As music books go, this was all right. Not fantastic, not earth-shaking, but all right.

As many other reviewers have noted, while it purports to be the "inside story of rock and roll's legendary neighborhood" it does take far too many detours out of Laurel Canyon and into the offices of music companies, or into LA, or wherever.

It started out strong, and I will say I quite enjoyed the first half, and I think if Walker had simply focused on Laurel Canyon up to, say, the Manson murders, and gone more in depth on the musicians in the canyon, and more about their songwriting and collaborations and inspirations, this would have been a far more interesting read. ( )