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Title: This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band by Levon Helm, Stephen Davis, Steven Davis ISBN: 1-55652-405-6 Publisher: Chicago Review Press Pub. Date: September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: If You're A Fan of The BAND, There's No Doubt...
Comment: ...you must read this book.
Levon's down-home personality floods every page, and makes you wish you'd known him and his family growing up. Honestly, I probably enjoyed the chapters about his childhood as much or more than the chapters about being in one of my favorite groups--The Band.
There are some self-serving moments, but hey, they're illuminating too! Check out how casually Levon dismisses his own drug addiction in the early 70s, and completely ignores the fact that THAT might have contributed to the rift between the rest of them and Robbie (Rick and Richard were addicts too). He blames the rift primarily on Robbie's receiving most of the writing credits, but if everybody else was strung-out, SOMEBODY needed to write the songs!!! Oh yeah, and Levon devotes a few paragraphs too many to an incident in which Ronnie Hawkins claimed that Levon had a large genital appendage...not really the sort of information I was looking for... Apparently these guys were knee-deep in the hedonistic lifestyle too, but Levon doesn't much go into that...which is probably for the best.
And oh boy, there are shades to the relationship between Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm that go far beyond what I previously realized...after reading this, you'll NEVER watch "The Last Waltz" the same way again. Man, oh man! Robbie comes off as less than likable, to put it kindly. And I gotta say, this isn't just a one-sided account, because Rick is quoted extensively too. Seems like money and fame can really wreck the best of friendships. Here's how.
If you'd prefer to think of the Band as a bunch of kindly guys who simply had fun recording good albums, you might want to stay away from this book! But if you'd like to see what sort of stuff was going on behind the scenes, and what fuels the continuing bitterness between the surviving members, or if you want to know more about Richard Manuel's untimely death, this book is your best source.
Rating: 4
Summary: True American Folk Artist
Comment: I loved this book! Levon Helm is truly a classic American musical figure. So deeply rooted in tradition and yet part of such a ground breaking musical group. Amazing stories for fans of The Band and Rock and Roll in general. Too bad about so much bad blood between Robbie Robertson and Levon. They both complement each other so well, musically. A fascinating read!
Rating: 1
Summary: The grand realization of what was under Neil Young's nose
Comment: Let's get one thing straight: I don't have anything against drug-taking rock stars (are there any other kind?), but the degree to which Levon Helm matter-of-factly celebrates his and his band mates' absolutely industry-record-setting pace of cocaine and heroin abuse is hardly worth my time reading this book. And it's not just the drug admissions that get me, but the crumby admissions of how the band disintegrated partly because they couldn't collectively figure out what to do with all of their real-estate investment profits. The claim that Helm makes about wanting to "disengage" from the group because they decided not to invest in vacant land in Arkansas that now houses a Holiday Inn is hilariously embarassing. I mean, stripped of the veneer, yeah, it's a dose of reality, but that doesn't mean I have to actually like the result of Helm's iconoclastic prose. I mean, anyone who calls Levon Helm "homespun", "down home" and "laid back country" after reading this book must not have been paying attention. If Levon Helm wasn't a rock musician, he'd be Ivan Boesky, or another typical money-drugs-greed obsessed footnote in American cultural history. Oh wait, he is.
Honestly, I started this book with "Stage Fright" and "Music From Big Pink" being among the sacrosanct albums I owned, and left the book wondering just what the fuss was all about. Totally turned off by now, I don't care to ever read it again, and my distaste for these creeps is so huge I honestly doubt I'll ever think of these guys the same way again. After Rick Danko's death, I'd like to ask Levon Helm what he feels the entire "business" of being in a band really is. Sad, really sad.
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Title:Music from Big Pink [Bonus Tracks] ASIN: B00004W50T Publisher: Capitol Pub. Date: 29 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $13.99 |
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Title:Rock of Ages [Deluxe Edition] ASIN: B00005B4GB Publisher: Capitol Pub. Date: 08 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.99 |
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Title:Northern Lights-Southern Cross ASIN: B00005B4GA Publisher: Capitol Pub. Date: 08 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $10.99 |
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Title:Ties That Bind: The Best of Levon Helms 1975-1996 ASIN: B00000HYY4 Publisher: Raven [Australia] Pub. Date: 06 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $21.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $21.98 |
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Title:Band ASIN: B00004W510 Publisher: Capitol Pub. Date: 29 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.99 |
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