Wish the World Away: Mark Eitzel & the American Music Club

Rating:
Summary: Wish this book away? or Now THAT'S self-destructive
Review: First off, I am a huge fan of Mark Eitzel and AMC, so that's not an issue. I was excited to read this book because I was a late convert to the music and was looking forward to catching up on the story I'd missed behind the band I dug. Body's culling together of reviews and interviews is admirable, and the depth of factual research in general is impressive. Die-hard AMC/Eitzel fans aren't going to be able NOT to appreciate the concentration of information here.

My reservations about the book deal with the telling of the story; I really don't think there's much surprising or new in here. Body insists that--and quotes others' insisting that--Eitzel is "one of the greatest living songwriters," but he doesn't really try to test the whys and hows of this claim beyond uttering the normal platitudes about touching deep common emotional chords. But every review of every AMC/Eitzel album has already told us that.

Slightly more off-putting was...how shall I call it?...a disturbing textual relationship between Body's work and some of his source material. I'll cite one example. As Body describes Eitzel's recorded solo show in 1991 (that ended up as "Songs of Love Live"), "People called out for requests contantly, mouthed the words to songs, and generally revelled in what felt like a semi-religious event; part stand-up comedy, part theatre, part concert and part revivalist meeting" (103). Compare Andrew Smith's review of the concert, reprinted in the CD's liner notes: "Tonight, the atmosphere in the Borderline was like a cross between a revivalist gospel service, an intimate jazz club and a pantomime. People called for songs, mouthed the words, even commented on them between numbers..." What's going on here? I understand that re-creating concerts one might not have attended could be a difficult proposition, but a little more gracious disclosure as to the origin of the description might be warranted in this case. I'm almost afraid to look at the other reviews that might have been consulted in the writing of the book.

If you want the history of AMC, you'll get it. The sound bites from Eitzel alone are practically worth the price of the book. I was just a little disappointed, after finishing "Wish the World Away," that a book about an artist so unafraid of picking at his own wounds seemed to pull up short of considering some of the harder questions in a fresh way.

Rating:
Summary: An artist this original deserves better...
Review: First off, I am a huge fan of Mark Eitzel and AMC, so that's not an issue. I was excited to read this book because I was a late convert to the music and was looking forward to catching up on the story I'd missed behind the band I dug. Body's culling together of reviews and interviews is admirable, and the depth of factual research in general is impressive. Die-hard AMC/Eitzel fans aren't going to be able NOT to appreciate the concentration of information here.

My reservations about the book deal with the telling of the story; I really don't think there's much surprising or new in here. Body insists that--and quotes others' insisting that--Eitzel is "one of the greatest living songwriters," but he doesn't really try to test the whys and hows of this claim beyond uttering the normal platitudes about touching deep common emotional chords. But every review of every AMC/Eitzel album has already told us that.

Slightly more off-putting was...how shall I call it?...a disturbing textual relationship between Body's work and some of his source material. I'll cite one example. As Body describes Eitzel's recorded solo show in 1991 (that ended up as "Songs of Love Live"), "People called out for requests contantly, mouthed the words to songs, and generally revelled in what felt like a semi-religious event; part stand-up comedy, part theatre, part concert and part revivalist meeting" (103). Compare Andrew Smith's review of the concert, reprinted in the CD's liner notes: "Tonight, the atmosphere in the Borderline was like a cross between a revivalist gospel service, an intimate jazz club and a pantomime. People called for songs, mouthed the words, even commented on them between numbers..." What's going on here? I understand that re-creating concerts one might not have attended could be a difficult proposition, but a little more gracious disclosure as to the origin of the description might be warranted in this case. I'm almost afraid to look at the other reviews that might have been consulted in the writing of the book.

If you want the history of AMC, you'll get it. The sound bites from Eitzel alone are practically worth the price of the book. I was just a little disappointed, after finishing "Wish the World Away," that a book about an artist so unafraid of picking at his own wounds seemed to pull up short of considering some of the harder questions in a fresh way.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful Look At One Of The Greatest Rock Bands Ever
Review: For the uninitiated, American Music Club, and its frontman Mark Eitzel gathered a cult status throughout the '80s and into the '90s when they split. Happily, Eitzel is still creating music of unnatural beauty. This is a great book for the Eitzel/AMC buff, or for those at the beginning of a wonderful musical journey. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: Story behind the world's most underrated song-writing genius
Review: I've tried to produce a portrait of a complex and contradictory artist, while also investigating how the most critically acclaimed act in rock could fail to reach a large audience. It's a long strange trip, and I have interviewed Eitzel, Pearson, Mooney, Kaphan, Peter Buck, Ben Watt, Mark Kozelek and a host of others. In five years Eitzel will be a household name.

Rating:
Summary: A biography that does justice to its subject matter.
Review: Mark Eitzel is an exceptionally talented songwriter and performer, not to mention a complex, intriguing human being who, as this book shows, has occasionally been his own worst enemy. Sean Body's excellent biography of Eitzel and American Music Club gives insight into a wonderful band who were critically lauded and publicly ignored, and a music industry that simply didn't seem to know what to do with them. Despite the absence of a happy ending, this remains a curiously uplifting story, told with grace by an author who clearly understands and respects his subject matter. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Wish this book away? or Now THAT'S self-destructive
Review: Pros: Great facts and research are here. Vudi's hippie parents living in the hills, Mark's sister listening to him strum from outside his bedroom door, Tom Mallon on the floor, splicing Mark's vocals by hand to get them to match the beat.

Cons: English people seem to miss the point about AMC. On the page, the music sounds merely deep and beautiful. It seems to lack complexity, humor, irony, or edge for the English. Also, I don't need a blow by blow of every concert! Help! Cut them out! Basta! Enough! We also don't get to learn about any of the musicology of what makes Eitzels song's so great.

Best quote: "AMC signed nearly every contract and piece of paper ever put in front of them"...Now THAT'S self distructive! That outdoes Hammer of the Gods or Up and Down with the Rolling Stones for sure...

If only moments: Everclear is not released as AMC's first major label record. That dude produces Mercury and it sounds like the backing track to an NPR story. Help!