thuglibrarian's review
2.0
Sorry John. Had to stop reading this at the risk of having memories of dating my husband ruined. Self absorbed to say the least, but maybe that's why some make it in the music/star world. Really wanted to love it, but I Can't Go For That.
I was given an advance copy and was not compensated.
I was given an advance copy and was not compensated.
robinsbooks's review
3.0
Know that I am a huge fan of celebrity memoirs and eagerly read this as I was always intrigued by John (that 'stache!).
When I started reading, I felt that John's writing was by rote and he was simply checking off items on an outline of how he came to become the "Oates" part of Daryl Hall and John Oates (it was never supposed to be "Hall & Oates"), and at times inserted too much detail about some of his hobbies and people he met along the way. However, once he shaved off his mustache (OMG, I still miss that on his face!) and talked about his life away from H&C, he opened a bit and talked more about his personal life. I also found it interesting when he talked about the songwriting process and the inspiration for many of the songs he wrote.
Recommended for fans of Daryl Hall & John Oates, but if you are simply looking for a good memoir set in the 80s music scene, try [b:Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith|21535769|Rocks My Life in and out of Aerosmith|Joe Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1399652342s/21535769.jpg|26869384] and [b:Delta Lady: A Memoir|26074164|Delta Lady A Memoir|Rita Coolidge|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444228408s/26074164.jpg|46011487].
Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital reading copy.
When I started reading, I felt that John's writing was by rote and he was simply checking off items on an outline of how he came to become the "Oates" part of Daryl Hall and John Oates (it was never supposed to be "Hall & Oates"), and at times inserted too much detail about some of his hobbies and people he met along the way. However, once he shaved off his mustache (OMG, I still miss that on his face!) and talked about his life away from H&C, he opened a bit and talked more about his personal life. I also found it interesting when he talked about the songwriting process and the inspiration for many of the songs he wrote.
Recommended for fans of Daryl Hall & John Oates, but if you are simply looking for a good memoir set in the 80s music scene, try [b:Rocks: My Life in and out of Aerosmith|21535769|Rocks My Life in and out of Aerosmith|Joe Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1399652342s/21535769.jpg|26869384] and [b:Delta Lady: A Memoir|26074164|Delta Lady A Memoir|Rita Coolidge|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444228408s/26074164.jpg|46011487].
Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital reading copy.
breazy_reader_724's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable. The authors managed to strike a good balance between covering Hall & Oates (which is likely why most were interested in reading this book) and John Oates and his personal life. There were a few times where the chronology was a bit fuzzy but in most cases these made sense and allowed the authors to tell about different aspects of John's life.
renee_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
There were a few reasons I was interested in reading this book. The first is that I'm kind of a music junkie, and as a 3 year old child, Hall & Oates songs were among some of the first that I learned the lyrics to. My parents still remind me that I used to walk around babbling the lyrics to "One on One," which now seems super weird.
The second reason is that I currently live in the town where John Oates grew up, a fact that I have been obsessed with ever since I learned it, and so I was really hoping that this book would also give me a little dose of local history.
The third reason is that I figured he'd have some good stories to tell.
I was right. I heard my town listed in the dedication and the first chunk of the book was devoted to his life here in this little place. I get a little thrill out of being able to conjure up an image of exactly the places he's describing. And also trying to imagine what they looked like 60 years ago. I learned a lot about the music business as they experienced it, but some of my favorite parts of this were learning about the inspiration for some of their hit songs, and learning about how it all happened and what all had gone into it. Most people don't realize how long Hall and Oates were around before they became successful. And then after Live Aid, they just vanished. Went out on top.
In the midst of reading this book, I had the opportunity to go see Hall & Oates live on their tour with Tears for Fears. When I immerse myself in a topic, I really immerse myself in a topic.
If I have a criticism of this book, it's the organization. I don't know if this was especially prevalent because I was listening to the audiobook or not, but he would devote entire chapters to a topic, only to seemingly reintroduce it again later. The book isn't necessarily strictly chronologically, but it is, in a sense. Within each season or group of chapters, he would jump back and forth in time to tell different stories, which sort of threw me a little bit.
The audio version was *mostly* okay. It says that it's narrated by the authors, but I'm pretty sure it's Chris Epting who reads the bulk of it (I think... I'm pretty sure... it's not totally clear). I think John Oates read a very small portion (a few lines, maybe?) at the very beginning, and then again at the very end. The production was really confusing at the end. Epting is reading along, and then all of a sudden John Oates reads a paragraph, and then it switches back to Epting. And then they take turns reading the afterword. But the audio quality between the two was different, so it was just a jarring production choice.
