I'm about 100 pages in, and though I find myself wishing it had undergone a
bit more editing, it's beating my two other "beach books" as the compelling
read of the summer.

About the editing issue: the story skips around a bit and the skips can be
disorienting. There's one chapter in which the band goes into the studio to
record their debut album from start to finish, in what seem to be six
contiguous weeks, painstakingly detailed for the reader.

But in the next chapter we're told that in the midst of recording, there was a
management shake-up at Elektra that included the outster of Semisonic's A&R
rep, and resulted in the band taking its unfinished recordings and signing a
new contract at MCA. So there was effectively a six-month gap (I think it was
six) in the recording process that wasn't mentioned at all in the previous
chapter.

Still, what it lacks as a carefully-crafted piece of literature, it more than
makes up for with its insight into the machinations of the major labels. It's
hilarious to follow along as Slichter mentally tallies up the cost of all the
limousine rides, expensive lunches, designer duds and other star-treatment
perks, having realized that he and the band will be paying for all of it in
the end.

Great fun. Highly recommended.


> I just started it today -- so far, a good read.
>
> Mike
>
>
>
> Record reviews and more at http://fufkin.com
> Find out about Chicago shows:
> http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/chicagopopshowreport/