What do you think?
Rate this book
Evening's Empire
THE YEAR IS 1967.
In England, and around the world, rock music is exploding—the Beatles have gone psychedelic, the Stones are singing "Ruby Tuesday," and the summer of love is approaching. For Jack Flynn, a newly minted young solicitor at a conservative firm, the rock world is of little interest—until he is asked to handle the legal affairs of Emerson Cutler, the seductive front man for an up-and-coming group of British boys with a sound that could take them all the way.
Thus begins Jack Flynn’s career with the Ravons, a forty-year journey through London in the sixties, Los Angeles in the seventies, New York in the eighties, into Eastern Europe, Africa, and across America, as Flynn tries to manage his clients through the highs of stardom, the has-been doldrums, sellouts, reunions, drug busts, bad marriages, good affairs, and all the temptations, triumphs, and vanities that complicate the businesses of music and friendship.
Spanning the decades and their shifting ideologies, from the wild abandon of the sixties to the cold realities of the twenty-first century, Evening’s Empire is filled with surprising, sharply funny, and perceptive riffs on fame, culture, and world events. A firsthand observer and remarkable storyteller, author Bill Flanagan has created an epic of rock-and-roll history that is also the life story of a generation.
In England, and around the world, rock music is exploding—the Beatles have gone psychedelic, the Stones are singing "Ruby Tuesday," and the summer of love is approaching. For Jack Flynn, a newly minted young solicitor at a conservative firm, the rock world is of little interest—until he is asked to handle the legal affairs of Emerson Cutler, the seductive front man for an up-and-coming group of British boys with a sound that could take them all the way.
Thus begins Jack Flynn’s career with the Ravons, a forty-year journey through London in the sixties, Los Angeles in the seventies, New York in the eighties, into Eastern Europe, Africa, and across America, as Flynn tries to manage his clients through the highs of stardom, the has-been doldrums, sellouts, reunions, drug busts, bad marriages, good affairs, and all the temptations, triumphs, and vanities that complicate the businesses of music and friendship.
Spanning the decades and their shifting ideologies, from the wild abandon of the sixties to the cold realities of the twenty-first century, Evening’s Empire is filled with surprising, sharply funny, and perceptive riffs on fame, culture, and world events. A firsthand observer and remarkable storyteller, author Bill Flanagan has created an epic of rock-and-roll history that is also the life story of a generation.
656 pages, Hardcover
First published December 14, 2009
6 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 2, 2021
2.6 stats. The book had some serious promises to be fascinating but it just didn't work for me. Feelt to long and I wasn't invested in it. I can see why other people like/love it, but it was pretty boring for me
May 10, 2020
It hasn't been very long since I finished this and it usually takes me a week or more to figure out my true opinion of a book, but for this one I can confidently say I LOVED IT, entirely, every single time I picked it up to read, every moment I wasn't reading it, and every day since I've finished it, I have loved this book. It's over 600 pages but there wasn't a moment in the book where I didn't love it, or wanted it to go faster, or thought "hm this part could be cut" or "let me just skim this...". Bless Bill Flanagan for giving me over 600 pages worth of time to spend with these characters. I adore Jack, Emerson, Charlie (especially him), and yeah even Simon. All their traits aren't likable or admirable or whatever, but they're such real characters, and their more "pathetic" moments that might make them dis-likable to some people only made me feel empathetic towards them. (So I read some negative reviews about the characters, I feel a need to defend them now!) Maybe I'm biased because rock music and musicians sort of are my life... but even the characters I disliked were at least interesting to read.
Anyway, besides the lovable rock stars (and Jack), I really love this book for its scope- it follows the characters their whole lives and includes so many settings and historical events that are all well described. I felt transported to 1960s Paris or NYC on 9/11, for example (the 9/11 chapter was REALLY good, I might have cried). I can see where people would say nothing happens in this book but I for one enjoy a long book about characters' and their lives, and these characters do have really interesting lives. The way Bill Flanagan writes about the music business is incredible- he knows more than I could ever imagine learning from books about the music industry, but talks about it in such a way that you feel like you know everything he knows, too. I've read rock biographies that are exhausting in their use of musical terminology that no one but musicians understand, but this book seems like it's saying "Hey, you know what I'm talking about here!" and you're like "Oh yeah! I do know!" It's never overwhelming in industry stuff. It's all understandable and believable even if you don't know anything about the music industry.