As he says at the end, his book is about the music industry, history, travel and adventure and those are all the things that are chronicled in this book. In that regard, it was an interesting read, so if you like music and were a fan of Hall & Oates, you'll likely enjoy this book and the stories it tells.
The second reason is that I currently live in the town where John Oates grew up, a fact that I have been obsessed with ever since I learned it, and so I was really hoping that this book would also give me a little dose of local history.
The third reason is that I figured he'd have some good stories to tell.
I was right. I heard my town listed in the dedication and the first chunk of the book was devoted to his life here in this little place. I get a little thrill out of being able to conjure up an image of exactly the places he's describing. And also trying to imagine what they looked like 60 years ago. I learned a lot about the music business as they experienced it, but some of my favorite parts of this were learning about the inspiration for some of their hit songs, and learning about how it all happened and what all had gone into it. Most people don't realize how long Hall and Oates were around before they became successful. And then after Live Aid, they just vanished. Went out on top.
In the midst of reading this book, I had the opportunity to go see Hall & Oates live on their tour with Tears for Fears. When I immerse myself in a topic, I really immerse myself in a topic.
If I have a criticism of this book, it's the organization. I don't know if this was especially prevalent because I was listening to the audiobook or not, but he would devote entire chapters to a topic, only to seemingly reintroduce it again later. The book isn't necessarily strictly chronologically, but it is, in a sense. Within each season or group of chapters, he would jump back and forth in time to tell different stories, which sort of threw me a little bit.
The audio version was *mostly* okay. It says that it's narrated by the authors, but I'm pretty sure it's Chris Epting who reads the bulk of it (I think... I'm pretty sure... it's not totally clear). I think John Oates read a very small portion (a few lines, maybe?) at the very beginning, and then again at the very end. The production was really confusing at the end. Epting is reading along, and then all of a sudden John Oates reads a paragraph, and then it switches back to Epting. And then they take turns reading the afterword. But the audio quality between the two was different, so it was just a jarring production choice.
As he says at the end, his book is about the music industry, history, travel and adventure and those are all the things that are chronicled in this book. In that regard, it was an interesting read, so if you like music and were a fan of Hall & Oates, you'll likely enjoy this book and the stories it tells.
aasplund's review
3.0
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
I haven't ever been a huge Hall & Oates fan - it's not that I didn't like them. I just hadn't listened to anything beyond their biggest hits and I'd only heard those on the radio. So I wasn't really sure what to expect.
The first half of this book was so dull. It was a bit long-winded, the information was your typical pre-rock star in the 1960's and 1970's - traveling around doing drugs and playing in various bands. So it was fun to learn about, but didn't feel special. Even when Hall & Oates got started, the information presented wasn't that interesting to me. There were a few accounts of why they had written certain songs and some information about people who helped, but a lot of the information was very dull and not well-written. I didn't feel like I was getting a sense of what made Hall & Oates what they were and I definitely wasn't getting a sense for who John Oates was - besides that he really liked cars.
The second half of the book got much more interesting and I honestly had a difficult time putting it down. I feel like I got a better feel for who John Oates is and how his life was impacted by his partnership with Daryl Hall and that was so interesting. It was cool to see how he handled difficult financial situations and how he came back from that. I especially liked hearing about John having a somewhat normal (though eccentric) life after Hall & Oates' big heyday.
Also, this book led me to listen to a lot more Hall & Oates and that has been fun. Abandoned Luncheonette is absolutely fantastic and I would not have tried it out if not for this book.
I haven't ever been a huge Hall & Oates fan - it's not that I didn't like them. I just hadn't listened to anything beyond their biggest hits and I'd only heard those on the radio. So I wasn't really sure what to expect.
The first half of this book was so dull. It was a bit long-winded, the information was your typical pre-rock star in the 1960's and 1970's - traveling around doing drugs and playing in various bands. So it was fun to learn about, but didn't feel special. Even when Hall & Oates got started, the information presented wasn't that interesting to me. There were a few accounts of why they had written certain songs and some information about people who helped, but a lot of the information was very dull and not well-written. I didn't feel like I was getting a sense of what made Hall & Oates what they were and I definitely wasn't getting a sense for who John Oates was - besides that he really liked cars.
The second half of the book got much more interesting and I honestly had a difficult time putting it down. I feel like I got a better feel for who John Oates is and how his life was impacted by his partnership with Daryl Hall and that was so interesting. It was cool to see how he handled difficult financial situations and how he came back from that. I especially liked hearing about John having a somewhat normal (though eccentric) life after Hall & Oates' big heyday.
Also, this book led me to listen to a lot more Hall & Oates and that has been fun. Abandoned Luncheonette is absolutely fantastic and I would not have tried it out if not for this book.
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