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pennygale's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
maggierachael's review against another edition
4.0
“It’s lazy not to ask for something, because if you don’t ask, you are the one saying no.”
Operating on that wisdom from his mother, Bob Gruen has become a man whose name nobody knows, but whose catalogue is familiar to millions.
John Lennon in his New York City shirt, The Sex Pistols touring America, Elton John seemingly floating in mid-air while playing piano...the list goes on and on, a career of photos spanning fifty years of rock and roll as it evolved with the heartbeat of the world. He’s elbowed his way in with the people who fascinate our world the most, taking chances and living life in the fast (tempo) lane as a freelance music photographer in the heart of New York City.
And now, Abrams Press readers can elbow their way in with him.
Out on October 20th, Right Place, Right Time: The Life of a Rock & Roll Photographer chronicles Gruen’s quick rise from amateur concert attendee to seasoned music photographer under the recognizable skyline of New York City. Like all good artists-gone-autobiographers, Gruen feels personable, like someone you’d want to chat to at a party. That kind of personality explains his ability to get in with just about every major rock star in American history, from Ike and Tina Turner to the New York Dolls, among others.
All rock and roll autobiographies start to hit the same notes after a while — they all know about as many narrative structures as a punk does guitar chords — but Gruen has the distinct advantage of tracking his career through his own visual work. Starting with the fuzzy, yellow toned shots every photographer knows all too well, it morphs at a frenetic pace into work that would grace the cover of hundreds of magazines and album covers across the years, from concert photography to portrait sessions to candid shots of rockstars big and small. Everyone from Alice Cooper to Sid Vicious fill the pages of Gruen’s book, an illustration of how rock in New York City grew and changed, fueled by love and grief and a desire to stand out amongst a crowd of thousands.
The story behind how a shot comes to be can be just as fascinating as the work itself, a moment of realization that brings on brilliant work solely because of someone’s quick thinking with a Nikon. Linda McCartney once said that good photography is something you feel instinctively, when you click that shutter in the moment without worrying about the outcome, and Gruen’s body of work certainly reflects that practice. (The copyright watermark that obscured all of the images did dampen their effect, but that might just be a side effect of reading a digital proof.) Right Place gives him the opportunity to tell those stories, to liberate them from the confines of a recording studio or an underground club and send them out into the world to flourish.
Gruen is no rock critic, with every personality he mentions labeled as “fantastic” or “tremendous”, but the enthusiasm for what he does is what makes the stories in this book so exciting. The infectiousness of an artist loving what they do propels all of his writing, and his love for the artists he’s worked with makes him seem like one of us, a normal person serving as a gateway into a stunning, glittering world of rock stardom. Right Place reflects a unique time and place in rock history, when everyone knew everyone else and opportunities and collaborations popped up at a moment’s notice, and Gruen’s stories become uniquely interesting because of it.
Unfortunately, some of those stories get lost to the sands of time (or copyediting) as a visual artist is forced to put pen to paper in an art form he has no experience working in. Like many autobiographies, Right Place starts to slide around its midpoint, its control over Gruen’s career timeline slipping as he affords large chunks of space to his work with a select few artists. Certain months or years are skipped over in mere sentences, while artists like John Lennon and Yoko Ono are afforded chapter after chapter, at the risk of making the book sound like a biography of someone else rather than him. The 80s are hardly a blink in the reader’s eyes, and the Roadrunner race through time in the last few chapters gives off the distinct impression that Gruen grew too bored to afford anything after 1981 more than a paragraph’s worth of space.
That being said, fitting fifty years’ worth of a career into four hundred pages is no easy task, and Gruen makes a clear effort to engage readers with the stories he deems to be the most important in his career. (No amount of good press will ever make me not hate John Lennon, but I can’t say those stories weren’t interesting.) Like most artists, Gruen has a hard time structuring a concrete narrative, but his stories are still compelling in a way that speaks to human curiosity. It all feels a little bit like a fairy tale, like that many famous people in one place can’t possibly be real. His life seems slightly otherworldly, except his book falls into the nonfiction section of the library instead of the fiction one - proof that maybe there is a little bit of magic in our world after all. All you need is a camera lens to see it through.
Right Place, Right Time is more than just a photography book, elevated above the coffee table clunkers people buy to look cool. Meaningful tales fill the space between photos, rather than copy drummed up at the last minute to fill space in InDesign. Some of the work feels glossed over, but the important stories are there, the highlights of his career picked out amongst a torrent of influential work. It’s refreshing to see an insight into the people who make rock stars look good, the perspective from the other side of the camera. Gruen has influenced hundreds of young artists, whether they know it or not, and now he gets to tell his own story, and hopefully bring even more young photographers into the fold.
Operating on that wisdom from his mother, Bob Gruen has become a man whose name nobody knows, but whose catalogue is familiar to millions.
John Lennon in his New York City shirt, The Sex Pistols touring America, Elton John seemingly floating in mid-air while playing piano...the list goes on and on, a career of photos spanning fifty years of rock and roll as it evolved with the heartbeat of the world. He’s elbowed his way in with the people who fascinate our world the most, taking chances and living life in the fast (tempo) lane as a freelance music photographer in the heart of New York City.
