Wild tales graham nash autobiography book review

Young, he concludes, "is a weird cat. But Wild Tales thrives on that "what a long, strange trip it's been" energy, and Nash is the first to admit he was no angel. He says he long ago swore off cocaine. And the reader is inclined to believe that the drugs, the women, the accolades and the money were never the point. The first half of the book was told with a fresh, strong voice as memories of his childhood, and first taste of success are told with what felt like the same awe he had while living through those days.

But, as we approached the second half, it was as if he had grown weary of telling this part of his life story and reliving it now was exhausting. So, the book lost a lot of it's previous momentum and it became really tedious. I did think Graham was tactful most of the time, but also pretty honest, calling like he saw it or experienced it.

His relationships with women, his music, friends, band mates, drug issues, and politics, as well as awards, charities, benefits are all laid out there. Triumphs, tragedies, ups, downs, good and bad, Graham has certainly lived a full life, has seen many changes and came through it all still alive, still productive, still performing and living life to it's fullest.

Overall, as rock memoirs go, this one was pretty much standard. Not great, but not all that bad either. This one gets a 3. You know how sometimes you read a book or a story about someone you like and afterwards you like them less? That's what this book did for me. Nash told many details of starting his adult years as an under-educated lad from a blue-collar family.

Today, he is still an under-educated lad who has spent a privileged lifetime being gullible, self-righteous and self-indulgent, spoiled and melodramatic about simple things in life that most of us deal with daily. As one example of many, he tells the story about a cover for a new album that had his photo and a lovely rainbow in the sky behind him.

OK so far except he got all bent out of shape that a cover proof sent to him showed that a barcode had been placed on the image just at the bottom of the rainbow. So he called the record company and said "You need to move that barcode, there's supposed to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Not a barcode". After being told it would stay where it was, he called someone in his entourage and demanded that his contract with that record company be terminated.

The chronology he relates as the story unfolds is a reminder of how many forgettable albums and music tracks he and Crosby and he as a solo act have produced over the last 40 years. Graham, you sing nice harmonies and have written a handful of decent songs in the last 40 years. You've been lucky in life despite having pretty poor judgement in friends and in appropriate behavior.

No one's waiting to take political advice from you so keep your thoughts to yourself. Don't take yourself too seriously, we the public most certainly don't. As someone else noted on Goodreads, I actually think I like Graham Nash less now after reading his book. At times severely sanctimonious yes, he did drugs and cheated on his wives but others did far more drugs and cheated more times And woe is the critic or "so-called critic" as described by GN who doesn't give Graham Nash a glowing review.

In one particularly odious passage, GN bashes the Rolling Stone critic by saying "a trained monkey might have brought more to the game" and that the review "lacked insight and any kind of value for the reader". Wow - sensitive much? I can't help but think an authorized autobiography would have been so much better for both GN and the reader.

If nothing else, someone could have told GN how laughable the phrase "I dug the bread we were making" about an 80's tour really was. We get it - you are still a true hippie. You're really groovy man Eric Baum. The warts-and-all history of one of the 's most iconic musical groups, told by the sanest member of the quartet. Nash is admirably honest about both his failings and the struggles that each member of CSNY overcame during their 40 year journey.

The most striking thing about the tale is the love that they all share, despite [or maybe because] of what they've all done to themselves and each other. At the end of the day, you're left with the desire to revisit all their recordings now that you know what inspired each of them and the wish that you could just spend an evening sharing a pint or two with Nash as he spins out the tale.

PennsyLady Bev. I had no idea where to direct my thoughts on Wild Tales I listened to Graham Nash deliver his story and had a hard copy to the side to see the photos included. I couldn't put it down. Wild Tales journals amazing times in the world of rock music.. I recommend this not only to CSN Y fans but to all "students" of classic rock and roll.

It's chronicled with precision and has a historical presence. If you want an honest look at this time period and the journey of CSN Y , it's here. No holds barred. You'll also explore many of the passions of Graham Nash's life Don't pass by this one! Jeff Crosby. Would it be another self-indulgent memoir from an aging rocker? Regrettably, it is.

