Book Reviews

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Michael Fremer  |  Apr 29, 2013  |  23 comments
Can a recording engineer's memoir be a "real page turner" as the book trade likes to characterize a suspenseful novel? Yes, if the engineer is Ken Scott and yes if you're a true fan of the art and science of recorded music and you revel in minutiae and historical perspective that adds depth to your appreciation of your favorite records.

Michael Fremer  |  Feb 01, 2013  |  11 comments
Disc mastering veteran Larry Boden released the first edition of his book "Basic Disc Mastering" back in 1978. He self-published the fifty page book because he was so often asked about the disc mastering process he figured a book made sense.
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 22, 2012  |  12 comments
Until the publication of this book this past fall, few people have seen this mind-boggling collection of black and white images shot by the late photographer Chuck Boyd in Los Angeles beginning in 1965. Though Boyd passed away in 1991 this set stops with a remarkable double page shot of B.B. King taken in 1978.
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 22, 2012  |  1 comments
Stage photography begins with being at the right place at the right time. Some people have a knack for it. Within a very short time back in the 1980s music fan Jimmy Steinfeldt went from standing on a-chair fan snapshots to having his photographs published in major music magazines like SPIN and Rolling Stone.
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 21, 2012  |  6 comments
It's too bad no one at The David Letterman Show read this book before Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page recently appeared on the show. Dave wasn't prepared, didn't know what to say or ask and so it was all inane small talk.
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 07, 2012  |  0 comments

The ‘60s played host to three significant, culture shifting music festivals. The first was the Newport Folk Festival where, in the decade’s early years, folk, blues and country blended to produce a beautiful noise that the boomer generation eventually embraced.

Michael Fremer  |  Dec 31, 2010  |  0 comments
My grandmother used to think everyone was Jewish. Sunday night she watched "The Ed Solomon Show." She told us Tony Curtis was Jewish and Dinah Shore and even Danny Kay and Kirk Douglas. We thought the Holocaust had kind of twisted her thinking but aside from Ed "Solomon" she was right!
Roger Hahn  |  Dec 31, 2010  |  3 comments

"Our Man in New Orleans" Roger Hahn asked to review  the book "Bayou Underground" by Dave Thompson.We said "yes." A book review turned into an epic report filled with great holiday giving book suggestions for your music loving friends—particularly those who love New Orleans and its musical heritage—ed.

Michael Fremer  |  Dec 31, 2010  |  1 comments
More of an informal sampler than a comprehensive look, James P. Goss’s “Vinyl Lives” offers a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of folks both sufficiently crazy and persistent to own record stores in the face of the Internet download juggernaut.
Daniel Crain  |  Aug 31, 2010  |  0 comments
Bill Bruford: The Autobiography (Jawbone Press, Berkeley, CA 352 pages, www.jawbonepress.com) Progressive rock and jazz fans know Bill Bruford as one of the most influential, cerebral and greatest technical players of the last 40 years. Numerous drummers and percussionists working today cite his work as a drummer and electronic percussionist as an influence. And of course for 70’s-90’s rock fans, his name is synonymous with some of the most adventurous music ever to emerge from that era.
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 31, 2010  |  0 comments

Your head will spin dizzily with pleasure before you reach the end of the first chapter of "Canyon of Dreams," Harvey Kubernik’s lovingly told history of the unique Hollywood micro-climate known as Laurel Canyon. The supernovas and the dimly lit alike open up to L.A. native, record biz insider and scene maker Kubernik who transmits their stories with an immediacy that will make you feel more like an eavesdropper than a history buff.

Michael Fremer  |  Apr 30, 2010  |  1 comments

Depot.' I knew just by looking at that record (especially the label), that it was something special compared to the American Reprise pressing I already had. Of course having been turned on to the Parlophone Beatles albums a few years earlier, I had a well-founded pre-conceived notion about the improved sound quality well before listening.

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