Nix, a music industry veteran who has crossed paths with many of the greatest rock and blues musicians, offers a down-to-earth look at life on the road and in the studio—with recipes of the famous thrown in for good measure. Nix got his start as a sax player with the Mar-Keys, the house band of the seminal Stax record label. Stax recorded legends such as Rufus Thomas, Sam and Dave, and Wilson Pickett. The Mar-Keys were a rock band in their own right, with one bona fide hit, ``Last Night.'' They toured, mostly in the South, to support their recordings. The outrageous road stories Nix tells transcend the usual boasts of sexual conquest and catalogs of senseless property damage common to the genre. Nix is often amused by, and always modest about, his ups and downs among the rich and famous. He tells of being humiliated by Bob Dylan when trying to take his picture, nearly losing some blood to the folk singer's sharp umbrella. Elvis Presley invited Nix and friends to his house and greeted them with a barrage of illegal fireworks. This self-deprecating sensibility, coupled with the great respect the author conveys for certain music icons—Leon Russell, Furry Lewis, John Mayall, Muscle Shoals recording studio—imparts an insider's view without the insider's arrogance or cynicism. Over the years, Nix has worked as a musician, producer, and songwriter. He recruited a choir and sang for George Harrison and his Concert for Bangladesh, showed a drunken Eric Clapton how to shoot a gun, and collected recipes from many he's met. The 60 recipes included here are more than a gimmick—they fit the book's tone and subject. John Mayall's ``Shepard's Pie'' recipe expresses a rock-'n'-roll sensibility when it instructs to add the ground beef ``when you sense the right moment.'' A captivating story told by a gracious host, and something delicious to eat at the end. (44 photos)
Pub Date: Jan. 21, 1997
ISBN: 0-02-864621-5
Page Count: 237
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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