The Masters

August 15, 2023
Rock gods in conversation with one of their biggest fans. Wenner's latest book is a serious, self-important undertaking, a visit to the Mt. Olympus of rock, the pinnacle of achievement where only immortals reside. All of the interviewees are white men of a certain age, as is their interviewer, who launched Rolling Stone in 1967 to chronicle and celebrate the culture galvanized by such music. "That there are no women or Black musicians in this collection is obvious," writes Wenner. "This is reflective of the prejudices and practices of the times." Well, yes and no. Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone were all making popular, important, and influential music at the time, but these rambling, chatty interviews are evocative of the editor's taste and comfort level. It's illuminating to revisit Pete Townshend in 1968, talking at length about a rock opera that the Who had yet to record or title Tommy; to watch Jerry Garcia explain in 1972 just how and why the Grateful Dead came together and why they would remain so far outside the realm of commercial acceptance; and to hear the cathartic anger from John Lennon in 1970 in the wake of the Beatles breakup, directed toward Paul McCartney in particular. There are two visits with Bob Dylan, 40 years apart, that lack the edge that other Rolling Stone interviewers would bring to that challenge. Then there are Mick Jagger (from 1995), Bono (2005), and Bruce Springsteen (2023), the latter two (along with their wives) included in the book's dedication to "dearest friends." Though Wenner turns up a few interesting insights, there's too much mutual glad-handing and back-scratching and not enough of the sort of questioning that might make an interviewee uncomfortable. A fairly stale collection best suited for Wenner and/or Rolling Stone completists.

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Starred review from September 25, 2023
For this essential collection, Rolling Stone founder Wenner (Like a Rolling Stone) gathers together his interviews with rock legends from the past 60 years. “Rock history is full of songs about hoping it would never die,” Mick Jagger told the author in 1995—a theme that runs through these conversations, as musicians excavate the sources of the music’s “power and depth” and capture its legacy (as “an enormous catalyst for altering culture, society, and the country,” according to Springsteen in 2023). Wenner has a knack for drawing honesty and vulnerability from his subjects, as when the Who’s Pete Townshend confessed in 1968 that “I played the guitar—because of my nose,” hoping to divert attention from his face. Elsewhere, Bob Dylan, whom Wenner describes as “an incandescent moral and literary figure as well as a musical genius,” comments in a 2007 interview that Paul McCartney is “the only one that I am in awe of. He can do it all.” Chock-full of trivia (Jerry Garcia acknowledged his dislike of The Grateful Dead’s name while admitting, “I just found it to be powerful”) and animated speculation about rock’s essence (“Energy, anger, angst, enthusiasm, a certain spontaneity,” according to Jagger), these interviews—by turns cerebral, revealing, and electric­—capture some of music’s biggest names from a rare and intimate vantage point. This captivates.

September 1, 2023

Rolling Stone magazine was the closest thing to being the official chronicler of rock music, and the in-depth Rolling Stone interview transcripts added a key component to a new kind of music journalism. Wenner, the magazine's cofounder, compiles eight interviews that he conducted between 1968 and 2023 with seven inarguable members of the rock music pantheon. The most searching and revealing interviews are an honest, acerbic, and probing conversation with John Lennon in 1970 and Mick Jagger reflecting on more than 30 years as a musician in 1995. Bob Dylan, interviewed in 1968 and 2007, is enigmatic and philosophical but also willfully obtuse and playful. Bono and Bruce Springsteen are the most spiritual and contemplative; the printed records of their conversations soar to literary heights. Interviews with Pete Townshend and Jerry Garcia reveal much about their work and lives up to that point. VERDICT A complement to Wenner's memoir, Like a Rolling Stone. Since much of this material can be found elsewhere, fans will appreciate having these key interviews in one place. Also ideal for readers who want to hear from those who've made it in the musical industry as they start their own path of discovery.--James Collins

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