Never Say No To A Rock Star

I was privileged to have received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley in return for my fair and honest review.

The synopsis of this book lured me in with its promise of inside recording studio dish from the 70's, the era I also grew up in. It reminded me of the excellent book "The Longest Cocktail Party" about The Beatles' Apple business entity, written by the "House Hippie" turned apprentice Beatles' Press Officer RIchard DiLello. Much like DiLello, at the tender age of 17 Glenn Berger found himself surrounded by titans in the music industry with the opportunity to learn and succeed on his own.

At the present time Mr. Berger is a psychotherapist, married and adoptive father of two. As the book begins, we find him with said children feeling the nostalgic pull of the reel to reel tape machine in the attic. Locating some tapes of outtakes purloined from A&R Studios' library, Mr. Berger launches the long-silenced machine and here begins the recounting of his earlier career as a "schlepper," assistant engineer, and later engineer and producer. It all began in NYC in the 70's at A&R Studios under the auspices of legendary producer Phil Ramone.

Mr. Berger's technical details of studio setups with equipment such as microphone placement, headphones, the soundboard and tape decks were both fascinating and oftentimes went over my head, but I appreciated his efforts in describing his craft. His writing style is excellent: free-flowing and lovingly descriptive. It was a pleasure to read.

The thrill and wonder of his encounters with musical icons such as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Frank Sinatra were something to be shared vicariously with Glenn as he puts you right there with him in the studio. You also experience with him the lack of sleep, stress, panic and near torture of trying to please uber-perfectionists such as Paul Simon and Bob Fosse. I felt like I wanted to share a silent scream with him as I read those passages where he was being pushed past the limits of frustration toiling and appeasing their whims. He also described the pressures and detriment this profession placed on his romantic relationships.

There are other gems shared such as his aborted sexual dalliance with Bette Midler and the poignant experience of adopting his son. However, nothing leaps out from this more than his unfortunate assessment of Paul Simon. Apparently, not only is Simon a horror to work with, but seems to have no compassion or censor of unkind thoughts in interacting with others.

In summation, this book was a gift for those of us who would like to take a kernel or two from a guy who was there on the inside and has some great stories to tell. I loved reading all about it.

Music is life’s soundtrack and this brilliant book is a must-own for all music fans! Taking no prisoners, Glenn Berger takes us behind-the-scenes of the music industry and the reader gets to witness the highs and lows of rock greats such as Mick Jaggar, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Bette Midler and more. But at the heart of this book is a music lover and his remembering how music cures the soul.

If you love music (like me), this is a must-own! You’ll nod your head in understanding as Berger recalls the sheer magnetism of a familiar chord or lyric. Music is universal, doesn’t judge and can change lives.

My heartfelt thanks to Netgalley and Schaffner Press for giving me a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 5 stars

Despite getting a bad download of this ebook on Kindle with parts of words missing all through it that made it a major headache to push through, I kept going. Because once I got interested in Glenn Berger's story and saw where it was going, I just had to know more. This turned out to be my worst experience at deciphering a story, but it was one that was worth it, thankfully.

The author was just a kid in New York in 1974 when he applied and was hired for a job at age 17 with A&R Studios. He was given a bottom rung job being a schlepper, doing whatever needed done. He was also apprentice to one of their major recording engineers, Phil Ramone. The job and its pressures were unbelievabe as he began to learn all that was involved, along with learning the nuances of being a recording engineer and he didn't get more than 4 hours of sleep at night for a number of years. There just wasn't time with all that needed done to keep Phil happy and in turn keep the artists happy who came to record. And they got very special treatment, even by Phil since many were big names in music. There were times they worked with Paul Simon, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Bette Midler, Burt Bacharach, and Frank Sinatra and other heavies in pop and rock. You just didn't keep them waiting. And Glenn takes you on this crazy ride with him, filled with stories about sessions and amazing music that came from them, as he learned and watched Phil. He wanted to be able to be as great as Phil was one day, when he would be "the guy" and everyone would look to him to create similar magic. There are great stories about crazy days and nights spent with starts, trying to get just what was needed on tape, with everything riding on making it happen just so. It let you be a fly on the wall of a major recording studio back in the crazy 70's. And Berger tells how people in the business treated others around them, ones they considered their equals and ones that they felt far superior to, and what it said about them. I enjoyed this look at a side of things most never hear that much about, and Berger's insights about those times later on in life after he changed careers and his life after making it as an engineer and producer.

An entertaining and personal look at how some of our greatest albums were created...warts and all.