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Summary: its only rock and roll...
Review: but I like it.Although the story is undeniably about the culture of popular music, thankfully the author doesn't go for the usual VHS "Behind the Music" plot of sudden fame/ band breakup amid drug problems and ego conflicts/ then triumphant reunion "for the love of the music." Instead, the main protagonist is an A&R (artist and repertoire) man and the plot is grounded in the business side of show business. Without giving away the plot, the narrative arc of the story follows the transformation of the recording industry from its music-loving visionary founders to the corporate bean counters who dominate it today. This is not The Great American Novel, but it is an enjoyable read, which as Lou Reed correctly notes on the cover, it is, at times, "laugh-out-loud" funny. Despite the wildness of some of the antics recounted in the story they have an undeniable ring of plausibility, suggesting to me, at least, that this indeed more of a roman a clef than some would allow. Good reading for the airplane or the beach.
Rating: 
Summary: This book ROCKS!
Review: Excellent portrayal of the wheelings and dealings inside a major record label. Super story telling and a great ride! I LOVED it!
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Summary: Flanagan nails the music industry w/A&R
Review: Flanagan, a big-shot with VH-1, knows the music biz...So it is only fitting that he has created a very life-like scenario. Enter Jim Cantone, a music-biz "suit" trying to hold onto to his youth while making the world safer with good music. Trials and tribulations apart, we meet music mogul "Wild" Bill Degaul, who shares Jim's passion for good music. If you have ever been in a band or in the business, you know the characters Flanagan has created. His writing is great and the story-line doesn't conveniently collapse at the conclusion. Superb dialogue, scenes and characters make this one a keeper!
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Summary: The Sickening Truth Behind the Music
Review: Have you ever wondered why the current state of popular music is so dreadful ? Well, if you have, then Bill Flanagan's "A&R" is the perfect book for you. Flanagan, a longtime music biz insider, lets us in on the dirty little secrets that fester within the walls of corrupt record companies. The story and characters may be fictitious, but rest assured, the tales of backstabbing, payola ,and every other type of sleazeball tactic imaginable, are simple daily rituals employed by many music biz types. "A&R" is a great read --- it's hysterically funny yet, the reality behind it is terribly sad. Ultimately, the reader discovers that, in the minds of most record company executives, music is simply a profit driven product -- a product no different than soap or toilet paper. Jeez, how romantic. Undoubtedly, somewhere in America, there's an undiscovered Elvis or John Lennon cleaning toilets because music biz "geniuses", not unlike those portrayed in this novel, insist on fattening their wallets with the likes of Brittany Spears and the Backstreet Boys. How ironic, that "A&R", a work of fiction, exposes this sickening reality. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: A REAL FIND! A GEM!
Review: I almost give this clever book on the music industry five stars but held back only because it could use a little more depth. That being said I still think this is a great book, a really fun read. It gives insight into the corporate world of music making with insight and wit. The knives are out in a big corporate music firm and once started you won't want to put the book down! Besides a behind the scenes look of the music industry this novel has a likable fun side as well, there were passages & lines that made me laugh out loud. This book didn't have a lot of buzz about it when it got released but now that it's in paperback everyone has a chance to find a real gem of a read and enjoy the story it tells.
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Summary: couldnt put it down
Review: i bought this book for a friend of mine in the music indsutry when it came out just because it had interesting musician reviews on the back. i picked it up a few days later and started reading it. i thought it was a great story, very entertaining especially to someone like myself that knows nothing of the inner workings or of the music industry. but once i picked it up i couldnt stop reading it. i even held off giving it to my friend a day so i could finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: A&R and the "modern" music industry
Review: I enjoyed reading this book about a guy who works as an A&R rep for a record company and his life around it. At first he's driven by the love of music, but as he gets promoted it is the buisness ascpect of the job that takes the upper hand over the interest in good music (well, it's not called music business for nothing). This is a great read, although I think three stars is a fair rating as it's a good but not spectacular book. For people that works in the industry or are generally interested in the workings of the music business--pick it up!
Rating:
Summary: A&R and the "modern" music industry
Review: I enjoyed reading this book about a guy who works as an A&R rep for a record company and his life around it. At first he's driven by the love of music, but as he gets promoted it is the buisness ascpect of the job that takes the upper hand over the interest in good music (well, it's not called music business for nothing). This is a great read, although I think three stars is a fair rating as it's a good but not spectacular book. For people that works in the industry or are generally interested in the workings of the music business--pick it up!
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent, funny read.
Review: I guess I'm one of those guys who knows a guy. I am a musician and have friends on both sides of the business (the artists and the labels) and have seen this book played out in reality several times. Flanagan is so dead on accurate with his hilarious portrait of the business he knows best. While this book has no shortage of satire, there is also a subtle plea for those who hold the pursestrings to remember the music.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Special
Review: I must admit, I am a little surprised by these 4 and 5 star reviews. Frankly, I don't see it. A&R is a mediocre book about a very interesting topic. There were many instances where it seemed like Flanagan was trying to be Tom Wolfe ala Bonfire of the Vanities, but there really aren't many writers who can pull that off. There really isn't much of a plot, it must kind of meanders along in an episodic fashion that never really gets anywhere. Things just sort of happen in the book without any real explanation. Flanagan uses his characters a bit clumsily to get in his own opinion about the music industry and how it has developed. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable reading, in that it's a quick read and, if you are interested in the record industry, it is an intereting portrayal of that industry.
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