This quirky and delightful book of music writing, from Washington Post Magazine deputy editor David Rowell, defies categorization ... Most music writing is so formulaic and dull that encountering good examples of the genre carries a jolt of freshness and pleasure. Rowell’s central strategy is to nose up to some weird instrument or character...and then give it a full, thoughtful, journalistically impeccable treatment, leavened by touches of dry wit ... Rowell’s book is a peerless seminar in long-form journalism; the fellow writer or aspirant critic can only marvel at his command of his métier ... 'In music the distance between sorrow and joy can be surprisingly narrow,' Rowell writes. This book finds that narrow distance and sings there, sweetly.
Read Full Review >>