Rev. Keith A. Gordon has a new book out!

 

review by Bill Glahn

Planet of Sound [Rev. Keith A. Gordon, Excitable Press]

It's always exciting news when one of Live! Music Review's contributors has a new book on the shelves and I'm especially pleased to announce this one by the ever prolific spiritual force of Rock 'n' Roll journalism, the mighty master of Blues criticism, and music historian extraordinaire, Keith A. Gordon.

Comprising of 34 essays, reviews, and artist profiles, the latest volume focuses on Gordon's writing in Rock and Roll Globe from 2018-2020. As to be expected from many such compilations, Gordon writes about such luminaries as Keith Richard, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Black Sabbath, but also delivers the unexpected as well. Gordon has dug deep into rock n roll history with profiles of such worthy footnotes as Buzzy Linhart, Eugene Chadbourne, The Flamin' Groovies, The Pretty Things, and Will Kimbrough - all personal favorites. But it doesn't stop there.

Gordon also includes essays on the industry itself, including  a highly educational obituary for Grande Ballroom founder, Detroit DJ and promoter Russ Gibb, a dissection of Woodstock '99 (an event held on a superfund disaster site), a look back at the Ann Arbor 1969 festival, and Stax Records' second round of success after being sold.

Planet of Sound not only makes for some excellent reading, benefitting from Gordon's inventive use of descriptive (and accurate) phrasing, second to none, but also as a reference source when researching other projects. For example, with the release of Mike Felton's new CD  (another Live! Music Review contributor back in the day) which includes Corky Siegel among the credits (some GREAT harp playing on that one, review in the works) there's a highly informative chapter on the Siegel-Schwall Band. Of course, I went immediately there for a refresher course.

I have nothing but the highest recommendations for this book. And I'd say that even if I didn't know Gordon. He's a veteran of some 4 decades of music journalism and it shows. I was reading his writing before he ever wrote a sentence for L!MR.

Planet of Sound can be purchased from Amazon or directly from the author here.