This book review summarizes Ray Robertson's book "Lives Of The Poets (With Guitars): 13 Outsiders Who Changed Modern Music". The book profiles 13 musicians who significantly influenced modern music but are relatively unknown. Each chapter tells the story of an artist, such as Gene Clark of The Byrds. Clark struggled with anxiety, depression and substance abuse issues. Overall, the review praises Robertson's book for bringing deeper understanding and appreciation to influential musicians who are not usually recognized for their substantial contributions to music.

1. A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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BOOK REVIEWS
Ray Robertson – Lives Of The Poets
(With Guitars): 13 Outsiders Who
Changed Modern Music
(Biblioasis/Windsor, Ontario)
Book Reviews | December 6th, 2016
In Lives Of The Poets (With Guitars): 13 Outsiders Who
Changed Modern Music, author Ray Robertson rescues relatively unsung heroes from
obscurity and elevates them to a status normally reserved for gurus and sages. With
in-depth knowledge of each artist’s major contributions, as well as their equally
intriguing but lesser known works, Robertson searches for the soul of the individuals
in question.
Chapter One tells the tragic tale of Gene Clark, the Byrd who flew too far. Clark wrote
some of the group’s most memorable hits, including “Eight Miles High,” but would
leave due to a fear of flying, anxiety and depression. He recorded several solo albums,
such as 1968’s The Fantastic Expedition Of Dillard & Clark and No Other, which were
valued for their innovation but have since faded from memory. Ultimately undone by
success, Clark received royalties well over $100,000 thanks in large part to Tom Petty’s
cover of “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” the unfortunate result being able to afford a
massive binge of crack cocaine. Clark had already contracted throat cancer and used
his new found wealth to imbibe until he died of massive heart failure.
Similar misfortunes befall subsequent subjects including Ronnie Lane, the Ramones,
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Townes Van Zandt, Little Richard, Alan Wilson, Willie P. Bennet,
Gram Parsons, Hound Dog Taylor, Paul Siebel/Willis Alan Ramsey and John Hartford.
Only Little Richard remains, and while he is the best known name on the list,
Robertson writes with an urgency that reminds the reader of Richard’s role in pushing
the evolution of American pop music and as an unparalleled cultural icon.
“Real rock and roll is metaphysical skin popping masquerading as unadulterated id
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music – shameless, feral, timeless. Real rock and roll makes you do things tonight you
won’t believe you actually did tomorrow morning. If it’s not dangerous, it’s not the real
thing. And in spite of sixty years of artistically degenerative dilution, wanton trivializing
commercialization, and simple overexposure, the best of Little Richard’s music remains
dangerous.”
Robertson’s style aspires to the flair and flamboyance of the characters upon whom he
has turned his attention and ultimately aims to discover the essence of each
individual. His description of Gram Parsons goes beyond the superficial.
“Clothes may not make the man, but they are a fairly reliable indication of what the
man underneath is up to. And if the man in question is attired in a white silk jacket and
equally iridescent bell bottoms emblazoned with artfully embroidered depictions of
poppies, marijuana leaves, LSD cubes, plenty of Seconal and Tuinal tablets, a naked
woman, and a flaming red cross, surrounded by radiating shafts of blue-and-gold
scarlet flames, chances are he’d made up his mind for trouble, both for himself and
whoever he happens to come into contact with.”
At times, Robertson employs heady quotes from classical philosophers to make his
point. He describes Paul Siebel’s “Prayer Song” as follows.
“If Kierkegaard had been an agnostic with pantheistic sympathies and with a superior
sense of rhythm, this is what he would have come up with.”
Robertson’s writing is strongest when illustrating the social significance of idiosyncratic
elan. “…without bump-and-grind gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, rock and roll as
we know it likely wouldn’t sound the way it does or even have been born when it was.
Gospel music is theodicy in song, the world made better, or made to go away, or made
into another, kinder, happier, more-just place where, winged or not, we come to know
for certain all of the things we ordinarily only merely-flimsily-believe.”
Ultimately, Robertson toils for a higher purpose: to reveal the transcendent, enduring
qualities of the artist and their importance to society. He establishes his intentions in
the introduction: “One wants to convey in words what it is that makes for a musically-
transformed, more-alive human being.” With this collection of essays on 13
remarkable figures, Robertson leaves no doubt about the success of his endeavor.
-Mike Cobb
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3. A D V E R T I S E M E N T
One Response
Neon Brambles (@neon_brambles) says:
December 8, 2016 at 10:37 am
While it’s true that Gene Clark suffered from substance abuse, primarily alcohol, the
suggestion that Clark’s premature death was brought on by “the unfortunate result
being able to afford a massive binge of crack cocaine” is misleading. Tom Petty’s
album that featured “Feel A Whole Lot Better” was released a full year before Gene
Clark passed away in May 1991. The official cause of death was described by the
coroner as “natural causes brought on by a bleeding ulcer”.
Furthermore, I think you’ve missed the point of Robertson’s essay which was to say
that Clark has been grossly underrated and under-appreciated as an artist and as
the father of “country rock”. The focus here should be on his contribution to music,
not on his battle with substance abuse.
Reply

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