Customer Reviews

Don't Bother Knockin'... This Town's A Rockin' : A History of Traditional Rhythm and Blues & Early Rock'n' Roll In Buffalo, New York

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Unlike most books on popular music, this book focusses on the musicians' personal experiences (lots of oral history here) rather than long analyses on so and so's drumming technique. Therefore, it is an interesting read- not boring for someone who is not a musician. What else is interesting aboutthis book is the style in which it is written. It is very simple- sometimes almost too simple- the exact opposite of academic writing. I felt like I was 13 years old again listening to my relatives talk in the family home basement bar in Cheektowaga- that is if they were more hip and actually knew about this kind of music.

Positive: Lots of content and fun stories, lots of detail about the clubs, radio stations, etc. in Buffalo during the 50's-60's.
Made me feel like I was really born too late!
I liked the lack of academic BS- it just got to the point and gave me the lowdown.

Negative: Sometimes the book takes on an apologetic and earnest tone- not unusual for Buffalonians. Also, the beginning part of the book could have been cut out- it was too general compared to the rest of the book.