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Top reviews from the United States

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Cathy Fink

WOW!

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2011

Verified Purchase

Bill Malone has beautifully captured the center of Mike's life- to collect, learn, share traditional southern music. Mike's obsession with the music is a major gain to all music lovers given that artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, The Grateful Dead and older half-brother Pete all learned plenty from Mike and are happy to acknowledge that. But more, Mike worked at making his archival recordings accessible with contributions to Folkways Records (Smithsonian Folkways), Rounder Records, The Library of Congress, University of North Carolina and more.
The book outlines Mike's personal life, but focuses more on his interest in music, musical development, and enormous contributions that have led to more than one major renaissance of traditional music played in both traditional and contemporary settings.
One thing Malone makes very clear-we owe Mike for his enormous contributions to the fabric of American Music. It's hard to read the book and not wonder how Mike managed to accomplish what he did-but inspiring!
Highly recommended.
Also recommend Mike's many recordings and videos.
Cathy Fink

Tradarts Irene

Great Book, Coulda Been Longer

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2012

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Mike Seeger was my friend and client for about 30 years, so I can say for sure that Prof. Malone has got all the facts right as I know them, and added quite a bit to my knowledge of Mike's intensely interesting life. Mike was immersed in the musical traditions of the US. He played the music, discovered it, recorded it, toured it, and advocated for it. Anyone who is interested in American music would do well to read this book. And as a dividend they'll get a peak into the roiling political years of the 1950's and '60' and a glimpse of his talented family and the musicians he hung out with. Malone has created a work that is at once scholarly and readable. But there are a ton of great stories about Mike that didn't make it in. Maybe there is room for another book, maybe a novel?

LoudLenny

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

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Great Book

Mark Pollock

A good read, perhaps lacking in details

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2015

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A good read, perhaps lacking in details, but only because Mike's life was so complex and filled with a massive amount of work. I found myself wanting more, but I have no idea how the author could have put more in.

Arkansas Red

Music from True Vine

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

I was a bit disappointed in reading about all of Mr. Seeger's divorces and such. but other than that it's a good read for anyone interested in the collecting of old time stringband music.

David L.

Short, repetitive, doesn't bring the reader behind the ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2015

Verified Purchase

Short, repetitive, doesn't bring the reader behind the curtain very much. The last 40 years of the subject's life feel rushed.

Eldon Edwards

Excellent Biography of Mike Seeger!

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2019

This book is very well researched and well written and very important and interesting and insightful. Mike Seeger was a very important figure in the discovery of old country music and culture. Excellent narration. I recommend this book without qualifications for everyone wanting to understand popular culture and music in the USA. Must listen for all students of popular culture and music.

Tom Meisenheimer

my opinion

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2012

I owe Mike Seeger a great deal.

His focus and dedication to traditional music was an inspiration and a strong guiding light. I was pleased to learn more about Mr. Seeger and I feel that the information in Mr. Malone's biography was an asset.

BUT! As I read I began to feel that I was engaged in a tedious chore. I haven't read anything else written by Mr. Malone but I genuinely hope his other work has more inspiration and verve. I felt that I was reading an extended term paper by an astute history undergraduate. The quotations sprinkled throughout the text seemed to be second hand, coming from research of original sources rather than personal contact or interviews by Mr. Malone.

I came away with the impression that this book was cobbled together from a wide variety of sources gathered in haste to allow publication while Mr. Seeger's death was still a current topic.

Of course there were things left out, but that is not necessarily a fault.

Mr. Seeger was four years my senior in age and was immersed in the music from a very early age. I had to discover the music more or less on my own but as I learned more of the songs and tunes that make up the music, I became more dependent on Mr. Seeger both as a source for the music itself and for a solid understanding of it. I probably would have abandoned the music long ago but for his inspiration, enthusiasm and guidence. I wish that the presentation of his life and his work, to discover and promote the music, had been as inspiring and passionate.

Perhaps the dryness noted by one other reviewer is inevitable when something so wonderfully eclectic as traditional music falls under academic examination.