Customer Reviews

Jackson Browne: The Story of a Hold Out

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

 

 

"There's funny embarrassing, and then there's other kinds. My mother gave a bunch of my baby pictures to an unauthorized biography once. This guy lied to my mom, very shameful. Bad guy. He lied to my family, saying he's writing this book with me, and they just believed him. They didn't call and ask, 'Hey, you want us to cooperate with this guy?' They just did it. So that was a deeper kind of embarrassment. Because it was like they gave some sort of family approval for what was really a very badly written book." Jackson Browne, in an interview with Zacate Canyon.

If you respect Jackson Browne, as I do, you will not buy this book, as it is not only unauthorized but the author went to great pains to lie about its being unauthorized. Buy the "Going Home" DVD instead.

This book is a comprehensive look into the life of Jackson Browne, from the time of his grandfather to about 1980. I found it very complete, and fascinating reading. This is a must have for any fan of Jackson's! I learned a lot of great facts about Jackson's life, and gained an interest in his history and the history of his ancestors.

Although some parts of this book were wordy, overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book enabled me to see more in to the life of Jackson Browne, and to understand more of what he is about. I know it was not an approved biography. After reading it I'm not sure why he disapproved as I did not find it derogatory in any way! Interesting and a good read overall.

I READ THIS BOOK, BEFORE I WAS A DIE-HARD FAN OF JACKSON'S. IT MADE ME WANT TO LISTEN TO MORE OF HIS MUSIC. I'D RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY ONE WHO ENJOYS LISTENING TO GOOD QUALITY MUSIC.

This is a great historical review of his life and music with many facts to learn. I recently attended a small political fundraiser where Jackson Browne and J. D. Souther played a few songs in the living room of a home. Having always loved his music particularly his newer album, "the Naked Ride Home", I bought this book to learn more about this complicated man and this book does not disappoint. My one complaint is the packaging of the book. This is not a typical book size but rather like a large song book. And, with the "cheesy" cover art, not the kind of book you want to travel with. That aside, if you want to learn as much as you can about the very private Jackson Browne, this is the bible and I recommend it.

Great insight into the world of a young Browne!!As the reader you get a inside look at the life of Jackson Browne!!This book is a must for any music fan but Really a must for the Browne fan!!!

This book was entertaining. Who is to say that it has genuine, true facts if Jackson Browne did not give authorization of this book.

As an amateur historian of music that I grew up with, I am always fascinated by the motivations and forces that drive the creative processes in the songwriters I admire. As such, trying to find a copy of this book for less than 50 dollars was not easy, yet after several years, I prevailed. Go to the library, duh!

Whether authorized or not, the back story of JB's youth provides a great deal of compiled information not available from other individual sources. It is certainly understandable that JB would not authorize this book, based upon a desire to close the door to certain chapters of his life as he plunges forward into a more perfect scenario of his own self image. We all have doors we would rather stay locked to the outside world and fortunately for us, nobody really cares about the true Everyman Everyman, Us.... JB is the mythical,heroic Everyman, but with such public acknowledgment comes a certain amount of curiosity from those of us who buy his recordings and concert tickets. If JB is not happy with what has been written, maybe he doesn't give his fans or admirers enough credit to distinguish the "evil from the good" (without hiding, of course, apologies to the Doctor.)

To learn of his youthful tough guy posturing occurring at the same time in his life that his strident passion for words and perfect communication was blossoming is an unexpected dichotomy. To understand his singularly focused chase of the muse in the form of pre-Byrds California hoots allows one to lay a foundation of recognition into his work and his art. While there is no Ah Ha moment here, the reader is tipped off to the stepping stones that led to JB's eventual choice of roads taken.

It was also interesting to learn of his early influences, not necessarily the Bob Dylans of the world, but rather the local notables that he cast his lot with, those that he could physically touch and meld with such as Pamela Polland, Steve Noonan and Greg Copeland. Slight cases of mini hero worship mixed with admiration for blazing a trail just a few steps ahead of him, unwittingly laying the groundwork for who has become a national treasure of insight ala musica.

In the midst of all this history is JB's desire to tell a story, yet regret later on, (after it was in print) that he told it at all. I guess it must come with the territory, and anyone who has experienced being mis-quoted, under-quoted, over-quoted, or just plain mis-understood at the hands of the press will nod in agreement. But in the end, a public figure only gets to that plateau by his own seeking and with the celebrity comes the curiosity of those he sought to engage in the first place.

While the author here gets a little thematic in his presentation, a lot of interesting information is forthcoming. Well worth the quick and accessible read. I have read the "other" JB biography and must say, that this one is much easier to swallow. If only a more definitive record existed, one with more input from his cohorts of the stage and studio, it would be easy to put these others aside, but given the druthers of the subject, we probably won't be seeing any of them offering any additions soon.