Would it offer wise counsel to would-be rockers from the current generation? Sadly, very little. Would it shed light on the reasons for the spotty output of music in the post-Deja Vu era? Yes, it does. Will I have to ignore the unnecessary use of far-beyond-salty-language? Yes, and then some. While I appreciated aspects of the book, it probably would be far more satisfying as an audiobook for its pages strike this reader as having been spoken into a recorder, transcribed, and re-assembled as a manuscript.

From a literary point of view, it's quite a disappointment. And how many times do we need to hear about CSN member David Crosby's "sores" from his rampant drug use? But this book does not live up to his reputation as a songwriter of substance and grace. I have, however, always enjoyed Graham Nash's ear for a good pop song, I think "Songs for Beginners" and "Wild Tales" are really enjoyable albums.

I've never been enamored with Nash's lyrics, however I think there is an earthiness and straight-forwardness that gives those songs some weight. While his book comes from a place of honesty, his honesty reflects poorly on him, and provides insight into the greatest moral fissures of his generation. There is no humility in this memoir, there is no real sense of reflection.

The book, its prose and content, is self-indulgence in its worst form. I found myself liking Mr. Nash less and less as the book went on. In his writing he represents the worst aspects of the hippie generation, and of hipsters in general: false humility, excuse giver, lip-service liberalism, self-aggrandizement, and self-importance. I do not deny the important role Nash and his partners played in the canon of music, however, a true artist sees the world beyond their self.

Nash clearly believes that he does, but in this book he reveals himself. He sees the world through his eyes, and all he receives in return, is himself. And I got the sense, because Nash couldn't provide such insights on his own [he had to tell us about his money, drugs, art, etc], that perhaps without intending to Nash was telling us why his generation and the counter-cultural movement failed: there was a lot of music made, speeches and opinions put forth, movements started, but for all the words there was little substance behind it I now see a musician and "activist" that had little interest in anything unless it brought him fame, fortune, or pleasure.

That's not art. And it's not activism. Perhaps without knowing it, Nash represented the very traits he so frequently complains about in the "system. Very disappointing. A self-serving book, and the author is careful to present himself in a good light. He is quick to point out the flaws and full reports of the hedonistic lifestyle on his bandmates, but he is much more cautious in his own revelations.

Being a singer is a gift. You can learn to sing, but the natural ability to sing is something you are born with: some alchemy of throat muscles and nasal passages and your respiration. You didn't do anything to earn it, yet so many with this talent abuse it. I can think of K. Lang who has publicly declared she knows she was given a gift and she works to protect it not smoking, lifestyle, etc.

David Crosby? Even Nash admits he should have been planted or scattered years ago, but Way too much focus, still, at his age, on bare-breasted nubiles. That's where the underreporting comes in. He does admit to cocaine abuse. I asked another friend what she thought knowing she had read the book before me, and she said, "He's a pig. Right up front, I can recommend this book Nash is brutally honest or at least I think he's honest about himself, Crosby, Stills and Young.

I think he gives more credit to the other three than he claims for himself artistically. The book is especially good about Nash's younger years, how the Hollies came together and eventually prospered, why he had to leave them, and how CSNY came together. It's really great in describing the first two or three years I learned so many more things about CSN than I had ever known And then the drugs took over Yeah, I believe everything, or almost everything he says about Crosby, but I do think a real friend might have left some of the things out.

The last chapters of the book are really rushed and episodic and the episodes move backward and forward in time in a thoroughly disjointed fashion. What I really didn't like was his gushing expression of his love for his previous wife Susan Of all the characters in the book, Stills comes out the best, but no one that Nash touches comes out unscathed.

One comment about music autobiographies. I've read about 50 of them and only two of them were excellent. Both of these books had coauthors. Maybe great musicians just aren't great writers, and need help. Nash's book is not excellent, but it is especially evocative of what it was like in the crazy and wonderful times of the s -- when so much of my favorite music was being created in England and in the United States.

