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Various Artists

Stadium Rock written by Jeb Wright

Review by Greg Olma

The story behind this book is a simple one.  Jeb Wright took his love for music one step further than most people and started a website called “Classic Rock Revisited” in 1999.  Having conducted many interviews over the years, Wright decided to collect a dozen of these conversations with classic rockers and put it in book form.  Musicians like Phil Ehart of Kansas and Lou Gramm of Foreigner don’t get a lot of space in the music press these days so it’s great that Wright focused this book on those types of artists.

When you look at the list of “interviewees,” you will definitely notice that this is a collection of artists that saw their heydays in the 70s and early 80s.  That’s not a bad thing because all of them are still active and still releasing new product.  Although most of the interviews focus on their latest endeavors, the conversations do at times delve into the history of the band.  For example, Neil Doughty (REO Speedwagon) spends most of his interview discussing band history and how ballads became such a big part of their catalogue.  At the other end of the spectrum, Steve Perry (ex-Journey) talks mostly about the Journey Live In Houston DVD he produced.

The reason I have used the words “interview” and “conversation” interchangeably is because Wright has the gift of making the performer feel at ease and making the interview turn into more of a couple of old friends talking.  Even though it is presented in a question/answer format, they still read more like dialogue instead of the scripted answers many people get.  I recommend this book very highly and at $14.95 from the Classic Rock Revisited website, it is well worth the money.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2009  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
 
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