ldquo;Barbra Streisandrsquo;s story may be the most triumphant case of revenge in show business history . . . Mann vividly evokes the atmosphere of Streisandrsquo;s New York.rdquo;mdash;New York TimesIn 1960; Barbra Streisand was just a seventeen-year-old Brooklyn kid with plenty of talent but no connections and certainly no money; her mother brought her soup to make sure she stayed fed as she took acting classes and scraped out a living. Just four years later; she was the top-selling female recording artist in America and the star of one of Broadwayrsquo;s biggest hits. In Hello; Gorgeous; the acclaimed Hollywood biographer William Mann chronicles that dizzying ascent; telling the riveting behind-the-scenes story of how Streisand and her team transformed her from an unknown dreamer into one of the worldrsquo;s most beloved superstars. ldquo;Trying to figure out the Barbra Streisand mystique is no easy task; but author William Mann expertly captures the launch of her remarkable career in the early 1960s when a unique lsquo;star was bornrsquo; . . . Manns meticulous research and insightful analysis go deeper than any previous biography: shedding light on the formative years that shaped Streisands persona; debunking some myths . . . and providing a cultural snapshot of the wild and free-spirited era in which Streisand blossomed.rdquo;mdash;USA Todayldquo;In his masterful book; Mann captures one of the most fully realized pictures of the multi-hyphenate superstar to date . . . Many books have been written about Streisand but few; if any; put readers as close to the subject as Mann does."mdash;Miami Herald
#391964 in eBooks 2003-09-17 2003-09-17File Name: B006OML49Y
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. scholarly work on an Outstanding album.By GrimstonLoves Forever Changes. often over shadowed by Sgt. Pepper. is one the greatest albums most people have never heard of. The best way to describe Forever Changes is Hauntly Beauty. A complex work that demands to listen to over and over.Hultkrans work sometimes reads like a PhD thesis. It can become over reaching in its analysis. Sometime a cigar is just a cigar. Where this book really shines is to put Forever Changes into the context of its time. The "Summer Of Love" give way to the Manson Family and the death of the Hippy.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great album. strange bookBy Hans PfaallMake no mistake about it. Loversquo;s Forever Changes is an album deserving of intellectual study. Not many albums are. With all the cerebral (and pseudo-cerebral) literary comparisons undertaken with Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison lyrics. itrsquo;s clear that Arthur Lee should receive some of the same treatment.Hultkransrsquo; enthusiasm is obvious. but his analyses are often overwrought. On the positive side. a number of worthy sources and ideas are scattered throughout this short book. Hultkrans discusses how ldquo;Alone Again Or.rdquo; though written by Brian MacLean. was in line with some hermetic tendencies exhibited by Lee. Also. note the ldquo;count me outrdquo; line and mysterious double-words in Leersquo;s ldquo;The Red Telephone.rdquo; as well as the ldquo;locked in my armorrdquo; and ldquo;secrets are your ownrdquo; lyrics in Leersquo;s ldquo;Andmoreagain.rdquo; The strain of social alienation is apparent in many of the songs.Another interesting area explored by Hultkrans was prophesy ndash; the idea of the bard (or even a preacher) gazing over the city. warning others in cryptic fashion of the impending doom. The third verse of ldquo;A House Is Not A Motelrdquo; can certainly be interpreted along those lines. Lee lived at the top of Lookout Mountain in 1967. and with the chilling opening lines of ldquo;The Red Telephone.rdquo; one could imagine Lee perched in deep thought. distraught with his surroundings.On the other hand. I donrsquo;t believe Arthur Lee actually studied Gnosticism. Hultkrans would have been better off making it clear that he was drawing comparisons in his analysis ndash; between Leersquo;s vision and some of these literary traditions. NOT stating how Lee actually was inspired.Additionally. MacLeanrsquo;s contributions are glossed over. ldquo;Alone Again Orrdquo; is analyzed. but I donrsquo;t recall ldquo;Old Manrdquo; receiving the same treatment. While not thematically in line with concepts explored by Hultkrans. ldquo;Old Manrdquo; is a strong song. and part of the album.Ultimately. itrsquo;s best to view this as a chaotic book of ideas. There are wild tangents and many of the connections are dubious. but they at least make the reader think. Unfortunately. there is no bibliography. not much information on what actually inspired the songwriting. and absolutely nothing about how the album was recorded from a technical standpoint. This makes the book something of an anomaly in the 33 and a third series. Despite this. I recommend the book to readers not exclusively interested in the technical aspects of recording. Thatrsquo;s probably most people who are reading this. frankly. though this book is far from the final word on Forever Changes.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. And heres the problem with the 33 1/3 series....By Rich L.Every book in this series is a gamble. Some (Weens "Chocolate And Cheese". Slayers "Reign In Blood") are detailed accounts of what was going on with the band at the time of recording (recountings of the recording sessions. what the songs are about. etc.) Then there are those (Led Zeppelins "4". Black Sabbaths "Master Of Reality") that are purely based on the authors interpretations of the album. For example of the latter. read my reviews of those two books (essentially. LZ4 is an over-analysis. and the Sabbath book is pure fiction that shouldnt belong in this series.) This book falls in-between. on the LZ and Sabbath side. The author goes overboard in providing an analysis of what Arthur Lee was or may have been thinking at the time he wrote these songs. and provides it within a context of the 60s and that decades social and political upheavel. He also provides several extended essays linking the essays to various written works. and argues the links to the existential truth of the album. Thats fine. but I already know this is a great album-thats why I bought the book. I wanted to know more about the making of it. and in that. this book fails miserably. No technical answers. no idea how many takes were required. no mention of how many days the band spent in the studio.
