Rating: 
Summary: Superb journalism, understated and compelling
Review: If you want to experience Lester Bangs' writing, buy one of the many rock criticism compendiums that include his reviews. If you want to know what it was like in the 70s and 80s, in the hey day of rock--and the rock criticism Bangs helped invent--buy Let It Blurt. While it may seem that Derogatis' understated book is "just the facts," anyone who has experience writing at book length will recognize that Derogatis not only did an extraordinary job of reporting, he then did a brilliant and subtle job of selecting and arranging the information so that the book is real page-turner. I've purchased quite a few books by big-name journalists only to find them to be full of hyperventilation and name dropping. In contrast, Derogatis sticks with his story, and never gets sidetracked telling anecdotes about the glitterati. As a small-time music critic working in New England in the 70s, I had passing acquaintances with a number of the people mentioned in this book (not Bangs, though) and loved the way that Derogatis portrayed each of them using just a few key details. Absolutely top-notch work on a thought-provoking topic.
Rating:
Summary: Solid + readable
Review: In which Jim de Rogatis does a fine job documenting the rise and fall of the fabled gonzo rock journalist, Lester Bangs. The book is thoroughly researched and beautifully written - as befits the story of a beautiful writer - and, to his credit, de Rogatis avoids the temptation to imitate the inimitable style of his subject, instead playing the narrative with a refreshingly straight bat and deriding those acolytes of Bangs who, without the wit or perspicacity, attempted to ape his approach to writing. This rather dispassionate voice does give credibility to the undertaking and, by association, its subject. The author is plainly a fan of Lester Bangs, but he isn't a sycophant, and he is prepared to give a damning assessment where he sees fit. This he does to Lester's unpublished (apparently deservedly so) opus, "Rock Gomorrah".Bangs' story is pretty much classic, almost cliched, rock 'n' roll. What struck me most was how interchangeable many parts of it were with the established legends of the rock 'n' roll pantheon - without having that special "something" which makes a rock 'n' roll star, nor the guile to realise it, Lester's life observing those who did was part Elvis, part Sid Vicious, part Hendrix; from a religious fundy upbringing right up to the indeterminate cause of death - just weeks after he had apparently turned the corner and cleaned up. And what of the shadow of the new romantics across the scene? It was a Human League record spinning on the turntable when his body was discovered. Rock 'n' roll is dead, aye.
Rating: 
Summary: At Last
Review: It's wonderful to finally see a biography out there of this great writer. I would direct you first to Psychotic Reactions And Carburetor Dung, an excellent anthology of Lester's work. If you enjoy that, you will certainly want to read Mr. DeRogatis' fine book & learn about the man behind the writing. As one of my fellow customer reviewers said, let's hope this spearheads a revival in interest in Lester: he was a superlative writer whose work deserves to be more widely read.
Rating:
Summary: Jim DeRogatis would make Lester proud
Review: Jim DeRogatis captures the spirit of Lester Bangs EXACTLY as Bangs would want: "honest and unmercifully." At the beginning of the novel I yearned to be a Rock journalist. Now that I have completed it I want to be a Rock journalist but am devoid of alot of romanticism.
"Almost Famous" turned me on to the character of Lester Bangs. I felt that I identified with Phillip Seymor Hoffman's character in the movie. After seeing "Famous" I wanted to find out more about Lester Bangs. Thus I found "Let it Blurt." In the novel Jim DeRogatis' captures all of Lester Bang's journalistic triumph's, substance abuses, and Romanticisms with directness and little editorializing. He tells the story of Lester bangs exactly as it was.
After completeing this novel, I realize that I do not identify with Lester Bangs at all. Anyone who has seen "Almost Famous" and expects Bangs to be portrayed in the light that he was in the film will learn alot from this book. Anyone who aspires to be a TRUE Rock Journalist will find "Let it Blurt" a source of inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Life and Times
Review: Jim Derogatis does a great job of letting Lester speak for himself. We get a sense of a sharp mind muddled in aspirations and a chemical cloud of cough syrup. Mr. Derogatis fills in the blanks: like in a game of hangman we get a framework on which to hang a great body of work. And like the minimalist stick-figure used in hangman, we get the sense that the body of work that Lester left behind is only a poor representation of what he could have produced. Jim Derogatis avoids the temptation to honor Lester Bangs by attempting to write like him. Instead Mr. Derogatis gives us the facts, tells us stories about Lester's life and gives us quotes from Lester's work. A great biography about a great writer.
