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Amy, 27: Amy Winehouse And The 27 Club (2013)

by Howard Sounes(Favorite Author)

3.44 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0670066966 (ISBN13: 9780670066964)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Viking Canada

review 1: It starts and ends with Amy Winehouse. Not because she's the most talented of the artists profiled, or the most prolific. Far from it. She's simply the most recent high-profile example of a chain of events that most closely resembles a slow-motion train wreck. Rooted in a prodigious talent, coupled with self-esteem issues, a penchant for substance abuse, in an industry where death often translates directly into dollars - 27 is an fascinating expose of the fragility of our heros, who are only people in the end. People with deep flaws, serious insecurities, and a drive for acceptance, adoration, or anything that feels like love. Well worth the read. I felt enlightened even as the sorrow of their loss was renewed in me.
review 2: It has become engraved in urban le... moregend and folklore that many prominent entertainers, particularly musicians, die during the 27th year of their lives. The author of this book, Howard Sounes, examines this phenomena through the lens of six of the most prominent members of the "27 Club," musicians Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. What results is a mix of dogged journalism and TMZ-like gossip mongering. A sordid path of addiction runs through the six musicians examined here, hard drugs: heroin and heavy pills washed down with copious amounts of booze led them down the road to ruin. The book becomes a series of cautionary tales as we watch musician after musician squander their talent and then their lives. To Sounes credit, he does not try to mythologize the musicians he writes about, and he tries to bring a well rounded portrait of each. It does get to be a bummer after a while, the stories are very similar: musician rockets to fame, takes to alcohol and drugs to alleviate the grind of touring and the hangers-on and sycophants that surround them. Addiction takes its toll and the musicians begin to crumble, felled by suicide, overdose and accident. Alas, some of those very toadies that caused the stress are the ones supplying many of the quotes for this book. It's a sad story, but captivating at times. less

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