I could talk about this book for hours, I really just loved everything about it. Can I put that in all caps? I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
Anyway, besides the lovable rock stars (and Jack), I really love this book for its scope- it follows the characters their whole lives and includes so many settings and historical events that are all well described. I felt transported to 1960s Paris or NYC on 9/11, for example (the 9/11 chapter was REALLY good, I might have cried). I can see where people would say nothing happens in this book but I for one enjoy a long book about characters' and their lives, and these characters do have really interesting lives. The way Bill Flanagan writes about the music business is incredible- he knows more than I could ever imagine learning from books about the music industry, but talks about it in such a way that you feel like you know everything he knows, too. I've read rock biographies that are exhausting in their use of musical terminology that no one but musicians understand, but this book seems like it's saying "Hey, you know what I'm talking about here!" and you're like "Oh yeah! I do know!" It's never overwhelming in industry stuff. It's all understandable and believable even if you don't know anything about the music industry.
I could talk about this book for hours, I really just loved everything about it. Can I put that in all caps? I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
April 27, 2024
Good God was this book long. I started reading it on a flight last year but I bought it on my Nook (!) more than ten years ago. I loved Flanagan's A & R but this read like a Cliff Notes of everything that happened to every band you've ever heard of. He can write, and he keeps it moving. But an editor was so needed.
December 20, 2020
Brilliant, with lots of interesting details and insights into the music industry of the past fifty years. Anyone who likes to read rock bios will love this book!
June 20, 2025
this was so interesting to me!!!!!!!!! fastest ive read a book this long since like Harry Potter .. really captured my attention. kind of like a forest Gump situation seeing the characters live thru current events of a century.
June 3, 2018
Simply put...fascinating. An unexpectedly blunt, yet at times sad, glimpse into the music business over the ages. It was a pleasant surprise and welcome change from the standard novel fare.
January 27, 2020
A fun summer read about the rock and roll business back in the day.
June 3, 2025
Far too long and boring. If this book had been edited well and 75% of it taken out it would have been a good read!
November 27, 2011
What could easily have been merely a cultural almanac intertwined with the story line of a rock band's trajectory is actually an observant and entertaining view of recent history told (mostly) with the wisdom of hind-sight.
The time period stretches from 1967 into the new century, beginning with some familiar imagery -- the 60's “rock scene,” Carnaby Street, and a restless youth culture hurtling toward 1968, the year of Martin Luther King's assassination, the My Lai massacre, Charles Manson, and the NewYork City garbage strike. Like the “Ancient Mariner's” sad but wiser man, the story opens with the narrator, Jack Flynn, reflecting on Van Morrison's lyrics to “Sweet Thing.” The tone clearly dispels any fears we might have of self-indulgent nostalgia. Throughout the story, Jack rejects popular myth: “Swinging London was a marketing phrase that no more represented the lives of most young Londoners than Dodge City was full of gunfighters.” At other junctures, he caps his refute with the fact of his own eye-witness experience.
The historical landmarks instead provide a lens for viewing both Jack and the rock band's members. Pointing to the contrast between the hostile rural landscape of “Easy Rider” to the embrace of rural innocence after Woodstock, Flynn observes the changing themes of rock music: “The Allman Brothers were Georgia farmers, Led Zeppelin lived in stone cabins in Wales.” All of this presages the shift from New York to the west coast as the story follows the separate lives of the now dissolved rock band.
The main characters, Simon, Charlie and Emerson, are self-destructive in uniquely individual ways. Individually, they are poor human specimens. We watch them submerged in a wave of womanizing, drugs, alcohol,and paranoia, and buoyed by an increasing sense of self-entitlement. However, they are sympathetic characters because of their relationship to Jack who is drawn with multiple dimensions. With his voice of reminiscence he entertains us with his ego-deflating sarcasm. As the manager of the group, he impresses us with his knowledge of the recording business. Surprisingly, the ethics in that industry are no worse than in any other business. The magnification comes from the size of the monetary stakes, not the breach of any ethical boundaries. The intensity of personal contact and reliance on networking also serve to magnify the inevitable betrayals.
Since I am not knowledgeable about rock music, I originally feared that the musical allusions in the book would deter me. However, Flanagan does a skillful job of giving his references context. In addition, he includes several passages that delve into the band's development of a song. The individual contributions of technique and serendipity make this a moment to savor as well as a reference point later in the book.
After reading A&R, I have long looked forward to Flanagan's next book, and he does not disappoint. His writing is laced with humor, and his characters are both “over the top,” and entirely credible. I did take exception for several reasons to his LaSalle character (will not elaborate in order to avoid any Spoilers). He also has an annoying habit of creating suspense by declaring various turning points to be the "worst" choice he ever made. With so many bad choices, this superlative carries little weight. In addition, the book is quite long, partly because of the choice to link the dramatic action to the parallel rock historiography. On the whole, however, I enjoyed the book.
The time period stretches from 1967 into the new century, beginning with some familiar imagery -- the 60's “rock scene,” Carnaby Street, and a restless youth culture hurtling toward 1968, the year of Martin Luther King's assassination, the My Lai massacre, Charles Manson, and the NewYork City garbage strike. Like the “Ancient Mariner's” sad but wiser man, the story opens with the narrator, Jack Flynn, reflecting on Van Morrison's lyrics to “Sweet Thing.” The tone clearly dispels any fears we might have of self-indulgent nostalgia. Throughout the story, Jack rejects popular myth: “Swinging London was a marketing phrase that no more represented the lives of most young Londoners than Dodge City was full of gunfighters.” At other junctures, he caps his refute with the fact of his own eye-witness experience.
The historical landmarks instead provide a lens for viewing both Jack and the rock band's members. Pointing to the contrast between the hostile rural landscape of “Easy Rider” to the embrace of rural innocence after Woodstock, Flynn observes the changing themes of rock music: “The Allman Brothers were Georgia farmers, Led Zeppelin lived in stone cabins in Wales.” All of this presages the shift from New York to the west coast as the story follows the separate lives of the now dissolved rock band.
The main characters, Simon, Charlie and Emerson, are self-destructive in uniquely individual ways. Individually, they are poor human specimens. We watch them submerged in a wave of womanizing, drugs, alcohol,and paranoia, and buoyed by an increasing sense of self-entitlement. However, they are sympathetic characters because of their relationship to Jack who is drawn with multiple dimensions. With his voice of reminiscence he entertains us with his ego-deflating sarcasm. As the manager of the group, he impresses us with his knowledge of the recording business. Surprisingly, the ethics in that industry are no worse than in any other business. The magnification comes from the size of the monetary stakes, not the breach of any ethical boundaries. The intensity of personal contact and reliance on networking also serve to magnify the inevitable betrayals.
Since I am not knowledgeable about rock music, I originally feared that the musical allusions in the book would deter me. However, Flanagan does a skillful job of giving his references context. In addition, he includes several passages that delve into the band's development of a song. The individual contributions of technique and serendipity make this a moment to savor as well as a reference point later in the book.
After reading A&R, I have long looked forward to Flanagan's next book, and he does not disappoint. His writing is laced with humor, and his characters are both “over the top,” and entirely credible. I did take exception for several reasons to his LaSalle character (will not elaborate in order to avoid any Spoilers). He also has an annoying habit of creating suspense by declaring various turning points to be the "worst" choice he ever made. With so many bad choices, this superlative carries little weight. In addition, the book is quite long, partly because of the choice to link the dramatic action to the parallel rock historiography. On the whole, however, I enjoyed the book.
June 9, 2013
Before I even get into specifics, I just want to say that if I had never read A&R, I would have given this book five stars.
Now, with that out of the way, I think Evening's Empire was surprisingly good; I didn't know all that much about the book when I bought it, but I figured that I had taken a risk on two different Flanagan books and loved both of them, so I didn't hesitate on this one. At first, I kind of cringed, mainly because I thought that the eras would be wrong. I was paranoid because I don't much care about the good ol' swingin' London days or anything like that, and I find most of the music from that era to be pretty boring and uninspiring. So when a six hundred-plus page book starts in an era that doesn't interest you, it can raise some red flags.
However, the book absolutely redeemed itself by creating some wild characters, some wildly unrelatable characters, and some just larger-than life weirdos who somehow make perfect sense. I was most impressed with Flanagan's ability to really capture the dynamics within the music industry. Having played in bands for years and having gone on tour and tried to sort out royalties payments and what percentage of the band each band member is, there were a whole lot of the book that really struck a chord with me (pun intended) and you can tell Flanagan either knows the music world firsthand, or he hired on some top-notch consultants. I suspect a little of both.
The real beauty of this story is that you don't have to be music-obsessed to get drawn in. Granted, it really helps, but it's not a book where you need to understand everything firsthand to find something to latch onto in the story.
Having said all that, the book is indeed over six hundred pages, and it seemed to me that it dragged a bit here and there. I realize that the high degree of detail and information makes everything seem that much more real and authentic, but for the sake of the reader, I think there were some parts that could have been edited out and the story wouldn't have suffered.
Overall, it's yet another great book from an author who has really established himself as one of my favorites.
Now, with that out of the way, I think Evening's Empire was surprisingly good; I didn't know all that much about the book when I bought it, but I figured that I had taken a risk on two different Flanagan books and loved both of them, so I didn't hesitate on this one. At first, I kind of cringed, mainly because I thought that the eras would be wrong. I was paranoid because I don't much care about the good ol' swingin' London days or anything like that, and I find most of the music from that era to be pretty boring and uninspiring. So when a six hundred-plus page book starts in an era that doesn't interest you, it can raise some red flags.
However, the book absolutely redeemed itself by creating some wild characters, some wildly unrelatable characters, and some just larger-than life weirdos who somehow make perfect sense. I was most impressed with Flanagan's ability to really capture the dynamics within the music industry. Having played in bands for years and having gone on tour and tried to sort out royalties payments and what percentage of the band each band member is, there were a whole lot of the book that really struck a chord with me (pun intended) and you can tell Flanagan either knows the music world firsthand, or he hired on some top-notch consultants. I suspect a little of both.
The real beauty of this story is that you don't have to be music-obsessed to get drawn in. Granted, it really helps, but it's not a book where you need to understand everything firsthand to find something to latch onto in the story.
Having said all that, the book is indeed over six hundred pages, and it seemed to me that it dragged a bit here and there. I realize that the high degree of detail and information makes everything seem that much more real and authentic, but for the sake of the reader, I think there were some parts that could have been edited out and the story wouldn't have suffered.
Overall, it's yet another great book from an author who has really established himself as one of my favorites.
March 26, 2011
"Standing onstage next to the band looking into the heaving crowd gave me a perspective I never had watching from the wings. The kids looked up into the fades of the Ravons with unfiltered emotion. They opened up to them like lovers, revealing their passion, excitement, abandon, and a hundred variations of uninhibited honesty. I was struck by the intensity of their attention. Each face in the crowd gazed at the Ravons the way a new bride looks at her husband.
All the fans, grinning or grimacing, delighted or deranged, shared one quality. They were all desperately sincere. They were as sincere as an orgasm.
It filled me with electricity to stand next to that charge. What must it have done to the musicians to fell it flowing through them? I understood the anxiety that this show of uncurtailed energy inspired in the police. There was exhilarated fury in some of the faces, the raging intensity of the footballer or the arsonist. The police smelled anarchy.
I felt something else, even stronger -a signal carried on the current. I felt joy. Joy in being young and strong and tasting your power coming up in you. Joy in the ecstatic frisson of a community recognizing itself in the mirror of each other's faces. Joy in manifesting itself as wild abandon. The Ravons were holding up metal rods in the lightning, calling down the storm, drawing it through steel strings into wire pickups and out of tube amplifiers back into the heart of combustion. They were forming a loop with the crowd, feeding back their frenzy until everyone recognized his own voice in the roaring."
All the fans, grinning or grimacing, delighted or deranged, shared one quality. They were all desperately sincere. They were as sincere as an orgasm.
It filled me with electricity to stand next to that charge. What must it have done to the musicians to fell it flowing through them? I understood the anxiety that this show of uncurtailed energy inspired in the police. There was exhilarated fury in some of the faces, the raging intensity of the footballer or the arsonist. The police smelled anarchy.
I felt something else, even stronger -a signal carried on the current. I felt joy. Joy in being young and strong and tasting your power coming up in you. Joy in the ecstatic frisson of a community recognizing itself in the mirror of each other's faces. Joy in manifesting itself as wild abandon. The Ravons were holding up metal rods in the lightning, calling down the storm, drawing it through steel strings into wire pickups and out of tube amplifiers back into the heart of combustion. They were forming a loop with the crowd, feeding back their frenzy until everyone recognized his own voice in the roaring."
May 5, 2013
I pickup up this book after enjoying Flanagan's other fictional music-biz work, A&R. Evening's Empire is more expansive in scope, covering the 50-year career arc of a British band and its individual members from the viewpoint of its manager. Like A&R, the narrative nails the internal mechanations of the music industry, as only someone who actually works in the industry (and has access to others with even more experience) can do.
The narrative is extremely sentimental, and the experiences of the band members basically read like a "Forrest Gump" of music, with seemingly every single event of 50 years of music impacting the band in some way. As such, one gets the impression that Flanagan took a very straightforward approach to the project, allowing his characters to skim along the top of the historical timeline. I ended up wishing that Flanagan had gone off script a bit and created a bit more unique or unexpected set of experiences for his characters.
Flanagan's writing style is unchallenging but not unsophisticated - basically easy to digest while still geared towards the mature reader. My only issue with his style is his excessive use of blatant foreshadowing. A&R used this technique as well, but much less frequently. It became a little tiresome in Evening's Empire.
The narrative is extremely sentimental, and the experiences of the band members basically read like a "Forrest Gump" of music, with seemingly every single event of 50 years of music impacting the band in some way. As such, one gets the impression that Flanagan took a very straightforward approach to the project, allowing his characters to skim along the top of the historical timeline. I ended up wishing that Flanagan had gone off script a bit and created a bit more unique or unexpected set of experiences for his characters.
Flanagan's writing style is unchallenging but not unsophisticated - basically easy to digest while still geared towards the mature reader. My only issue with his style is his excessive use of blatant foreshadowing. A&R used this technique as well, but much less frequently. It became a little tiresome in Evening's Empire.
November 29, 2011
I'm not completely sure how I feel about this book. One the one hand, it was well-written and full of music biz details I knew nothing about. But on the other hand, not one of his main characters were likable. Jack Flynn was weak, spineless and greedy. I can't understand how he was able to develop the backbone to finagle all the deals he did for Emerson, because he completely rolled over for Emerson in every way; for Emerson as well as Charlie, Simon and Fin. For instance, the whole African music thing, which was ridiculous to begin with because Emerson was a complete idiot, was even worse when Jack got seriously sick but Emerson insisted he go to South Africa on safari with them and Jack, like an abused dog who's regularly beaten by his master, slavishly licked Emerson's hand and went along on the trip. Emerson, Charlie and Simon were all monsters in their own way; the culture of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll completely destroyed their connections to reality. Emerson was nothing but a childlike, childish little tyrant and it infuriated me to see Jack just go along with everything.
Still and all, it was a good read and a lot of fun.
Still and all, it was a good read and a lot of fun.
December 21, 2010
Flanagan manages to touch upon pretty much every aspect of the music business as it has developed since 1967 in his novel about a second tier English "British Invasion" band and the subsequent histories of its members from that era to today. He tells the story reasonably well; it's not great literature, but the story moves along and Flanagan fleshes out the characters nicely. I'm not sure how much interest this book would have for someone who is not in this business. One complaint--at 640 pages, the book is really too long. Flanagan should have been more concise in places and there are a few portions of the tale that could have been edited out.
Interestingly, one of the three members of the Ravons, the band that is the center of the story, is named Simon Potts. Potts is the least sympathetic of the principals. The real Simon Potss was a very well-known A&R man for Arista Records U.K., Elektra Records U.K and ultimately Capitol Records in the U.S. (I believe he eventually became President of Capitol for a brief period.) Potts was not a well-liked guy by the end of his time in the record business, and I'm sure that the use of his name in this book is no coincidence.
Interestingly, one of the three members of the Ravons, the band that is the center of the story, is named Simon Potts. Potts is the least sympathetic of the principals. The real Simon Potss was a very well-known A&R man for Arista Records U.K., Elektra Records U.K and ultimately Capitol Records in the U.S. (I believe he eventually became President of Capitol for a brief period.) Potts was not a well-liked guy by the end of his time in the record business, and I'm sure that the use of his name in this book is no coincidence.
September 12, 2011
An fictional account of over four decades in the life of a rock band, which references and parallels many of the notable British bands of the late 60s (notably folks like the Yardbirds and Eric Clapton). What sets this book apart is the perspective of the manager of the band, who sacrifices so much in their name (also, profits). I think Flanagan did a good job of doing the evolution of the business of rock and roll very interestingly. There is a lot about how music is packaged and resold which serve as a nice primer on the music business and how musicians can make gobs of money even when they fail to record successful albums. There is a bit of a predictable rise and fall of each band member which dips into some cliche, but there are also some nice weird and dark side avenues that show up, notably the bit with shooting a MTV with a little person that goes off the rails is hilarious. Recommended for fans of late 60s music, as you'll get most of the references, and those who don't mind seeing celebrity lives go to ruin.
April 27, 2010
I think this novel is among my favorites. Ever. Totally unexpected. Love my local library in Redondo Beach for staying so current and bringing these stories in front of me. Free!!
"Evening's Empire" is the story of the career, adventures, and many problems of a rock-and-roll manager and his band, from the sixties in London to the end of the road. Bill Flanagan is a music industry veteran, and even though this is fiction, it seems to me that he must have seen a lot for real. He wrote another book that I liked called "A&R", but this new one is on another level. It is funny, insightful, even wise. I found myself laughing out loud and alternately made very sad by events in this story. Not just about music, this is a book about life.
From the back cover it looks like Bob Dylan liked it too. Which makes me feel like I have good taste. Hah hah! Highly recommended for all my concert friends, or anybody. The Widespread Panic crew especially. I think you all would like it.
"Evening's Empire" is the story of the career, adventures, and many problems of a rock-and-roll manager and his band, from the sixties in London to the end of the road. Bill Flanagan is a music industry veteran, and even though this is fiction, it seems to me that he must have seen a lot for real. He wrote another book that I liked called "A&R", but this new one is on another level. It is funny, insightful, even wise. I found myself laughing out loud and alternately made very sad by events in this story. Not just about music, this is a book about life.
From the back cover it looks like Bob Dylan liked it too. Which makes me feel like I have good taste. Hah hah! Highly recommended for all my concert friends, or anybody. The Widespread Panic crew especially. I think you all would like it.
July 8, 2010
I started this book with high hopes (no pun elocuted), expecting a portrait of the 60s that would follow through and help elucidate how the promise of those years got derailed at times. After the first 100 pages or so, I knew that the author had set less ambitious goals for the book. The resulting "focus" on the "business" (music) was intriguing, especially as it articulated the inevitable roll of the dice that puts one artist/group in the spotlight at a particular place and time (as well as painting a particularly favorable portrait of the "manager"--my internal music kept switching between the Stones' "West Coast Promo Man" and Joni Mitchell's "Free Man in Paris"). Still, an award for the title--a wonderful snatch from Dylan's "Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man" (also, note p. 612, where the "manager" graciously accepts being fired with the line: "Who am I to stand in the doorway or block up the hall?"--from "The Times They Are A'Changin'").
April 7, 2010
The story of the rock band Ravons, founded in the early 60s, puts out 3 albums, and what happens to the group and its members over the next 35 years. Told from the point of view of a young attorney, hired to spy on the wife of the lead singer, but who becomes their manager. Flanagan knows a lot about rock history and the different styles and circumstances that happened to various groups over the time, and he brings it all to bear here. At times I was afraid that the book was sinking into cliche, but he avoided that well, and it's also the case that the characters aren't direct versions of any specific people. It turns out to be quite a good book, memorable in a lot of its details.
That's the last of my rock reading for a while; I have a book on Jerry Lee Lewis at the bedside, but other books are beckoning me first.
That's the last of my rock reading for a while; I have a book on Jerry Lee Lewis at the bedside, but other books are beckoning me first.
March 30, 2010
As an old '60s rocker who played in two original music, this book rang true, very true. The personalities in the Ravens, the massive ego of Emerson, the leader of the band and ultimate solo artist, were all pieces of guys in my bands. You could really believe that the Ravens were contemporaries of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, etc.
Flanagan has a real ear for the business, too. The compromises a manager has to make, how he handles his clients, the cutthroat nature of the business... all portrayed well by Flanagan.
But if you want to read a book that is a true story of what can happen to a band from the '60s, don't miss "Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger" by Dan Matovina. Unlike the Ravens, the splits in Badfinger were fatal for two if its members. Truth can be stranger than fiction.
Flanagan has a real ear for the business, too. The compromises a manager has to make, how he handles his clients, the cutthroat nature of the business... all portrayed well by Flanagan.
But if you want to read a book that is a true story of what can happen to a band from the '60s, don't miss "Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger" by Dan Matovina. Unlike the Ravens, the splits in Badfinger were fatal for two if its members. Truth can be stranger than fiction.
February 9, 2011
From the swinging 60’s in London, laid back California 70’s, hard edge New York 80’s, and from Live-Aid to Live 8, Jack Flynn manages the band and solo careers of the Ravons. He begins as a lawyer to sort out a divorce for the band’s front man Emerson Cutler and stays with them though the up and downs, ins and outs, busts and breakups of a 40 year ride through the music industry.
Besides being a great story of a lawyer who ends up managing a rock band, this is a great fictional history of the music industry from the late 60’s until the present. This book hits all the highs and lows starting with the British invasion to the huge benefit concerts, the obscurity to the comebacks, from Top of the Pops to MTV, and from changing formats such as albums and CD’s to digital downloads. We can only wonder where the music will take us from here.
Besides being a great story of a lawyer who ends up managing a rock band, this is a great fictional history of the music industry from the late 60’s until the present. This book hits all the highs and lows starting with the British invasion to the huge benefit concerts, the obscurity to the comebacks, from Top of the Pops to MTV, and from changing formats such as albums and CD’s to digital downloads. We can only wonder where the music will take us from here.
April 5, 2013
If I could, I would rate this book a "TEN"...
It was so well written and interesting, a must for any music fan of the bands of the 60's and especially if you have any interest in a behind-the scenes look at the music recording and promotion industy...I loved how he followed the band over 30 plus years and also included what was going on personally his own life (that of the narrator). The characters were realistic and while it was a ficticuous band, he added in all the "real" music stuff (and bands) that was happening to the industry at the time, so it seemed so real!
I had initally purchased this book for my husband who is a musician singer/songwriter, and drummer "on-the-side" and he also records music, and he loved it too. I think this would be perfect for a movie or a TV mini-series, maybe HBO or Netflix??
It was so well written and interesting, a must for any music fan of the bands of the 60's and especially if you have any interest in a behind-the scenes look at the music recording and promotion industy...I loved how he followed the band over 30 plus years and also included what was going on personally his own life (that of the narrator). The characters were realistic and while it was a ficticuous band, he added in all the "real" music stuff (and bands) that was happening to the industry at the time, so it seemed so real!
I had initally purchased this book for my husband who is a musician singer/songwriter, and drummer "on-the-side" and he also records music, and he loved it too. I think this would be perfect for a movie or a TV mini-series, maybe HBO or Netflix??
July 1, 2011
This is quite simply the best rock 'n roll novel ever written. More than that, it's a hilarious romp through the debased values of our times. I kept thinking of J.P.Donleavy's The Ginger Man or Fielding's Thom Jones, and Thomas Rogers' The Confessions of a Child of the Century. Flanagan knows the music scene inside and out but so do a lot of people — this guy can write! Each chapter ends with a droll reflection from the beleaguered narrator who manages a band through the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Rock and roll history comes alive as each of the band members discovers more deeply the real nature of his character. So does our narrator. The result is funny and wise, clear-eyed and resigned. I'm going to wait a year, let it cool off, and read it again.
September 14, 2014
I read this novel four years ago but I think about it a lot. Evening's Empire is one of the most satisfying books I've read. It combines passionate storytelling with an unparalleled love of music. It's a combination that I can't turn away from much less dislike. I felt immersed in the story of this band and the people in it. I wanted to believe that it was real, that I could open up my laptop and download the songs, the albums that were chronicled in this book. I think that's the greatest triumph of a great novel - convincing the reader to believe that the story should be real. Evening's Empire did just that. Wonderful.
September 14, 2010
Entertaining at times but entirely too long. Bill Flanagan uses the fictitious rock band "The Ravons" as a vehicle to share his stories (or any story he's ever been told it seems) from decades in the music biz. He also uses this book as a way to explain cultural, political and technological influences on music and the industry from 1964 - 2009. There are fun, classic rock myths and tales of excess recapped that are worth sifting through if you are a music nerd. Otherwise the 640 pages come off as indulgent.
June 16, 2012
I hadn't heard of this book until I received it as a gift, and settled into it knowing not much more than the fact that I very much enjoy Bill Flanagan on CBS Sunday Morning. With every page I fell more and more in love with the characters, and every once in awhile there's a laugh out loud moment you'll want to share with whoever happens to be near you at the time.
Evening's Empire goes down on my shelf of fame right alongside Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival as one of my favorite fun, irresistible reads. If you like music and good characters, this is a novel you can't miss.
Evening's Empire goes down on my shelf of fame right alongside Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival as one of my favorite fun, irresistible reads. If you like music and good characters, this is a novel you can't miss.
August 19, 2010
A highly entertaining and multi-leveled tale of 40 years in the rock 'n' roll business. The narrator is the manager of a lightweight 60s pop band that almost makes it big in its first incarnation. Four decades of incarnations follow, with a wide range of personal and professional successes and failures. Flanagan makes the world real, a possible roman a clef, although he drops perhaps a few too many names.
February 2, 2011
A sprawling, anecdotal journey through rock-and-roll history through the eyes of Jack Flynn, the manager of the influential Ravons, a man now writing his memoirs and reflecting back on his life. While its distinctive characters, interesting setting, and melancholy, but ultimate hopeful, outlook make it engaging, the anecdotal sprawl can spread the suspension of disbelief a little too thin. But it’s probably good times for a rock-and-roll fan.
April 30, 2014
The author knows his rock and roll from the inside out and top to bottom. This story of a Brit band manager follows him and the band members from 1967 to the present. There are some very sentimental and moving moments, and the author can hide behind the pretense that the narrator was a solicitor and is self described as distant at times to blame the episodic and limited emotional range of this effort. I'd be willing to read more by Bill Flanagan, he knows what he's talking about.
Read
July 20, 2016Jeff says:
Besides being a great story of a lawyer who ends up managing a rock band, this is a great fictional history of the music industry from the late 60’s until the present. This book hits all the highs and lows starting with the British invasion to the huge benefit concerts, the obscurity to the comebacks, from Top of the Pops to MTV, and from changing formats such as albums and CD’s to digital downloads. We can only wonder where the music will take us from here.
Besides being a great story of a lawyer who ends up managing a rock band, this is a great fictional history of the music industry from the late 60’s until the present. This book hits all the highs and lows starting with the British invasion to the huge benefit concerts, the obscurity to the comebacks, from Top of the Pops to MTV, and from changing formats such as albums and CD’s to digital downloads. We can only wonder where the music will take us from here.
March 12, 2013
Of course the names have been changed but they're all in here: Chris Blackwell, Allen Klein, even Brian Epstein. This wonderful story traces not only a 60's band in its 40-year journey from hitmakers to rock 'n roll dinosaurs but also shows the evolution of the music industry from payola and selling 45's to unlimited digital streaming. A great tale for those fascinated by the music industry.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews