Okay biography that certainly concentrates on the fall of one of pop musics great innovators and early producers. The obviously wildly bipolar Spector, the biography certainly makes a diagnosis in all but statement. The biography stops short of the verdict in the Lana Clarkson murder, an incident that seemed fated from early on. ( )

"mr. spector, tear down this wall of sound!" competently written, kinda sucky. ( )

Loved this! The author is Mick Brown.
Mick Brown had written a scathing article on Spector portraying him as crazy. Phil read this article the next day and was infuriated, breaking a year long sobriety streak and getting loaded. Within 24 hours Lana Clarkson was dead.
A must read for anyone who followed the Spector trial or WILL follow the re-trial in the Fall of 2008. ( )

When I first heard that Phil Spector had been accused of murder, I didn't believe it. Even when he was eventually convicted, I still couldn't accept the idea that the man responsible for records such as Be My Baby, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, and River Deep, Mountain High might be responsible for a crime like that. But I didn't really know anything about Spector beyond his music, and you can't judge a person solely by their artistic accomplishments. I should have learnt that by now.

Having read Tearing Down The Wall Of Sound: The Rise & Fall Of Phil Spector, I realised just how naive I'd been. Mick Brown's book is all about proving that our heroes and idols aren't necessarily nice people, they have feet of clay and hearts of darkness. Why should we expect them to be better than us, when chances are they're even more fucked up?

Read the full review at my blog. ( )

Thoroughly researched account of Spector’s life, based on over 100 interviews with his friends and acquaintances, and an extensive interview with Spector weeks prior to the death of Lana Clarkson in his mansion. Balanced portrayal of his genius at rock and roll production and manipulation of people, and his dark, potentially violent temper founded on low self-esteem. Heavy profanity, some sexual situations, drug use, description of a murder scene and coroner’s report.