Customer Reviews

Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer, Trower: Their Lives and Music

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My primary reason for buying this book was my interest in Rory Gallagher. I run a webpage about Rory that includes over 150 articles about Rory. ...

Dan has done an outstanding job of pulling it all together and brings us up close & personal with Rory through the eyes of many of the people closest to him through his life & career.

Dan went to great lengths to follow up on quotes from one person with verification from other people.This section will stir your emotions with a great look at the happpiness and sadness in Rory's life and career and his untimely passing in 1995.

Most striking about the other sections is the common thread of musicians being taken to the cleaners by managers or short changed by record companies.Some excellent insight into the live of 3 other performers I knew far less about.

An easy,interesting read done in an interview style....HIGHLY recommended!!

Having listened to all of these musicians at one time or another throughout my life, I found this book fun, entertaining, and interesting. Using interviews with actual players on the scene, Muise gives some good insight into each of the musicians. The only real problems I had with the book were a lack of pictures, as well as missing dialogue from Marriott and Gallaher, both of whom were dead at the time of writing. While Muise did include some dialogue from Gallagher and just a tiny bit from Marriot, I felt as though he could have dug up some other interiews and included some other material to beef it up and round out the portraits.

Steve Marriot was one of the greatest of all singer/guitarists to emerge out of the sixties, and he was sorely overlooked by the media during his tenure. Had he been given more deserved attention I can only wonder what he might have become. While Peter Frampton was truly a key ingredient of Humble Pie, it was Marriot who made that band sizzle. I would say, however, that the band was never as good after Frampton left. I would have really liked to have read what Marriot would have had to say about that, and that is what was really missing from the book. We never really get to find out what how Frampton's departure impacted Steve Marriot; we only learned that through the eyes of others, whose perception may or may not have been accurate.

Of all of the musicians featured, I was very disappointed in the attitude of Rick Derringer. He seems to think that he was denied super star status. I listened to all of the major players of the day, and most of the minor ones, and Derringer was easily a minor leaguer, and he ought to be grateful for the fame he achieved. He really came off as a whiner. I really liked much of what he did in the 60s and 70s, but I don't think he was ever a big leaguer; and it should be remembered that there is a reason why there was a top tier of guitarists and singers. For example, he never, ever reached the singing ability of Steve Marriot or the guitarmanship of Rory Gallagher or Robin Trower.

Robin Trower's career, as depicted in Muise's book, was really disappointing. He seems to have mishandled it at every step. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects was the rationalization of one of his manager, Derek Sutton. Talk about a self absorbed, self serving idiot. It's no wonder musicians get screwed by managers. Reading about Sutton truly made me want to read a good book about rock managers. What a dolt. And the treatment of Jimmy Dewar was just incredible. This was all very interesting. Trower seems to be surrounded by some kind of emotional protective shield, because if I had his behavior, I'd be ashamed.

I really liked this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with any familiarity of these musicians. I will warn you, however, that reading it will send you to the used record store trying to dig up some of the gems about which they discuss.

The Gallagher story alone was worth the price of admission. After that I still couldn't put it down. If you are a fan of only one of these great rockers buy this book. You'll love the whole thing. I was a longtime fan of three of them. Then found myself collecting Humble Pie discs!!! Now it's four. Dan Muise did a fantastic job! He let's people speak for themselves. The result is a portrait collection of some of rock and roll's most interesting, influential and unsung heros. It's just a great piece of business. - db

Since the musicians covered in this book certainly were part of my growing years in the Seventies, I was greatly interested in how this book would pan out. It's really quite refreshing; instead of a lot of scholarly blather about influences, parallels in Aoelean cadences in classical composition, blah-blah-blah, Muise just interviewed the subjects and/or those around them and constructs their stories from there.

