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Room Full of Mirrors
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| List Price: | £8.99 |
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Product Description
Jimi Hendrix continues to fascinate, and sell huge quantities of albums, even 35 years after his death. Quite apart from his influence on musicians and fans, a large part of the appeal of his sensational life story lies in the thrill of the era whose values he came to stand for. The Sixties still exert a massive pull over pop culture and this is genuinely a book for anyone interested, not only in Hendrix but also in anything to do with the pop culture of the last 40 years.
Meticulously researched and sensitively and beautifully written, this is a labour of love that reveals the nuances, foibles and tragedies of the human being behind the iconic image.
This is the sweeping, authoritative and colourful biography that Jimi Hendrix deserves and that his legions of fans, young and old have been waiting for. (20050910)
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #58174 in Books
- Published on: 2006-06-05
- Original language: English
- Binding: Paperback
- 400 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
'meticulously researched'
(Mojo )''Charles R Cross has got as close to the truth as anyone yet in his exhaustive and ground-breaking account of the life of the greatest guitarist in the history of rock.'
(Guardian )'Hendrix emerges from this superb biography as not only a big old sexy genius, but as a funny, sensitive, and very naughty boy.'
(Sunday Telegraph )For HEAVIER THAN HEAVEN:
'One of the most moving and revealing books ever written about a rock star.' (Los Angeles Times )
'Cross's research is impeccable... he writes with a fine mixture of sympathy and sense, weeding the myth of all its lies and exaggerations but never minimising the complexity of his subject.' (Lynn Barber, Daily Telegraph )
'Wins immediate entry into the rock lit pantheon. Five stars.' (Q Magazine )
'A superbly researched and harrowing book.' (The Sunday Times )
'Cross's portrayal of a shy but prodigiously gifted child is a joy to read.' (Observer )
'Groundbreaking' (New York Times Book Review )
About the Author
Charles Cross was the editor of The Rocket, northwest America's leading music magazine, from 1986 to 2000. He is now a freelance writer and journalist writing for diverse publications from The Times to Rolling Stone, Playboy to Guitar World. His previous book Heavier Than Heaven, was a huge critical and commercial success. He lives in Seattle with his family. (20050910)
Customer Reviews
Why so young?
If you like Jimi Hendrix's music you can't go wrong with this book, the writer's obvious love of his chosen subject makes this essential reading for any Hendrix fan. Not only is it crammed full of the detail of Jimi's extraordinary life, but you really do feel like you get to know the man behind the myth, and can appreciate his music even more so.
Jimi Hendrix's influence on music and popular culture cannot be overstated, but his life was a full of contradictions and he always struggled with his rock star status. His four short years of stardom came after an incredibly tough and tragic upbringing, and C.R. Cross has delved deep and chronicled these early years so that the reader gains an insight into where Jimi's musical genius sprang from. The research and interviews with so many of Hendrix's friends, relatives and colleagues reveal a man driven to escape his past but who becomes trapped in the gilded cage his talent created. Although we all know that his life ended in tragedy, this biography thankfully focuses on Jimi as supreme musician, as entertainer, as a man who lived for the moment, rather than raking over every detail of his demise. The mystery and rumours surrounding his death are dealt with compassionately and, it would seem, accurately and one myth is finally laid to rest.
Overall a very good read, offering a moving portrayal of a life lived at "a thousand miles an hour".
well balanced, well researched and informative
There is some interesting new material, reframing, for example his military career and fleshing out aspects of the relationship between him and his family particularly his father. The author has introduced some complexity into Hendrix's relationships (family, "family" and friends) and his life that I have not seen in previous biographies.
While in broad brush terms there is little new, this book presents Jimi Hendrix "warts and all" and does a good job in balancing others' contexts. That sets it apart from most of the others - and the author does a good job of not getting between his subject and the reader.
This biography is probably the most professionally written one to date. The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is because the sources of the material show through in places (though it would be ridiculous to expect a new biography to be stunningly different).
Legendary
This book clears up some of the myths around Jimi's life, as well as confirming others. It is told in a captivating way and you really get a feeling of Jimi's life, the times he performed in and the highs and lows of his career. It could have benefited from more pictures, but never the less this is a brilliant book.
