Browne has taken the genre of rock biography to a new level. He goes far beyond describing a band and the internal discontent, creative energy, or drug use. He takes four seminal albums and places them in the social and political context of 1970, the year in which they were released. The demise of the Beatles and events surrounding Let It Be, and the rise of James Taylor with the release of Sweet Baby James serve as metaphorical bookends to the year.

The book is organized by seasons, with the stories of the selected artists woven together. Browne interviewed Crosby and Taylor, as well as many of the people closely involved with these 4 albums. In his intro, Browne discusses what led him to write the book; his writing remains objective even with his openly admitted reverence for the 4 albums he chose.

Browne’s experience as a journalist is evident in his well-researched account.
His writing flows easily, even when he needs to backtrack a bit to further describe an event. As a lifelong band chick, I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of desribing the year and even the artists in the context of specific albums. No one artist, band, or song stands alone. They are all intertwined, and Browne does a marvelous job of showing us the riptides of change throughout 1970.