And now, Abrams Press readers can elbow their way in with him.
Out on October 20th, Right Place, Right Time: The Life of a Rock & Roll Photographer chronicles Gruen’s quick rise from amateur concert attendee to seasoned music photographer under the recognizable skyline of New York City. Like all good artists-gone-autobiographers, Gruen feels personable, like someone you’d want to chat to at a party. That kind of personality explains his ability to get in with just about every major rock star in American history, from Ike and Tina Turner to the New York Dolls, among others.
All rock and roll autobiographies start to hit the same notes after a while — they all know about as many narrative structures as a punk does guitar chords — but Gruen has the distinct advantage of tracking his career through his own visual work. Starting with the fuzzy, yellow toned shots every photographer knows all too well, it morphs at a frenetic pace into work that would grace the cover of hundreds of magazines and album covers across the years, from concert photography to portrait sessions to candid shots of rockstars big and small. Everyone from Alice Cooper to Sid Vicious fill the pages of Gruen’s book, an illustration of how rock in New York City grew and changed, fueled by love and grief and a desire to stand out amongst a crowd of thousands.
The story behind how a shot comes to be can be just as fascinating as the work itself, a moment of realization that brings on brilliant work solely because of someone’s quick thinking with a Nikon. Linda McCartney once said that good photography is something you feel instinctively, when you click that shutter in the moment without worrying about the outcome, and Gruen’s body of work certainly reflects that practice. (The copyright watermark that obscured all of the images did dampen their effect, but that might just be a side effect of reading a digital proof.) Right Place gives him the opportunity to tell those stories, to liberate them from the confines of a recording studio or an underground club and send them out into the world to flourish.
Gruen is no rock critic, with every personality he mentions labeled as “fantastic” or “tremendous”, but the enthusiasm for what he does is what makes the stories in this book so exciting. The infectiousness of an artist loving what they do propels all of his writing, and his love for the artists he’s worked with makes him seem like one of us, a normal person serving as a gateway into a stunning, glittering world of rock stardom. Right Place reflects a unique time and place in rock history, when everyone knew everyone else and opportunities and collaborations popped up at a moment’s notice, and Gruen’s stories become uniquely interesting because of it.
Unfortunately, some of those stories get lost to the sands of time (or copyediting) as a visual artist is forced to put pen to paper in an art form he has no experience working in. Like many autobiographies, Right Place starts to slide around its midpoint, its control over Gruen’s career timeline slipping as he affords large chunks of space to his work with a select few artists. Certain months or years are skipped over in mere sentences, while artists like John Lennon and Yoko Ono are afforded chapter after chapter, at the risk of making the book sound like a biography of someone else rather than him. The 80s are hardly a blink in the reader’s eyes, and the Roadrunner race through time in the last few chapters gives off the distinct impression that Gruen grew too bored to afford anything after 1981 more than a paragraph’s worth of space.
That being said, fitting fifty years’ worth of a career into four hundred pages is no easy task, and Gruen makes a clear effort to engage readers with the stories he deems to be the most important in his career. (No amount of good press will ever make me not hate John Lennon, but I can’t say those stories weren’t interesting.) Like most artists, Gruen has a hard time structuring a concrete narrative, but his stories are still compelling in a way that speaks to human curiosity. It all feels a little bit like a fairy tale, like that many famous people in one place can’t possibly be real. His life seems slightly otherworldly, except his book falls into the nonfiction section of the library instead of the fiction one - proof that maybe there is a little bit of magic in our world after all. All you need is a camera lens to see it through.
Right Place, Right Time is more than just a photography book, elevated above the coffee table clunkers people buy to look cool. Meaningful tales fill the space between photos, rather than copy drummed up at the last minute to fill space in InDesign. Some of the work feels glossed over, but the important stories are there, the highlights of his career picked out amongst a torrent of influential work. It’s refreshing to see an insight into the people who make rock stars look good, the perspective from the other side of the camera. Gruen has influenced hundreds of young artists, whether they know it or not, and now he gets to tell his own story, and hopefully bring even more young photographers into the fold.
zhzhang's review against another edition
4.0
If you are a rock & roll fan, you should read this book. You will not only find many cherish pictures of musicians, but also a little history of Rock & Roll. This memoir is more than a personal one, but also a memoir of Rock & Roll. The author is more than a photographer of all those musicians, but also their good friend.
danni11's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.
Rating: 3⭐
This is an interesting account by Bob Gruen about being a photographer in the rock and roll industry. It was well written and I enjoyed it. The only reason the review has taken so long to write is because biographies and autobiographies can take me a while to read.
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes
Rating: 3⭐
This is an interesting account by Bob Gruen about being a photographer in the rock and roll industry. It was well written and I enjoyed it. The only reason the review has taken so long to write is because biographies and autobiographies can take me a while to read.
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes
merewordsinarizona's review against another edition
4.0
Iconic photography, Iconic people and vivid stories told from the Pioneer of Rock and Roll Photography.
