Before the Storm

The Formative Years of America's Last Great Band

by Robert Boyd

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Overview

Before the Storm: The Formative Years of America's Last Great Band offers a concise and insightful summary of the early years of Nirvana. From the childhood of Kurt Cobain to the difficulties of Nirvana's early tours, readers are likely to walk away with new knowledge about America's last great band.

Description

Late in the last century, deep in the Pacific Northwest amongst the economic and psychological hardships of one town, America's last great band was born - Nirvana. The band's leader, a young introvert with superior songwriting talents, slowly molded a style inspired by punk, metal, sludge, and pop. The results changed the band and the music industry forever. Before the Storm: The Formative Years of America's Last Great Band chronicles the birth of Nirvana in Aberdeen, Washington, and their early years as independent artists to worldwide superstars. The outcome is known, but the infancy of the band and its rise is a compelling lesson in tenacity, unity, the love of music, and sadly, tragedy.

About the author

Robert Boyd holds a Bachelors Degree from Central Connecticut State University. He currently resides in Connecticut, along with his wife and two daughters. For twenty years, Robert has worked in the career of law enforcement, but has also worked developing his love of writing. Coupled with his lifelong love of music, this has translated to his first book with more releases likely in the future.

Book Reviews

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Eric

An eye-opening read into a pivotal band. The author's analysis of the band Nirvana was an interesting look into the history and legacy of such a pivotal music formation. I must admit, the writing style kept me locked into finishing the book in one sit-down session. Having grown up in a time where MTV and CDs were king, listening to Nirvana was always in my multi-disc changer. I will always remember Kurt Cobain as being the eccentric lead singer melding with the gritty "grunge" sounds of guitar and powerful drums. I enjoyed their music throughout various albums, live/acoustic performances, and the like. Along with the rest of the music world, I succinctly remember the drama when Courtney Love became involved and the morose end to Kurt's life. This book allowed me to unpack the snapshot of music history and provide much needed detail into a bigger story of the full band. Other books I have read regarding bands, both past and present, have been told in a dry, almost matter-of-fact way, leaving the reader missing key components. This author has presented the material in a way which humanizes not only Kurt Corbain, but also the other bandmates like Chad Channing and Dave Grohl. The various iterations of mental health/substance abuse waxing and wanning helped to provide a needed look on why things happened the way they did, including some decisions made that thrust the band towards their stardom. From start to finish, the author was able to tell the complete tale of Nirvana the band in a way that had me interested from the first page to the last. While easy to follow along, I reveled in the unheard-of details (to me) which provided character to the 90's music scene. I enjoyed looking through the author's lens and have found myself listening to B-sides I haven't heard before with a sense of appreciation I could feel from his words. A must read for anyone who has jammed out to the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit song or those who remember Kurt Loder telling fans on MTV News of Cobain's death. The author's ability to keep this 40-something year old reader engaged speaks volumes and am eagerly awaiting another story telling adventure. Read more

Before the Storm

The Formative Years of America's Last Great Band

by Robert Boyd

Book Reviews

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