Customer Reviews

Race with the Devil: Gene Vincent's Life in the Fast Lane

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Gene Vincent was the prototype rock 'n' roller, and his contributions were formidable, influencing The Beatles, Van Morrison, Robert Plant, John Fogarty, Jeff Beck, Chris Issac and Jim Morrison to name some of the most vocal with their praises. This book widely explores Mr. Vincent's youth, establishing step-by-step how his Norfolk, Virginia roots helped mold "The Sound" he started in music. Before Mr. Vincent, popular music aimed to hit listeners between the ears or between the arms. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" clobbered listeners between their legs, and rock 'n' roll would never be the same. The author's obviously deep love and respect for Mr. Vincent and his music translates to an extremely intricate -- albeit highly readable -- study, I would say the best ever written on the subject. To her credit, Ms. VanHecke never lets her admiration overshadow reality. Mr. Vincent was no candidate for sainthood, either by destiny or by his own choice. And it's precisely this aspect of Mr. Vincent's personality that's so wonderful about the book. While it's quite easy to track the direct musical lineage created by Mr. Vincent, millions of rock music fans probably never recognized that the rebel personna also started with him. This book is a must-read for anyone who remotely appreciates rock 'n' roll.

I love this man's music and in reading "Race With the Devil" one finds that as the man behind it crumbled, his wonderful voice never wavered. His live shows continued to thrill audiences long after his chart success had waned to almost nothing.
The author does a great job of showing Vincent as he truly was, a man with a magical voice and presence who was normally very gentle and agreeable, but also capable of frightful fits of anger.
To me the defining moment of Gene Vincent's life in this book was the instant his lower leg was smashed between the front bumper of a Chrysler and the side of his motorcycle. Vincent and the Caps would soon kick off years of almost non-stop performing and the leg would never have the chance to heal. This, of course led to Gene's abuse of alcohol as he drank more and more to mask the pain from a leg that deteriorated so badly that it would bend at the shin when he walked! The book reveals how several times in his tortured life he actually pulled weapons on friends and family in fits of rage brought on by intense touring, marital and legal problems, pain and copius drinking.
Be warned, to a fan this is shocking and could change the way you think of "the Screaming End". Upon reading this though, it's clear that very few people could have went down Vincent's "fast lane" without lashing out from time to time.
The almost constant personnel changes in his various backing bands put an additional strain on Vincent. But by far the biggest blow was the death of his very true and unwavering friend, Eddie Cochran of "Summertime Blues" fame, who died from injuries suffered in a car crash in which Vincent was also riding.
As I read on I was shocked to find that Vincent actually lived very nearby here in my town for a time and is buried in a place I've driven by countless times. How strange that when he lived in Simi Valley, his house was located on Cochran Street! This was years after the death of Eddie Cochran and probably was just coincidence, but still is pretty bizarre.
I loved the book but although it is well written and a very enjoyable account of the life of one or rock's true pioneers the lack of source attribution and dating of the events is a noticeable drawback. Still this is the only gripe and is pretty minor considering this is the only Vincent biography out there.
Vincent fans should read "Race With the Devil". Keep an open mind while doing so and it will greatly increase your understanding and appreciation of this wonderful artist.

...that this is the only in-print bio on Vincent, I have to say this is an excellent book. Despite the tone of the writer at times to try to seem "country," and her habit of not really pointing out too many specific dates (or years even!), I did enjoy this. The extensive after-notes, and interview list were quite impressive and obviously a lot of research went into it. I guess I just wish it seemed more in depth than it read. It will definitely do for now...

There isn't a song that Gene put out that I didn't enjoy. The book does a good job giving a pretty in depth overview of his short and frantic life. What came out was his total love for rockabilly and rock music. He sacrificed his health and eventually his life for it. The book tends to "race" much like it's title and dates tend to be ignored and events, concerts etc. aren't fully explained. But the good far outweighs the bad. After reading the book I fully realized the (physical and mental) pain he went through to perform the music he loved so much. Money was secondary to performing for his audiences. Hard to believe that today isn't it? Gene's personal life was a shambles but he rocked on. He was one of a kind and they won't be making any more like him.

This book is good on the whole, it is generally enjoyable, alhough there are some incomplete parts to point out :
1) There is not a useful description of the musical landscape in which Gene Vincent does is act, id est not a description of rock'n'roll in the 50s, the slipping towards the beat era in the 60s; in this way it is not possible to compare Vincent's music with his times and without this explanation the reader couldn't ( I say couldn't, in case he doesn't know it himself ) understand the declining fortunes of his carrier.
2) Information about other rock'n'roll artists is almost wrong, in particular as regards Elvis Presley ; actually the author should distinguish among true facts and the false ones due probably to envy ( Vincent says that Elvis went to the Sullivan show after the impossibility to have Carl Perkins first and Gene Vincent himself second : in truth, when Elvis went to the show, he was number 1 - the 4th since the beginning of the 1956, with " Don't be cruel " - and was granted the highest pay till that moment by the Sullivan show production, so probably they had all the interest to have him )
3) Apart from missing references about dates or years, the author fails to explain why Vincent could go on doing pretty successful tours around the world, while in the same time having an almost disastrours record on the charts : in the USA, he charted 5 times only, twice in the top 20, in GB, where he was more successful, he had 4 top 20 hits, never entering the top 10.
So, having considered these points, I can say we have an interesting homage to the rocking singer.