Beyond the Palace

Rating:
Summary: A friend of Tillies
Review: Gray Wien had a good Idea but like many of the bands he features in his book it misses the mark.I was a part of that scene and it's a shame Mr. Wien didn't capture the social relevance of these clubs or their patrons. Then again, Mr. Wien was in college during that time. That alone would have made him an outsider in most of the clubs he wrote about. The take home message here is this: there were 3 kinds of bands playing the area in the late eighties,
The "A" list- Springsteen, Bon Jovi, etc.
The "B" list- Dramarama, The Smithereens, Richard Barone
The "C" list- In Between Dreams, The Blases and every other local nobody.
The scene was the same in Boston, Seattle and Washington DC. The main difference is that Springsteen didn't sing about those towns. The Brighton Bar or the Green Parrot was a place you could be yourself. These bars were filled with dreams, romance and failure. One day I woke up, I realized there was a whole wonderful world waiting for me that was different and better than the Jersey shore. Springsteen said it in the seventies, I ignored it in the eighties and lived it in the nineties "It's a town full of loses and I'am pulling out of here to win"

Rating:
Summary: An A For Effort!
Review: Hey I know there's some relevant points being made by some of the criticism I've read here, but overall I think its FANtastic that somebody took the initiative to author a chronicle of this nature. Instead of bitching about what got left behind, let's just ask for a Volume No. 2! Oh & Gary, let's not forget Phantom's Opera this time pleeze :)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, well researched, and informative
Review: I read the book and found it to be very well researched and entertaining. It shed light on some details of Asbury Park's music scene that I had not previously been aware of (and I know quite a bit, both about the music and about the local history). Most people know of the Asbury Park/Jersey Shore music scene because of Springsteen, Southside, and Bon Jovi, but the book gives insight into the scene that extends, well, "beyond the Palace" (excellent title choice).

However, I gave the book four stars instead of the whole five because there are some details of the story that were omitted, whether because of publisher's size limitations (where are Fire Tribe? Karen Mansfield? RW Kingbird? Charlie McIntosh?) or because they may not have been "politically correct" to include (the beginning of the Nasar years at the Pony, which were in fact exciting to those who were there).

All in all, though, it tells a story that needs to be told and gives a multidimensional aspect to a scene thought by many to be monolithic.

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive!
Review: The book right from the start should grab your attention with it's black cover and neon colored photograph of the Palace Amusement building with the catch phrase "the struggling city along the Jersey Shore with a music history unlike any other..."
In a word Beyond the Palace is comprehensive. A quick glance at the table of contents reveals fifty-five chapters of interviews, descriptions of well-known music venues and band profiles. The last pages of the book includes official website listings and a brief bio of the author. In between is tons of great information and over seventy-five photographs. This book goes well beyond the Springsteen and Southside Johnny histories that have been the norm. Beyond the Palace tells the whole story from people who were there and who were a part of this unique music scene.
Gary's opening chapter is entitled The Upstage. As many may know this is where Bruce started playing but it was also the jam spot for many other promising musicians. It was a sub-culture in itself and Wein truly captures the spirit and energy of that famous club. Details and descriptions are a high point of many of Gary's chapters and the opening one sets the tone for the rest of the book.
Chapter two focuses on Convention Hall and the Paramount Theater where many big name acts played. Asbury Park was an ideal location for a concert as it was between New York and Philadelphia and Boston and DC. Many bands stopped over in Asbury Park between their shows in bigger cites. (pg. 13). Therefore, this rather small town was a thriving center for music.
The following chapters discuss some of the smaller clubs such as The Student Prince and the amazing people that played these halls. Chapter five is the start of the interviews Personal perspectives and memories are discussed in a question and answer format that gives the reader an idea of what the scene was all about in its heydays. Interviews and artists profiles scan the 70's into the present. Gary often uses similar questions which adds to the organization and flow of the book. A favorite inquiry appears to be what do you/your band want to most remembered for?
It is astounding how many people Gary interviewed for this book. The wide ranging list includes well known musicians Glen Burtnick who is currently in Styx, Southside Johnny and Dennis Diken of the Smithereens. Younger artist such as Joe D'Urso, Mimi Cross, Highway 9 and Danny White were also contacted for their insights and experiences in Asbury Park. Wein scans more than three decades of change in music and a community in Beyond The Palace. This book is an entertaining educational volume extensively documenting music history but also describes the peak, the fall and the rising again of Asbury Park, New Jersey.