What you get are pretty clear pictures of the lives of four great musicians who weren't the chart-sellers of their day but were (and are) hard-working, sometimes hard-living guys who followed their calling. The honesty of many of the interviewees is equally refreshing: Robin Trower's manager isn't at all afraid of calling one of his client's albums "a piece of ..." in print (and he's STILL Trower's manager, so there you are!), and while some of the interviews conflict with each other in certain details about who did what, that's very human, and nice to see in unglossed form.

The best thing about this book is that not only have I gone back to listen to my Robin Trower and Rory Gallagher music collections with renewed appreciation, but I've pulled out that old vinyl copy of Humble Pie's ROCK ON that I haven't played in almost thirty years and recaptured just a little of the feeling of adrenalin I had when I first slapped it on the turntable. And it's made me want to take another look at Rick Derringer, who I pretty much ignored during the Seventies. This is a job well done!

The book is worth getting for any fan of these four talented guitarists. Its strength is the author's decision to allow the artists themselves, band members, producers, managers, lovers, family members, and friends to talk freely and at length about the musicians' lives and their work. This hands-off approach results in candid portraits of the artists, as well as a realistic glimpse into the murky world of the music business. The interviewees are very forthcoming, which is particularly refreshing and at times quite funny. In the section on Robin Trower, Derek Sutton, his manager and former head of U.S. operations with Chrysalis Records, responds as follows to the author's question about whether at times management deliberately set out to fool musicians: "I think you're giving too much credit for intelligence to the managers. You have to remember, I've said this before and I'll say it again, there aren't a lot of very bright people in this business." Sutton's acerbic snapshots of the members of Procol Harum, the band Trower was in before he went solo, are on par with the best scenes from Spinal Tap.

The chronological accounts of the guitarists' careers keep the narrative clear. At times, however, some of the responses could have been edited a bit more, since a few of the interviewees drift off topic. Also, occasionally transitions from one interview to the next are too abrupt. This could have been averted by more editorial comments connecting each piece with the whole. Finally, while the conclusion to the chapter on Rory Gallagher is moving, the conclusion to the section on Robin Trower is too brusque, especially since this is the conclusion of the book. A postscript to the volume, similar to the author's brief but effective preface, would have been a good idea.

The chapter on Steve Marriott is worth getting the book alone. I've played in bands back in the 70's & 80's that played songs by all four guys and it was great reading. To hear Frampton, Ridley and Shirley talk about "Gilded Splinters", the "Whiskey A Go Go" gigs (which I have a CD of), the Filmore plus the induction of Clempson into the band is something every Pie fan should have! It's just sad that all the books,CDs and videos came out long after Steve has moved on, but at least we HAVE them now!
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Dan Muise has done an excellent job in telling the stories of a number of great musicians in this book. It is a great read that makes you feel like you are in the same room as the people who are talking about their lives and their careers!

Just a quick note to let you know that this book, for the real rock and roll historian who wants to know about these artists, is incredible. The year by year breakdown and the expansive interviews with all the various musicians paints a really broad picture of just how the insane business that is the music business works. Great stuff.

if you are a classic rock guitar fan you will love this book.i got my copy from rick derringers web site and he autographed it!this book is great because..it is a condensed version of the lives of 4 of the greatetest guitar players in rocks history.it gives you just enough details to keep you wanting more,its easy to read and its got great interviews.i just wish it was 4 times longer!!!

Many people may not remember the musicians in this book but do yourself a favor and get reacquainted. And for those that don't know them, educate yourself. This book offers a true and acurate depiction of the lives and music of Rory Gallagher, Steve Marriott, Rick Derringer and Robin Trower. The way the book was written shows a style that appears that all those involved are sitting in a room together and laying out the stories. And are comfortable enough to tell the tales in a frank manner. No secrets. Yet no trashy dirt either. A very credible book. We get lives in the studio, on the road and at home. Managers, road crew, musicians, record reps, family and friends have all entrusted Dan Muise to get the story right and he did a wonderful job. The foreword tells his intention. I recommend this to anyone who's a fan of rock'n'roll music and to those that should be. The musicians covered are the true artists behind this genre of music and this book shows why. You won't be disappointed. Everyone should have a copy.