Hearts of Darkness - by Dave Thompson (Hardcover)

About the Book

HEARTS OF DARKNESS: JAMES TAYLOR JACKSON BROWNE CAT STEVENS AND THE UNLIKELY RISE OF

Book Synopsis

Hearts of Darkness is the story of a generation's coming of age through the experiences of its three most atypical pop stars. James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Cat Stevens could never have been considered your typical late-sixties songwriters - self-absorbed and self-composed, all three eschewed the traditional means of delivering their songs, instead turning its process inward. The result was a body of work that stands among the most profoundly personal art ever to translate into an international language, and a sequence of songs - from "Sweet Baby James" and "Carolina in My Mind " to "Jamaica Say You Will" and "These Days " to "Peace Train" and "Wild World" - that remain archetypes not only of what the critics called the singer-songwriter movement, but of the human condition itself.

Author Dave Thompson, himself a legend among rock biographers, takes on his subjects with his usual brio and candor, leaving no stone unturned in his quest to shine a light on the dark side of this profoundly earnest era in popular music. Penetrating, pointed, and laced with vivid insight and detail, Hearts of Darkness is the story of rock when it no longer felt the need to roll.

About the Author

Dave Thompson (Newark, DE) is the author of the highly acclaimed Kurt Cobain bio Never Fade Away, as well as books on Cream, George Clinton, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and others, and he is a frequent contributor to Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, MOJO, All Music Guide, and Melody Maker.