Customer Reviews

Rough Mix

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

 

 

Usually when you read an "autobiography" of a Nashville musician, you just know the co-author really wrote it and let the star put his or her name at the top. This book sounds just like Bowen would sound if he were chatting with you over coffee. It's filled with great insider trivia about everyone from Little Richard to Sinatra to Garth Brooks (and, yes, that's steam coming out from under Garth's big hat). The word "unapologetic" in the title should be taken literally. Bowen gives us the often-outrageous, sometimes-ugly, unvarnished truth about himself and about the star's who've crossed his path

It's difficult to blame Bowen for the hodge-podge nature of this book - after all, he was busy living this life, rather than thinking about and analyzing it. And with a personality as strong as his, it's difficult to lay too much blame at the feet of co-writer Jerome, either. The result of their collaboration is an interesting set of anecdotes that sketch Bowen's character (you get the sense that the writing voice is largely accurate), with occasional flashes of insight, but very little real depth.

Bowen's life in music has been an unusually rich one. Having started out as an early rock 'n' roll musician (with Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids), progressing through a career in the music industry that included reviving the careers of Dean Martin (Bowen produced "Everybody Loves Somebody") and Frank Sinatra (Bowen produced "Strangers in the Night"), and a string of successful engagements as a record company executive in Nashville, Bowen's path crossed that of numerous fascinating characters. There's an interesting story about each, but they often fail to reveal much about the acquaintance, Bowen or their relationship.

Bowen's post-Reprise years led him through early work with soon-to-be luminaries Don Henley and Glen Frey, but the book has surprisingly little to say about their music. His tenure at MGM provides an interesting anecdote about drop-shipping around the label's regular distribution system, but fails to discuss why. Again, interesting stories, but not particularly revealing.

The book really doesn't take off until Bowen arrives in Nashville. Here there are interesting insights on Bowen's studio work, his view on musicians (including an enlightening discussion of stage versus studio players), his effort to drive Nashville to digital recording, and his philosophy about constructing an album as a 40-minute performance.

Bowen concludes with a nicely detailed view of Garth Brooks' rise to 400-pound-gorilla status. While there are certainly other sides to the story, Bowen's rings with a lot of truth - most especially his description of how Brooks' contract demands crippled Capitol/Liberty as a label.

This is a good read, but given Bowen's life, it should have been a great read.

I wanted to like this book, but so much reads in a nasty tone. First he hates vinyl and I love it so that's bad to start for me. Second he hates Jerry Lee but I also love him. The guy dropped The Killer from two labels! So much for knowing talent. Also I happen to know a few people he writes about in this book. They hold no malace, but they literly cracked up when I told them his versions of the story's. Read it if you want some gossip but as for me it's very mediocre. To be fair his own singing career is delt with quite well and the only part that read without venom.

This "autobiography" was most interesting, with the various tales of the woes of big-name performers we all know. The thing is, Jimmy was there when rock-and-roll began, and, to his credit, found other positions within the music industry.

My complaint with the book is that he often rewrites his own history, "I could have told them then what would happen...."....."as it turned out, I was right..."....

Jimmy had his hit, as did Buddy Knox, in 1957...the same year as Darin's "Splish Splash", Holly's "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day", and Anka's "Diana". Yet he claims (page 49) that HE ran them all by Hugo & Luigi at that time and they all passed. This cannot be, as Jimmy and Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids were all on the hit charts at the same time..

My frustrations with the book ran so high as to highlight in yellow obvious exaggerations...outright misrepresentations, and pure fiction paragraphs. Logic just yelled that these were wrong.

Mixed among the memories, however, are fun stories about others. If you can get over the fact that he claims credit for practically every musician's success from 1957 to 1992, and get over the bravado accompanied with the underlying failings, you'll enjoy the book. I did, despite my criticisms here.

He up-fronts his excessive lifestyle, seems at peace with his drug and booze escesses, his wife-after-wife-after-wife life, and his endless succession of jobs. He documents maybe 20 jobs in the book, most with quick, get-out-of-town-before-noon jumps from one lilly pad to another in the pond of music producing, promoting, and presiding.

Behind the truth of his "success" in the music business, is the bunch of associates who had real talent in managing, scouting, producing, marketing, and holding responsible jobs working for him. They made him look good, always....for a while...then it would catch up with him, again.

I recommend the book, believe it or not. If you love the music business, it will be interesting to you, but it will also annoy you when Jimmy takes leaps beyond belief in his narratives....he'll stretch his imagination along with yours...

WOG

So much of these accounts of relationships and interactions with members of the music industry ring both false and bloated. I tried hard to like this book but the basic format is so tired and cliched. Just a litany of who he straightened out and set on the right path, and how he was so far ahead of his time. Includes all of the "self" cautions: self-important, self-righteous, self-centered, self-congratulatory. And also includes one of the most wrong-headed descriptions of the limitations of vinyl as a record format. To be married to this guy, trapped on an island in Hawaii, would just be daunting. Unexamined vanity has never prospered so openly. His riches clearly stayed financial.

This book is a gold mine of stories: "behind-the-scenes" insider's look at historic musical events in the big time music / recording industry, spanning about 40 years. One reviewer here refers to Bowen as a "Nashville musician". Well, he must have read a different book! The first half of it follows Jimmy from Texas to New Mexico to New York, all over the country, then to Los Angeles, etc. then later on to Nashville. Jimmy started out as a dirt poor kid in the boondocks of Texas and went on to be the producer of some of Sinatra's biggest hit records, among many other achievements. This book is a fascinating tale of all kinds of music biz stories. It's a real page turner if you ask me, very honest, no-nonsense, extremely unique. 20 stars!