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| | Life Between the Keys: The (Mis) Adventures of the 5 Browns | | | Music Style : | | Biographies & Memoirs | | Record Label : | | Phoenix Audio | | Store Price : | | $24.95 | | Artistopia's Price: $18.21 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Amazon.com
Submitted on: 2009-11-14 |
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| Not only delivered as promised but it was an autographed copy! Very nice surprise! |
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 A Phenomenal Family!
Submitted on: 2009-10-24 |
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"Life Between The Keys... The (Mis)adventures of the 5 Browns" was an interesting read about five extraordinarily talented young siblings, whose rise to fame would be too far-fetched for a work of fiction. This book had a special appeal for me, having been a longtime member of the American Composers Forum. The reasons for my rating of only three stars: (1) The anecdotal structure of the book (which was interesting, but lacked continuity) left me wanting more. I personally would have preferred an account written in a more biographical form--providing in-depth background on this exceptional family; and how their interest and early training (and perhaps that of their parents and ancestors) in music emanated. In other words, it's not that I didn't enjoy the book... it simply left me wanting to know more. (2) Having a section of actual photos--rather than, or in addition to, the sketches--would have enhanced the book significantly, I believe. (3) Finally, although it is my understanding that the published edition of this book was released with a CD of their virtuosity, the 'Advance Uncorrected Proof' version received under Amazon.com's VINE program did not include the recordings. My bottom line, however, is... BRAVO! to these fine young musicians from one family... 'the Fabulous Five Browns!'
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I liked it so much, I bought my own copy to enjoy the enclosed CD!
Submitted on: 2009-09-25 |
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One of the challenges of reviewing for Amazon Vine is that the title selected sometimes arrives as a review proof, which often lacks the hard cover, dust jacket and in this case, the music CD that is such an integral part of the Brown experience. I've always felt that part of the experience of books is tactile (sorry, kindle), so I ordered my own copy of this books to replace the flimsy paperback sent for review.
I'm so glad I did. After reading the book and enjoying it thoroughly, it was a wondrous finale to hear the five young Browns playing in concert, and also hear their amusing and unaffected commentary between selections.
The books is a collection of personal essays from each of the five siblings about their childhoods, relationships, school experiences and the grueling pressure of practice, qualification and performance. They emerge as a very likable bunch who share a rare bond in this day and age.
The essays gain intensity as the book progresses. Stories about sledding and other lighthearted childhood episodes give way to dealing with the harsh realities of city living and very adult problems with friends and acquaintances. Things build to a dramatic peak with essays about being in New York during the Twin Towers tragedy. When you finish, you really feel you know these people, and listening to their music in the attached CD really brings it all together.
Reading and listening with The 5 Browns is an enriching experience in a good many ways.
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 A Delightful Read
Submitted on: 2009-07-23 |
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This collection of short stories written by each of the 5 Browns was a delightful look into their personal lives, and how "The 5 Browns" came into being. Nothing on a very deep level was discussed....more esoteric topics, but each was interesting and many were thought provoking.
The stories that I think about most often were, "The Player Piano" and the following story, "Operation Find Ryan". The two stories go hand-in-hand and both rendered my heart more than the other stories. I felt sorry for this little 4 year old boy who wanted so badly to play with his army men instead of practicing the required 2 hours each day. And in the following story what this little boy did to find a space to play with his toys was truly rendering. It just makes one wonder if the price is worth it. But, it seems with this particular family the cost of a daily 2 hour practice routine did pay off.
My least favorite story was, "The 5 Browns and a Black". It made no sense to me. I grew up in the South and have always lived in the South and have seen just about all forms of racism there is (and from both sides) and this town they talk about is hard to believe. I have traveled throughout the deep south going to many small towns and I have not seen what they encountered while touring. Especially in the 21st century. I'm not saying that this did not occur as I know from experience that the truth is always stranger than fiction, but I suspect that maybe the perspective from which the story was written might be a tad askew. I'll take it with a grain of salt as to whether it really occurred the way it was portrayed or maybe it was slightly embellished to make it more interesting....I don't know.
Overall, it's an interesting read. I learned some aspects about Juilliard that I didn't know before and being a music major myself I was naturally interested in the goings on of such a prestigious school of music. |
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As someone who has heard of them, heard little by them,
Submitted on: 2009-05-21 |
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but wanted to learn more, this book is cute. Many nice, interesting, and real memories of the siblings. What I felt it lacked was an understanding of how they came to feel passionately about classical music as a group. Why didn't one, or two even, branch out in a different genre? Why do they feel strongly about how they present classical music in a "relaxed" demeanor? Anyway, it brought up more questions than it answered.
Cute, but not inspiring. |
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