Mansion on the Hill, The: Dylan, Young, Geffen, and Springsteen and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce

by Fred Goodman

In 1964, on the brink of the British Invasion, the music business in America shunned rock and roll. There was no rock press, no such thing as artist management -- literally no rock-and-roll business. Today the industry will gross over $20 billion. How did this change happen?

From the moment Pete Seeger tried to cut the power at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival debut of Bob Dylan's electric band, rock's cultural influence and business potential have been grasped by a rare assortment of ambitious and farsighted musicians and businessmen. Jon Landau took calls from legendary producer Jerry Wexler in his Brandeis dorm room and went on to orchestrate Bruce Springsteen's career. Albert Grossman's cold-eyed assessment of the financial power at his clients' fingertips made him the first rock manager to blaze the trail that David Geffen transformed into a superhighway. Dylan's uncanny ability to keep his manipulation of the business separate from his art and reputation prefigured the savvy -- and increasingly cynical -- professionalism of groups like the Eagles.

Fred Goodman, a longtime rock critic and journalist, digs into the contradictions and ambiguities of a generation that spurned and sought success with equal fervor. The Mansion on the Hill , named after a song title used by Hank Williams, Neil Young, and Bruce Springsteen, breaks new ground in our understanding of the people and forces that have shaped the music.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Business, Biography, Rock N Roll, Music Biography

431 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 1997

Reviews

[Michael Elkon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but not great. I enjoyed the parts on the interaction between artists, producers, agents, and record labels. As long as there was a tie between the end product and the business side, the material was interesting. At times, Goodman got away from that and was talking purely about the business side, especially in the David Geffen chapters. Those chapters were a drag.

Goodman sees Geffen as being very different than Albert Grossman because Grossman really cared that his artists were able to say what they wanted to say, whereas Geffen simply wanted his artists to make money regardless of their content. I would have liked to have seen that distinction played out a little more. I did come out of the book with a better view of Grossman than I had before. Goodman gives him credit for fighting hard for his artists to be able to express themselves without record companies telling them what to do. Grossman and Dylan had a famous falling out, but Goodman implies the argument that Grossman was a necessary, but not sufficient condition for Dylan's success, but then that the people who came after Grossman as famous rock managers didn't care about the music as much as Grossman did.

The second axis on which Goodman travels is Jon Landau's influence on Bruce Springsteen. Goodman makes Springsteen out to be a creation of Landau, who pushed Bruce in certain directions in order to sell records. At times, the criticism seems legitimate and at other times, it goes too far. There are criticisms of Springsteen - especially for commercial decisions - that could also be levied against Dylan and Neil Young, the two artists whom Goodman holds up as paragons (and I like Dylan and Young more than Springsteen, so when I defend Bruce relative to Bob and Neil, someone has clearly gone too far). The chapter on Landau essentially ruining MC5 is really interesting and presents all sorts of interesting counter-factuals. Ditto for the chapter on Frampton burning out.

Most interesting anecdotes from the book:

1. Dylan went over to an avante garde film director's loft to screen a movie for which the director wanted Dylan to do a song. The movie was terrible, but Dylan said that he wanted to come back that night to the loft with his wife to screen the movie again (with steaks and wine) and that he wanted the director to be absent FROM HIS OWN LOFT. In reality, Sara was remodeling and Dylan wanted her to be able to see the decor of the loft. He had no interest in the movie.

2. Neil Young was in a band with Rick James. James had deserted from the Navy, so his participation in the band was curtailed by being arrested.

[Jeff Golick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. The blurb on the paperback re peering behind the curtain to see the wizard minus all of his trappings/drapery is spot on. It's not a view of rock & roll I really wanted to see, but it's fascinating nonetheless.

Goodman has done a tremendous amount of research in pulling this story together. Even more amazingly, he keeps several strands going simultaneously -- growth of record labels as big business; growth of local club circuits to encompass arenas/stadiums/international tours; growth of the manager/svengali role as integral to an artist's success; as well as nods to underground newspapers & early rock mags, as well as radio format changes.

While it'd be hard to imagine that anyone approaches the rock business with too *little* cynicism, Goodman's take on, especially, David Geffen and Jon Landau, as well as many others, will leave you completely illusion-less.

Stoking the star-making machinery turns out not to be for the naive or faint of heart.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written twenty years ago, so it might seem a little dated. However, the history side of things has its focus in the 1960s, where the business of rock music found its formative years. This book is a good telling of the business end of music.

If anyone from Amazon is listening, your Kindle version was absolutely atrocious with typographical errors in every paragraph. I’d like my money back.

