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Robert Hilburn

Auteur de Johnny Cash: The Life

6+ oeuvres 626 utilisateurs 29 critiques

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Comprend les noms: Robert Hilburn (Author)

Œuvres de Robert Hilburn

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The Dylan Companion: A Collection of Essential Writing About Bob Dylan (1990) — Contributeur, quelques éditions96 exemplaires

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The quintessential biography of the Man in Black. Cash was a man both extraordinary and ordinary. He was a saint and a profound sinner. And Hilburn's biography is an exhaustive, honest, and touching portrait of a troubled and extremely gifted artist. It is well researched, amusing, heartbreaking, and powerful. You won't read this book and not be impacted by Cash's artistic life, his failures, his love of family (and his complications with family), and his drive to continue in the midst of severe physical struggles.

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Signalé
ryantlaferney87 | 13 autres critiques | Dec 8, 2023 |
This stunningly researched book will satisfy the most disconcerting Paul Simon fan. Filled with insights into his song composition, personal life, and impact on the music world. I loved Elizabeth Taylor’s comment to him during the Kennedy Center Honors. Aretha Franklin was supposed to perform “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” but had to cancel. Alicia Keys performed the song adequately but without the brilliant soulful take Aretha would have brought to the song. Liz whispers to Paul “What do you think when someone fxxks up a version of your song?”… (plus d'informations)
 
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GordonPrescottWiener | 10 autres critiques | Aug 24, 2023 |
A heavy (literally and figuratively) read about an enigmatic, complex, and conflicted man. A man of deep faith who fell to temptation. A man who used his position to champion the underdog even to the point of wrecking his career, while still striving for commercial success. A man who lived constantly with the shadow of death, and the disapproval of many of those close to him.

To quote a New York Times review included in these pages “Man in Black, outlaw of justice, friend to the downtrodden, Mr. Cash had always been poised on the cusp between right and wrong, shadow and light; he walks the line between country sincerity and rock and roll autonomy.”

This excellent read doesn’t pull any punches about Cash or the decisions he made. Naturally it parallels his career being at its strongest at the beginning (the 50s and 60s) and the end (90s and 2000s) while dragging a bit through the wilderness years in between.

Overall this is a powerful account of a man who just saw himself as “a singer of songs.”
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gothamajp | 13 autres critiques | May 18, 2023 |
From English department faculty at the U of Virginia I learned two very different styles of biography: the interminable collection of facts offered in Joseph Blotner's Faulkner and Douglas Day's intimate, speculative psychoanalytical examination Malcolm Lowry. Veteran LA Times pop music critic and Simon confidante Robert Hilburn offers more the former than the latter in his thoroughly researched biography. It offers a detailed portrait of Simon's entire life and career without really helping us warm to the man creating the amazing music.

Hilburn has devoted untold hours to interviewing Simon and almost everyone who has ever lived with or made music with him (over 100 interviewees are cited in the book's 20 pages of notes and bibliography). In nearly 400 pages the author examines every phase of Simon's 60-year career, from '50s doo-wop to '60s folk gold to the acclaimed solo albums of the '70s to the revolutionary world music forays in the '80s to the thirty years of relatively less well known songs that followed. The chronological organization and encyclopedic index make it easy to zero in on a particular song or year or relationship, as the reader plays "I remember when . . . "

Hilburn vividly and sensitively depicts Simon's insecurities, his obsessive dedication to his craft, and his checkered record of relationships with lovers, wives, and (perhaps most of all) his long-time partner Garfunkel. Several touchstones emerge: New York, baseball, family, depression, competitiveness, hard work, innovation. Most chapters quote at length some key lyrics from the Paul Simon songbook, sometimes with an attempt at analysis though rarely with much comment about the memorable music. Rather than building a strong through-line of his own insights and opinions, the author excels at orchestrating a chorus of voices reflecting on Simon's life and work. Some rare musical revelations come from Simon himself: e.g., "Mostly I use sharp keys, which are all great for guitar. On the piano, it's more flat keys, which are easier on the ear" (197). Hilburn's narrative reveals the sine-curve shape of Simon's career, dwelling on the spectacular disappointments in film (1980's One-Trick Pony) and on Broadway (1998's The Capeman) as well as the chorus of accolades for his ever-evolving musical styles: twelve Grammy wins, three Albums of the Year (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy, Graceland), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Kennedy Center Honor, Library of Congress Gershwin Prize.

The last quarter of the book is less rich and interesting than the early celebrations of better known Simon music. Hilburn presents Simon in these later years as continuing his workmanlike trade of exploring, composing and crafting new music, though with relatively little public recognition. And he invites the reader to appreciate Simon's versatility, drive, and clear-eyed self-examination. Thanks to Hilburn I know much more about this masterful composer of the soundtrack of my life, without feeling that I have come to know Paul Simon much better at all.
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Signalé
gwalton | 10 autres critiques | Mar 31, 2023 |

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Œuvres
6
Aussi par
1
Membres
626
Popularité
#40,249
Évaluation
4.0
Critiques
29
ISBN
43
Langues
6

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