I haven’t done many book reviews, but just to let you know, I do read! A couple books that I’d like to recommend is “Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside The Rock and Roll Business” by Danny Goldberg and “Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles,” by Geoff Emerick.
Now both of these books are music related and very intruiging. Bumping Into Geniuses is a really great story of how a young Danny Goldberg broke into the music scene in NYC back when rock and roll music was just starting to become popular. He recounts stories of life on the road with Led Zeppelin as their PR guy as well as manager of Nirvana and Courtney Love. Not to mention, he helped jumpstart Bonnie Raitt’s career, all the while being a record executive and raising a family on his own. Whew!
Here, There and Everywhere is a story from fly on the wall perspective. That fly was Geoff Emerick, who was probably the luckiest kid in London in 1962 to land a low paying, entry level job with the Beatles. Mind you, this was before The Beatles were anything at all – in fact, he tells his stories of the first time he ever heard them and the making of their first album. You learn who was the leader in the group, who was the quietest, who was rude all the time and who hung with the roadies. The stuff that went on in the studio was quite interesting, to say the least and Geoff tells all. From the crazy parties and ridiculous requests for orchestras to Yoko Ono’s bed. And if you’re at all into recording or know something about the recording process, like me, he tells in detail how he miked each album and song – what new and forbidden mike tricks he used to get the sounds from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver, and more!