Rating:
Summary: Brings back those memories
Review: Jim DeRogatis has outdone himself at capturing the very essence of the scene that followed Lester. I had a chance to play with Lester here in Austin with the band "The Delinquents" and the chapter on Lester here in Austin Texas was like reliving the time all over again. In Jim's book he made me look at the Lester I didn't know from his childhood to untimely death. If I didn't know it I would say he was one of the original punks in New York. Wasn't he talking trash about the status quo before it was fashionable. As in another review I saw I thought the same thing about this book becoming a movie. But the status quo might not go with the idea. Lester was a down to earth person even though he rubbed some people the wrong way. Lester should be celebrated as such, telling it like it is instead of what you are sold. We all miss you Lester. Thanks again to Jim DeRogatis for a great story.
Rating:
Summary: Let It Blurt
Review: Jim DeRogatis interviewed me for this book about two years ago and I am delighted by the end result. Jim's account is accurate and compelling. Lester was a handful (he was a hellacious housemate), but he was also a funny, sweet and sensitive man...an amazing writer and thinker. I loved him. I'm so glad that this book is out there finally. Lester was one of our most valuable American literary observers and Jim's book assures his well-deserved prominent place in the pantheon of great American writers. Living, working with and publishing Lester Bangs was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of my life.
Rating:
Summary: Lester Bangs died for our sins
Review: Lester Bangs had the energy for writing that Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger had for rock and roll, back when they cared; and Lester Bangs never stopped caring. His writings deserve their legendary status, and a great reason to buy this book is to read more of them, in excerpt. But the story of his life is even more fascinating and poignant than you might have expected. These things make Let It Blurt a must-read for anyone who's taken the trouble to check out readers' reviews of this fine biography. It suffers, like most books on rock, from a glibness of tone, and perhaps even from Jim DeRogatis's reverence for Bangs - but make no mistake, it's riveting. Also included: lyrics to a few of Bangs' own songs, including the eponymous "Let It Blurt." The book makes me miss Lester Bangs more than ever.
Rating:
Summary: Rock lover, rock critic
Review: Lester Bangs lived for rock. He was a man who saw the potential of rock and saw how it failed to live up to his dreams. He was also a man held captive of his demons that eventally led him to a tragic end. But before that end Lester Bangs saw what rock music was all about and how he could be part of it. A fascinating biography about the man who was America's greatest rock critic.
Rating:
Summary: Great -- captures Bangs and the essence of an era!
Review: Lester Bangs may be unknown to many of today's up-and-coming rock bands, but he was introduced to them in a way in the movie "Almost Famous," where his character serves as the young writer's mentor. Having grown up surrounded by music in the late '60s, '70s and '80s, I read a lot of what Lester Bangs wrote. While rock stars (and record companies) were making legends and myths out of mortals (the greater the myth, the more albums that were sold), Bangs broke on through to the other side (sorry, Doors fans...) and told it like it REALLY was. His advice to the Cameron Crowe character in "Almost Famous" to not become friends with the musicians he writes about is right on. By crossing a line, music journalists lose their precious objectivity. Bangs advocated for MORE, MORE, MORE in an era when a settling in of the record companies, and mergers, created an industry that was geared to mass market mediocre middle-of-the-road pop. Bangs never forgot that rock 'n' roll was born of adolescent angst and rebellion, and this finely detailed biography captures the essence of both Bangs, his passion for music, and his convoluted life. The author, a respected music journalist himself, met Bangs when, as a high school student, he was assigned to interview and write an article on a "hero." While transcribing his interview, the high school-aged author heard of Bangs' death on the radio -- and thus began a long fascination with exploring the life of the brilliant, abrasive, charming, and sometimes-too-honest-in-text Lester Bangs. The book does a tremendous job at creating the contrasting emotions that fueled Bangs' too-short life by backing up a generation or two and exploring his family ("trailer trash" Bangs called them) history and the effect of his mother's and other ancestors' Jehovahs Witness faith on Bangs' life. His father's early death, religion, and an unstable childhood shaped Bangs' view of the world, of himself, and of what rock 'n' roll should be -- and this book does an excellent job of bringing all three perspectives into focus and making Bangs come to life, if only on paper.
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