August 2023 MBR The Music Shelf

The Music Shelf

British Invasion '64 - The Year That Changed Rock & Roll Forever
Gene Popa
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com
9798887712192, $35.00, HC, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/British-Invasion-64-Changed-Forever/dp/B0C9G7QHDK

Synopsis: The first weeks of the year 1964 were cold, gray, and somber, as America was reeling from the tragic death of its vibrant young President. But then something began piercing through the desolate haze: a sound, both new, yet also echoing the thrilling, unbridled energy of early Rock and Roll -- it was an energy that had been almost utterly tamed in recent years.

Up to this time, British bands had been wholly unsuccessful at gaining a lasting foothold in American Rock and Roll. But suddenly, all of that changed forever as four young men led an army across the ocean, and from that moment on, nothing would ever be the same again.

The British Invasion was more than just The Beatles -- it was The Dave Clark Five, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, Peter and Gordon, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Dusty Springfield, The Zombies, The Kinks, and so many others. And 1964 was more than just a year -- it was the gateway to vast changes in music and culture. And the British Invasion was the soundtrack to it all!

Critique: Informative, insightful, nostalgic, "British Invasion '64: The Year That Changed Rock & Roll Forever" the English bands and their take on the Baby Boomer phenomena of Rock 'n Roll, was seminal, ground-breaking, and a major influence on American popular culture. Featuring a section of black/white historical photo images, A 1964 U.S. Discography, and an Index, "British Invasion '64" will prove a welcome and informative pick for personal, professional, community, college, and university library 20th Century American Music History and Popular Culture collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, American music historians, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "British Invasion '64" is also available in a paperback edition (9798887712185, $25.00).

The Gospel of The Hold Steady
Michael Hann, author
The Hold Steady, author
Akashic Books
232 Third Street, #A115, Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.akashicbooks.com
9781636140957, $40.00, HC, 206pp

https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Hold-Steady-Resurrection-Really/dp/1636140955

Synopsis: On January 22, 2003, four men stepped onto a stage in Brooklyn and did something no one else was doing at that time, in that place. They played rock 'n' roll: old-fashioned rock 'n' roll with skyscraping riffs and sloppy solos, topped with extraordinary lyrics about an out-of-focus America, blurred by pills and powders, of crime and fear and desperation and redemption.

Twenty years later, The Hold Steady are one of America's most beloved rock bands, famed for live shows that turn unbelievers into converts, and for a catalog filled with some of the most exciting yet poetic music of the twenty-first century. To mark those twenty years, The Hold Steady tell their full story with the publication of "The Gospel of The Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels".

An oral history, based on interviews with everyone who has played in the band, and those who have worked with them over the course of their career, "The Gospel of the Hold Steady" addresses all the triumphs and setbacks of The Hold Steady's career in the band's own words, ranging from high times, to near deaths, and from the brink of splitting, to their current renaissance.

"The Gospel of The Hold Steady" is completed by essays about America's greatest bar band by writers Rob Sheffield, Laura Barton, Isaac Fitzgerald, and Michael Hann, as well as the thoughts and memories of "The Unified Scene" -- the fans who have helped define the band's identity over the years.

Critique: Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of more than 200 photographs and images, "The Gospel of the Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels" is a singularly informative and fascinating history that will be of special and particular interest for the legions of The Hold Steady fans -- and anyone else who 'understands that the magic of rock 'n' roll happens on a stage in a small room, with voices raised from the crowd'. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.99) and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Dreamscape Media, 9781666644586, $22.99, CD), "The Gospel of the Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library Contemporary American Music collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Michael Hann is a writer and editor based in London, who contributes to the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Economist, the Spectator, the Quietus, and Uncut. He was formerly the film and music editor at the Guardian. He is the author of Denim and Leather: The Rise and Fall of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Editorial Note #2: The Hold Steady is comprised of Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Bobby Drake, Franz Nicolay, and Steve Selvidge. Since forming in Brooklyn in 2003, they have released eight studio albums, most recently Open Door Policy in 2021. Their debut album, The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me, was named one of the 100 best albums of this century by Rolling Stone.

