Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture

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Summary: An in depth and fabulous look at Elektra Records.
Review: "Follow the Music" by Jac Holzman and Gavan Daws

An in depth and fabulous look at the music business through the eyes of the musicians and the people involved with it, the man who made much of it possible and how he did it...the creator of Elektra Records, Jac Holzman. Just who he is and what his contribution to the music world has been (and continues to be) will surprise you.

A must read for anyone who loves music and who cares about how the music business has evolved to what it is today. Some real inside stories first hand from the people who lived them and a wonderful peep at the sixties.

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Summary: EXCEPTIONAL LOOK INTO ELEKTRA..THE HOUSE THAT JAC BUILT.
Review: "FOLLOW THE MUSIC' is an essential addition to the bookshelves of public and campus libraries, and of everyone in, and around, today's "music industry". This is the musical history tour of Elektra Records, home to The Doors, Judy Collins, Bread, Queen, Tim Buckley, Carly Simon, LOVE, Theodore Bikel, The Incredible String Band, Harry Chapin, Paul Butterfield and dozens of other folk, folk/blues, blues/rock and hard rock acts. Co-author Jac Holzman was the founder and guiding light of this exquisite and unique record label, and he, along with many of his friends, family and associates tell the inside story of the creation and eventual success of Elektra, its classical sibling Nonesuch, along with insights into the artists and folk/pop/music/drug culture of the Fifties, Sixties and early Seventies. This is an extremely well-researched, at times humorous, sad, enlightening, technical and truthful treasure chest of an autobiography. Holzman presents himself a! s an extremely bright, lucid, tasteful and technically talented 'individual', qualities that have made him loved and respected by legions of label honchos, singer/songwriter legends and record album archivists/historians. One of the most entertaining, intelligent and insightful popular music history books of the year, if not the decade.

Rating:
Summary: EXCEPTIONAL LOOK INTO ELEKTRA..THE HOUSE THAT JAC BUILT.
Review: "FOLLOW THE MUSIC' is an essential addition to the bookshelves of public and campus libraries, and of everyone in, and around, today's "music industry". This is the musical history tour of Elektra Records, home to The Doors, Judy Collins, Bread, Queen, Tim Buckley, Carly Simon, LOVE, Theodore Bikel, The Incredible String Band, Harry Chapin, Paul Butterfield and dozens of other folk, folk/blues, blues/rock and hard rock acts. Co-author Jac Holzman was the founder and guiding light of this exquisite and unique record label, and he, along with many of his friends, family and associates tell the inside story of the creation and eventual success of Elektra, its classical sibling Nonesuch, along with insights into the artists and folk/pop/music/drug culture of the Fifties, Sixties and early Seventies. This is an extremely well-researched, at times humorous, sad, enlightening, technical and truthful treasure chest of an autobiography. Holzman presents himself a! s an extremely bright, lucid, tasteful and technically talented 'individual', qualities that have made him loved and respected by legions of label honchos, singer/songwriter legends and record album archivists/historians. One of the most entertaining, intelligent and insightful popular music history books of the year, if not the decade.

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Summary: I doubt there is a more enoyable book about the industry
Review: A desire to find out more about Paul Siebel was my primary motivation in picking this up. Holzman recounts in great detail his first foray into recording and the early releases on Elektra. By the time we get to Siebel, however, the inevitable metamorphosis from MUSIC business to music BUSINESS is so advanced that individual artists and albums don't get the space that they had in the early part of the book. Although this was initially disappointing for me, Holzman's story, ideas and experiences make for a fascinating and very human tale that resonates beyond the Elektra saga. I have also read "Mansion On The Hill" (and recommend it, by the way) but I had no empathy with David Geffen or any of the corporate characters there. Holzman is the real, rare thing. It really did make me jealous of the lucky few who were in the right place at the right time and went on the journey with this inspired and ispiring guy. It's a buy!

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Summary: The best book available on the pop music industry!
Review: After the sobering experiences of reading books like Hit Men and The Mansion on the Hill, in which the music business is depicted as the cut-throat, deal-making cesspool of unsavory types it often can be, Jac Holzman comes across as a rare gem in Follow The Music, tracing the history of Elektra Records from its inception in 1950 until 1973. This is no ordinary autobiographical account; here Holzman's voice is just one of hundreds, a colorful cast of friends, family, lovers, colleagues, musicians and observers of the music scenes in New York and Los Angeles during the 1950s, '60s and early '70s. Collaborator Gavan Daws has amassed material from past interviews and conducted many new ones himself, putting the voices together as though all the characters are on the one stage, simultaneously recounting the high times and low from their different perspectives and presenting the fullest picture of a period of music history I have ever read.

