Category Archives: Book Reviews

Galadrielle Allman’s Song For Her Father: Please Be With Me

The career of legendary guitarist Duane Allman has been well-documented in words and music over the years – but what of the man himself? Sadly, we probably know more about October 29, 1971 – the date of his fatal motorcycle accident – than any other day in Duane Allman’s life. We know some of his […]

Alan Paul’s One Way Out : The Allman Brothers Uncut

For as public as The Allman Brothers Band’s saga has been for the last 45 years – a mix of magnificent triumphs and macabre tragedies; dues-paying and wretched excesses; clashing egos and brotherly love – their story has never been righteously told … until now. When author Alan Paul says that writing One Way Out […]

Bill Janovitz – Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell The Story Of The Rolling Stones

Now, get your heads around this, boys and girls: author Bill Janovitz hasn’t compiled a list of the “50 greatest Stones songs of all time” or any such thing. Don’t get all caught up in debating why “Dead Flowers” doesn’t have a chapter in Janovitz’ book; or why “Fool To Cry” does – if you […]

Woody Guthrie – House Of Earth

Buried away for 65 years in the mountain of unpublished lyrics, letters, notes, cartoons, and other seeds of genius Woody Guthrie left behind, House Of Earth is a read that was worth waiting for (even if the world didn’t know it existed). Guthrie’s Dust Bowl novel, set in Great Depression-era Texas, is layered just as […]

Ed McClanahan – I Just Hitched In From The Coast

Even if Ed McClanahan’s I Just Hitched In From The Coast wasn’t a great read, it would still be worth owning just for the cover photo of a long, long ago Ed. I love Ed McClanahan.

Neil Young FAQ: Everything Left To Know About The Iconic And Mercurial Rocker by Glen Boyd

Ticked off because you were going to buy your favorite Rustie a copy of Neil Young’s memoir Waging Heavy Peace for Christmas and you just found out they already nabbed a copy (having pre-ordered it a year or so ago)? Fret not – a solution is at hand. Seattle-based music journalist Glen Boyd wasn’t lying […]

Another Nightmare Gig From Hell: Musicians’ Tales Of Wonder And Woe – by Nick Zelinger & Tammy Brackett

Brokedown vans. Snowstorms. Floods. Brokedown vans. Clueless sound techs. Swarms of beetles. Brokedown vans. Vomiting vocalists. Drunken brides. And let’s not forget: brokedown van heaters. They’re all in here – and more; all the makings of the classic horrorshow for the working musician, or as the title of the book says, Another Nightmare Gig From […]

Philip Cushway Discusses The Art Of The Dead

Big and beautiful, Art Of The Dead (Soft Skull Press) is not just another coffee table book for Deadheads. It truly is – as the subtitle reads – “A Celebration Of The Artists Behind The American Rock Poster Movement”, compiled by longtime poster collector (and printer) Philip Cushway. Though he is no longer an art […]

Pete Townshend – Who I Am

Oh, what a mess. Not Pete Townshend’s new autobiography Who I Am – it’s well-written and an engaging read. The mess I’m referring to is the story told on the pages of Who I Am, which would be the story of Pete Townshend’s life … which, I guess, would be the roundabout way of saying […]

Neil Young – Waging Heavy Peace

Neil Young has beat the snot out of his faithful Les Paul “Old Black” in his own style for years now – purists can criticize his technique but they can’t deny the emotion and depth of his playing. And in the end, isn’t it how the music makes you feel that really matters? Young’s debut […]