Fire and Rain
The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost--Story of 1970
1 of 1 copy available
Fire and Rain tells the story of four iconic albums of 1970 and the lives, times, and constantly intertwining personal ties of the remarkable artists who made them. Acclaimed journalist David Browne sets these stories against an increasingly chaotic backdrop of events that sent the world spinning throughout that tumultuous year: Kent State, the Apollo 13 debacle, ongoing bombings by radical left-wing groups, the diffusion of the antiwar movement, and much more.
Featuring candid interviews with more than one hundred luminaries, including some of the artists themselves, Browne's vivid narrative tells the incredible story of how—over the course of twelve turbulent months—the '60s effectively ended and the '70s began.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
July 19, 2011 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781452623719
- File size: 321851 KB
- Duration: 11:10:31
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Among Baby Boomers, there's no shortage of recollections of lost innocence. FIRE AND RAIN is the latest memoir to try to make sense of coming-of-age in that era against the backdrop of rock and roll. It's an interesting take on the crossroads between sixties communalism and seventies individualism. Sean Runnette's woodsy voice at first seems an anomaly, more apt for reading an outdoor manual. But since rusticity was a shared motif among all of Browne's appointed troubadours, Runnette's unfurling smoky cadences emphasize the "mellow" groove--and also perhaps how Browne's selection of these artists, from an era of increasingly complex and groundbreaking music, highlights the book's socio-political shortcomings. J.S.H. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine -
July 18, 2011
Browne (Goodbye 20th Century) revisits the musical, political, and cultural shifts of 1970, a year that left an indelible mark on rock history. As the Beatles disintegrated, the career of a shy, unassuming singer/songwriter named James Taylor was just beginning. Meanwhile, Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young released iconic albums (Bridge Over Trouble Water and Déjà Vu), each of which ultimately led to the demise of their collaboration. Using new interviews with the artists and their colleagues, as well as access to rare documents and recordings from the period, Browne employs a smart narrative style to make such well-worn stories as the Beatles' breakup fresh again. Through it all, he remains convinced that the first year of that new decade was just as pivotal as its well-documented predecessorsâa perfect reflection of the chaotic end of the Sixties and the beginning of a new era in rock. This book will appeal to classic rock fans, as well as younger readers who may find this to be a fascinating look at an era when an artist's reputation was built not on social media sites, but on the music itself.
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