But it is more than that - it is a very personal journey that Holzman takes the reader on. I laughed and laughed, I cried at the end, it was a wonderful sharing experience Holzman and his fellow cast members gave me. I consider myself a serious student of the West Coast rock scene in the '60s and '70s, but there were some fantastic episodes I had never even known about, such as the Paxton Lodge musical commune in North California where Jackson Browne spent an intense six months of his early career. The images of the Doors recording sessions and performances were vividly described, and the numerous personalities that filtered in and out of the scene were brilliantly brought to life. Holzman's relationships with family, loved ones and colleagues were beautifully conveyed, and at times his honesty was astounding, particularly in describing the agonizing Encounter Groups sessions he participated in.

Follow The Music is a great education in the history of a record company that I had always taken for granted; it was possibly the greatest independent, finally merged with Warner and Atlantic in the early 1970s. From Judy Collins to Queen, with just about every other Elektra artist given a mention, Holzman's love of the music and dedication to the pursuit of quality in recording is never in doubt. The book ends in 1973 when he left Elektra and walked off into the sunset in Lahaina; but Holzman is still around and I for one am eagerly awaiting Follow The Music II, to find out what he did for the next 25 years.

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Summary: A brilliant look at art and commerce in the music business.
Review: I heard Jac Holzman on the radio, ordered his book and read 'Follow the Music' over one weekend. This is one of the best books ever written about how the music business actually became a business. It is also one of the most distinctive collective memoirs of the 50's, 60's and early 70's- the time when our music spoke to us and for us. If you lived through it, this book will bring everything to life again in crisp, technicolor images. If you didn't, believe me, this is how it was.

Jac started Elektra records when he was a teenager in New York in 1950. So, first of all, this is his story. He tells it candidly, with humor, passion and a cool objectivity about himself. Then there are the stories told by almost everyone who ever worked for, or recorded for, Elektra. Jac and co-author Gavan Daws have created an astonishingly rich tapestry of life experiences from their contributors- Judy Collins, Paul Rothchild, Jackson Browne, Carly Simon, among many others- as well as an ! honest look at how a tiny store-front record operation became a giant. It wasn't easy and there were many trade-offs along the way. Twenty-three years after he founded it, Jac finally gave up Elektra.

This book beautifully conveys the excitement and love that Jac always had for the music, and how great that music was/is. There was nothing for it- I had to put on all the albums he talks about- Tim Buckley, The Doors, Harry Chapin etc. as I was reading and have my own Jac Holzman/Elektra experience!

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Summary: Lovingly Crafted
Review: I won't natter on about how great this book is: it is. The reminiscences are superb and the edition I purchased offered up a bonus CD with Elektra's pre-rock music on it that was absolutely first-rate! If there is a complaint here, it's that Holzman's left music fans high and dry by reissuing very little of Elektra's lustrous past onto CDs. I, for one, would love to hear the albums on display in Follow The Music. Cynthia Gooding, Fred Neil, Judy Henske, The Holy Modal Rounders, Ed McCurdy, Josh White, Don Nix & The Alabama State Troupers...all lovingly recalled yet without any CD reissues to enthrall a new generation. Please Mr. Holzman, if you ever read this, consider reissuing the albums that made Elektra a first rate innovator... That said, this book is a superb read and a joy to "get lost in".

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Summary: You must read this book
Review: Jac Holzman has given us a gift with this book, right down to the paper he chose himeself to print it on. If you have any interest in the history of recorded music, the music business, and why we listen to the music we enjoy today, you absolutely must read this book. It's not only a fascinating account of how a major record label came to be, it's a fantastic insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the very quirky world of music business. If you love music and cherish the sounds of the fifties and sixties, from folk to blues, rock to psychedelia, and you haven't read this music giant's first hand account of making so much of it happen for you, you're doing yourself a major disservice. Thank you Jac and Gavan!

Rating:
Summary: It's a great book for folk and rock music fans
Review: Jac Holzman was Elektra Records from it's beginning stages until the mid-70's. what I love about this book, is the format and style, what I call a <talking biography> or autobiography in this case, similar in format to the Bill Graham and David Crosby autobiographies.....in which the author says something, then others that were also there get to have their say as well. It gives you a much more rounded picture of what was happening. Jac, like Bill and David, was not afraid to leave it in when others say something bad about him.... it's a honest and true piece of work. For music fans it's a treat to read about people like Fred Neil and Judy Henske - information you will not find anywhere else about these semi-obscure folk legends. Most of all, it's a reflection of an era that no longer remains except in our memories. Or if like myself, you were not there the first time around, you will be there while reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: It's a great book for folk and rock music fans
Review: Jac Holzman was Elektra Records from it's beginning stages until the mid-70's. what I love about this book, is the format and style, what I call a or autobiography in this case, similar in format to the Bill Graham and David Crosby autobiographies.....in which the author says something, then others that were also there get to have their say as well. It gives you a much more rounded picture of what was happening. Jac, like Bill and David, was not afraid to leave it in when others say something bad about him.... it's a honest and true piece of work. For music fans it's a treat to read about people like Fred Neil and Judy Henske - information you will not find anywhere else about these semi-obscure folk legends. Most of all, it's a reflection of an era that no longer remains except in our memories. Or if like myself, you were not there the first time around, you will be there while reading this book.