William Burroughs/ Local Stop on the Nova Express

by Stephen Davis

Renowned rock biographer Stephen Davis unearths a long lost interview with William Burroughs which hasn't been reprinted since its inclusion in The Free Paper in 1974. Burroughs, notoriously ill-suited for interviews, was in rare form for Davis (especially after his 3rd whiskey and coke) and opens up to the young, idolizing Davis about (among other things) drugs, sex, religion, politics and counterculture. William Burroughs/ Local Stop on the Nova Express also contains a brief overview of the life and work of Burroughs, and concludes with the infamous discussion he had with Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, originally printed in Crawdaddy in 1975. In all, Local Stop...is a candid dive into the world of a writer not known for candor. Writer/interviewer Stephen Davis known as "America's best rock biographer" has written best-selling books on Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Jim Morrison, Bob Marley, and many others. Here we see him as an enthusiastic youth interviewing one of the most famous writers of the time.

60 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Stephen Davis is is a rock journalist and biographer, having written numerous bestsellers on rock bands, including the smash hit Hammer of the Gods. He lives in Boston.

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Rich Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting interview with William s. Burroughs, though the section devoted to the Jimmy Page/WSB interview from Crawdaddy was rather lean and lackluster. The opening essay on Burroughs' life and publishing history was okay, if a tad pedantic.

The main interview, while written in the seventies, reads like it could have been conducted today, given the topics.covered. A worthwhile read for any WSB aficionado.