[fonz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apasionante y detallada crónica de un fenómeno viejo como el mundo, es decir, otro movimiento bohemio absorbido por el establishment. En este caso, como los valores de rebeldía, oposición al orden establecido y libertad artística del folk norteamericano de los años cincuenta y sesenta, fueron adoptadas por el rock underground de finales de esa década y como este rock fue progresivamente comercializado por las grandes disqueras, Warner a la cabeza (por desesperación básicamente, era apostar por el rock, entonces denostado, o irse a hacer puñetas), con la alegre colaboración de artistas deseosos de triunfar y convertirse en estrellas, mánagers ávidos de dinero y poder y todo tipo de ejecutivos sin escrúpulos, hasta que en los ochenta, el rock culminó su conversión en otro artículo de consumo de la inmensa oferta de ocio que disfrutamos en occidente, una máquina de generar dinero a espuertas, donde los artistas son diligentes funcionarios del capitalismo de consumo, en su papel de recipientes y herramientas de control de los deseos y aspiraciones de las masas.

El libro desarrolla esta narrativa centrándose básicamente en dos actores de esta tragicomedia, David Geffen, un ambicioso trepa cuyo sueño era convertirse en un gran magnate del mundo del espectáculo al estilo de los dueños de los grandes estudios de Hollywood, y que encontró en la industria discográfica el terreno perfecto para medrar y Jon Landau, crítico estrella de Rolling Stone, productor y mánager de Bruce Springsteen, fascinado por el poder y el dinero, que siempre consideró la música popular como arte y también negocio, conciliando con habilidad el espíritu contradictorio del rock, que para lograr el éxito masivo debe ser capaz de aunar "autenticidad" (o al menos, aparentarla) con la más descarnada máquina de hacer dinero que puede concebirse, como el plan de márketing de "Born in the USA" ejemplificó en los ochenta.

Lo único que se le puede reprochar al libro es el tremendo detallismo, uno asiste a un enorme baile de nombres, músicos, mánagers, promotores de conciertos, ejecutivos, abogados, contratos, querellas y, sobre todo, dinero, muchísimas y mareantes cantidades de dinero (y unas sórdidas anécdotas estupendas). A pesar de todo yo he disfrutado muchísimo del libro que recomendaría sin dudar a todo interesado en la industria de la música popular norteamericana, junto a los también imprescindibles "Hit Men" de Fredric Dannen y "Rockonomics" de Marc Eliot.

[Ben Sweezy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep this book was excellent. It does a good job of walking the middle-line between "too much about individual people and what they ate for breakfast" versus "impersonal generalizations of entire industries." That is good.

David Geffen, wow. Went from the mailroom at an NYC talent agency to (if you trust the suggestions this book makes) Clinton and 1990s Democrats kingmaker billionaire. Good on him. Oh and he made the Eagles and Guns & Roses along the way.

I thought the book would dwell on Springsteen more than it did. In fact, there is very little about him himself-- most of the discussion is about his various managers, agents, producers, and Steve Van Zandt. I'm okay with this. This gives a little bit of a look into the preposterous business happenings that surrounded "Darkness on Edge of Town,' "The River," "Nebraska," and "Born in the USA."



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This is the first book to really get me to lie in bed until 2am killing a hundred pages at a time. It's not particularly fast-paced, but it is excellent material which I'm interested in and don't know much about.

I'm learning about the cut-throat upbringing of David Geffen, and will soon learn how a Boston music writer created the Bruce Springsteen we all know.

I look forward to this.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly unflattering portrayal of rock giants David geffen, Jon landau, mike appel, Springsteen, and myriad others (though both Dylan and young don't get the level of attention that these guys get and come out looking a bit better). It's not a slam fest exactly (though David geffen might disagree) but it clearly has an agenda, that rock and business do not work well together and the business ends up running the rock. Clearly, many of these guys are full of contradictions and some might call them hypocrites (like this author). But the depth of the history is pretty shallow and I ended up feeling like a lot of cherry picking was going on not only in what we see of each of the main characters but in who he selected to focus on to represent "rock". Still, I enjoyed this look into rock's business history. It was written in 1997 so clearly things may have changed in the last twenty years. . . Probably not for the better, however, if by better we mean a decommercialization of rock.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is okay.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars: Excellent depiction of the rise of the business side of rock and roll, starting with early 60s folk, Dylan, Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young, CSNY, and others I listened obsessively to in the early 70s. The best parts of the book concern the interplay of managers, agents, and producers with the bands themselves. Frankly, the most boring passages deal with the rise of the record companies and the men who made and exploited them. Overall, it's a very satisfying read about the business underlying the music I love.

