Canyon of dreams The magic and the music of Laurel Canyon

Los Angeles' rustic, leafy Laurel Canyon became a countercultural hotbed in the late 1960s when a motley mix of musicians, many of whom became wildly popular recording artists, settled in. Kubernik's well-illustrated chronicle captures the zany space-cowboy ambience that emanated from the neighborhood and soon pervaded Southern California and national pop music. The denizens were an eclectic lot: Joni Mitchell; the Crosby, Stills, and Nash crowd; the Mamas and the Papas; blues revivalists Canned Heat; Frank Zappa; and a couple of Monkees. Jimi Hendrix sat in with the Bonzo Dog Band at a nearby venue; Van Dyke Parks clashed with Jim Morrison, finding the Lizard King's argument about Dionysian theorems . . . just revolting ; and singer-songwriters like Parks, Jackson Browne, and the sensitive lot who followed in their wake plied their trade, socialized, and smoked a lot of weed. Eventually the canyon scene devolved into soulless commercial pop music and rampant cocaine abuse, but for a while it was the spawning ground for a broad array of styles of pop music. The Laurel Canyon scene is well worth knowing, and Kubernik presents it impeccably.--Tribby, Mike Copyright 2009 Booklist

Music journalist, record producer, and longtime resident Kubernik traces the influence of Laurel Canyon on the history of rock 'n' roll. Starting with a brief chronology of the wooded area nestled within Los Angeles, he concentrates on the rock icons who lived and collaborated there. Mainly using the words of a wide variety of former residents, he features obvious 1970s musicians such as Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, and the members of Crosby, Stills & Nash, and the Eagles; he also shows the breadth of musical activity in the canyon, discussing such onetime residents as Frank Zappa, Eric Burdon, the Turtles, and John Mayall, even portraying the Monkees in a new light. Unlike Michael Walker's Laurel Canyon, Kubernik focuses on the impact of the rural setting within L.A. on the musicians who lived and created there. VERDICT Interspersing interviews and commentary with previously unpublished photos in a stunning graphic layout, Kubernik takes readers on a magical trip into an area that served as the center of rock music for nearly a decade. Fans of the era will eat it up.-Dave Szatmary, Univ. of Washington, Seattle (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.