Review by Booklist Review
Goldberg, Nirvana's manager from 1990 to 1994, when their iconic album Nevermind was released, has written a thoughtful and oftentimes revelatory memoir of his relationship with the band's charismatic but troubled leader, Kurt Cobain. He was the last rock artist who was also a pop figure, he writes. Goldberg describes Cobain's profound feelings of alienation growing up in the conservative logging town of Aberdeen, Washington. Punk rock provided some respite. Throughout his life, Cobain was a walking contradiction: a punk who loved the Beatles; an ambitious musician who enjoyed mainstream success and yet never lost his respect for indie culture ; a musical visionary who did not read music. Although much of what is here is well-known Cobain's early days in Seattle's underground music scene, his marriage to Courtney Love, his heroin addiction and tragic suicide Goldberg was a crucial member of the band's inner circle and, thus, offers unique insights. He reminds readers that Cobain's songs often had a feminist subtext and adds, on a personal note, that Cobain told a journalist Goldberg was like a second father to him.--June Sawyers Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this loving remembrance of the troubled Nirvana songwriter and frontman, the band's former manager explores Cobain's creative genius and personality. After a brief history of the underground music that inspired Cobain, Goldberg (In Search of the Lost Chord) embarks on an emotionally resonant narrative of Cobain's meteoric rise to superstardom and his attendant self-questioning depression. This insider perspective details how Nirvana's explosion onto the scene in 1991 was carefully crafted, first by the tutelage of the band members of Sonic Youth and then by Cobain himself, who Goldberg persuasively argues was astute when it came to image and business ("It often felt to me that Kurt had planned the next several moves for Nirvana with as much rigor as he had rehearsed the music"). As the narrative moves toward Cobain's 1994 suicide, Goldberg digs deeper into the singer's contradictions regarding success ("He identified deeply with outcasts... but also embraced the joy of being part of a large audience") as well as his fluctuating between sweetness and rage (he embodies "the idea that a cool guy could be snarling and powerful and also compassionate and sensitive"). This is a worthy addition to the growing canon of books on Cobain. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
On the 25th anniversary of Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain's untimely death, Goldberg (Bumping into Geniuses) emerges with a reverent memoir about his years working for Cobain, Nirvana, and Cobain's polarizing wife, musician Courtney Love. Goldberg joined the Nirvana family a year before their swift rise to fame. As manager, he facilitated the deals that would move the grunge band from Seattle's indie label Sub Pop to major label Geffen Records. Goldberg is effusive in his admiration for his subject as an artist and a man and devotes considerable attention to Cobain's feminist and pro-LGBTQ activism as well as his love for daughter Frances Bean Cobain. The Nirvana front man comes across as deeply conflicted between his desire to have his art appreciated by the masses and his need to uphold his punk ideals while withstanding the pressures of sudden, immense fame. VERDICT Fans of Cobain will devour this recollection of life with the artist, even when it gets heavy on the business and legal side of the story. [Prepub Alert, 10/22/18.]-Amanda Westfall, Emmet O'Neal P.L., Mountain Brook, AL © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A sentimental but precisely rendered account of the life of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain by one of his first music industry backers.Goldberg (In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea, 2017, etc.) was a key player in the 1990s alternative rock explosion, moving from his management agency, Gold Mountain, to Atlantic Records. In between, he connected with Nirvana when the Seattle band was young, untested, and hungry. He recalls those early days: "Kurt connected very deeply with the audience.It was a particular form of rock 'n' roll magic I'd never witnessed before." Regarding his role in the band's meteoric rise following 1991's "Nevermind," Goldberg re-examines old debates about "selling out" and the industry's role in dispersing the regional punk-rock underground. Admitting his unfamiliarity with the scene that inspired the young Cobain, the author's writing is most acute in revealing the complex machinations of the '90s pop music industry, which was reliant on radio and MTV. As Goldberg shepherded Nirvana to David Geffen's DGC Records, he recalls, "in marketing terms, the band wanted to keep its credibility with its early fans while also pulling in lots of new ones." The author provides a close-up take on the familiar tale of what happened next, covering Cobain's contradictory, sometimes-hostile responses to stardom, his attempts to stay true to an artistic vision, and his distress regarding media coverage of his marriage to Courtney Love. He focuses on Cobain's loyalty to his circle, kindness, generosity, and artistic temperament. Though he mostly elides examination of his flaws, Goldberg acknowledges they were always part of his creative development, and he provides a terse account of Cobain's sad, chaotic decline. Cobain returned Goldberg's regard, calling him "the most honest man in show biz." Some will note the author's continued loyalty to the perspective of Love, a controversial figure for many Nirvana fans; still, Goldberg comes off as likable, a successful insider still befuddled by Cobain's demons.An intimate perspective on Cobain's short life, told in the spirit of burnishing a friend's legacy. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