[Eamonn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting read. Essentially it's the same story as the rise of player-power in professional sports, and the agents who facilitated this change. While I have little interest in the specific artists used - Dylan, Springsteen, Jackson Browne, the whole Asylum label yawnfest, etc. - apart from the MC5, it was still a very interesting read through one take on the evolution of rock music as a business.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Geffen and Jon Landau (who are both still around!) both made invaluable contributions to turning the rock industry into a multibillion dollar one; written in 1997, just before the record industry came to an end, the book summarises the journey of rock from hippie ideals to Bruce Springsteen playing stadiums and Neil Young being sued for being too difficult an artist. A bygone era, but one being played out among the tech tycoons today.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting microhistory of rock agents, focusing on Lew Grossman, Mike Appel, Jon Laundau, David Geffen, and a few others.

It’s pretty dated, and carries too much heavily weighted opinion that makes it read a bit like a rant. But interesting.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-researched but disappointing. Forget the sub-title promise of "Dylan, Young, ...Springsteen", this is a book about David Geffen and Jon Landau. And really, why would you want to know any more about those two?

[John Albers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting view of American music from the sixties to the late eighties and early nineties when rock and roll music went from being a barely tolerated form of entertainment to a multi-billion-dollar business and those who capitalized on its growth.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this to a casual music fan. This is a pretty deep dive into the music business and might be slightly dated since it ends before Napster/streaming.

I felt like more time was spent talking about Geffen and Springsteen, but an enjoyable, informative read nonetheless.

[Chris Quartly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written book if you're interested on the business-side of music over the years. For someone who doesn't care much for Springsteen's music, the second half of the book was still a page-turner.

[isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

While interesting enough – as someone who is more of a fiction reader, I found the actual narrative quite dry and unstructured

[Mike Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, well written. Ended so abruptly I wondered if my copy was missing the last chapter or epilogue.

[Bill Laine · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do rockers get to be stars? Mostly they come under the wing of someone who understands the business. This book is a fascinating look at the ascent of the big acts I've enjoyed over the years. What turned a couple of ambitious young songwriters into the mega-platinum Eagles? How did an introverted, talented, songwriter become the institution of Bruce Springsteen? We learn the inside story on these and many, many more.

There are many intertwined threads in this book but the main threads are the careers of record company magnate David Geffen and critic-turned-producer Jon Landau.

My only quibble is that author Goodman has this idea that in the misty past musicians were pure and driven by artistic passion. It was only the businessmen that corrupted them and made them greedy. I have tried to imagine a musician who, at some point, didn't want to support a family, have a mortgage, buy a new car. Everyone needs to make a living.

Reading this took me back. I'd read about the new phenom in Rolling Stone and wonder what the whole story was. It took some years but I finally found out.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes me feel like I'm the "artist getting screwed," not the "businessman doing the screwing." It made me feel like I have no eye for the business at all, but I guess what I really am seeing is that I do not have the business mind of David Geffen. Goodness, his schemery works on a unique level. The book is indeed a commerce of rock book and should probably be in a class based around that somewhere.

And the names in the title should probably really be "Dylan, Grossman, Young, Geffen, Springsteen, and Landau," because my, it does go on, with varying levels of action about all those characters and others.

But it's fascinating, blah, blah, read it if you care about the backstory of white American classic rock, blah, blah. I particularly liked the Landau arc from rock & roll writer to rock & roll producer. I didn't even know who the guy was before this. I found only one editing error in the whole book, by the way.

I do wish the ending was a little more...connected to the beginning. The end is far more "end of a chapter" than "end of a book." There's not much conclusion.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well documented take on how rock'n'roll went from rebellion to just another commercial product, and in record time. Goodman takes some shots at how some of my heroes remodeled their image -- with help from very smart, commercial-minded managers -- to become more commercially successful. He particularly bears down on Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen's manager, and Dave Marsh, a biographer who become pretty much just a publicity man for Springsteen.

Nicely told, interesting if you follow popular music and recognize the names not just of the performers but the record companies, managers and hangers-on who went from scruffy, seedy nightclubs to raking in millions in stadium shows. Goodman's heresy, to some anyway, will be saying anything that smacks of negativity when it comes to the likes of Springsteen, Dylan, etc. I see his point, not completely, but you have to acknowledge how much he gets right. The book is dated and completely misses the destruction of the record industry by the internet, which may or may not have altered his perception of what came before.

Worth reading for music fans and music history fans.

