Hard to Handle, Steve Gorman
Hard to Handle, Steve Gorman
7 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

Hard to Handle
The Life and Death of the Black Crowes--A Memoir

Author: Steve Gorman, Steven Hyden

Narrator: Steve Gorman

Unabridged: 13 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 09/24/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Black Crowes drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman shares the band's inside story in this behind-the-scenes biography, from their supernova stardom in the '90s to exhilarating encounters with industry legends.
"This book is literally the Angela's Ashes of rock memoirs. .. I absolutely loved this book."

-BILL BURR, comedian



"I couldn't put the book down-absolutely unbelievable read!"

-JOHN MCENROE, New York Times bestselling author of But Seriously and You Cannot Be Serious



"I honestly couldn't put [this book] down. Made me nostalgic, sad, and happy too."

-CHRIS SHIFLETT, lead guitarist of Foo Fighters




"Essential reading for rock fans everywhere."

-BRIAN KOPPELMAN, co-creator and showrunner of Billions



For more than two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts, graced the cover of Rolling Stone, and reigned supreme over MTV and radio waves alike with hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy." But as the old cliché goes, stardom can be fleeting, and the group's success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. On any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw-or the most combative. Then, one last rift in 2013 proved insurmountable for the band to survive. After that, The Black Crowes would fly no more.

Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it-the coke- and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the incessant fighting between brothers Chris and Rich Robinson; the backstage hangs with legends like Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and the Rolling Stones. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep The Black Crowes together musically and emotionally. In Hard ToHandle-the first account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end-Gorman explains just how impossible that job was with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like The Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Andrew on January 31, 2021

This is challenging review. I am biased. If the reader is a Black Crowes fan, the rating should be a four. If the reader is a Rock biography fan, the rating should be a three. If the reader has never heard The Black Crowes, the rating should be a two. I am a Black Crowes fanatic. I've spent thousands of......more

Goodreads review by Adam on September 26, 2019

I inhaled this book like Chris Robinson with a bag of weed. It was written by the funniest Crowe. There was more highlighted text than white space when I was done. It was at its strongest when it didn't sound like a therapy session or when every chapter ended with a Behind the Music line like, 'Ther......more

Goodreads review by Jason on September 26, 2019

This is for Black Crowes fans only, really. I don't think this a book like Keith Richards' autobiography, which, even if you weren't a fan of Keith, the read would still be pretty amazing. This book is not some amazing story. However, if you are a Black Crowes fan and wondered what was going on in t......more

Goodreads review by Jason on June 07, 2022

The entire book is clearly an angry vendetta against the Robinson brothers. So much negativity and not enough credit for the product. I'll take his word that they are both narcissistic rock stars that fought constantly and often acted like assholes, but that was already well known from other reports......more

Goodreads review by David on January 30, 2020

I really enjoyed this book. Steve Gorman takes you behind the scenes of a great Rock n' Roll band. The Highs and the Lows. I liked that when you read it, it feels like he's having a conversation with you. He doesn't pull any punches. Tells it like he saw it. It's too bad that all the infighting betw......more


Quotes

"One of the year's most buzzed-about rock bios!"—JamBase

"Bands are beautiful fragile toxic things--always one wrong glance or argument away from falling apart. Steve manages to tell the tale of the internal turmoil of the Black Crowes, in all its sordid detail, without ever getting finger-pointy about it. I honestly couldn't put it down. Made me nostalgic, sad, and happy too."—Chris Shiflett, lead guitarist of Foo Fighters

"Reading this book brought me back to a time that rock and roll mattered to me more than almost anything else. I was at some of the early Black Crowes gigs depicted here, and the book is so well drawn, that I could not only hear the music again, but smell the sweat coming off the band and crowd as clearly as I did back then. This is Almost Famous, told by the guy behind the drums, who remembers every chord change, every fight, every song's journey from demo to record to live performance. Essential reading for rock fans everywhere."—Brian Koppelman, co-creator and showrunner of Billions

"Hard to Handle is an amazing and a lot of times uncomfortably candid account of Steve's time in the Black Crowes. The opportunities presented and then lost. The ups and downs. The fights. The fuck ups. This book is literally the Angela's Ashes of rock memoirs. Every time things seem to be looking up for the band an insane decision, comment or substance seems to drive the band right into a ditch, only to see them somehow use that negative momentum to then attain a new level of success. I absolutely loved this book. Can't wait for the movie!"—Bill Burr, comedian

"I couldn't put the book down--absolutely unbelievable read! Now I know why I was lucky to play tennis; I didn't have to deal with anyone except myself!"—John McEnroe, New York Times bestselling author of But Seriously and You Cannot Be Serious

"A raw, intimate portrait of the band vividly unfolds as Gorman recounts his history with the Crowes, from their conception to their final days. While this is a familiar tale in some ways, Gorman sidesteps the usual clichees. The book is a reminder of the band's wide-ranging talent and great music... Gorman has written a brutally honest, deeply personal memoir of the group he helped to create. A must for fans of the Black Crowes and American rock and roll."—Library Journal

"Insightful and explosive....almost every page has some sort of jaw-dropping revelation...and Gorman was there from the very beginning to the last downbeat."—The Houston Press