Audiobook11 hours
Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll
Written by Fred Goodman
Narrated by Mike Chamberlain
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Allen Klein was like no one the music industry had seen before. The hard-nosed business manager became infamous for allegedly catalyzing the Beatles' breakup and robbing the Rolling Stones, but the truth is both more complex and more fascinating. As the manager of the Stones and then the Beatles-not to mention Sam Cooke, the Who, Donovan, the Kinks, and numerous other performers-he taught young soon-to-be legends how to be businessmen as well as rock stars. In so doing, Klein made millions for his clients and changed music forever.
But Klein was as merciless with his clients as he was with anyone else, earning himself an outsize reputation for villainy that has gone unchallenged until now. Through unique, unprecedented access to Klein's archives, veteran music journalist Fred Goodman tells the full story of how the Beatles broke up, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business became what it is today.
But Klein was as merciless with his clients as he was with anyone else, earning himself an outsize reputation for villainy that has gone unchallenged until now. Through unique, unprecedented access to Klein's archives, veteran music journalist Fred Goodman tells the full story of how the Beatles broke up, how the Stones achieved the greatest commercial success in rock history, and how the music business became what it is today.
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Reviews for Allen Klein
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
5 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I love music. I love to read about music, particularly the budding rock scene of the sixties and early seventies. The handful of players who changed all the rules fascinate me. I expected to love this book. Sadly, I was mostly bored.While this is marketed as a biography, it is largely a study of business and economics. The content revolves around finances and contracts. Clearly this was important to Klein and his clients, though it does not make for interesting reading. My sense of Klein as a person came mostly through his contractual dealings, which showed me his intense drive to succeed at all costs. He certainly was a key player in changing the music industry, though the excitement of that was largely overshadowed by all the talk of contractual and corporate law.The content doesn't flow well. Goodman veers off into mini biographies of other key players within the industry at that time. While interesting, much of this is of little to no relevance to Klein's story.I was most intrigued by Klein's relationship with the musicians he represented, though this made up only a small portion of the book. His obsession with the Beatles bordered on insanity, a single-minded drive to represent a band that, by this time, had already stopped touring and was a breath away from splitting up. If dry facts and business dealings of the music industry interest you, then you will likely love this book. If you're looking for a story with substance, like me, you might find this one lacking.