I'm Into Something Good
Harvey Lisberg
https://harveylisberg.com
Omnibus Press
www.omnibuspress.com
c/o Independent Publishers Group (distribution)
www.ipgbook.com
9781913172886, $28.99, HC, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Im-Into-Something-Good-Managing/dp/1913172880

Synopsis: When 22-year-old accountant Harvey Lisberg heard the Beatles' 'Please Please Me', he had an epiphany: he could be Manchester's answer to Brian Epstein. He had a musical ear, a knack for numbers and a gambler's instinct for taking a punt. Within a year he had taken local group, Herman's Hermits, to number one with 'I'm Into Something Good'. Soon, Hermania was a global phenomenon. Harvey had found his vocation.

"I'm Into Something Good: My Life Managing 10cc, Herman's Hermits and Many More!" is an uproarious, frank and moving autobiography in which he reveals the excesses of life on the road with Herman's Hermits; the frustration of championing unknowns Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber; the highs and lows of managing the brilliant 10cc; the utter madness of looking after snooker bad boys Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins and Jimmy 'Whirlwind' White and much, much more.

Many other artists benefitted from Harvey's guidance during this time, including Tony Christie, Barclay James Harvest, Sad Cafe and the Chameleons. "I'm Into Something Good" is his account of a life that started in Salford and ended up in Palm Springs; a life in which he traveled the world, met heroes and villains, fulfilled his dreams, and spent a fortune on good living, family and friends.

Critique: Personal, informative, fascinating, candid, revealing, memorable, and exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "I'm Into Something Good: My Life Managing 10cc, Herman's Hermits and Many More!" will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in 20th Century Rock Bands in general, and Herman's Hermits in particular. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Rock History, Biography, and Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "I'm Into Something Good" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note: Harvey Lisberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Lisberg) is a British talent manager who found success guiding the music careers of 10cc, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Herman's Hermits among others. As well as his work in the music industry, Lisberg managed many prominent sports people including the legendary snooker player Jimmy White.

Going Back to T-Town
Carmen Fields
University of Oklahoma Press
2800 Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
9780806191843, $26.95, HC, 225pp

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Back-T-Town-Territory-Greenwood/dp/0806191848

Synopsis: There was a time when countless young people in the Midwest, South, and Southwest went to dances and stage shows to hear a territory band play. Territory bands traveled from town to town, performing jazz and swing music, and Tulsa-based musician Ernie Fields (1904-1997) led one of the best.

With the publication of "Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band ", Ernie's daughter, Carmen Fields, tells a story of success, disappointment, and perseverance extending from the early jazz era to the 1960s. This biography is an enlightening account of how this talented musician and businessman navigated the hurdles of racial segregation during the Jim Crow era.

Because few territory bands made recordings, their contributions to the development of jazz music are often overlooked. Fortunately, Ernie Fields not only recorded music but also loved telling stories. He shared his "tales from the road" with his daughter, a well-known Boston journalist, and his son, Ernie Fields Jr., who has carried on his legacy as a successful musician and music contractor. As much as possible, Carmen Fields tells her father's story in his own voice: how he weathered the ups and downs of the music industry and maintained his optimism even while he faced entrenched racial prejudice and threats of violence.

After traveling with his band all over the United States, Fields eventually caught the attention of renowned music producer John Hammond. In 1939, Hammond arranged for recording sessions and bookings that included performances in the famed Apollo Theater in New York. Ernie finally scored a top-ten hit in 1959 with his rock-and-roll rendition of "In the Mood." At a time when most other territory bands had faded, the Ernie Fields Orchestra continued to perform.

A devoted husband and family man, Ernie Fields also respected and appreciated his fellow musicians. This biography also includes a "Roll Call" of his organization's members, based on notes he kept about them. Going Back to T-Town is a priceless source of information for historians of American popular music and African American history.

Critique: Fascinating, original, detailed, informative, well written, memorable, "Going Back to T-Town: The Ernie Fields Territory Big Band " will have immense value for readers with an interest in the history of American Jazz, the Big Band Era, and raise from an underserved obscurity a part of America's 20th Century Music History. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, college, and university library American Biography collections and supplemental American Music History curriculum studies lists, it should be noted that "Going Back to T-Town" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.49) as well.

Editorial Note: Carmen Fields is an Emmy Award-winning broadcast news journalist who currently produces and hosts the public affairs program Higher Ground on WHDH-TV, Boston. She co-anchored WGBH's Ten O'Clock News from 1987 to 1991 and wrote the script for the American Experience documentary "Goin' Back to T-Town" (1993).

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