The bestselling author of The Mozart Effect taps cutting- edge science to show how we can use sound to improve our lives and achieve our goals. Based on over a decade of new research; Don Campbell; bestselling author of The Mozart Effect; and Alex Doman; an expert in the practical application of sound and listening; show how we can use music-and silence-to become more efficient; productive; relaxed; and healthy.Each chapter focuses on a single aspect of everyday life; providing advice; exercises; wide-ranging playlists; and links so readers can use the music they love to create the perfect soundtrack for any goal or task. Also included are "Sound Profiles"-brief stories showing how real people creatively tap the power of sound to improve their own and others lives.Inspiring; practical; and truly enjoyable; Healing at the Speed of Sound opens the door to a fuller; richer; and much more harmonious life.
#1008211 in eBooks 2008-04-01 2008-04-01File Name: B0050DRWCQ
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. it is first and foremost the best source of information about Skip James available and that ...By J.F. QuackenbushA book that is by turns both fascinating and infuriating. it is first and foremost the best source of information about Skip James available and that alone warrants at least a four star rating. Unfortunately. Calt. who is at turns overly credulous of Jamess attempts at mythologizing himself and overly skeptical of entirely the wrong things to give a second glance to. imprints so much of his own opinion and and surmise on the primary source material that it is difficult at times to sort out exactly what James said or implied and how much of what is being said is a result of Calts assumptions and background as one of the first generation white blues revival fans. Calt died a few years back and not all that was said about him is very kind. Robert Christgau called this book "remarkably cranky" and its difficult to disagree. Calt rightfully is skeptical of the record collector revival culture that revelled in the exoticism of these old blues men. and as far as that goes. this text is a welcome antidote to too much handwaving acceptance at a fairly poisonous breed of late minstrelsy. At the same time. Calt is often unwilling to give the devil his due and accept that what makes a story like the preservation of the blues a morally complicated story is that there is much good that would not be possible without the bad. Ultimately. that is probably the legacy of this book as well. ironically. Without it we would have much less preserved about Skip James. an important artist who could easily have died in obscurity without the work of Calt and his peers. At the same time. we have to suffer through Calts specious and often a little cracked evaluation of the world he is chronicling. If you have an interest in the subject. this is a must read. But recognize that whats good here is impossible without the bad and dont expect a pleasant experience.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great Book Better than expected from reviewsBy Patrick NicholsI bought this with some concern due to comments that the book had a negative tone. i.e.racist or condescending. After reading the book I am baffled by those reviews. The author had very extensive contact with Skip James and I found nothing in it to view as racist. Its a hard life Skip led. the book reflects that. In fact African American life at that time (20s-30s) in the south was pretty brutal in the poverty. racism. segregation etc. The way I read it. its a book about a real person. demons (personal. not the "sold my soul to the devil" bs) and all. It comes across as honest and real to me. a reflection of tough times and a very complex. and extra ordinary man. I play country blues professionally and do some of his material as well as Robert Johnsons material that was derivative of James. The author really captures the time. the man and more than expected the details of the music. structure. tone. articulation. etc. I highly recommend this volume. I give it four rather than five stars because I think it is better suited to the reader who has at least some working knowledge of the times and the styles of the Delta blues. rather than the casual reader in the field.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. MehBy absintheIts not often I finish a book and feel like I need to immediately take a bath. Im not sure which was worse. Skip James arrogance and general seediness. or the late authors nearly constant knocks on just about anyone else who happened to be around. If its not James the musician. the author doesnt like him. A few random examples: he calls Son House a dimwitted. hapless derelict; Mississippi Fred McDowell as having a bleating. nasal voice; Hammie Nixon is buffoonish; Mississippi John Hurt. a puny voice; Alan Wilson. a blues nerd and sycophant. Well. if Wilson was a sycophant (and he absolutely was not). what would that make Calt. a white. privileged 20-year-old male attending university in New York? This is hypocrosy at its finest.I mean. can you imagine going to a party at this guys house? It probably would have gone something like this:Calt: Hi everybody. Would you like to hear some music?Guest 1: Sure. Stevie. How about some Muddy?Calt: Nah. Muddy Waters sucks. Let me play you Skip James Paramount sides.(About an hour later)Guest 2: Hey. Calt. you have Hooker at Newport? Havent heard that in ages.Calt: Hooker? Youre kidding. right? No. I wanna play some more Skip for you. Really pay attention this time.Regarding James fabled 1931 recordings at Grafton. Calt tells the reader "His playing was all the more enhanced by his use of a studio guitar. and had James been strapped with his own customary cheap instrument (.) the legacy of his recordings would have been considerably lessened." Really? James used a jumbo Stella 12-string but strung with six strings for the sessions. So that was the wonderful guitar that Paramount provided? Calt doesnt say anything. He doesnt mention any brand or model. period. A jumbo Stella 12-string sold for 28-30 bucks in the late 20s. A fair amount of dough for the time. sure. when a standard six-string Stella could be had for around nine dollars. Conversely. a Gibson L-1 circa 1929. a likely contender for being the year of Robert Johnsons L-1. sold for $50. Were told by the author that James was well financed via his pimping. bootlegging and "professional" poker earnings. etc.. so would he have been happy playing a Stella. a very decent guitar and the preferred choice by most blacks for obvious reasons. and heard on a LOT of prewar blues recordings. or would he have spent the extra cash and picked up a Gibson or Martin? The author never talks about any of James guitars from any period at all. Considering he claims on a couple of occasions that he himself was a guitarist. I find the absence of any of this information to be very strange indeed. If James refused to provide his recollections to the author on the subject. Calt should have specifically mentioned it in the book. I suspect what happened is. he never bothered to ask.Similar in a way to this review. the two chapters covering James religious period should have been edited down considerably. Three to four pages probably would have satisfied the demand. The thought of James as a minister is comical enough. but the writing in this section of the book was way too dry for me. About halfway through. I had trouble deciding whether to continue reading or put a .38 to my temple. And the story about the bloody scorpions in James bedpan. well. thats a tale I just as soon had lived the rest of my life not knowing.Unfortunately. typos and misspelled words seem to be the norm for the last 20 years or so. This book is no different. A proofreader either wasnt employed. or. if one was used. Im hopeful theyve since found a new line of work. In closing. if you still feel brave enough to slog through this thing (and it is. after all. the only book available on James presently). hey. have at it.
