Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey is an idiosyncratic, well-produced, and relatively cheap introduction to a quintessentially American musical invention. With much of the material consisting of excerpts from other sources, and the lack of an index, the tome seems more like a fluffed-up set of liner notes for the accompanying DVD set and CD series than a book--and that's probably the best way to approach it. The book is loosely constructed around the seven films, and there are great writers involved, including Stanley Booth, Hilton Als, Robert Palmer, Richard Hell, Luc Sante, and Robert Gordon. These selections are for the most part inspired, though one wonders why there's not even one page from Alan Greenberg’s brilliant Love in Vain screenplay, or anything from LeRoi Jones' classic Blues People. Unlike similar collections, the book gives real props to gospel-blues pioneer Bind Willie Johnson and rightfully places fife and drum patriarch Othar Turner at the top of the blues pantheon. But very little print is given to political, racial, gender and social issues surrounding the music. Not that one wishes it were some heavy academic tome. But, like the celebrated PBS series itself, an aura of missed opportunity hangs over the entire endeavor. Overall, this book makes a fine gift for casual fans of the music and is recommended for those who really enjoyed the series. --Mike McGonigal
Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey FROM THE PUBLISHER
Rock & roll, jazz, R&B, hip-hop: Without question, today's most popular sounds owe an incalculable debt to that uniquely American musical creation — The Blues. But the powerful influence of the blues, with its dramatic, artful storytelling about the elemental experience of being alive, is found in the works of some of our most important literary voices as well.
This volume — a companion to the groundbreaking seven-part documentary series Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues — represents a literary sampler every bit as vibrant and original and diverse as the films and music that inspired it. Included in this stunning collection are newly commissioned essays by David Halberstam, Hilton Als, Suzan-Lori Parks, Elmore Leonard, Luc Sante, John Edgar Wideman, and others; timeless archival pieces by the likes of Stanley Booth, Paul Oliver, and Mack McCormick; evocative color illustrations and rare vintage photography; illuminating and in-depth conversations and portraits of musicians, ranging from Robert Johnson and Bessie Smith to John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton; lyrics of legendary blues compositions; personal essays by the series directors Martin Scorsese, Charles Burnett, Richard Pearce, Wim Wenders, Marc Levin, Mike Figgis, and Clint Eastwood; and excerpts from such literary masters as James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, Eudora Welty and Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and William Faulkner.
The result is a unique and timeless celebration of the blues, from writers and artists as esteemed and revered as the music that moved them. In these pages one not only reads about the blues, one hears them, feels them, lives them. Martin Scorsese PresentsThe Blues is more than a timeless collection of great writing to be savored and shared: it is an unforgettable initiation into the very essence of American music and culture.
About the AuthorPeter Guralnick is the author of numerous seminal works of music and popular culture, including Searching for Roberth Johnson and a two-volume biography of Elvis Presley. He lives in West Newbury, Massachusetts.
FROM THE CRITICS
VOYA - Jonatha Masters
In 2003, Martin Scorsese directed a seven-part documentary series called Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues. The series covered all aspects of blues and how this genre of music influenced rap, hip-hop, and even rock and roll. This book is a companion piece to the PBS series, and it offers a wealth of information on the beginnings of blues in the United States. Each section supplements an episode from the documentary. Many different people have contributed to the book, including writers, musicians, politicians, and actors. These people share their experiences with the blues and how the music affected their lives. The book is filled with amazing pictures of singers and excerpts from songs that date back to the early 1900s. Each chapter contains a section called From the Archives, in which different persons, such as William Faulkner, Robert Palmer, and Zora Neale Hurston, recount their first experiences with the blues. Some share personal stories, excerpts from songs, and parts of novels in this section. With possible curricular tie-ins for history or music classes at the high school level, this companion book will assist in teaching students about the times during which the blues became popular and how this music developed out of spirituals sung by African Americans during the days of the Underground Railroad and the Great Depression. Music teachers will connect how rap and hip-hop are closely tied to the blues. The book will appeal to most young adults with some encouragement. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P J S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult-marketed bookrecommended for Young Adults). 2003, HarperCollins, 288p.; Illus. Photos. Source Notes., Ages 12 to Adult.
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