Robbie Robertson finally tells his own spellbinding story of the band that changed music history, his extraordinary personal journey, and his creative friendships with some of the greatest artists of the last half-century
Robbie Robertson was the guitarist and principal songwriter in the Band and had a long career as a solo artist. He produced many movie soundtracks for Martin Scorsese and others. His first memoir, Testimony, was a New York Times bestseller. Robbie Robertson died in 2023.
Robbie Robertson’s Testimony is a book of memories and wonders, a
personal testament of a magical time in American music from someone
who was there, at the centre of it all, playing and casting spells
and writing songs that helped define those great lost years.
There’s history here, and anecdote, regret and reminiscence, a long
fond look back at the trials and triumphs of finding your voice
then holding your ground. The tone is easy, conversational, like
reminiscing with a friend about things you never realized you were
part of too. Robbie brings you along with him, keeps you right by
his side first to last, just the way his songs do, drawing you
close, spellbound by his easy sorcery. You can feel the music in
every word.
*Martin Scorsese*
[An] elegant, evocative memoir … Robertson was particularly suited
to a supporting role, happiest pulling the strings in the
background. It’s the perfect vantage point for a memoirist, and he
makes the most of it … The first half of the book is a hugely
atmospheric song of the road … Midway, Dylan hits the narrative
like a firework tossed through a window … Robertson brings the
chaos vividly to life … He tells it with style and affection,
showing a keen eye for detail.
*Mail on Sunday*
An entertaining and valuable description of a rock’n’roll
apprenticeship punctuated by encounters with such historic figures
as Sonny Boy Williamson, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters. He casts
light on a vital phase of Dylan’s career and, of course, on the
history of the Band.
*Guardian*
For real insight into a musical unit’s workings, it would be hard
to beat the Canadian guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson’s
Testimony…packed with fascinating anecdote.
*Telegraph*
'We’re deep into the golden age of the classic-rock memoir …
Testimony ends when its author was still relatively young, but it
is packed with incident … His memoir is confident and well oiled.
At times it has the mythic sweep of an early Terrence Malick movie
… Mr. Dylan blows into this memoir like a blazing tumbleweed …
[Robbie Robertson's] writing is wonderfully perceptive.
*New York Times*
Well, once I started, I couldn’t put it down. It is such a
well-paced, well-structured narrative. Robertson's voice is
powerful and strong. He has harnessed vivid language to a clean,
elegant, writing style, and the sense of honesty, openness and
completeness makes it so very compelling. The personal and the
historic that he bears witness to is, of course, extraordinarily
special. One of the best documents of our times. And one of the
best books on rock 'n' roll ever written.
*Jann Wenner, co-founder and publisher of 'Rolling Stone'
magazine*
Nobody tells a story like Robbie Robertson. I can’t think of a
memoir that is more compelling, fascinating or rich in history.
Across every page you can feel his love, passion and musical
genius.
*David Geffen*
His strong point of view is offset by the tenderness he shows, and
his stress on his own experience is set within a craftsman’s effort
to tell the story whole . . . The voice comes through loud and
clear … He keeps clear of big ideas and period clichés. Instead, he
offers his story — his side of the story — in scene after scene . .
. There’s so much sound and colour here that the self-exculpating
scenes fit right in, vivid and convincing . . . Testimony is
high-spirited, hugely enjoyable and generous from start to
finish.
*The New York Times Book Review*
Robbie Robertson fancies himself as a storyteller, with good
reason. His ability to conjure a mythic America on such songs as
the Civil War-inspired ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’
testifies to a remarkable imagination ... The on-the-road tales
with The Hawks are a rollicking read, full of youthful exuberance
and a sense of discovery ... The fledgling Band members – musical
equals at this point – are larger-than-life characters ... The
style is fluid and pacy, with a cinematographer’s eye for detail.
There are funny vignettes involving Bo Diddley, Roy Buchanan, Brian
Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Tiny Tim, Salvadore Dali, Edie Sedgwick and
Richard Pryor, to name but a few ... This is riveting stuff ... He
has too much class ever to fall into kiss-and-tell mode and is
understandably protective of his reputation ... He closes the
book...with a eulogistic account of The Last Waltz. It is a great,
uplifting finale.
*Irish Times*
Robust, wry, gritty and wise to the vicissitudes of a career in
rock 'n' roll, it is just what the reader wants ... Mr Robertson
captures the rhythm of rock's mystery train, even in its final
lurch to the terminal ... Mr Robertson bears witness to his life in
music ... A steel-trap memory and a muddled childhood and you have
the makings of a Dickensian bildungsroman ... A bible of road lore,
a lurid coming-of-age story that veers wildly between the sweet and
the brutal and a how-not-to guide to running a band ... Here is by
far the fullest first-person account of the early electric tours of
Mr Dylan ... The account of Mr Dylan's 1966 motorcycle accident is
refreshingly lucid, as is that of the subsequent making of The
Basement Tapes ... Here Testimony becomes a testimonial, and the
effect is redemptive. Generosity suits him, and whatever the truth,
Testimony is a graceful epitaph.
*Wall Street Journal*
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
