The American Songbook: The Singers, Songwriters & The Songs
by Ken Bloom
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ken BloomForeword: Michael Feinstein
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-17
ISBN: 1579124488
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
Book Reviews of The American Songbook: The Singers, Songwriters & The Songs
Book Review: IRRITATING RATHER THAN ILLUMINATING
Summary: 2 Stars
If a coffeee table book is defined as the sort of thing to leave lying around to impress your guests, then this fits the bill admirably. The problem begins when you open it and start to read. As I see it, the book suffers from three defects.
First is the relatively straightforward matter of ensuring that the text is correct, and sadly there are numerous examples of slipshod proof-reading. Just to take two examples, on page 51 the entry on Cliff Edwards reads (across two lines) "Adrian links Rollini"! and on page 106, the entry under Kate Smith, about the song "God Bless America", reads "Smith wanted to sing it with a marshal beat". Such examples are scattered throughout the book, which seems curious given the trouble taken over the quality of the paper and the excellence of the photographs.
Secondly, there is the question of exactly what the book is setting out to be. The title itself seems incomplete, an impression fostered by the fact that both Michael Feinstein in his Foreword, and the author in his Introduction, refer specifically to the Great American Songbook. That phrase has a recognised meaning, that is, songs that were written for the golden age of the Broadway musical theatre and the Hollywood musical, and which have attained the status of standards. I'm not convinced that the book has gained anything by widening its scope beyond that, and I'm also disappointed by the omissions.
Finally, there is the style in which the book is written, in which the author's opinion is presented as fact. I recognise that someone else's opinion may differ from mine, but I do think some attempt needs to be made to validate it, and that it should be argued consistently. To take a case in point, Fred Astaire is described as an "interpreter" rather than singer, then in the next sentence we read "Astaire, like many other great singers". There is no mention of Irving Berlin's comment that Astaire sang it the way he (Berlin) wrote it. I found the critique of Astaire's singing to be an example of muddled thinking, which was irritating rather than illuminating. In fact, that sums up much of the problem I have with the author's prose.
Lest it be thought that I'm being unduly harsh, consider this comment on Crosby. "(He) kept his personality in check. He gave us nothing to make us cry, nothing to make us laugh - but he could draw a big smile, a pang of nostalgia, a wistfulness." This is the sort of writing that used to appear on the sleeve notes of some LPs, and I despair at meeting it again in this guide to the American Songbook.
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