And that is th emain reason that I would recommend the book. In this book, Graham Nash tells his story very much in his own words. There is much of interest in the beginning — his childhood in Salford, Manchester, schooldays and his early love of music. There is a fascinating portrait of the early Beatles arriving for an early gig in Manchester and, in many ways, Nash paints a very evocative picture of that era.

He tells of early success, of the Hollies obtaining a recording contract after the Beatles broke down the North-South divide and of the excitement of touring in the States. In fact, everything is here — from Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Still and Nash, Neil Young, his love of photography, his attempts to demonstrate and raise money for various causes, it is all covered.

Every so often, Nash gets side tracked or has an attack of vitriol, which might have been better, if not left unsaid, then possibly reworded. In other words, this book could have been edited — quite heavily — and probably would have been improved, rather than suffered from the attention. However, it is wonderful that he shared his memories and, as I have long been a fan of his music, I am glad I read this.

Mark Hartzer. I checked this out from the library 2 days ago and had a smile pasted on my face almost the entire time I was reading this. This is not ghostwritten, and you've got to give Nash credit as the man can write. Lots of great tidbits throughout: Little Richard yelling at his young guitarist not to upstage him at the Soupy Sales show yeah, it was Jimi Hendrix ; 'Prison Song' is about what happened to his dad; describing the 1st time he met the Beatles " He does not sugarcoat the drugs and women.

There were lots. Plenty of detail into Crosby's decline and subsequent revival. I didn't know that Nash was one of the very first to recognize digital printing, and that a "Nash Edition" printer sits in the Smithsonian. He doesn't shy away from politics either. David Koch, one of the world's truly bad guys Anyone who thinks that Dick Cheney is one of the worst people in the world gets a big thumbs up from me.

Anyway, I really enjoyed getting some insight into someone who has helped brighten the world and mine for 50 odd years. Thanks Graham. Joe Kraus. Author 11 books followers. When I think of rock, I think of guitars. I think of an instrument that shoves everyone else aside and stands center stage. And I think of singers who do the same.

For Graham Nash, rock is born in harmonies. Yes, he helped name his first band after Buddy Holly, but he cites as his real inspiration the Everly Brothers, those kings of harmony. He says that the first moment he heard them, his whole life changed. We get more of those life-changing moments throughout this memoir. And that makes sense.

Wild tales graham nash autobiography book review

The Hollies were all about layering good harmonies over Brit-pop tunes, and CSN was all about three fine singers merging their voices. And, to his credit, he achieves what I most look for when I read a book about music. He makes me find new ways to listen to stuff I thought I knew. And, even better, he has led me to rediscover how really good the best of his music is.

When I think of CSN, to take the most significant example, I think of Crosby as nearly dead from his many addictions, and Stills as lost in the mercurial ups-and-downs of being just outside the Mt. Rushmore of the best rock musicians America has ever produced. But Nash, he seems the same happy and thoughtful guy as ever. No band has ever had the influence of the Beatles, but — for two or three years there — CSN was in spitting distance, putting out some great music and living in that sweet spot between popularity and the cutting edge.

Each is still standing and still coherent when his fellow bandmates are gone or dimmed. Beyond that, Nash is someone who adds to the work of others. So, mission accomplished as far as the big things around this book. Nash is a decent lyricist, but his gift in many ways is to simplify things. He admits that he betrayed his original best friend, Allan Clarke, when he jumped shop from the Hollies, though the success of both men afterwards mitigates that.

He also talks about how they had a 15 year old song writer write for them. About halfway through the book, it begins to focus more on CSN and CSNY — their performance at Woodstock — how they never disbanded no matter what was going on between them and trust me, it was a lot and even though they strayed from each other they were still a group.

He talked about how he got his home in Hawaii, how important family became to him, and how they had to have an intervention with David Crosby because his drug use was out of control — but they ultimately failed and he needed to hit rock bottom first. I received a free copy of this book from bloggingforbooks in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.