Rating: 
Summary: good
Review: great stuff, well worth the price of admission. But not as good as Frank Zappa. Mediocre blues based jamming my foot.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: It has been sometime since I read this, but I found it excellent complement to Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music. Does a fine job in capturing the label's history and shows its impact. Book reads well too. Recommended to soul and rock fans
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: It has been sometime since I read this, but I found it excellent complement to Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music. Does a fine job in capturing the label's history and shows its impact. Book reads well too. Recommended to soul and rock fans
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: It is obvious that Mr Bowman has completed a great deal of research in the form of oral interviews and the location of primary documents essential to the Stax story so it is a major disappointment that this book is as poorly written and edited as it is (especially considering Bowman's status as a professor of ethnomusicology at York Univeristy in Toronto). The structure is essentially a collection of oral interviews sewn together with surprisingly little context or analysis. The bulk of the book appears to be nothing more than a transcription of oral conversations which, while interesting, demonstrate very little writing effort on behalf of the author. Because of Bowman's chosen arrangement for his material, the same information appears over and over in different areas, making the chronology difficult to grasp. Often, individuals only briefly introduced will be referred to by surname only, creating confusion for anyone unacquainted with every member of the Stax "cast". Also, acronyms and abbreviations are frequently used without explanation and there are no end tools such as a discography! Generally, a lazy, sloppy or just incompetent writing style characterizes this book. Quite frankly it is surprising that this book was published in its final form- the question is, who aside from those involved or already heavily familiar with the Stax inside story will find this book readable?
Rating: 
Summary: Great book- but why the small type
Review: Like the zillion CD retrospective of the more than worthy mighty Stax house, this book is great EXCEPT what nutjob decided to make the tye so small??? I've got fine vision but this makes for an unpleasant reading. Otherwise, God bless you Mr Bowman- and VIVA MABEL JOHN!
Rating: 
Summary: Informative, but...
Review: Rob Bowman does a good job of recreating the historical arc of Stax Records. He states in the preface that the book was 12 years in the making, and the breadth of his interviews reflects that work. However, I have some serious caveats about recommending the book for anyone who has only a casual knowledge or appreciation of Memphis music. The first, and most important one, is the writing style. It is a curious mixture of the labyrinthine sentences of the academic and the golly-gee-whiz of the avid fan. Bowman seems unsure of which voice he should present, and maybe with a stricter editor he could have pulled both off. But he doesn't, and the result is annoying and exasperating. The second is what several other reviewers have mentioned: the lack of a discography. A work of this length and ambition makes including one a necessity, and its omission does nothing to lead a reader toward listening to the music itself. The third ties to the second: the scanty bibliography. For a book of this size and scope to have only a two page bibliography and no bibliographical essay does a disservice to readers who might want to read further. On the other hand, the photos in the book are terrific and it is apparent to this reader that investigating Stax was a labor of love for the author. But if you want a readable and well-documented story of Memphis music in general and Stax in particular, Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music is the one you should pick up.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, but...
Review: The problem with this darn book is that once you pick it up, you're going to find yourself going on a CD buying binge well before you're half way through the book. - - Let's face it... Stax and Memphis Shoals = memories... and this is definitely a pretty funky strut down memory lane... the whole story, from the label's humble beginings in the mid '50s, an old movie theatre and record store, the golden era of Otis Redding, The Bar -Kays and M.G.s, to the superstar meglomaniacical rise of Hot Buttered Soul - - the Wattstax movie... and eventually, the infighting and financial woes that left the great soul machine screwed and in bankruptcy('circa '75). This isn't just a cute tabletop book with pictures of your favorite stars and cute trivial snippets (come to think of it, there's no big discography in the back !)- - its a well researched book that tells a great American/Afro-American story... (think of it, a racially integrated record label in the South circa the early '60s and moving on into the militant '70s that managed to turn the Northern recording establishment on its side !) It really gives you a glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes, how the sound evolved and the various personalities entered into the sphere and did their thing... the conflicts, the struggles, the accomplishments and the whole scene, bottom up... very tough to put down. Heck, they ought to turn it into a movie. - - If you consider yourself a STAX nut now... trust me, by the time you finish this book, you'll be a madman... spare yourself the wait... you might as well get the box sets while you still have the cash... this book is going to set you on a Stax jones... and well written enough that its definitely a keeper !
Rating:
Summary: The problem with this book is...
Review: The problem with this darn book is that once you pick it up, you're going to find yourself going on a CD buying binge well before you're half way through the book. - - Let's face it... Stax and Memphis Shoals = memories... and this is definitely a pretty funky strut down memory lane... the whole story, from the label's humble beginings in the mid '50s, an old movie theatre and record store, the golden era of Otis Redding, The Bar -Kays and M.G.s, to the superstar meglomaniacical rise of Hot Buttered Soul - - the Wattstax movie... and eventually, the infighting and financial woes that left the great soul machine screwed and in bankruptcy('circa '75). This isn't just a cute tabletop book with pictures of your favorite stars and cute trivial snippets (come to think of it, there's no big discography in the back !)- - its a well researched book that tells a great American/Afro-American story... (think of it, a racially integrated record label in the South circa the early '60s and moving on into the militant '70s that managed to turn the Northern recording establishment on its side !) It really gives you a glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes, how the sound evolved and the various personalities entered into the sphere and did their thing... the conflicts, the struggles, the accomplishments and the whole scene, bottom up... very tough to put down. Heck, they ought to turn it into a movie. - - If you consider yourself a STAX nut now... trust me, by the time you finish this book, you'll be a madman... spare yourself the wait... you might as well get the box sets while you still have the cash... this book is going to set you on a Stax jones... and well written enough that its definitely a keeper !
Rating:
Summary: Authoritative, Informative, Interesting Book
Review: The Stax story is an interesting one. They made some of the greatest music and art of the century, that's one reason that it's an interesting story. It's an interesting example of black and white people working together to create something powerful, too. The label's demise is a sad story but a thought provoking one - was it attributable to irresponsible management? Or institutional racism? Or both? The fact that Rob Bowman knows his material and has investigated it thoroughly is evident by the flattering quotes on the book's back cover, by people such as Al Bell, Isaac Hayes, Mavis Staples, and Booker T. Jones, among others. Having set a high standard with his liner notes to the "Complete Stax/Volt Singles" box sets, Mr. Bowman writes this book and tells us even more detail on this important, infinitely creative and beautiful phenomenon. It's a great book that he's written, worthy of its subject matter.
Rating:
Summary: Authoritative, Informative, Interesting Book
Review: The Stax story is an interesting one. They made some of the greatest music and art of the century, that's one reason that it's an interesting story. It's an interesting example of black and white people working together to create something powerful, too. The label's demise is a sad story but a thought provoking one - was it attributable to irresponsible management? Or institutional racism? Or both? The fact that Rob Bowman knows his material and has investigated it thoroughly is evident by the flattering quotes on the book's back cover, by people such as Al Bell, Isaac Hayes, Mavis Staples, and Booker T. Jones, among others. Having set a high standard with his liner notes to the "Complete Stax/Volt Singles" box sets, Mr. Bowman writes this book and tells us even more detail on this important, infinitely creative and beautiful phenomenon. It's a great book that he's written, worthy of its subject matter.
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