Bob Gruen was on the front lines of shooting photography during arguably the most important times in the industry when it was establishing rock and roll. This is an entertainment memoir worthy of reading even if you aren't into the specific genre of Rock and roll photography. The sixties thru the eighties, 6 decades no less-- had to be the most fascinating time to be a witness to the giants and likes of Tina Turner,Led Zeppelin and John Lennon. I've never cared for Yoko Ono and I still don't but after reading about her reasons behind why she was making the music the way she did, I have a better appreciation for her intellect. ( Not that I necessarily like her or her music.)
The only thing I don't like about this memoir is, I wish the photographs were larger. I feel like the photographs need to be in huge sprawling pages with crisp contrasts black and white photos so I can see the details. Some of the images I thought were cropped so poorly to accommodate the text, it left me feeling kinda flat. I think this is doing a disservice to the author and photographer. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
#NetGalley #RightPlaceRightTimeMemoir
Bob Gruen was on the front lines of shooting photography during arguably the most important times in the industry when it was establishing rock and roll. This is an entertainment memoir worthy of reading even if you aren't into the specific genre of Rock and roll photography. The sixties thru the eighties, 6 decades no less-- had to be the most fascinating time to be a witness to the giants and likes of Tina Turner,Led Zeppelin and John Lennon. I've never cared for Yoko Ono and I still don't but after reading about her reasons behind why she was making the music the way she did, I have a better appreciation for her intellect. ( Not that I necessarily like her or her music.)
The only thing I don't like about this memoir is, I wish the photographs were larger. I feel like the photographs need to be in huge sprawling pages with crisp contrasts black and white photos so I can see the details. Some of the images I thought were cropped so poorly to accommodate the text, it left me feeling kinda flat. I think this is doing a disservice to the author and photographer. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
#NetGalley #RightPlaceRightTimeMemoir
celluloidmay's review against another edition
I think most people came to this for the rock n’ roll anecdotes, but I came for the photographer advice! Needless to say, anyone who comes for either won’t be disappointed.
Right Place, Right Time, charts Bob Gruen’s career from his beginnings in the folk scene of the 60s through to the 2000s. As well as getting a look at the lives of countless music icons, I also really enjoyed the stories behind many of the photographs.
Right Place, Right Time, charts Bob Gruen’s career from his beginnings in the folk scene of the 60s through to the 2000s. As well as getting a look at the lives of countless music icons, I also really enjoyed the stories behind many of the photographs.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
The perfect book for any rock lover!
Great pictures, fascinating stories.
It's well written and compelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Great pictures, fascinating stories.
It's well written and compelling.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
sue07647's review
4.0
This book is all about the pictures as you might guess! There are some iconic shots that we all recognize and some truly amazing shots that are not nearly as well known, of artists such as Elton John and Pete Townsend. Lots of cool info about the author and his experiences with Bob Dylan, John Lennon and The New York Dolls, to name a few. It doesn’t come off as name dropping at all, just a real genuine experience of the 60’s and 70’s and beyond in the NYC music scene. A time and place that could never ever be replicated again. If you’re interested in the music scene of those times this book is for you. And the photos!! “Thanks to NetGalley for proving me
With this free e-book in exchange for an honest review”
With this free e-book in exchange for an honest review”
hopeys_journey's review
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.0
I requested an arc for this on NetGalley.
I was interested in this book, because it's about photography.
I'm not necessarily all that familiar with the rock scene, but my parents listened to it a lot and so obviously whilst growing up I listened to it as well. I really like to read books that are about people successfully making an career out of their dreams. Especially when Bob Gruen ended up making a lot of iconic photographs and connections in the music industry, of like Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Alice Cooper to name a few. So it was intriguing to read about.
What I really liked about this book was the fact that not only are you finding out more tidbits about Bob Gruen, but also the people either working or partying in the scene. And it does paint a picture of that time period. How for just 5 dollars you could see the Rolling Stones which now seems crazy. And also how certain artists grew into the icons they are to this day. I also really like the photo's that were included, which of course would've been weird to leave out of the story of a photographer. I wasn't familiar with those pictures so it was nice to see them, as well as that they were intertwined with the paragraphs surrounding the pictures.
I also liked the humorous conversational way of how the memoir was told, which definitely made it an easy read.
I was interested in this book, because it's about photography.
I'm not necessarily all that familiar with the rock scene, but my parents listened to it a lot and so obviously whilst growing up I listened to it as well. I really like to read books that are about people successfully making an career out of their dreams. Especially when Bob Gruen ended up making a lot of iconic photographs and connections in the music industry, of like Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Alice Cooper to name a few. So it was intriguing to read about.
What I really liked about this book was the fact that not only are you finding out more tidbits about Bob Gruen, but also the people either working or partying in the scene. And it does paint a picture of that time period. How for just 5 dollars you could see the Rolling Stones which now seems crazy. And also how certain artists grew into the icons they are to this day. I also really like the photo's that were included, which of course would've been weird to leave out of the story of a photographer. I wasn't familiar with those pictures so it was nice to see them, as well as that they were intertwined with the paragraphs surrounding the pictures.
I also liked the humorous conversational way of how the memoir was told, which definitely made it an easy read.