Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39713 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Jingle jangle mornings to cocaine afternoons.
I recently bought this book after watching the film 'Almost Famous' and became interested in the culture of the 60's and 70's. I thought this book would be perfect as it not only talks about the music that was made during this time but about the lifestyles of the musicans, producers and of course the groupies. It starts with the musical movement in the early 60's and how musicicans in their droves flocked to the trendy neighbourhood of Laural Canyon. It starts with how Beatlemania swept through America and made the young musicians wake up and take note.
The book only discusses in length the musicians who lived in Laurel Canyon, The Byrds, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Frank Zappa and The Mama'a and The Papa's to name but a few. If your interested in reading about Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix or Jim Morrison you'd best buy another book as the author only touches on them as they either didn't live on Laurel Canyon or only did for a brief period. This book is as much about the musicians as it is about the neighbourhood, and what a cool neighbourhood it was.
The book talks about how during the 60's the baby boomers, as they were called, started making beautiful folk-rock music and started writing their own songs, something which was unheard off at that time. And how everybody was all peace love and understanding and how it soon changed when Charles Manson and is family committed the murders of Sharon Tate and friends. How hysteria swept over the neighbourhood when the musicians thought their was some sort of vendetta against the music folk. And different peoples accounts when they realised that many of them had jammed with Manson himself.
It discusses the different festivals Woodstock and the disaster that was Altamont. The different drugs which were consumed and how cocaine swept through the music biz during the 70's. However my favourite parts were reading the accounts of the groupies Miss Pamela, Pamela Des Barres of the GTO's and Morgana Welch. A fascinating read for anyone who is interested in the era of peace, free love and excess. Whether you lived through it or like myself born too late but none the less deeply fascinated by the crazy lifestyle that is Laurel Canyon.

A 'must read' for many reasons
I lived in Laurel Canyon during the eighties and developed a fascination with its architecture and history. A very quirky canyon enclave of eucalyptus trees, sage and wooden bungalows, complete with canyon wildlife of deer and coyotes, this unique fairytale place is smack-dab in the middle of congested, smoggy Los Angeles. Michael Walker clearly describes this backdrop to the music scene, giving a real feel of Laurel Canyon. Very informative on how these musicians came together, shaping the canyon and also music history: Zappa, Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Mama Cass.. Full of fascinating details and insight about how the neighborhood (and indeed the late sixties themselves) merged from a feel-good folk, family-style psychedelic scene to one ravaged by the seedy effects of cocaine, the Manson murders, greed and broken trust. This book is a necessary read if you are interested in Los Angeles' history, if you're a fan of sixties/seventies music, or if you just like social history/culture. I had 3 out of 3 going for me, so I found this a perfect read!

That ol' peace, love and good vibrations thing....
I purchased this book because I have an interest in the music that arose from West Coast California in the late Sixties/Seventies.

I was born in '70, and have lived in England for most of my life, so the area covered in this book is technically 'foreign territory' for me, but as an artist and a musician I have always loved the golden glow of pastoral idyllic life that seems to permeate through the albums of Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Neil Young, the Eagles and a host of others from those 'hippy' decades.

Discovering, as I did a while ago, that these figures lived and worked in close proximity to one another was a revelation for me, so too when I heard Graham Nash describe the Laurel Canyon scene in its heyday as being like 'Paris in the 20's', a rich fervent ground of bohemian creativity, artists buzzing, changing the face of contemporary culture worldwide.

Against this backdrop, this book appealed.

It describes, in painstakingly factual detail, the Canyon, its history, the rise of the Sixties scene in the wake of the Beatles, the place of drugs in that scene, the rise of the folk/rock/country music L.A. sound, some of the complex relationships between Zappa, The Mamas and Papas, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, CSN, The Doors, The Eagles, Elliot Roberts, David Geffen and a host of interconnected others who lived in and frequented the Canyon; the massive wealth and international stardom that came to many of its residents; the money, the cocaine, the parties, the fun, the L.A. venues, and ultimately the demise of the Canyon's artistic brilliance into drug abuse (rather than use), debauchery, sex, sleaze, crime, culminating in the Manson and Wonderland murders which signaled the end of this era.

It was a fascinating read. Slightly overly comprehensive in the thoroughness and meticulousness of its research perhaps, but it filled in many gaps in my knowledge. Now when I listen to Mitchell's 'Ladies of the Canyon' I am better informed of the context, know that the album cover depicts the view from the window of her house there, recognise the references in the songs...when I hear 'Our House' I understand that Graham Nash really did light the fire that day and that Joni really did buy a vase and that they really did live with two cats in the yard whilst fighting over who was going to exert their creativity on the piano. I get a glimpse of how incredibly exciting it must have been to live in those times, to have been there rubbing shoulders with Clapton, Mayall, Lennon, Morrison, Stills, Mitchell, to have seen Led Zeppelin rocking in their all their glory in L.A. in the early Seventies. There are snapshots of how extraordinary it must have been to have been a part of that scene, the clothes, the drugs, the women, the lifestyles, the 'Peace and Love generation' at its height, before things turned dark and sour, peace morphing into punk, money mutating artistic purity/innocence into decadence and an emphasis on commerciality, (as evidenced in the '80's).

All in all, a worthwhile read with a great cover. Many, many people have asked to read it after me. The only criticism I have is that I found myself flagging towards the end, bowled over by the exhaustive research!

Enjoy!