Fire and Rain Paperback – July 3, 2012

I remember Fire and Rain when it first hit the airwaves in 1970 and I felt that Rock had reached a new level of maturity. 44 years later I feel no different. In 1971 I could sing along with every syllable of Sweet Baby James and Mudslide Slim, most of the album Bridge Over Troubled Water and I loved Teach Your Children with it's Country sound. In the years that followed Country Rock and Soft Rock grew in prominence and some amazing acts came along. By the late '70s the boundaries were indistinct and some music all but defied categorization. But the shift, indeed, seemed to have occurred in 1970.Perhaps the breakup of the Beatles left a vacuum that allowed some of this to happen. Perhaps the creative forces would have come to light even if the Beatles had stayed together. The number of possible causes is off the scale. No matter what, there was a palpable shift that set the stage for much of what happened in music for the rest of the '70s and into the early '80s. This was the soundtrack to my teens and early adulthood and I still love this music.This book is paced well and delivers the information in an interesting manner. The level of detail is realistic, enough to convey the information without belaboring the subject. IOW, it's a good read that neither bores or fatigues its readers. The information seems well researched and accurate, not to mention that the author seems to understand the color of the times he is writing about. Many people writing about the social tumult of the late '60s idealize the time and fail to realize that it wasn't just flower children and love-ins. I felt that this book didn't fall into that trap; it was respectful of the ideals of the time without falling victim to the euphoric recall that seems to have overtaken so many that try to explain it.It was a trying time for people on both sides of the social chasm and the introspective music that emerged in 1970 was a refuge from the angst that had all but defined the late '60s. The problems were still happening but people needed a break. Social consciousness gave way to self consciousness.It's a great book.

A solid, very reliable music writer, David Browne really delivered the goods with this one. I've had it for years and broke it out again (third or fourth time I've read through it) after recently re-watching Jakob Dylan's Echo in the Canyon rock doc (which spun off an excellent soundtrack elpee, btw). Pretty terrific California tale of 1970. Much better than Browne's much more recent CSNY group bio, imho. Anyway, the book unravels many an interesting story in captivating style. Explains the scene in detail, and makes you want to break out the Laurel Canyon albums for another close listen. Four stars and definitely recommended.

When I created a personal on-line radio station last year, I entered as my favorites Simon and Garfunkel, CSN & Y (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young), The Beatles and James Taylor. Imagine my surprise when I discovered David Browne's new book, Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970. They say that the music of your youth will always hold a special place in your heart. I was a freshman in high school in 1970 and I truly enjoyed this walk down memory lane!Browne gives us a short history of all four of these artists/groups and also gives us background from 1969 as the spring-board that launched what happened in 1970. What was happening on the national stage gives a poignant backdrop to what was happening on the music scene. Two of these groups (The Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel) dissolved at the height of their popularity. CSN & Y became one of the hottest groups of the year, before they self-destructed. And James Taylor ushered in a new brand of folk-rock, which was quieter, less political, and would set the tone for the new decade. Browne shows it all--the drugs, the rehabs, the girls, the fights, the break-ups and the reunions. But throughout Fire and Rain, he highlights the music and Browne describes the music as only a contributing editor for a magazine like Rolling Stone could write. "'Bridge Over Troubled Water' sounded like nothing he [Simon] and Garfunkel had done before. Knechtel's comforting opening chords--as florid as a Vegas lounge player yet grounded in the gospel feel Simon required--set the tone, followed by Garfunkel's muted vocal entrance and lyrics about a devout friendship that built on Simon's original opening lines. The arrangement was mathematically precise; strings and other instruments arrived gradually, in calm waves. As the last verse built to a crescendo, Blaine's drums crashed in the distance and the orchestra surged to match Garfunkel's shiver-inducing climactic high note."While touching base with the music of my youth, I was surprised at how much of the political situation I do not remember. Of course I remember the Viet Nam War, Kent State, the Mansion Trail and the first Earth Day. However, I have no recollection of all the domestic bombings (numbering in the thousands) that took place throughout the United States at the hands of such groups as the Weather Underground. How could I have forgotten that they even bombed The Capitol and The Pentagon? Everything that happened during these years influenced the music of the time. As for "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "arriving after a numbing period in the country's history, it became a much-needed respite from one piece of bad news after another. It was a perfectly written and produced song that had arrived at exactly the right time."I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fire and Rain and think that David Browne did a commendable job weaving together the stories of these four groups. But a few things would have made this book even better. Sometimes he talks about a song and why it was written, but doesn't give us enough lyrics--such as James Taylor writing about the death of his friend, Suzanne in "Fire and Rain." Also, he spends more than a few pages describing the photo-shoot for the cover of "Déjà vu." He should have included a photo of the album cover. I would have also liked to see a discography of the groups he mentioned for the years he covered. But otherwise, I loved every minute of Fire and Rain. It even made me do something that I haven't done in years--drag out my old LPs to replay some of this music that I haven't heard in decades. I'm finding this as enjoyable as reading the book.

I seldom pay for ebooks, but I had to have this one as soon as I saw the title. I devoured it - until - David Browne ignorantly criticized James Taylor for "mispronouncing doggies" during his iconic ballad, Sweet Baby James. A "dogie" is a motherless calf. A cowboy would be surrounded by many more dogies than doggies. Browne also is in love with the word "torturous," using it at least twice in every chapter of the book. He also started off chapters by only using surnames, which got confusing very quickly. Which Taylor is he talking about now? However, I did pick up many interesting tidbits about many of my favorite entertainers, and enjoyed most of the book.

Very well written book - does not just focus on the music and acts but sets it against the times and culture - brilliant review of the times.

Great book, lots of interesting anecdotes and facts about all my favourite bands from 1970...Gave the book to my brother for his birthday too and he is finding it just as fascinating.

This very well written and entertaining book chronicles in novelist fashion four groundbreaking albums: "Deja Vu" (CSNY), "Sweet Baby James" (James Taylor), "Bridge Over Troubled Water"(Simon & Garfunkel) and "Let It Be".Actually the focus is not so much on the albums themselves - Brownes interpretations of the various songs are surely one of the weaker aspects of the book - but more the tumultous lifes of the involved artists. All 3 bands at the verge of break up and breakdown, leaving James Taylor in many ways as the 'hero' of the story.No doubt David Browne has put lots of effort and research into this work, though apparently CSN are the only ones who have actually wanted to participate in the books making. He also succesfully manages to put the music in to a larger perspective: Nixon, Vietnam war, bombings running rampant in the US (a rather forgotten aspect of the times), the killings at US university campuses by the national guard, the Mason family.In the end though he doesn't really make it evident why such brilliant and long lasting Art could grow out of all this trivial in-fighting and dope misuse. The idea that perhaps Art is a sphere of it's own with its owm laws seem foreign to him. Which might be connected with his disdain for the more spiritual aspects of these artists as when he says that '..he[Phil Spector] even made the chant "Hare Krishna" in "My Sweet Lord" palatable'.A fine read for anyone into rock history and ofc for anyone interested in these four formidable acts.

Although I know a lot about this era and the artists who made the music, on reading this book I found out there was a lot I didn't know either! The author did a good job in inter-weaving the stories of the different bands so that it was in chronological order, not covered band by band.A good read and highly recommended for anyone interested in these bands and what happened to them in 1970.

If you are of a certain age (I am) and interested in The Beatles, James Taylor, Paul Simon then this is a MUST read. Example, why did Paul Simon start teaching music during the height of his "Bridge over troubled water". What was Suite for 20G (James Taylor). What really happened with the Beatles. All is revealed. Very well written.