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| | This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band | | | Music Style : | | Rock | | Record Label : | | Chicago Review Press | | Store Price : | | $16.95 | | Artistopia's Price: $11.53 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Like sitting with an old friend...
Submitted on: 2009-11-02 |
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This book is a page turner and and a very emotional read. Its narration and dialogue are so engaging and easy to understand that it feels more like a friendly visit than literature. Levon's clarity and straight-forwardness are refreshing and his passion for life just leaps off of every page. True that it's not always pretty--he does express resentment towards Robbie Robinson, which I've noticed is a common complaint around here--but how can one fault the man for having a point of view? He has obvious regret about the direction that the band took in its later years and it seems that the blame he puts on Robertson is not entirely misplaced. I honestly think that some readers may be offended by his bitterness towards The Last Waltz, since it is so close to so many hearts. You have to take this part of the story with the important fact that Levon did not want to break up the Band. His feelings about the Last Waltz appear to be more a reflection of Robbie's so-called betrayal than the quality of the music/film itself.
Regardless, Levon is honest about his feelings on every subject and his memory is seemingly faultless, going all the way back to his childhood days in rural Arkansas. He gives moving personal accounts of his experiences growing up in the birthplace of rock music. He tracks his early career with Ronnie Hawkins and eloquently pays tribute to each incredible musician that he met throughout his career--Bob Dylan, Sonny Boy Williamson, Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters, etc.
His stories about The Band give deep insight into the talents and personalities of his best friends and band members. His obvious love for these men makes you want to care about them just as much as he does--especially Richard Manuel. Richard is a heavy, haunting presence throughout the book, but Levon treats him as delicately as he can, constantly referring to him as a "sweet" and "shy" genius. He also gives considerable credit to Garth Hudson, who he calls the "soul" of the group. He is not shy about divulging on the band's sex and drug escapades, but is careful to only include information that contributes to the reader's understanding of the MUSIC. I also enjoyed the fact that so many key players in the Band's success were interviewed, along with Rick Danko, who had a lot of interesting things to say.
All in All, I absolutely loved this book. It taught me so much about the roots of rock music and really took me back to the Band's albums, which I am grateful for. I felt very close to Levon while reading this book and I genuinely felt his pride, excitement and pain regarding the many ups and downs in his life. Despite some ill feelings, he is a very positive person and had me laughing out loud with his dry, Southern sense of humor. I was actually sad for this book to end, but I know that I will revisit it sometime in the future since I am now a Levon fan for life! |
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 Yea, Levon
Submitted on: 2008-10-03 |
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| This answers so many questions I had about The Band. Lags in some places with too many "Monday we did this and then drove to...on Tues" A good glimpse of very complicated and utterly talented people. |
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 Some things should be kept private
Submitted on: 2008-08-12 |
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| This book is informative to a point, but Levon Helm should have kept his personal complaints about Robbie Robertson to himself. Publishing bitter remarks about a former close friend and bandmate just isn't cool. If there's a problem, let their lawyers work it out, don't involve the public. |
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This book changed my life.
Submitted on: 2008-08-04 |
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| Today is the day I turn 33 years old, and out of all those years, and all of the books I've read, this one takes the proverbial cake. Birthday cake, if you will. Levon Helm is one of my heroes, and with a little help from his friends, he's managed to write a book that truly takes the reader through time and space to where modern rock was conceived, born, and learned to run like an antelope out of control. I highly recommend that you purchase this book, read it over and over again, and give it to your best friend to read, too. |
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This Wheel really is on fire
Submitted on: 2008-06-05 |
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| I love the way Levon writes, you can hear his southern Arky drawl in the words. i love how he remembers the names of childhood friends and old band members like he was writing it down then. he also includes other peoples perspectives like Danko's and some other people involved with the group back then, but sadly, there is no quotes directly from Robertson as he and Helm are still estranged. Oh well, will Genesis ever get back together either? |
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![The Last Waltz [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JFQ6SRTCL._SL160_.jpg)
