Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon
Author :
Harvey Kubernik
Publisher :
Sterling
Pub. Date :
2009-10-06
Edition :
Hardcover, 384 Pages
ISBN # :
1402765894
Inventory :
36 Available
Store Price :
$29.95
Artistopia's Price: $16.17
Customer Reviews of This Item
Fantastico! Submitted on: 2009-11-18
I really enjoyed this book! Harvey Kubernick and Henry Diltz were there as it happened. ...One great tale after another. I only wish they had included the Bob Marchese story about extricating a totally drunk John L. and Harry N. from the Smothers Brothers Troubadour gig.
Well Worth The Asking Price Submitted on: 2009-11-18
As someone who is stuck musically in the 60's-early 70's this book was a great read. The cover alone is like a peek back into music history, this will make a great coffee table book! There is a bit of the old stories mixed in with some new (at least to me) nuggets like the story behind "Our House"; the Nash/Mitchell bit is well known but the part about her buying the vase was new to me.
L.A Laurel Canyon And The Truth Submitted on: 2009-11-07
At last the complete and definitive account of L.A muscical geography and its integral components authored by an Los Angeles native who truly knows of what he writes. Harvey Kubernik works with facts and the people who matter which makes 'Canyon Dreams" obliterate any earlier attempts at explaining Los Angeles amd its musical terrain. Supported so powerfully by Henry Diltz's still astounding photography "Canyon Dreams" is the only book you'll ever need for defining of Country Rock, Psychedelia, Garage Rock, R&B and Blues that emerged out of L.A and its immediate environs. Harvey Kubernik does for the L.A of the 60's and 70's as to what Raymond Chandler did for the same locale of the 50's.
A Very Beautiful & Lavish Book! Submitted on: 2009-10-17
I highly recommend this book.The quality of this book is absolutely
amazing for the price! I honestly did a double take, this book could
have easily been sold for far more than this, but luckily for all of
us it's not. ;)It's so packed full with photos & info I know it's going
to take me several months to fully absorb & digest it all.If you are a
fan of the Los Angeles music scene of the 1950s-80s you are really going
to love this book.Like another reviewer said, put this book along side
Riot On Sunset Strip and Laurel Canyon. Don't hesitate to purchase this
book, especially as the holiday season is approaching, make it a present
to yourself! ;)
Sex, Drugs, & Wild Times, Even Before Rock 'n' Roll Got There Submitted on: 2009-10-09
The Canyon of Dreams, the Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon is an amazing history of Laurel Canyon that sits in the Hollywood Hills right above Sunset Boulevard and since the beginning of Hollywood, starting with The Garden of Allah, a hotel opened by one of the wives of Rudolph Valentino, it quickly garnered a reputation as a place for a hideaway for movie stars, musicians, and artists. Errol Flynn had trysts there, jazz musicians came there to score opium, big band leaders Tommy Dorsey and Kay Kyser had an argument there as to which was the more popular, Dorsey won the argument by producing two naked women (who in the Rock `n' Roll era would be groupies), one of whom had a `T' shaved in her pubic hair and the other a `D'. Proving that sex and drugs and wild times existed before Rock `n' Roll and the farther into the future we go, the easier it is to touch the past.
The book is formatted like a scrapbook full of pictures, quotes, and paraphernalia, such as, matchbook covers of famous night clubs, record jackets, restaurant menu's, one from a Chinese restaurant owned by Benson Fong's father, and another that lists a combination pizza at $[...]! The chapters are easy to read and filled with amazing stories of residents and the adventures, misadventures, artistic pursuits, parties, trysts, or some combination of all of the above. The chapters cover different eras usually from the viewpoint of a Laurel Canyon resident who was present, and are divided into relevant tangents that give you a broader feel for everything that was going on at the time. For instance rock photographer Henry Diltz leads off the chapter that recounts the invasion of the Rock `n' Roll industry. Diltz recounts his own days as folk singer and how his career morphed into that of an iconic rock photographer. His most famous album cover probably being The Doors, Morrison Hotel. The section after Diltz's story tells of Robby Krieger and John Densmore moving into the canyon, followed by Jim Morrison and they recount their stories of the canyon, such as dinners at John Densmore's house, or Robby Krieger hanging out at Frank Zappa's house and Zappa's interest in producing The Doors.
Doug Dragon, (brother of Daryl Dragon of Captain and Tennille fame), tells of their living in the canyon in the 50's. His father was a famous symphony conductor, Carmen Dragon and tells of his father playing at The Hollywood Bowl, and how the house they lived in was later bought by TV star Wally Cox, Peter Tork, Stephen Stills and was later used by the Rolling Stones to rehearse for a tour.
So many famous and infamous people have lived in Laurel Canyon, H.B. Barnum, Harry Houdini, Frank Zappa, Tom Mix, Tex Ritter, Jackie DeShannon, Joni Mitchell, Van Dyke Parks, Robert Heinlein, Tim Buckley, Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz, Billy James, Paul Rothchild, Dick Bock, Jackson Browne, and so many others I could list names for the entire length of the review and it would be a compelling reason to buy this book!
There are other books about Laurel Canyon and it's residents, but they pale in comparison. This is a handsome coffee table book that you'll love to show people, and I think you'll be surprised by the new stories that are here. You'll meet new people, and read of events that only happen in L.A., there are stories here you haven't read before and you won't forget.
The book itself is gorgeous, the pages are a creamy high quality paper that gives the book a luxurious feel, is probably the closest to vellum you can get. The book is a bargain with the wall to wall anecdotes, all the pictures, this is a book you'll want to read from front to back in one sitting, but I think it's best to enjoy the sections and breath the atmosphere. However you choose to read it, it will be a satisfying experience.
Fantastico!