It's hard to write a rock and roll novel. First and foremost because most fans don't read. Second, if they do, they want nonfiction, they want to dig deeper into the histories of the stars. Most of those books are awfully written. To the point where you wonder if they were even edited at all. Out of sequence, grammar and spelling mistakes...yes, even when a major publisher is involved!
As for the independently published books... It's too cheap to do that. So it's just like Spotify, there are the hits and then...every boomer who can no longer work in the music industry has written a book, and then you've got the youngsters writing a guidebook to try and get ahead, but they all share one thing in common...THEY SUCK! Because writing is a skill. You can have such an incredible story that the writing is secondary, like "Educated," but Tara Westover is a better writer than everybody referenced above! As for rock writers... Like the critic in this book, they focus on taking notes, getting down the facts, leaving the feel absent, and the feel is what it's all about. The book must be so well written, so inviting, that the subject is secondary. Having said all that, you should read Rob Sheffield's "Love Is a Mix Tape"... The story is engrossing and the writing is intimate and more than adequate...unfortunately, sans such a great story, Sheffield has not been able to reach this peak again.
So...
Not a single person in the music industry has reached out to me about this book. NOT ONE! I reach six figures of people and there's absolutely no buzz. Then again, is that the modern era, is there only buzz in your own, maybe tiny, niche, and then almost everything stops there, to grow is nearly impossible?
Yet, "Opal & Nev" has gotten stellar reviews, and Curtis Sittenfeld, whose work I admire, has said it's one of the two best books of the year, but...you just can't feel it. Then again, unless they've got famous names attached, books tend to take a while to percolate in the marketplace, so maybe "Opal & Nev" still might reach a wider audience.
So is this the best rock novel ever written? Well, that's not a very high bar... Yes, you've got Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity," but that's a story set in a record shop, the music is secondary, but it's not in "Opal & Nev."
Now if it were a couple more decades down the line, youngsters would read "Opal & Nev" and mistake it for truth. As a matter of fact, the only elements untrue in this book are those attached to Opal & Nev, everything else is rock and roll fact. So, if you lived through the era, you'll live through it again. All those events, all those references that you think only you know, they're in this book.
So Opal & Nev make music in the early seventies.
Let's be clear, this is after the Beatles, the entire British Invasion, FM rock radio was already established. These are the big money years.
Nev comes from the U.K., and his history is well told.
Opal is African-American and she comes from Chicago, and her background is put forth too.
And then Nev rescues Opal from obscurity and...
Nothing happens.
But then it does.
What today's wankers who think they're entitled to get paid beaucoup bucks on Spotify don't realize is back in the so-called "golden years," most acts did not make it. They soon went back to civilian life. As for signing cash? It went into the production of the record, living expenses at the time and...you probably didn't even net enough to buy a car. And if the record didn't start to fly, they dropped you. Sure, Warner Brothers was famous for giving you multiple chances, but most acts did not get one and were not successful.
But then comes the Rivington Showcase... One event can change the course of history, both public and personal.
So the music business was built by individuals on a lark. Those with rough edges, nearly criminals, who were forces of nature who got things done. Now it's mostly corporate, but back then...there were colorful characters.
As is Howie Kelly, the head of Rivington Records.
And Rosemary Salducci is his secretary/receptionist, back when you could still use the s-word, but she's so much more than that. Entrepreneurs have gatekeepers, usually of long tenure, you may think they're secretaries, but they're powerful people.
Bob Hize is the guy who ankles his major label gig to work for Rivington, so he has a chance to produce. You've got to believe in yourself. But that's not enough to make you successful. Even back then... Opal & Nev's album is released, and they have trouble getting gigs. Now it's the reverse, you prove you can get the gigs and then you might get a record deal.
So, the book is a fake oral history. But unlike too many oral histories, which are unreadable, it's not one sentence at a time, the interview statements are lengthy, so it reads like a book.
So, Sunny is writing a book about Opal & Nev. She's got history through her father...I'll leave it at that.
Sunny is also the first African-American editor of "Aural," which represents "Rolling Stone," even though "Rolling Stone" is a competitor in this book.
So, Sunny does her interviews and then adds her editor's notes and...
At first it's like one of those rock bios, only much better written. You're getting the backstory. But then, about halfway through, you realize "Opal & Nev" is a real book with a real story, themes bigger than rock stardom. And throughout there is wisdom, like:
"But my personal definition of success is that you don't do a goddamn thing you don't want to. If you ain't feeling it, you ain't doing it."
This is uttered by a musician. OF COURSE! Musicians, not necessarily stars, are different from the rank and file, it's a secret society, with different mores. You see it's about playing and getting high and inside jokes and late nights and friends... You think you'll be privy to this if you get backstage, but you won't. You've got to be on the bus. First and foremost they've got to trust you, and they know better than to trust anyone, but... Forget running a corporation, imagine doing work that you love, and only doing work you love...doesn't that sound great? As long as you've got enough money to get along?
So ultimately, there emerges a dichotomy... Do you do what's expedient or do you do what you feel.
Now the truth is everybody in America has short-term thinking. Not only the reality TV stars, but the corporate executives and the elected officials. People will do whatever they're told for fame and money. But later..? All those Republican congresspeople believing in the Big Lie... Funny, now Liz Cheney is a household name, her sins of the past have been wiped away, solely because she stood up for what's right. She's the new Colin Kaepernick! (No, don't take that too far, but you get the point, suddenly everybody knows their names because they stood up for their beliefs.)
So the book is littered with real companies, real situations, like Opal signing a deal with Sire.
But really "Opal & Nev" is about the people. The record business is secondary to the story, even though the story is told through the record business, it never wavers.
So, should you read "Opal & Nev"?
Well, I didn't absolutely love it. But I enjoyed reading it.
But I loved how the author, Dawnie Walton, wove truth into fiction, getting the past right. And also wasn't worried about angering anybody. That's another point about artists. They do what they feel inside, employ their inner tuning fork. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes your best work is ignored and then is exalted decades later. So, you've got references to Trump, and you've got the issues of Black people but you definitely don't feel you're lectured to, these points are integral, hell, talk to Black people, they're Black 24/7!
As you can tell from the above, this ain't your regular music book.
But I try to only recommend slam dunk stuff.
This isn't quite a Steph Curry three-pointer from half-court, then again you need five players to win a basketball game. And all of those players are in this book. Hell, forget reading all the passing b.s. from people who can't write, the rock news, and read "Opal & Nev," you'll learn much more about the essence of the music business. And you'll start to wonder about your path, your choices. Novels are supposed to inspire, you're not supposed to just be able to read 'em and instantly forget 'em. You won't forget "Opal & Nev." As a matter of fact, you'll be mad that it doesn't continue, you want to know more of what happens to these people. And you also want to know more about their history and motivation, even though so much is delineated. That's the essence of a great rock musician, they leave the fan wanting more. I want more of what "Opal & Nev" is selling instead of today's two-dimensional music business where cash is the only consideration.
So, I think you now know enough to know whether "Opal & Nev" is for you.
But if you do read it, you'll be a member of a club. Right now, relatively secret, although it could become bigger, and that's what we're looking for most, a place that resonates with us, where we belong. Good books deliver this. "Opal & Nev" does.
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