Customer Reviews

Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Stories? I don't think so. The "story" behind each song is simply a quote or two. The author didn't want to be burdened with the task of actually writing anything. And the quotes are frequently brief. The "story" behind Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way," for instance, is all of four lines. This is book is mostly air. And as for "Classic" Rock, I humbly submit that songs like "Substitute," "That Smell," "Treat Me Right" by Pat Benetar have not exactly been labeled "classic" by anyone but Morse.

I think what happened here is that Morse spend an afternoon on Nexus running searches for a bunch of songs and came up with a miscellaneous series of quotes from backdated issues of Rolling Stone. I feel ripped off.

...for anyone who likes music. The quotes contained herein are compiled from many different sources, mostly biographies and magazine articles, but I've never seen them all compiled in one place before. Nifty! This book is best read in short bursts, like while on the bus or waiting for the dentist or something. The inexplicable addition of a "Top 25 Classic Rock Album" list in the rear of the book makes for an entertaining read, as all top-XX lists are, though it is inexplicably skewed toward limp boring prog rock. And not one punk album in the top 25? C'mon! There is also a "Jurassic Park" section which is your basic "Where Are They Now" thing, although it already reads a bit dated (AC/DC's latest release is Ballbreaker, George Harrison is still alive...)

Someone had to do it.

Tim Morse collects the stories (most of them between one and four paragraphs) behind the music. There are some careless typos, and the dates of those who relate the comments are missing, though much of the info is illuminating. Some of the more familiar stories should probably have been updated or removed outright (Is there anyone who DOESN'T know the origins of "Hey Jude" by now? If there is such a person, he/she wouldn't be reading this book, anyway).

Music researchers will like this book because it's a great reference volume. Now if we can only get Morse to pen a companion piece that includes more black artists--"Classic R&B and Soul Stories," perhaps?

One of the best books I`ve ever buy.If you like rock n roll is a must have...!!!

I am a classic rock junkie, I love learning new things about the bands and the songs. I could read this book over and over again, its filled with tons of information that is incredibly interesting to someone like me! I only wish it were longer so that i would have more to read!

Lots of blank space for such a small book and really not all that interesting. I've read dozens of books about Rock history, and this collection is one of the weakest to date. Frankly, I'd be embarrassed to even loan this book to a friend, and would not recommend it to others.

This book is definatley not what I expected. "Stories" are more about why or how the song was recorded and not about what the lyrics mean like I had hoped. Got about 15 pages in, and decided not to finish.

For those interested in best-of song lists, also check out the following:

Dave's Music Database presents: The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era 1954-1999