Customer Reviews

They Can't Hide Us Anymore

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This book reveals the inner thoughts of Richie Haven's genius. The stories behind his story, with credits to those individuals who helped shape the true music of the 60's and 70's, are wonderful. One finds that the kindness expressed in Richie Haven's music and wishes for a better world, are those which really exist in his mind and spirit. This is a great book for anyone who grew-up in the 60's, as well as for others who love contemporary folk music and/or Richie Havens...S. Winters

"they can"t hide us anymore"...Richie you're right they can't hide the purity, the genuis, the humility of those whose heart prayer is to tell the truth as they see and live it. Your need to communicate has been and IS our blessing. Your gift, your offering is no less than inspiration. Bob Marley said, "Won't you help me sing the songs of freedom?" Everything that has held me prisoner (fears) to date...I step beyond and I now claim my stories, my songs, the music of my heart and WILL share also...I am enlisting myself in the army of THEY CAN'T HIDE US ANYMORE! An easy read, an incredible and inspiring book, I could not put it down!

More like an easygoing conversation with an old friend than a traditional autobiography, "They Can't Hide Us Anymore" brings Richie Havens close to the reader. One can almost feel the deep resonating timbre that suffuses his music as Havens shares vivid memories of his adolescence in a boisterous but bucolic Brooklyn before ethnicity mattered; early adulthood in the Village when it was THE place to be and his globetrotting journey since those days.

Like his singing, some tales seem cyclic with hints of what is to come, only to be reprised on a later page. Others slowly reveal his many and varied interests beyond the stage - the visual arts, his profound belief in the power of children, and his commitment to safeguard this planet and its inhabitants. Havens' skill as a storyteller serves him well in this thoroughly enjoyable book. Whether a fan from years back or someone just discovering the wandering troubadour, this book will help you know and possibly even understand the man behind the music. Buy it, put on one of his CDs and read. It will be, as Havens is known to say, "Far out!"

Thirty years after he appeared as the opening act at Woodstock, folksinger Richie Havens now takes the stage as an author. He insists this book isn't a memoir but an account of the "humorous, talented and incompetent people who occupy the entertainment industry."

Havens's tales of the people he met in New York City during the 1960s -- Bob Dylan, James Earl Jones (who also contributes a generous foreword), Joan Baez, Lou Gossett Jr. and others -- are full of nostalgic appeal. Such grace notes from Havens the historian, however, get overwhelmed by his penchant for pontificating -- on the environment, drug use, child-rearing, world peace, you name it. He grows wearisome fast. Warning: Havens takes astrology very seriously. He dismisses his absentmindedness as "an Aquarian trait" and describes a former business manager as a "very nervous type. He also was a Capricorn." As for John Lennon, the ex-Beatle "had a strong premonition that something was going to happen to him," reports Havens. "I know I did."

All of which raises one more question: Does Havens, a talented, likable musical performer, have any premonitions about his future in publishing? All in all an interesting glimpse into a life of contradictions and fun.

If you have ever seen Richie perform, then you will feel that you are a part of this book. It draws you in like you are sitting next to him and he is telling you stories of the likes of Dylan and Hendrix. This book is an extension of Havens and shows you a side of him beyond his melodic guitar and ballads. I have spent many hours both listening to his performances and talking with him in his dressing rooms and at many Woodstock anniversaries. I thought I knew him well until I purchased his book. It showed me the real Havens, and what a great man he truly is. I urge you to sit down and read it from cover to cover and then read it again !

Author Steve Davidowitz may have painted his masterpiece with "They Can't Hide Us Anymore". Most of us have always known Richie Havens as a remarakble singer/songwritter, now we know him as a truley great human being. Richie's days in the Village occured during an amazing time our country's history and Havens gives you his perspective from the front row. I always knew Bob Dylan to be a dynamic force in those days, I now realize Riche Havens was also.

Richie Havens is a wonderful communicator - he has the gift of being able to SHARE his experiences. I was born nine months after Woodstock, but after reading this book I WAS there!!! This book is filled with beautiful stories from the heart of the man with the biggest!

I bought this book last night and couldn't put it down. Richie's a natural-born storyteller, and his prose flows naturally and effortlessly and beautifully, like the waters of the Bad River in upper Wisconsin.

This is a great read. If you want to read about a real artist, read this book!

You don't have to read this book to know the author; you only have to hear him perform. But to read his "work in progress" one can only further appreciate his love for people and music. Unlike many autobiographies that seem to be written to promote the author or to set the record straight, this one simply and sincerely reveals the heart and mind of the author as he explores his passion for music. With a childlike innocence, Richie finds goodness in all he touches and everyone he meets; he accepts any setbacks as a part of growth and education and without preaching reminds us how important it is to take time to appreciate our world and our neighbors. At times, it's not clear when a certain event is taking place and one might wish for even more details of Richie's experiences during the "Village Years", but the areas that deal in greater depth are those that are important to Richie and his life. Keep the words and music coming for another thirty years, Richie.

Leafing through and then reading this book at length, I had to laugh. One particularly amusing and typical account was of RH's finding symbolic significance in an ancient Israeli fort's similarity to Close Encounters of the Third Kind's movie set. Man I get high just thinking about it. I just want to unread history, numb my powers of critical thinking, and go live in a patchouli-scented yurt when this otherwise amazing, astounding musician dumbs us down this way. Ah, to be like a child again: self-centered, uneducated (as the other reviewer put it) and able to lovingly turn the pages of this book without ever aging and having to learn from experience. The sad fact is that by extolling the virtues of childlikeness in this book, Mr. Havens censors the brain itself.