Customer Reviews

Songwriters On Songwriting: Revised And Expanded

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By MICHAEL TEARSON

Paul Zollo, himself a singer-songwriter , has assembled a mighty and important book here. He has gathered 52 interviews he conducted for SongTalk. The subjects are a virtual who's who of songwriters. Zollo has an obvious love of song and songmaking and a curiosity about the process that won't quit. These qualities are reflected in his interviewing. So, too, is Zollo's uncanny knack for putting his subjects at ease so they will open up to him and candidly reveal more than they might have expected to. He probes intelligently, asking questions that evoke true responses. I often found myself thinking how good his questioning is. He clearly does his homework so that he can display an encyclopedic knowledge of the artist's full career, often asking specifically about the damnedest, most obscure songs. Two pieces juxtaposed early in the book form a kind of core around which this collection revolves. These are lengthy interviews with first Bob Dylan and then Paul Simon. In each of these, Zollo shows how well he listens and responds in his questioning. Both interviews are tremendously revealing and rewarding. This collection is about just what it is singer-songwriters of all stripes do, plus the how, in the way their various processes work, and the why of their drive to create. Essential questions all. This is compelling, don't-you-dare-miss-it stuff for anybody who writes songs, and equally for anybody else who listens to songs and cares about them.

I love this book. It really delves into the heart and soul of the songwriter and the idea that the songs don't come as much from themselves, but an unseen force which they are conductive channels to.... I started with the interviews with artists I'd known, like Carlos Santana and Paul Simon, and when I'd eventually gotten to the ones I'd never heard of is when the genius of this collection became more apparent. There is something beautiful and inspiring to be learned from everyone in this book.

The author interviews songwriters about their songwriting habits, attitudes, experiences and inspirations. Each songwriter has something unique to say. The interviews are educational, insightful, and occasionally inspiring. There are many interviews, so the book is a very good value for the price.

This book tells you how songwriters think and feel. The focus is on intangible artistic creation, vs. mechanical songwriting techniques.

By LAHRI BOND

Paul Zollo has had the good fortune of talking shop with some of the best songwriters from the fields of folk, country, blues, and rock and roll. Collected in this volume are 52 interviews with such early originators as Joan Baez, Paul Simon, Carole King and Gerry Goffin. He also talks with seventies innovators such as Rickie Lee Jones, Van Dyke Parks, Walter Becker and Todd Rundgren as well as modern songsmiths like David Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos and Jules Shear. As the title suggests, this book features songwriters exploring their influences, inspirations and craft.

SONGWRITERS ON SONGWRITING is an excellent new book that rips the lid off the composing process via candid and often revelatory interviews with some of Rock's finest tunesmiths. Written by Paul Zollo, the book provides a superb and compelling portrait of such 20th century heavyweights as Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and many more. Zollo is an outstanding interviewer and his pointed questions unravel the mysteries and magic behind these acclaimed artists' majestic body of work.

Anyone who doesn't like this book is obviously NOT a songwriter himself. Like Paul Simon says in this book, "If you are not a songwriter, you don't know what the hell you are talking about." This book is worth its weight in gold for anyone who loves songwriting and has himself put in a lot of heart and sweat writing songs. If you don't write songs, then I'm not sure how well suited you are to appreciate this book. Otherwise, you'll thank the author for taking the time (over 10 years) to complete this book!!!

This book is a must have for any serious poet/singer/songwriter. The author breaks it down with the best of the best. The work sheds light on inspiration, perspiration and infatuation with the muse. After reading it you are guaranteed to pick up your guitar and begin noodling. Enjoy

By BARNIE HOSKYNS

Paul Zollo probes 52 pop-rock greats on the small miracles and larger torments of songwriting. As editor of the esteemed periodical SongTalk, Zollo has managed to bag some fairly big cats (Dylan, Young, R.E.M., Madonna) among an assortment of cult heroes and heroines (Webb and Wilson; Cohen and Nyro; Van Dyke Parks and Townes Van Zandt) and songwriters' songwriters (Sammy Cahn, Goffin & King, Bacharach & David). There's a wealth of entertaining, funny and surprising apercus in this 630-page whopper: "It's important to get rid of all them thoughts," opines Bob Dylan. "Don't let the critic become bigger than the creator," urges Randy Newman. "It's kind of disgusting that I'm not spending every single morning writing, come rain or come shine," admits the late Laura Nyro. For insight into what drives Paul Simon or Jackson Browne to strive for that perfectly modulated couplet, then Zollo's songtalk provides a feast. "What I get from these interviews is a sense of courage," says Van Dyke Parks. "This is infectious, and highly contagious... It's as helpful as belonging to some religious sect."

the person who wrote that this book contains "dull rock stars" has obviously not read this book. the interviews are very comprehensive and go beyond the standard "so, how's the babes?" format of rock magazine interviews. zollo asks the artists about their inspirations, about the chord changes, about whether it should be done on piano, or guitar, about why that chord ended up being a 7th and so on, without being sycophantic like many interviewers. it's true, that if you are not a songwriter, you may not be too interested in this book. however, my brother who does not write music, but is a huge music fan, loved reading about his favourite recording artist's methods of madness. the leonard cohen interview stands out. one can almost sense the frustration he has with song writing....it seems almost love/hate. zollo describes cohen's living room and i can picture the master sitting cross legged on the floor, with a furrowed brow explaining why he re-writes and re-writes year after year each line of his songs before they see the light of day, if they ever do. get his book! you'll never tire of it.

There are many great stories from these interviews with some of the most succesful songwriters through time, and as an aspiring songwriter myself I found this book both useful and entertaining.

For example, I had experienced what is commonly called "writing block" for quite some time, and I kept telling myself it was just because really, I had nothing to say. Then I read what one songwriter had said about writer's block: That it's just a mind blockage, because you don't want to face what you have on your mind, so therefore you keep telling yourself "I have nothing to say". When I realized that I actually had lots of things to write about (I just didn't want to face it) I broke out of the writer's block and wrote one of the best songs I've ever written. This book is INSPIRING!

There's some advice to find directed at young and aspiring songwriters, as well as some interesting and funny stories about songwriters and the songs they've written. Sammy Cahn for example, said that he wrote with a cowriter "Let it snow" when it was really hot outside (which I found quite amusing). Instead of going out to swim, his partner said: Let's stay in and write a song about the winter.

Realizing that all of these amazingly talented and glorified songwriters are actually people just like us, made of flesh and blood, that made me feel closer to ALL songwriters. One of the interviewed said that "All songwriters are links in a chain". That's how this book made me feel, and that's why I bought it: Because I have no serious songwriters that are so utterly devoted to their craft as these are around me, and this book made me feel as if I had a group of old teachers who just happened to be some of the world's greatest songwriters.