Go here: booklist online for a nice overview of one of the finest living authors we have around. If you haven't read Russo, why not? You can pick and choose any of his novels and feel right at home. I happened to start with Straight Man. I don't think you'd be sorry. . .
Some writers and singers, like John Stewart, go mainly unrecognized by the mainstream. . .further example: Mickey Newbury.
This is the song he is probably best known for--actually, to be exact, an arrangement he is best known for. How anybody can hear this and not reflect on what we once were as a country is beyond me. .in so many ways. . ."Look away, look away. Look away, Dixieland. . ." . . .how he reinvented an entire song! And, at a time when the civil rights movement was hot and heavy, . . .he showed. . .songs aren't bad. . .songs aren't evil. . .songs are not the problem. . .
There is real musical history to be learned about the opening of The Bitter End West on Santa Monica Blvd.. . . .November 28, 1970. . .coming around again. . .41 years ago. . .in the audience that night--Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Mama Cass, and Odetta.
. . .and after Dixie. . .he segued into The Battle Hymn of the Republic. . .finishing off the trilogy with All My Trials. . .reportedly, when he finished, you could hear a pin drop. . .
. . .to learn more about Mickey. . .head this way. . .
. . .it should be available at most independent record stores. . .or your public library. . or, if necessary. . .Amazon. . .under $40 for the 4-disc set. . .money well spent. . .
the above information was all contained in the booklet with the CDs and I am indebted to Chris Campion for the article. . .
