Fire and Rain

The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970

By: David Browne

Narrated by: Sean Runnette

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

January 1970: the Beatles assemble one more time to put the finishing touches on Let It Be; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are wrapping up Déjà Vu; Simon and Garfunkel are unveiling Bridge Over Troubled Water; James Taylor is an upstart singer-songwriter who's just completed Sweet Baby James. Over the course of the next twelve months, their lives---and the world around them---will change irrevocably.

Fire and Rain tells the story of four iconic albums of 1970 and the lives, times, and constantly intertwining personal ties of the remarkable artists who made them. Acclaimed journalist David Browne sets these stories against an increasingly chaotic backdrop of events that sent the world spinning throughout that tumultuous year: Kent State, the Apollo 13 debacle, ongoing bombings by radical left-wing groups, the diffusion of the antiwar movement, and much more. Featuring candid interviews with more than 100 luminaries, including some of the artists themselves, Browne's vivid narrative tells the incredible story of how---over the course of 12 turbulent months---the '60s effectively ended and the '70s began.

©2011 David Browne (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Browne's engrossing account of this fertile but volatile period sets the standard by which comprehensive musical histories should be judged." ( BookPage)

1970 In The History of Music

This is a romp through the wild and crazy world of the Beatles breaking up, Simon & Garfunkel rising to dominance (and breaking up), CSNY rising to be the “American Beatles” (and breaking up) while James Taylor rose to dominance and shot heroin – all against a backdrop of Nixon’s America. I had always understood that the 60s happened in Greenwich Village and the Haight. I was delighted to learn the rest of the story in Michael Walkers 2007 book Laurel Canyon. I had hoped Fire and Rain would fill in more of the blanks since many of my favorite acts of that period were LA based. This book was actually all over the globe connecting the break-up of the Beatles in London to the Simon and Garfunkel in New York to CSNY forming in Laurel Canyon. The social significance, business and musical connections of these acts along with Joni Mitchel and Carol King are not surprising, but in fascinating none the less.

Being me, I hear the songs as they are referenced and see the album covers and photo shoots and in many cases, I remember my first listen. This was a special time for anyone who grew up in the 70s and I don’t think it gets enough coverage. Excellent book, though it may not have as much significance for not 70s Folk/Rock fans.

Interesting Facts - Warped Opinions

This book is worth listening to. It presents many interesting facts about these musicians and their rise and, in some cases, fall. However, the author seems to pine for, and sympathize with, good old political violence, like bombing buildings, that took place back in the day.

heading

great book... the politics of the day are woven thru the biographies...chilling to see the similarities to today's madness.

Not that interesting

let's face it, most of the people involved here, besides being talented musicians, aren't that interesting. I got kind of tired with the whole lot of them about halfway through. Also, too bad they couldn't exploit the audible book medium by including music clips

Loved this!

I wasn't even alive during 1970, but I grew up listening to all these artists. This story helped give background to the world during this time and also the lives of the artists. I was thoroughly engrossed in this and felt the author did a tremendous job taking me back to this time period.

Excellent nostalgia indulgence

Initially I was put off by a factual error (Linda's oldest daughter was seven, not seven months, when she and Paul had baby Mary, and the implication of that error is something else...) and an obvious dislike for George Harrison (not a single kind remark the entire book, actually--he sneers at him)...but the coverage of CSNY was illuminating and well-presented. Overall, because of my age, and losing my best friend a year ago who adored some of the artists here, well, nostalgia made me raise it from a three to a four. It was easy reading, and I appreciated it.

Alexa continues to be so dense and play the song Fire and Rain from Spotify when I ask for the book by name...

Excellent story of a monumental time in American culture.

Well written and adequately performed. The author captures so much, and pulls no political punches. The narrator was abut flat.

The Original VH1 Behind the Music

An insightful look at the classic rock star arc: poor, some success, a bunch of excess then immortality after losing touch. Some B-side and bottom of the album references were meaningless but a real, heavy-duty fan of the bands would understand. There is a bit of innocence throughout and a ton of sex/drugs...did they really not know the long-term effects or did they not care? Well, sex, drugs and rock-n-roll had to start somewhere. I was not aware of the inter mingling between the groups and that made the book even more interesting. Not a short book. The reader does not imitate the singer's voices but does an admirable job of reflecting the intonation. Hard core, classic rock lovers will love it. Casual fans with an interest in history will like it. You'll still enjoy it if you like to hear about rags to riches to not-so rags stories.

Great history and behind-the-scene stories!

I wish the narrator could do accents to make most of the characters come alive!

A rambling

And sometimes interesting history that shows how some of the music greats worked together, feuded and crossed paths.