Anatomy of 55 more songs The oral history of top hits that changed rock, pop and soul

Review by Booklist Review

Extending his well-received Anatomy of a Song (2016) to a second volume of entries culled mostly from his Wall Street Journal column, Myers says he looks for iconic "but not tired" hits, tunes that influenced pop music, and songs "with corners that long puzzled readers," like, say, the mentor Kenny Rogers envisions when singing "The Gambler": Ray Charles. In a format identical to the first book, entries here are in chronological order, dating from 1964 ("Walk On By") to 1996 ("If It Makes You Happy") and include "Rocket Man," "Sunshine Superman," "The Weight," "Truckin'," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Highway to Hell," "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," "Don't Stop Believin'," and "Burning Down the House." Ephemeral, yes, but these songs are still shared by billions worldwide, and Myers adds important context by interviewing and extensively quoting the principal artists, composers, and producers. Especially recommended for collections where the first book found favor.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Music journalist Myers details how 55 famous songs were conceived, written, and recorded in this perceptive follow-up to 2016's Anatomy of a Song. Myers provides a brief introduction to each of his picks, and their composers, musicians, and producers share stories behind each song, as well. There are surprising details about musical arrangements (composer Burt Bacharach, who worked on Dionne Warwick's "Walk on By," had one piano play in the verses and two in the chorus), and insight from artists about their lyrics: Jackson Browne's "Doctor My Eyes" became a "metaphor for lost innocence" but was inspired by an eye infection Browne had and a trip to the ophthalmologist; Pat Vegas, Native American rock band Redbone's bassist, arranger, and coproducer, envisioned "Come and Get Your Love" as a song that showed that Native Americans were "about love, not about massacring"; and Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crystal Blue Persuasion" took shape after James read a poem about the Book of Revelation. Myers has a knack for capturing the artistry of songwriting and easily shows why these tracks are "iconic but not tired." This melodic collection will strike a chord with music fans. Agent: Glen Hartley, Writers' Representatives. (Dec.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

What do the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone," Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," Kenny Rogers's "The Gambler," and AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" have in common? Each is discussed in this collection of insightful pieces taken from and expanded upon Myers's column in the Wall Street Journal. As he did in his 2016 book, Anatomy of a Song, Myers blends research and personal interviews with artists, songwriters, arrangers, producers, and others to create an appealing mix of pop music classics, from Dionne Warwick's 1964 "Walk On By" to Sheryl Crow's 1996 "If It Makes You Happy." Each entry begins with a crisp black-and-white photo of the song's artist, and, like an album's liner notes, these pieces provide context and the backstory for each selected song. VERDICT Pop-music fans of a certain age will enjoy this collection and might even use it as a playlist.--Carolyn M. Mulac

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Wall Street Journal arts writer Myers continues his explorations of the kind of popular music that turns from melody to earworm. When he was 14, recounts Brian Wilson, a neighbor's dog barked at his mom. When he asked why, she replied, "Brian, sometimes dogs pick up vibrations from people." Fast-forward a decade, and that offhand comment became the Beach Boys classic "Good Vibrations." Jimmy Webb, similarly brilliant, pushed the 5th Dimension to voice "Up, Up and Away" so that, in the words of vocalist Billy Davis, "the goal was to feel the song as we sang, so it sounded as if we were up in the sky at the mercy of the wind." As he did in his previous volume, Anatomy of a Song, Myers does a fine job of getting behind the hits. Sometimes there's only one person to reveal a story--Robbie Robertson, for instance, is the only member of The Band left to speak for how "The Weight" came into being. (The setting, Nazareth, was inspired by the inside label of his Martin D-28 guitar.) The author examines other songs from different viewpoints, as with the six interviewees for Donna Summer's "On the Radio." Altogether, Myers turns in a who-knew kind of book: Who knew that Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" started off as an anti--Vietnam War song? Or that Chic, makers of the disco classic "Good Times," thought of themselves as jazz musicians who, as Nile Rodgers tells Myers, "had set out to update Kool & the Gang"? The narrative contains plenty of joy, discontentment (Joan Jett recalls being weighed down by her best-known song: "The bad reputation thing was imposed on me"), and even newfound respect. For example, when fronting his own band, Keith Richards realized what a hard job Mick Jagger had: "being a front man is like nonstop, man." With snippets of business, creativity, techno-wizardry, and raw emotion, a pleasure for music fans. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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