Reviews of “It Ain't Easy”
 It Ain't Easy“Myers makes good use of interviews with [Rod Stewart & Elton John], along with ones conducted with Clapton and Paul McCartney, in giving readers a strong sense of the heady time when Baldry and blues had popular appeal.” Downbeat Magazine, Jun 5, 2008 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“There’s very little of the self-destruction, superstar hi-jinks, and nonstop partying that’s usually present in musician biographies – just the story of a man and his blues.” Dirty Linen Magazine, Jun 1, 2008 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“Myers jumped at the chance to write about Baldry after making some cursory investigations. …’I was impressed with the idea that a 6'7" English gay man was the lynchpin of the British Blues,’ Myers recalls… Myers was also captivated by the story of how, early in Elton John's solo career, Baldry convinced his former piano player to break off his engagement with one Linda Woodrow after a night of drunken debauchery.” Xtra.ca, Jan 22, 2008 Read more >>Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“…[a] highly entertaining, must-read page-turner… [Myers] frank, star-studded, anecdote-filled biography finally gives Baldry the respect that eluded him in life…” The Hour.ca, Nov 8, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“It Ain’t Easy is a highly readable account of Baldry’s life and his involvement in the British Blues boom that would culminate in the English rock ‘n’ roll invasion of the 1960’s. Myers’ prose is brisk, and at times witty, but never at the expense of his narrative. He deftly handles issues of Baldry’s sexuality and self-destructive tendencies with honesty, without descending into lurid excess. Easy also benefits from Myers’ original interviews with an impressive list of Baldry’s associates and contemporaries.” J.B. Spins.com, Nov 4, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“Musician and journalist Paul Myers draws on intimate anecdotes from Baldry's legendary friends, lovers, and professional acquaintances to reveal the man behind the mythic persona. … Myers' biography celebrates the wild life of Long John Baldry and, as a history of blues, it gives new insight into a cornerstone of rock-and-roll.” The Ledge, Nov 2, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy"[Long John Baldry's] story is told briskly and well in journalist and musician Paul Myers’s It Ain’t Easy… The biography is likely to be definitive. The important voices are here: friends, family, famous protégés. It’s an affectionate account, part glimpse into a vibrant music scene, part life story of a talented but troubled man.” Globe and Mail, Oct 20, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“As the book’s title suggests, Baldry’s story is a bittersweet tale, equal parts success and failure. …But no one who heard Baldry’s bass voice growl on “Don’t Try to Lay No Boggie Woogie on the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”… would ever deny his genius. Leader Post, Oct 20, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“It’s a wild ride filled with sometimes fascinating, and sometimes touching anecdotes. Myers manages to capture them all on both sides of the Atlantic. And there’s plenty in the book that even the most studied Baldry fan will find enlightening. Little is known in North America about Baldry’s pop period. In the UK, however, even less is known of his rep as a blues performer. Myers brings the two worlds together nicely.” Hamilton Spectator, Oct 9, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |
It Ain't Easy“Paul Myers didn’t set out to write a biography of Long John Baldry. …[he] eventually took on the task… because the more he learned about the man who launched the careers of rock behemoths Elton John and Rod Stewart, the more he wanted to find out.” The Georgia Straight, Oct 7, 2007 Read more about It Ain't Easy >> |