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adamrshields's review against another edition
3.0
Short Review: James Brown is a musical legend, but I wonder how long he will be remembered. Not because he wasn't important, musically and culturally, but because there are a lot of people that are important that end up forgotten.
James McBride is an author that has had real hit books. His first, Color of Water, a memoir about his mother, is probably still his biggest hit. Although at least one of his novels has been optioned for a movie. But as McBride wrote this, he was broke, recently divorce and basically starting over at the age of 55. McBride's self identification with Brown's late in life return to stardom can be seen in the book.
But you can also see that McBride needed to get this book out. He says in the book that he needed the money from a book, any book. And while the good really does outweigh the bad and I am glad I read it, this could be a much better book with some editorial help. It is full of repetition. Part of that is the method of circling around Brown trying to find a way in to understand. But part of it, I think, is getting it to press too early.
Brown is fascinating. He did come up in a racist world. The music world was just as racist and quite corrupt. And it took in and chewed up musicians which lead to those that stayed being hardened and distrustful. But he is also a quite flawed hero.
My full review (about 1100 words) is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/kill-em-and-leave/
James McBride is an author that has had real hit books. His first, Color of Water, a memoir about his mother, is probably still his biggest hit. Although at least one of his novels has been optioned for a movie. But as McBride wrote this, he was broke, recently divorce and basically starting over at the age of 55. McBride's self identification with Brown's late in life return to stardom can be seen in the book.
But you can also see that McBride needed to get this book out. He says in the book that he needed the money from a book, any book. And while the good really does outweigh the bad and I am glad I read it, this could be a much better book with some editorial help. It is full of repetition. Part of that is the method of circling around Brown trying to find a way in to understand. But part of it, I think, is getting it to press too early.
Brown is fascinating. He did come up in a racist world. The music world was just as racist and quite corrupt. And it took in and chewed up musicians which lead to those that stayed being hardened and distrustful. But he is also a quite flawed hero.
My full review (about 1100 words) is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/kill-em-and-leave/
lizaroo71's review against another edition
2.0
James Brown was an excellent performer. He was meticulous and methodical when it came to rehearsals. It sounds like he demanded much of his musicians, but didn't always pay them what was fair.
McBride speaks to people that were in Brown's inner circle, but these people don't always talk about Brown. So we never get a full picture of Brown as manager, friend, father. We don't get too much of a picture of him as the man on the stage, which is how Brown wanted it ("kill'em and leave").
I found the anecdotes about life on the road and the history of R&B interesting. But this isn't a long book and parts of it felt repetitive which made me think the source material was sparse.
McBride speaks to people that were in Brown's inner circle, but these people don't always talk about Brown. So we never get a full picture of Brown as manager, friend, father. We don't get too much of a picture of him as the man on the stage, which is how Brown wanted it ("kill'em and leave").
I found the anecdotes about life on the road and the history of R&B interesting. But this isn't a long book and parts of it felt repetitive which made me think the source material was sparse.
swingdingaling's review against another edition
3.0
Print the Legend
A 3 might be a harsh rating for this. It's a good read, less a biography and more a series of remembrances about James Brown. The author mostly focuses on a person in James Brown's life, revealing different facets of a man who was to most, unknowable. It winds up being less about Brown the person and more about Brown as an avatar of black art in America, and how artists are often cheated by political and social forces larger than themselves.
The reason I'm not rating this higher is because it feels somewhat unfocused for that reason. Even at 220 pages, it drags in portions that repeat a story from earlier or in parts where the interview subject reiterates something we already learned. Still - for a fanatic, there's a lot of good here if you know what you're getting into.
A 3 might be a harsh rating for this. It's a good read, less a biography and more a series of remembrances about James Brown. The author mostly focuses on a person in James Brown's life, revealing different facets of a man who was to most, unknowable. It winds up being less about Brown the person and more about Brown as an avatar of black art in America, and how artists are often cheated by political and social forces larger than themselves.
The reason I'm not rating this higher is because it feels somewhat unfocused for that reason. Even at 220 pages, it drags in portions that repeat a story from earlier or in parts where the interview subject reiterates something we already learned. Still - for a fanatic, there's a lot of good here if you know what you're getting into.
chatb's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. McBride was capable of giving an insight on James Brown as a person even though this book was written after his death. Needless to say, I learned a lot about Brown. The good, the bad and the ugly. He was as complex as he was talented.
pearloz's review against another edition
4.0
Fun, breezy, McBride does blithely skim past the more troubling aspects of James Brown's later life (the domestic abuse, the drug use, the...erratic behavior), and paints a sunnier picture than you think it should merit; he also injects himself into the narrative a little more than necessary (I'm thinking of the discussion of his divorce that really had no deep connection to the rest of the book). But despite these flaws, I think McBride's writing is so good, you really can enjoy the book.
clbrmi's review against another edition
2.0
4 stars for the story of James Brown.
2 stars for James McBride’s telling of his story from his point of view. McBride was definitely not in the mood to objectively tell a story when he wrote this book and it shows.
I’ve read other McBride books and I kept asking myself if it was actually the same author.
“He was a lonesome as a Hong Kong bartender on a Sunday night” was one of the unnecessary descriptions he used.
I did finish it but I wouldn’t recommend it.
2 stars for James McBride’s telling of his story from his point of view. McBride was definitely not in the mood to objectively tell a story when he wrote this book and it shows.
I’ve read other McBride books and I kept asking myself if it was actually the same author.
“He was a lonesome as a Hong Kong bartender on a Sunday night” was one of the unnecessary descriptions he used.
I did finish it but I wouldn’t recommend it.
nuhafariha's review against another edition
5.0
I loved James McBride's writing ever since I read The Good Lord Bird and Kill 'Em and Leave did not disappoint. Rather than a simple history of the illustrious James Brown, McBride served up a history of the forgotten people of the American South. The writing is slow, pondering and deserves to be savored, like a slow-cooked pork chop. It reads like a love note from one musician to his mentor of sorts. McBride forces the reader to consider other forces in Brown's life that stand to make a profit from his story and how its portrayed. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest in history or even good writing.