by David Browne
Da Capo Press, $26.00, 392 pages
In Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970, rock writer David Browne waxes nostalgic over a year of many social and political changes and the soundtrack that accompanied it. For those who would like to revisit that year, or those of us who missed it completely, Browne lets you be a fly-on-the-wall as we witness the break-up of the Beatles and explore the complicated relationships between Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. We come to see that Simon and Garfunkel’s superb harmony existed in their music only, and we behold James Taylor emerge like a phoenix out of the ashes of the ‘60s to lead the singer/songwriter movement of the 1970s.
Browne’s absorbing tapestry of the times is hard to put down and a must for the fans. Even readers thoroughly schooled in rock history will find something fresh and new in his thoughtful compilation. To enhance your reading pleasure, check out Amazon’s iTunes Ping store for “Fire and Rain: The Official Book Soundtrack.”
Alicea Swett