Carey

Genesis of the Song

De: Cary Raditz

Narrado por: Cary Wingfield Raditz

Cary Raditz’s book Carey: Genesis of the Song, is not just an intimate and surprising portrait of Joni Mitchell at the very point she became famous—it is a front-line account of a time, place and attitude that have passed into legend. This is the story of a man who found himself trapped in a song, and the extraordinary events that led up to it.

©2023 Cary W Raditz (P)2025 Cary W Raditz

Listening to Carey read by Cary Raditz.

Listening to Carey

In a previous review, I wrote “occasionally, not often enough, a book comes along that disrupts your daily routine” by making you spend time reading instead of doing what you should be doing. Carey is one of those books.

Now, I am listening to Carey, the book on Audible.

Why would I listen to an audiobook I have already read?

Well, it is the difference between listening to Joni Mitchell sing her song “Carey” from her Blue album and simply reading her lyrics.

Take William Faulkner, for example. Faulkner is difficult to read. His “stream of consciousness” writing, often using long sentences where the subject is dislocated from the verb, Faulkner can be tough to read.

But listening to a Faulkner novel read by Grover Gardner is an entirely different experience than reading it.

By listening to “Carey” you pick up more insight into the author and the story.

Listening to Cary Raditz read his own writing, by hearing his voice inflections, his degree of emotion, adds to the experience.

The book “Carey”is not just about Joni Mitchell, it is that - but also the early 1970’s and what it was like to backpack across the United States and Europe.

It is an odyssey, a personal journey of discovery, indulgence and changing perceptions by reflection, a descriptive book, a real account not only of things that happened, but more importantly, how Cary thinks about what is happening to him.

Cary is frank, honest, at times costly to himself, by being honest in one’s artistic expression.

It is this quality that makes it a compelling
listen.

What a captivating saga

When the book Carey Genesis of the Song first became available last year on Amazon-i couldn’t wait to read it, I was pulled in by the very first chapter. Cary Raditz’s has written such a captivating story following his journey and wild adventures as a young vagabond traveler in the ‘70’s often with only pennies in his pocket. Cary allows you to peek into his personal world and his surprising meeting & relationship with singer Joni Mitchell- but there is oh so much more than just that part of his story to entertain the reader (or listener) and keep you intrigued and always eager to get to the next page. Now that it is available through Audible it is really a treat to be able to hear Cary tell his story in his own voice allowing the listener to live vicariously through his often humorous, wild and highly entertaining adventures.