[Gustav Dinsdag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaahhh, no! Don’t shatter my romantic dreams about the Holy Artist! I admit to having been a naïve hippie for a long time. Mansion on the Hill offers a revealing backstage-view of a business we all love to see only the showroom of. Would there have been the Bob we all know without Albert Grossman? The Janis Joplin?

It must have been thrilling to have been a successful artist in the eye of the cultural hurricane that was the sixties and seventies. An era in which it was possible to have relentless businessmen fronting for authentic artists. There’s a shift in approach going from Grossman to Geffen, but it is a gradual one.
If you want to see how this lull in which artists could take over creative control, if only for a short while, came about then read Exploding, by Stan Cornyn. And the music? It will remain forever. These two decades are truly unique and the like of them will never be seen again. The point is proven by the fact that many rock musicians in every succeeding generation keep on reaching back for the real thing.

[Ira friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mansion is a selective account of how Rock n Roll and $$ became entwisted with one another. I say it is a selective account because Goodman could have used all sorts of examples to show this but interestingly chose a few characters who together represent a much larger picture.

As I saw it, Geffen represented the biz man, out there for the money, though he preached otherwise. Dylan is the guy who likes the money, but no one saw that coming. Springsteen sort of merges these two and keeps himself honest at the same time. The Boss, after all, was a huge economic success, much more than Dylan, but has never been viewed as a sell out.

Goodman takes a look at Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, Springsteen's rep. John Landau and Neil Young and his manager Eliot Roberts.

Truly is a great story of how the music biz got from there to here and has some fairly interesting stories and historical tidbits.

[Darin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book chronicles the rise of the music business from a spattering of underground, counterculture groups into a multi-billion dollar industry. Most of the individuals highlighted in the book were determined to make money and often appear to be in the right place at the right time. While the book may not have the most positive and rewarding message about the success of these individuals, it is an insightful and truthful expose into the behind-the-scenes deals that were made to create music stars. I wrote a longer review at The Wheel's Still In Spin.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly intersting look at the music business from a business standpoint. The book tells how rock and roll went from a nearly cottage industry to a huge business. I think I expected more about the musicians than the men behind the scenes and how they all got rich off someone else's talent. I am not surprised that some of the musicians wanted to get rich, more power to you if you can use your talent and hard work to make lots of money. David Geffen and Jon Landeau might have made lots of money, but the music their artists created was and is much more important than them giving lots of money to help politicians fet in power.

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough and well researched book stretching from the early 60s with Bob Dylan and the folk movement through the mid to late nineties and the formation of Dreamworks SKG. There are a lot of names dropped and background stories of both recording industry executives and players and recording artists. Bruce Springsteen, David Geffen, Ray Riepen, Neil Young and more personalities. Geffen, Atlantic, Capitol, Warner Brothers, MCA and more record labels. If a reader is looking for a good, comprehensive history of American rock artists and record labels from the early sixties through the mid to late nineties this is the book that reader wants and needs to read.

[Matt Ringler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps these ideas were more controversial when this book was first published and in that respect it may be a groundbreaking work. However, the concept that rock stars get rich despite the values they espouse in their work isn't big news these days.

The origin of the underground folk scene in Boston, Grossman's relationship with Dylan, and Springsteen's rise to fame are the most interesting portions to me. Aside from that, most of the other info can be found in other books, with far friendlier narratives.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The downhill of rock n' roll. The rock n' roll manager as an accountant. The rock n' roll manager only interested in percentage. The rock n' roll manager... who likes to live in Laurel Canyon or Malibu. In other words they don't care for rock n' roll culture, in fact they just want to buy culture wholesale. Depressing people, but an interesting book. And I don't even want to start.... never mind!

[Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written before THE RISING, this book is pretty rough on Springsteen with a fairly cliched thesis that (gasp) he's not the populist he claims to be.... at least he can't be if he made $150 million of BORN IN THE USA. Or something like that. The Young chapters are more original if only because NY is more mercurial (and "mercurial" may be a synonym for self-indulgent, depending on how you feel about The Neil).

[Rose Kelleher]

I can't believe how many reviews of this book say it's disillusioning. To be disillusioned by it you would have to be a wide-eyed folkie, and this would have to be 1963. I picked it up on a whim at Abebooks for a dollar, so the fact that I wasn't intrigued enough to finish it isn't really the book's fault; it appears to be meticulously researched and decently written.

[Drex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of great information on Albert Grossman (aka the derogatory "Cumulus Nimbus"), who was Bob Dylans brilliant manager. In my opinion, he's the ideal artist manager - there but not there, in everything but not in the way.