Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #323311 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10
• Binding: Hardcover
• 735 pages

Synopsis
This biography delves beneath the myth to reveal story of "The Byrds". It features interviews with all the original members, plus producers, managers, publicists, groupies and scene setters. Songs released by the band include "Mr Tamborine Man" and "So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star".

Customer Reviews

Great, but painful book
This book is an absolute must for Byrds fans. Rogan skimps on no detail and covers just about everything you would want or need to know about the Byrds. But there are drwabacks.

His previous Timeless Flight (published around 1990) was one of my favourite books for a while - at a time when there was no internet the detail he went to was invaluable for those of us who wanted to know about the background to the music, and the people who made it all happen. Unfortunately this updated version isn't such a enjoyable read, and that ironically is because of Rogan's attention to detail - we get a bit too much.

The 1990 version finished on a high, with the (small) possibility of Byrds renunion of sorts. Unfortunately this book has two extra chapters - the deaths of Gene Clark and Michael Clarke. Too much of their gradual decline through substance abuses is dwelled upon - page after page of Clark straightening himself out only too end up on ever harder drugs and in a even worse state soon after.

Personally, I felt depressed by the time I'd read the book due to these extra two sections. Some would say the author was right to do this, but the book ends on a depressing note when it should have been more of a celebration of what they created.

All in all, the best Byrds book around, but given the joy their music brought us, it could have been a little less grim

Great Book!

I'm a great fan of Sixties music, especially the Beatles. The Byrds were great friends of the Fabs and their story and music is worth telling. Rogan's book is an epic, over 700 pages but it never suffers from repetition or rambling. The writing is fluid and skilful and the story is like a biblical epic full of triumphs, conflicts, deaths and tragedy... and fantastic music. I learned so much about the Byrds and was so impressed that I read the book again! Brilliant stuff.

The Ultimate Biography!
I've been a Byrds fan since the 60s, but nothing prepared me for a book as brilliant as this! It must be the ultimate biography in popular music, stretching to over 700 pages with a page-turning account of one of the greatest stories in rock history. Rogan has interviewed everyone, and not just in the last few years. Many of his interviews are 30+ years old and he keeps going back over the years to reacquaint himself with the participants and add yet more drama. This is what really gives the book its authority. Some of the Byrds no doubt changed their views on each other over the years as Rogan clearly reveals. Sometimes they're bitter and aggressive, sometimes forgiving and understanding just like people in real life! Rogan gets them to talk about everything, no matter how painful. The writing is excellent too, highly authoritive but still readable. Although he's clearly obsessed with getting the truth of the story, it's the music that drives his passion. There's loads of stuff on every album, every song - enough to have you rushing back to the original records with a new understanding. Rightly acclaimed as one of the great rock reads, this is a story that never seems to age but becomes more fascinating and revealing with each passing decade. In a word: superb.