Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters


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PRAISE FOR MIKE EDISON AND SYMPATHY FOR THE DRUMMER

“Charlie Watts lays it down, and the others follow. He is the Law. This book explains why.” — Clem Burke, Blondie

“Required reading for any Stones fan.” — Bun E. Carlos

“Sympathy for the Drummer is so much more than an incisive appreciation of Charlie Watts, it is an effusively infectious tribute to art in all of its myriad forms.” — Jim Sclavunos, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

“A great voice of authority and knowledge, dispensed with free-wheeling fluidity. Super entertaining, and right on.” — Katherine Turman, coauthor, Louder Than Hell: The Complete Oral History of Heavy Metal

“A wild ride through six-plus decades of music history... An illuminating and massively entertaining book.” — Dan Epstein, author Big Hair and Plastic Grass

“Mike Edison’s libertine prose swings and hits like Charlie Watt’s right hand.”Meredith Ochs, author Rock-and-Roll Woman

“It’s not hard to fathom why a former editor of both Screw and High Times magazines would find writing about the Rolling Stones, one of the most dissolute champions of sex and drugs, right in his conceptual wheelhouse. But Edison takes a unique approach by focusing his investigation on Charlie Watts, the woefully underappreciated lynchpin of the Stones sound. This book is a delightful look at the Stones through the eyes and the beats of their most reticent member. Finally someone gave this drummer some.”

— Larry “Ratso” Sloman, author On the Road with Bob Dylan

“Charlie Watts is the backbone of the Rolling Stones. In this affectionate yet unflinching biography, Mike Edison shows how integral his jazz sensibility makes them a true band: keeping time, creating space, and hitting the crash cymbal at just the right moment.” — Lenny Kaye, guitarist, author of You Call It Madness: the Sensuous Song of the Croon

“An imaginative consideration of the Rolling Stones, one which will let you hear utterly familiar tracks with entirely fresh ears." — Ira Robbins

PRAISE FOR MIKE EDISON

“Proof positive that one can be both edgy and erudite, lowbrow and literate, and take joy in the unbridled pleasures of the id without sacrificing the higher mind.” PopMatters

“They don't make guys like this anymore . . . overeducated yokelry, and intensely American egalitarian humor . . . surprisingly intelligent.” SF Weekly

“Edison’s writing style is a gonzo-type rush, filled with hilariously inventive descriptions . . . ”The Boston Phoenix

“Smart, filthy, and funny, Mike Edison is no ordinary author.” Spin

“Edison can turn out crisp, poetic sentences or tug a heartstring or two. He is blessed with the ability to swiftly nail down characters in indelible, often hilarious descriptions.” ­The Rumpus

“Edison’s insight transforms the mundane to the sublime.... unrelentingly smart and funny.” The Brooklyn Rail

“Edison glides along the edges of society with an intense dose of wit and a startling eye for the insane.” Metro Spirit

“A F***CKING MENSCH.” – Jewcy.com

"Mike Edison can go toe to toe with some of the best writers of the (old) New Journalism.” —Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America

“Freakishly evolved.” Kirkus, in starred review for I Have Fun for Everywhere I Go