|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Product Description
The first definitive biography of the ultimate American rock band
How did a pair of little Dutch boys trained in classical music grow up to become the nucleus of the most popular heavy metal band of all time? What's the secret behind Eddie Van Halen's incredible fast and furious guitar solos? What makes David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar so wacky? And, are all those stories about groupies, booze bashes, and contract riders true? The naked truth is laid bare in Everybody Wants Some--the real-life story of a rock 'n' roll fantasy come true.
From the Back Cover
"Good band, even better book . . . Essential reading."
—Record Collector
—Record Collector
How did a pair of little Dutch boys trained in classical music grow up to be the nucleus of America's greatest hard rock band? What's the secret of Eddie Van Halen's guitar mastery? Who besides David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar has DNA strange enough to be a Van Halen singer? Are the legends of groupies, midgets, and contract riders all to be believed? The naked truth is playfully laid bare in Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga—now expanded and updated with reporting on the recent comeback tour.
One of 2007's Most Intriguing Books
—LA Weekly
"Highly recommended for Van Halen completists."
—Chuck Klosterman, Esquire
"Respect is due to author Ian Christe. His book is perfectly pitched, capturing both the flamboyant excitement and inherent absurdity of the rampant ego collective known as Van Halen."
—Geoff Barton, Classic Rock
"Written in jubilant, elastic prose, Ian Christe's Everybody Wants Some is a sort of Day-Glo fairy tale . . . savvy, sympathetic, expert, funny ha-ha."
—The Boston Phoenix
"[Christe's] not fooling around. And his prose is always playful."
—Los Angeles Times
"A new biography of the band that made metal marketable doesn't disappoint the fans."
—The American Prospect
"Christe chronicles the sweeping scope of the Van Halen saga."
—Chicago Sun-Times
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Is a Blast, A Breath of Fresh Air, and the Full Bug,,
By Coroner Pete "Metalion" (Wheeling, WV) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga (Hardcover)
Here's a review of Everybody Wants Some from antimusic.com:"The most staggering aspect of the book is that it's an unauthorized biography. As a general rule, I usually don't enjoy unauthorized biographies because they tend to be glorified tales written with a lot of assumptions and tall tales that even a casual fan would raise their eyes with suspicion. I never hoisted my eyebrow once as Christe's research is nothing short of astonishing; minute details are given ranging from specific recording sessions, family lineages, failed auditions for singers, the numerous attempted reunions with Roth and the most important aspect for guitar geeks-a detailed outline of guitars used, created and played by Eddie Van Halen over his entire life. Christe knows this band, loves this band, pulls his hair out over their internal drama and as a result has written the definitive Van Halen story. Once you pick it up it you will need to unchain yourself from your chair because it's impossible to put down whether you are a Van Halen or Van Hagar fan." "Even if the band sat down one day to write their story, it would be biased with revisionism. No authorized biography would ever be this factual or truthful. If recent actions are any hint, it probably wouldn't even mention Michael Anthony. Christe puts the reader right in the emotional thick of the action from the 1920's in Europe to the present day reunion in 2007. Christe makes you feel like an insider with his fastidious quotes and personal insight. Don't get me wrong, Christe dishes dirt, but does so without judgment and makes sure he has the facts straight." "The band should give Christe a portion of future proceeds from record sales just for writing this book, because as a result of reading it, I am reevaluating records I had forgotten about years ago and it appears I underestimated them. 'Everybody Wants Some' is the essential gift every Van Halen fan should have. Do yourself a favor and buy this book before you buy a t-shirt at the reunion concert. Christe has written a book that is stylish, succinct, breathtaking and as dazzling as an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo. If you ever stared in the mirror and attempted to imitate David Lee Roth with leaps and splits from the "Jump" video, then this book is for you."
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not Definitive,
By carlos vala jr (toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga (Hardcover)
It's been years since a book has been written about Van Halen. The band has been very quiet the last ten years. No new albums and one reunion tour with Sammy Hagar. So i guess the interest hasn't been great. But now that David Lee Roth is back in the band, the interest in the band is also back.So along comes this new book by Ian Christie. I have to say i was looking forward to it, especially as it is being sold as the definitive biography on the band. Hardly. The book covers the Sammy Hagar years well, but barely scratches the surface when it comes to the David Lee Roth line-up. The book starts with the births of Alex and Eddie Van Halen and by page 100 we're already at the 1984 album. The childhoods of the four original members, the 1970's backyard parties where Van Halen got started, the recording of the first six albums and tours and David Lee Roth leaving the band are all wrapped up by page 100. Ridiculous. There isn't any real insight into the band during this era.Now if you are a fan of the Sammy Hagar line-up this is the book for you. The albums and tours and Eddie's falling out with Sammy are all told very well. There are plenty of quotes from all members of this line-up to let you inside and see how it all went wrong. If only the original line-up had been covered this thoroughly in the book. Gary Cherone's brief tenure in the band is wrapped up in a bow. One album, one tour, one big mistake. The reunion with Sammy Hagar and the bands few attempts to put the original line-up back together are detailed nicely. All in all it is a good book, but not great. For that Ian Christie would have had to dug deeper into the Roth years.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
This guy wants some more,
By
This review is from: Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga (Hardcover)
The author of this book tells the story of Van Halen's rise from youngsters up until the summer of 2007. When David Lee Roth left the band Ian Christe tells David's activities alongside Van Halen. All this is told based on activities which could be easily researched. I didn't get a feeling that he had any real insiders' insight into what was actually transpiring in the background so there's not a lot of dirt or speculation.Left unanswered were things like: Donn Landee - engineer on all the albums until For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and co-visionary of the 5150 studio. Why was he not hired for this session? Why did Billy Sheehan and Steve Vai leave David's band? Why have Alex and Eddie turned on Michael Anthony? The book seems to focus totally on David, Eddie and Sammy. I don't believe the author even provides locales of where Alex and Michael were living from the days the band recorded at 5150 and at the height of their fame. Overall, a passable narrative of the band and its activities but I believe there could be a lot more insight.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians
- Books > Entertainment > Music > Biographies
- Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Popular
- Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Rock
- Books > Entertainment > Pop Culture > Music
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Performing Arts > Music
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
