2024 the best song of review
Price: $2.99
(as of Dec 18, 2024 00:30:18 UTC - Details)
Who knew that Paul McCartney originally referred to Yesterday as 'Scrambled Eggs' because he couldn't think of any lyrics for his heart-breaking tune? Or that Patti LaBelle didn't know what 'Voulez-vous couches avec moi ce soir?' actually meant?
These and countless other fascinating back stories of some of our best-known and best-loved songs fill this book, a collection of the highly successful weekly The Life of a Song columns that appear in the FT Weekend every Saturday.
Each 600-word piece gives a mini-biography of a single song, from its earliest form (often a spiritual, or a jazz number), through the various covers and changes, often morphing from one genre to another, always focusing on the 'biography' of the song itself while including the many famous artists who have performed or recorded it.
The selection covers a wide spectrum of the songs we all know and love - rock, pop, folk, jazz and more. Each piece is pithy, sparkily written, knowledgeable, entertaining, full of anecdotes and surprises. They combine deep musical knowledge with the vivid background of the performers and musicians, and of course the often intriguing social and political background against which the songs were created.
ASIN : B072LCSWPK
Publisher : Chambers; Digital original edition (September 21, 2017)
Publication date : September 21, 2017
Language : English
File size : 2457 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 208 pages
Reviewer: Harry B. Laufman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Read these for years in Financial Times
Review: A gift for a musician friend. Nicde to be able to get a collection of these great stories.
Reviewer: Paulo A. Reimann
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Not my kinda book
Review: I assumed it was a bit deeper of a book regarding the history of selected musics. It is a collection of articles.
Reviewer: m burke
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Three Stars
Review: meh...
Reviewer: Cauquenes
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good storytelling. No CD included.
Review: Nice book, great stories. It would have been smart to include the CD. What was the publisher thinking??
Reviewer: Ken Kardash
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: ecology, not anatomy
Review: If you were looking for a definitive answer to what the lyrics to Hotel California really mean, this is not that kind of book. Instead, it is more of a cultural history of how fifty inarguable but arbitrarily chosen hit songs originated, their social context, and how they evolved in the hands of others. You could describe it as musical ecology, rather than anatomy. The trouble with studying the anatomy of a song, which is the actual title of a similar but less engaging book, is that in the process of dissecting for details, the integrity and emotional impact of the music can be lost. Here, the magic is captured. As quoted in the chapter on Over the Rainbow, the best music makes you feel a thought. This breezy, illustrated collection of two-page essays is inspired by that premise. Iâm not sure how the titles were selected, but I would love to read about more, discussed with the same approach.
Reviewer: Preston K
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Stories behind The Songs -- Fun & Fantastic Overview
Review: Brilliant writing on some of the best songs ever written. Always unique and insightful tales of the origins of a song. Not to be missed if you like songs and music. A small book, perfect for pairing with a Spotify or Pandora Binge during those long dark wet winter months. Great writing, as good as the songs themselves. Like, who knew that ... oh, but you have to read it for yourself. No spoiler alerts from me. LOL. ; ))
Reviewer: Laura A Stoppelbein
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: This is a great book. I heard about it in the Life ...
Review: This is a great book. I heard about it in the Life of a Song podcast and decided to buy it. If you enjoy music it is a must have. The stories about each song are interesting and well written and the book covers a variety of musical genres. So glad I bought it.
Reviewer: Davina-Marie Lescott
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I found this book very interesting, I knew the majority of the songs, and those I didn't I'm going to search them out and listen to them. I found the length of each chapter just right and the narrative easy to read. I look forward to reading the second volume. In my opinion this book is a good read for those interested in trivia as well. Enjoyable.
Reviewer: Abererch
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fascinating? Maybe mildly interesting review of some decidedly left field choices.
Reviewer: Katie Price
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is a fascinating book, with often unexpected stories behind the songs, and many of the revelations surprise and delight! The longevity and transformations of early gospel or jazz songs as they weave their way through the years make compelling tales, well researched and written. I loved these stories when they were in the FT Weekend, and it was a great idea to collect them together. One good dinner party game is to compile a list of the songs whose lives you want to read next: we were convinced there were enough for a second volume.
Reviewer: doug evans
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Very interesting book fully of fascinating ancedotes. Just a shame about the quality of the paper it is printed on - feels cheap and nasty. Given the price they could have done better!
Reviewer: mrs d m ferley
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Sent this to my nephew to dip in and out of when he needs a break from painting (he is an artist) during lockdown 3He says he is enjoying it and has found it very interesting