Review: Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band of All Time (of Authors) Tells All, edited by Sam Barry
Sigh. Another book I didn’t review the first time around.
Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band of All Time (of Authors) Tells All, by Sam Barry, is the second book about the Rock Bottom Remainders, a “supergroup” made up of a number of best-selling authors (and some family members and friends, and a ringer or two).
The book is clearly a group effort, although this time the curator is Sam Barry, Dave Barry’s brother, who was the harmonica player for the band. The book is part tribute to the Remainders that were no longer alive by the time it was written, most notably Kathy Kamen Goldmark, who founded the group back when she was an author escort.
Like much of what I’m reading, this is a book built of stories — in this case the memories of gigs and other moments on a rock tour. It’s much more of a look through a kaleidoscope than a coherent, chronological tale, and that alone helps to capture the insanity of being “on the road.”
I recommend Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band of All Time (of Authors) Tells All to anyone who ever wanted to be in a band. Moreover, I recommend t to anyone who wants to spend a little time remembering what it was like back when “the music” was the thing that made you tick. The trip is definitely worth the price of admission.
Not Just Another Grouchy Grammarian 