened to them, where Mick Taylor went A.S. (after Stones). But I didn't. And the Stones have one of the shortest entries in this book - relatively speaking, there haven't been that many changes in the Stones. Now look at the permutations Fleetwood Mac or Fairport Convention went through over the years!

Great book for rock trivia. Who, why, and especially when. Just what any music trivia expert loves. And its great to use in conunction with Napster or Morpheus!!

An exhaustive look at the twists and turns of band members in some of the most important (and some of the most marginal) bands in rock history, thus providing the history of the genre through its participants -- which makes you think how chancy the whole enterprise has been. (If so-and-so hadn't bumped into so-and-so . . .) Frame obviously has a love for his subject and a love for detail, as indicated in the meticulous charts, with very small type (or draghtsman's handwriting, actually) abounding. If there's a problem with the book, it's that it effectively ends in 1980. I'm sure Frame is working on more, if he's still out there. Whattya say, Pete? More!

This is the most frequently referred-to book I own. Its wealth of detail can keep you entertained - and informed - for many hours. While it is rather dated, most pages being drawn in 1978 and 1982, it still provides a phenomenal amount of information on the bands of the time.

Aahhhhh finally my favorite!
A wonderful personal daily diary on Elvis!

I have just a few questions:
Just how would these two "Elvis wonders" know what went on EVERYDAY of Elvis life?
Were they there with Elvis every moment?
Were they a fly on the wall in a past life?
Did a psychic tell them EXACTLY what happened to Elvis and when?
Maybe they were Elvis reincarnated?

If these men knew Elvis' daily happenings, they would have to be at least 10 years old in 1935, to remember anything ... and that would make both men around 76 in age, right?

ONLY ELVIS CAN WRITE HIS DIARY --- NOT THE MASTERS OF THE ELVIS UNIVERSE!

Ernst Jorgensen and Peter Guralnick have really out done themselves. Thanks should go to the Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. for being cooperative and allowing this precious book to be made. You can almost literally follow all the living days of Elvis. This book covers his family history, and from the day of his birth a day by day listing (like a diary) of what Elvis did in his personal life leading to his destined professional life. Whom he made friends with, movies he would stay up to see all night, when a certain song was recorded and released, what TV shows he appeared on and where he performed before making it big, his movie deals, it's all here. Every account of his life. Now you can follow the 16,217 days of his life. 42 years and 220 days of his wonderful life and the entertainment he gave to us. There are 487 photos inside this book with 337 of Elvis Presley. The two most interesting "unknown" facts in this diary that I enjoyed reading and certainly raised an eyebrow were the two dates of April 17, 1963 and November 22, 1963. On April 17, 1963, for a party at Graceland, what did Elvis order for food and beverage? On November 22, 1963, who was Elvis with and what were they doing on that tragic, historic day? Read this book to find out and buy it for your very own home personal library.

Elvis Day By Day is not perfect. The depth of the book doesn't match say, The Beatles Anthology and it could have. It doesn't have the striking pictures that other books in the genre do. But let's not get to critical. Ernst Jorgensen has almost singlehandedly revitalized the music of Elvis into mainstream America and Guralnick, while not always perfect has presented an accurate image of Elvis. Many little things add interest to this book. These include the many photos of documents that Elvis signed. Also, some unreleased and rare photos.I could have suggested more quality photos and experiences from the 68-72 era. The day by day in these years could have been better chronicled, in my opinion. I thought the picture of Elvis on stage live with Tom Jones was quite neat and worth the price of the book. Overall this book is excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it and any fan will be delighted to have it on their coffee table. Kevin Hogan, ...

Carnival Wolves is an average collection of tales that could have been a first-rate novel or selection of short stories. Rock tries to be too artsy for his own good at times. He has a very interesting story to tell and some compelling symbols to convey if he just wouldn't get in his own way! Rock will be a great novelist if he just lets himself...

This book is magic, its language like incantation--proof of a brilliant mind and hands at work. I have read it a number of times and its organization is uncanny and ingenious, how it can operate like a novel and a short story collection. The chapter entitled Death's Door is one of the most finely crafted stories I've ever read anywhere. Another chapter was lauded by the O. Henry Award folks. Do yourself a favor. Read his book and tell a friend. Mr. Rock is deserving of the recognition.

This book takes you on cross-country tour of America, shows you some believable and interesting people, in places on and off the beaten track. The people described are the mainstream america we have been waiting to be shown. Each chapter is a story that can stand on its own, which makes for great summer reading.

At least half of the featured album covers were familiar to me, and the book did contain interesting and informative snippets of information. However I was a bit dismayed that some album covers were overlooked, memorable covers by such popular bands as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Meatloaf, ELO, Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, and Iron Maiden (for their frightening Eddie character that graced so many of their albums).

As an art book, this book is a joke. I have many coffee-table and art books, and "100 Best Album Covers" is the only one I have that centers some featured graphics in the CENTER of the book. By that, I mean that a picture is centered in a two page spread, which runs the spine of the book right down the middle of the picture. All of the other art books I have put a graphic on one page so that you can see it (unless it's oversized). The pictures here aren't oversized and would easily fit on one page. It's hard to appreciate even a nifty album cover when you can only see the outer edges of it clearly. Far too many of the album covers are centered on the spine this way. The emphasis in this book is on the commentary it seems, and not so much the picture. Emerson Lake & Palmer's "Brain Salad Surgery" (an impressive work by the famous artist Giger) isn't quite as breathtaking when you have to pry and bend the book open and crack the spine to see it.

The publishers should revise this book and reissue it.

...Had reservations initially paging through this survey of album covers - mainly because I was not familiar with a lot of the music of early rock-n-roll (I'm more of an 'electronic music' kind of guy). But after perusing through this extremely detailed and interesting book, I was totally impressed (and sold).

The reasons are simple - '100 Best Album Covers' is indeed very representative of all types of musics (including electronic!) from many eras and all types of graphic styles. The authors (experts and very experienced) approached the subject matter from not only a historical perspective (lots of really cool facts!) but from a graphic design perspective. If your interested in music and/or graphic design, this book is for you.......

100 Best Album Covers is a great book that details the stories behind some of the best album covers of all time. Storm Thorgerson & Aubrey Powell formed the duo Hipgnosis and they designed most of Pink Floyd's albums and others as well, so their opinions on what makes a great album cover carry alot of weight. Some of the albums you'll recognize, some you've never seen or even heard of the artist, but they are all visually interesting and the tidbits of information about them are highly interesting.