Tony Scherman

Just Substacked, my reflections on Robbie Robertson's upcoming second memoir, "Insomnia," which I finished reading yesterday:

Here is what's undoubtedly going to be a minority opinion of Robbie Robertson's shortly-to-be-published (posthumously; Robbie died in 2023) second memoir, "Insomnia." I'm tempted to call the book a snooze, though it's not exactly boring (though I found myself skipping a few pages here and there.) "Insomnia"'s central subject is the formation and early years, circa the late'70s/early '80s, of what Robbie considered his closest friendship, with the filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The book covers a pretty limited territory, chiefly Robbie's interactions in the film world, including hobnobbing with movie stars (Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson, Liza Minelli, Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Genevieve Bujold, and others, a number of whom Robbie took to bed), as well as A-list directors (Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, et al).
Robbie Robertson was one of rock's GOAT songwriters, and an A+-quality guitarist (re-listen to his great solo on "King Harvest Has Surely Come."). For Robbie to choose as the book's territory these rather aimless, cocaine-riddled few years and not, say, the writing and recording of his fine first solo albums, "Robbie Robertson" and "Storyville," or to write far more than he does about how he put together some of the many soundtracks he created for Scorsese's films, was a real error. Was Robbie, as talented and accomplished as most of the glitterati he writes about, plain starstruck? Did he figure that that this was what would sell books? Whatever the case, "Insomnia"'s readers are going to be cheated out of some of the most fascinating subject matter of Robbie Robertson's post-Band career. My advice, unless you're a stargazer yourself, is to spend your $32.00 elsewhere.

Just Substacked: "Among the Musical," Episode 103: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Part Two" (The link is in Comments, below.)
Part One (August 17) was about some of the most thrilling women electric guitarists working. We're moving on to drummers, all of them women, all of whom play challenging, deeply satisfying music.

Just Substacked: "Among the Musical," Episode 102, the fifth and final installment of The Aretha Series. (The link is in Comments, below.) Part Five is about Aretha's first gospel album, 1972's "Amazing Grace" (she made another gospel album in '87, far less memorable). Aretha's 1972 return to her gospel childhood was a flat-out triumph. Or one could take the position that Aretha's not entirely wholesome, but in this case accurate, father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, told the gathered in "Amazing Grace," "If you want to know the truth, Aretha has never left the church."

Just Substacked, "Among the Musical," Episode 101 (!!): The Aretha Series, Part Four: "Black Music Power." (The link is in Comments, below.) "I began to appreciate myself as a beautiful black woman,” Aretha said in 1970. Next up, the fifth and final part.

Substacked a moment ago, "Among the Musical," Episode 100(!!): The Aretha Series, Part 3: "Running on Empty" (The link is in Comments, below.) Aretha was an alcoholic, and had been for years. "I realized," said her booking agent, Ruth Bowen, "that she had been using booze to numb the pain of a lousy marriage."

Just Substacked, "Among the Musical," Episode 99: The Aretha Series, Part 2: "What You Want, Baby I Got It" (The link is in Comments, below.) “My sister was on the brink of letting the world know what I’d always known," said Carolyn Franklin—"that she was hands-down the scariest singer in the world.”

Just Substacked: "Among the Musical," Episode 98, "Aretha's Arrival." (The link is in "Comments," below.) We know when, where, and how Aretha arrived: on January 24, 1967 at Fame Music in Florence, Alabama. The band was the legendary Swampers. The song was 'I Never Loved a Man the Way That I Love You.' Aretha was all of 24.

We're zeroing in on "Among the Musical"'s 100th episode. I've just posted #97, the second, concluding portion of "Duane Allman: Live in the Studio," about one of rock's greatest-ever guitarists in his day job: session player. (The link is in "Comments," below.) The substitle: session musicians, even the very best, play for anyone who's ready to ante up the money, including Sam the Sham.

Just Substacked: Among the Musical," Episode 96: "Duane Allman: Live in the Studio, Part 1 of 2" (The link to the Substack is in Comments, below) Subtitle: "Known chiefly for his epochal late '60s/early '70s work with the great Allman Brothers Band, Duane Allman was also one of the most sought-after recording-session guitarists in America.

Just posted: "Among the Musical", Episode 95: "Rarely If Ever Noted: a Transcendant Moment of Aretha's" (The link is in Comments, below.) This Substack is subtitled, "Unlike many of us beset with problems, Aretha Franklin had an escape hatch: her genius." Wherein your author explores Aretha's version of "I Say a Little Prayer" (1968) and points out why it belongs in the small group of her greatest performances, an underacknowledged masterpiece.

Substacked a few moments ago, "Among the Musical"'s 94th chapter: "Sick of Being God, Eric Clapton Just Wanted to Play in the Band" (The link to the piece is in Comments, below). The subtitle of this flashback to rock's heroic era is, "For a brief moment in 1969/70, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends made the best rock & roll on the planet."

Just Substacked: "Among the Musical"'s 93rd episode: "Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, and a Critic's Bum Call" (The link is in Comments, below.) If some dude wants to turn art into a competitive sport, I'll reluctantly take him up on it. And whip his behind.