I really enjoyed this one. I was blissfully unaware of Warner's spot in music history. Sure, when I was younger, I knew I owned a disproportionate number of albums on the Elektra/Asylum and Sire rosters, but I never really put it all together until this book.

Mo Ostin was obviously a freaking pioneer in any industry. As I read how he guided the company, all I could think is, this is the polar opposite of how every single corporate entity runs. This isn't just a cool book about some cool music makers and how one company elevated them, it's also an important instruction manual on how to run a business.

Hire people for their talent. Give them some space to both learn and make mistakes. Then, trust them to do what they do best. Don't restrict them, empower them.

I loved this book for the stories. I loved it for the personalities. I loved it for the musicians. But I loved it most for the message. ( )

This book feels more like Warner Bros. Records: A Celebration rather than a critical, but balanced, retrospective analysis of the company, which I would have appreciated more. For example, the author notes in passing that the atmosphere at the record company could be dismissive and unsupportive of women--but his modern day writing about these women is also superficial, often commenting only on their physical appearance. This book would have been more interesting if he had dug deeper and shared the perspectives of these women (in the acknowledgements he mentions that he did interview some of them).

The other glaring omission here is about the contractual relationships between WB and its artists. While the author details how much money the record company executives made (and spent) in WB's golden years, he hardly mentions how the business relationships benefited (or exploited) the artists who created the music. ( )

Sonic Boom: How Warner Bros. Records Revolutionized Rock 'n' Roll by Peter Ames Carlin is that rare book that talks about the business side of the entertainment industry, in this case music recording, and makes it interesting.

I tend to enjoy books that explain how the business side of things work but I also have realistic expectations. I certainly expect to be surprised at how things really work yet I don't necessarily expect to actually want to compulsively keep turning the pages. Carlin made this both very informative and very entertaining. It probably also helps that my record buying history started in the mid-60s, so this book covers the period of time I remember well.

I won't try to retell what is in the book, I'm not sure how I would even try. I will mention a couple of things that really made the book appealing to me before I ever started it. If you're also someone who bought a fair number of records, you'll probably have a couple things of your own that will spur you on.

First, I remember getting sampler records from Warner Bros. that would usually include an artist or two I knew but the rest were new to me. Those were fun because it was a cheap and easy way to discover new music, which was the point. Some of my friends hated them but I loved them.

Second, I was/am a big Prince fan so I have always been bothered by the way the relationship between him and WB soured the first time. Even as a fan I realized that it was not as simple and straightforward as Prince made it out to be, but I also held a bit of a grudge against WB because I felt the dispute robbed listeners of several years of good music and substituted mediocre music, for which both parties are to blame.

There is a great mix of behind the scenes information as well as many of the biggest names in popular music of the last few decades of the 20th century. It made me want to go back and listen to a lot of music. Nostalgia is a powerful force!

I would recommend this to music buffs, especially rock/pop music of the late 60s on. It is a far more entertaining read than you might expect for a behind the scenes type book.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )