I say long overdue because we've been talking about doing this review for at least eight or nine months now!
While I've mentioned the book several times in Forgotten Hits during that period ... even teasing little bits and pieces here and there and running some rare song clips ... the book was first delayed for several months due to shipping restrictions imposed by the whole Covid thing. (McNidder and Grace are British publishers and the book first came out over there, several months before its US release ... but Paul had arranged for a copy to come my way as soon as it became available. Even so, it arrived at least six weeks later than originally anticipated.)
As soon as it came, I jumped right into, as I had promised Paul, a long-time Forgotten Hits Reader and a great supporter of our efforts ... and someone I genuinely consider to be a friend ... we have talked many times over the years, dating back to when we first posted his "Santa's Stuck Up In The Chimney" video, which has now gone on to have over three million YouTube views ... and has become a new children's classic ... that I would.
But when I read the book, I was beset by mixed emotions ... and, because of my friendship with Paul, I hesitated to let him (or anyone else) know that in many ways I felt cheated and disappointed after reading the book.
But at the same time, I also knew that, as the publisher of Forgotten Hits ... and a trusted source of always providing "the most accurate truth possible" ... I had a responsibility to share those feelings with our readers ... because no matter how much I cared for Paul as a friend, my first obligation was ALWAYS to write a truthful and honest review ... so I did the only thing I could think of to do ...
I procrastinated!!!
And I continued to procrastinate no matter how many times Paul asked me "When are you going to run the review?" And it was tough ... because I REALLY like the guy ... and he went out of the way to get me an early copy of the book because he felt a mention in Forgotten Hits would help the book's success once it was released here in The States ... but I didn't want to just run a negative review and hurt the feelings of a good friend or in any way jeopardize the success of the book's sales ... because there were a lot of things about the book that I really liked. I just felt cheated because over the years, Paul has told me so many of these stories in far greater detail than he does in the book and, as such, some of them felt a little less interesting than they could have been ... and are. On more than one occasion, I almost felt as if he was leading the reader down a certain path and then just abandoned the route to move on to something else without every finishing the journey for which we had departed. I guess I just felt like there was so much more to the story ... so much more insight ... that he could have shared ... and I couldn't figure out why he left me feeling cut off from the whole story ... because Paul really IS a good storyteller.
So I continued to procrastinate.
Then, after reading Gary Theroux's glowing review (which we also ran in Forgotten Hits), essentially calling the book the greatest music biography he had ever read, I started to question myself. Maybe I missed something ... maybe I was overthinking things and had unfair expectations. I have the utmost respect for Gary's knowledge of music ... he has been an invaluable source of information to Forgotten Hits over the years ... and if I've read 2000 books on music in my lifetime, he's probably read 5000 (and even written a few!) ... so I must have REALLY missed something if Gary Theroux, one of the most respected and knowledgeable music experts I have ever known, thought that THIS book outranked all the others of this genre. (I mean, this is the guy that wrote ... and continues to write "The History Of Rock And Roll" ... how am I feeling unsatisfied after reading it while HE's thinking this book just may be the best music biography ever written?!?!?) All this did was make me even more reluctant to publish my thoughts!)
I won't say that Paul kept badgering me to write the review because friends don't "badger" ... (but the truth is he DID kinda keep pestering me about it) ... and I felt awful not putting something up on the site and worse about letting down a guy whose friendship I valued and whose respect for what we do here means so much to me.
Sure, I could have just slapped something together that praised the things that I did like about the book ... and the story that Paul had to tell ... leaving out the shortcomings that ruined the experience for me ... and anyone reading the review would have been none the wiser. But then I felt I wasn't being true to myself and what I represent and try to do here. I truly believe that our readers depend on me to give them an honest review and evaluation of everything we publish here ... and my integrity and make-up wouldn't allow me to do less.
So, I finally contacted Paul and explained the reasons for the delay and my hesitations. Great guy that he is, I don't think it really bothered him ... "Write what you feel ... I just think having something up on your site will help the book here in America ... and may even help get me a few more interviews on some of the oldies stations."
I said "I have a better idea ...
"I'll write the review (which I guess I essentially just did!), but then afterwards, we'll have a conversation and talk about it ... and discuss where I felt things may have come up a little bit short ... and I'll give you a chance to respond and fill in a few more blanks and so that together we can tell, as Paul Harvey might say, 'the rest of the story.'"
So gang, that's exactly what we're going to do.
Over the next few days, we're going to talk to Paul Evans about his lifetime in music ... and I'm going to tell you, in good conscience, to pick up a copy of his book and read and enjoy it ... because you will ... and then when you've finished it, pop back here to read the rest of the story.
And for all the jocks on the list, if you'd like to have Paul Evans as a guest on your show after you read our spotlight piece, just drop me a line and we'll help you to set everything up.
This Week in Forgotten Hits ...
It's THE PAUL EVANS STORY.
kk
