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Words Without Music
- A Memoir
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
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Publisher's summary
The long-awaited memoir by "the most prolific and popular of all contemporary composers." (New York Times)
A world-renowned composer of symphonies, operas, and film scores, Philip Glass has, almost single-handedly, crafted the dominant sound of late twentieth-century classical music. Rapturous in its ability to depict the creative process, Words without Music allows listeners to experience that sublime moment of creative fusion when life merges with art. Biography lovers will be inspired by the story of a precocious Baltimore boy who entered college at age fifteen before traveling to Paris to study under the legendary Nadia Boulanger; Glass devotees will be fascinated by the stories behind Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha, among so many other works. Whether recalling his experiences working at Bethlehem Steel, traveling in India, driving a cab in 1970s New York, or his professional collaborations with the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Ravi Shankar, Robert Wilson, Doris Lessing, and Martin Scorsese, Words without Music affirms the power of music to change the world.
BONUS FEATURE: Includes “Etude No. 2,” written and performed by Philip Glass.
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They Done Good
- By DonnaMarie113 on 06-26-22
By: John Szwed
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The Ballad of Bob Dylan
- A Portrait
- By: Daniel Mark Epstein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a vivid, full-bodied portrait of one of the most influential artists of the 20th-century - a man widely regarded as the most important lyricist America has ever produced. Acclaimed poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein frames Dylan against the backdrop of four seminal concerts - all of which he attended. Beautifully written, The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a unique, eye-opening portrait of an artist who has transformed generations and continues to inspire and surprise today.
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Excellent book, excellent narration
- By L chandler on 12-22-11
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Luck or Something Like It
- A Memoir
- By: Kenny Rogers
- Narrated by: Taber Burns
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A remarkable story of a boy who couldn't stop singing, and a man who knew how to hold 'em. For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved music in America and around the world. In that time, he has become a living legend by combining everything from R&B to country and gospel to folk in his unique voice to create a sound that's both wholly original and instantly recognizable.
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Fun to listen to.
- By b.sea on 07-25-19
By: Kenny Rogers
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Being John Lennon
- A Restless Life
- By: Ray Connolly
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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What was it like to be John Lennon? What was it like to be the castoff child, the clown at school, the middle-class suburban boy who pretended to be a working-class hero? How did it feel to have one of the most recognizable singing voices in the world but to dislike it so much he always wanted to disguise it? Being John Lennon is not about the whitewashed Prince of Peace of “Imagine” legend - because that was only a small part of him. The John Lennon depicted in this book is a much more kaleidoscopic figure, sometimes almost a collision of different characters.
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Stars taken off for inclusion of MDC’s story
- By rob on 12-09-22
By: Ray Connolly
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Take Me Home
- An Autobiography
- By: John Denver
- Narrated by: John Denver
- Length: 3 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
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In a career that spanned decades, John Denver earned international acclaim as a singer, songwriter, actor, and environmental activist. Songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Rocky Mountain High", and "Annie's Song" have entered the canon of universal anthems, but at his start John Denver was a young man with little more than a fine voice, a guitar, and a dream. Growing up in a conservative military family, he was not expected to drop out of college and head to Los Angeles, where the music scene was flourishing. Nor was he expected to succeed.
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Loved hearing John Denver telling his story
- By Brenda M. on 02-03-17
By: John Denver
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Sing to Me
- My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next
- By: LA Reid
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Legendary music producer LA Reid - the man behind artists such as Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Kanye West, Rihanna, TLC, Outkast, Pink, Justin Bieber, and Usher - changed the music business forever. Now he tells his story, taking fans on an intimate tour of his life. Sing to Me is a fascinating journey from Reid's small-town R&B roots in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his work as a drummer to his fame as a Grammy Award-winning music producer and his gig as a judge on the hit reality show The X Factor.
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Wow!! What a journey!!!
- By Marty Cohn on 02-06-16
By: LA Reid
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You Say to Brick
- The Life of Louis Kahn
- By: Wendy Lesser
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Born to a Jewish family in Estonia in 1901 and brought to America in 1906, the architect Louis Kahn grew up in poverty in Philadelphia; by the time of his death in 1974, he was widely recognized as one of the greatest architects of his era. Yet this enormous reputation was based on only a handful of masterpieces, all built during the last 15 years of his life.
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A book about architect needs pictures
- By Kristin Olson-garewal on 10-15-17
By: Wendy Lesser
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The Never-Ending Present
- The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip
- By: Michael Barclay
- Narrated by: George Stroumboulopoulos
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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From our talent-rich neighbor to the north comes this biography of one of the most successful Canadian rock bands, The Tragically Hip, which announced a year-long tour after sharing the news of lead singer Gord Downie’s inoperable cancer. Now available to US listeners, The Never-Ending Present details what led up to the memorable night when music fans all over the world watched Downie’s heroic final performance.
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Hometown Heroes
- By Tommy Garou on 12-13-18
By: Michael Barclay
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Double Life
- A Love Story from Broadway to Hollywood
- By: Alan Shayne, Norman Sunshine
- Narrated by: Ethan Sawyer
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Gay marriage is at the forefront of America's political battles. The human story at the center of this debate is told in Double Life: A Love Story, a dual memoir by a gay male couple in a 50-plus-year relationship. With high profiles in the entertainment, advertising and art communities, the authors offer a virtual timeline of how gay relationships have gained acceptance in the last half-century.
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Portrait of a Marriage--Before Gay Liberation
- By Susie on 03-06-13
By: Alan Shayne, and others
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Small Town Talk
- Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock
- By: Barney Hoskyns
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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When musicians in the New York folk scene of the 1960s grew tired of city life, they decided to "get it together in the country". They headed for Woodstock - not to the site of the infamous music festival of 1969 but to the Catskills, to Bearsville, to Woodstock proper. Counterculture revolutionaries like Janis Joplin, Richie Havens, and Paul Butterfield got "back to the land", turning the once sleepy hollow into a funky Shangri-La.
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Captured the era - too many mistakes
- By Frank Canino on 04-17-16
By: Barney Hoskyns
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Something Wonderful
- Rodgers and Hammerstein's Broadway Revolution
- By: Todd S. Purdum
- Narrated by: Todd S. Purdum
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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They stand at the apex of the great age of songwriting, the creators of the classic Broadway musicals Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music, whose songs have never lost their popularity or emotional power. Even before they joined forces, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written dozens of Broadway shows, but together they pioneered a new art form: the serious musical play.
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Fabulous book about Rodgers & Hammerstein!!!
- By BigWally on 06-27-18
By: Todd S. Purdum
What listeners say about Words Without Music
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Douglas McFarland
- 10-03-23
Engaging Memoir
… needing a better narration and someone more versed in French. Glass’s thought on music were considered and sincere.
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- G A van Embden
- 12-11-22
Thinking with music
Glass’s deep insights over time maturing into being able to think with music is a fundamental insight into creative work in any field. A coming into the image or music
The final piece of music ending with the moment the book has gone
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- chetyarbrough.blog
- 05-02-16
CREATIVE ADULT
“Words without Music” is a memoir of Philip Glass’s transformation to creative adult. This is a journey taken by every child–with greater and lesser degrees of actualized creativity. Glass explains how love by others transforms his life and why self-actualization is the fountain of creativity. This is certainly not a new revelation. Socrates, through the words of Plato, characterizes self-actualization with the dictum of “know thy self”. Self-actualization is explained as the penultimate goal of life by Abraham Maslow.
Glass’s journey is symbolized by his dissection of the works of Jean Cocteau; i.e. particularly La_Belle_et_la_Bête (Beauty and the Beast). Glass argues that Cocteau’s works are about human creativity and transformation. The symbolism in La_Belle_et_la_Bête is the story of Glass’s life. The rose in Cocteau’s movie symbolizes beauty (Glass’s body of work). The key is the method (Glass’s mother). The horse is strength, determination, and speed (Glass’s father). The glove is nobility (Glass’s renown as a composer). The castle is a prison that can only be escaped with love from another (Glass’s three wives, his children, his mentors, and friends). The Mirror symbolizes who you truly are (this memoir of Glass’s life).
This is a nicely written and narrated memoir of Philip Glass; considered by many as the most influential composer of the late twentieth century.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Ralph
- 07-15-15
LOVED!
I am a musician and this memoir is something I'll carry with me for years to come. It's a must read for anyone, but especially for creatives. A sort of "The Alchemist" meets 20th/21st century composer.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bob Crowder
- 02-19-23
A wonderful book, in it Philip Glass reveals from where music comes.
As I often do, I read the book as it was read aloud. It is my favorite way to experience the books in my library. The life Philip Glass has unselfishly shared in his book has given me so much I recognize in my own. If you are a musician, maybe a composer, there is much for you to love in this book. If you have even just heard the name Philip Glass and you are curious, jump aboard. The storyline is terrific and the writing nearly perfect!
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- Fernando Santos
- 04-21-18
Awesome!
Philip Glass life story is an amazing one.
I was fascinated by his interest in Buddhism.
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2 people found this helpful
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- christine hales
- 06-11-24
Everything! Superb !
I liked the reader and the content very much , Glass’ work and story are very inspiring.
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- Brian E. Scanlan
- 05-20-15
Treat Yourself, Accompany Audiobook with Music
Excellent memoir, how much greater would it have been though had it incorporated his music? Worth the time, though. Enjoy.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-05-17
good
wanted to hear more about taxi driving and 70s ny but still good and Philip Glass seems like a genuinely curious person and artist.
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- MacBookUser
- 09-30-24
Surprisingly well told story of vision drive & beauty
I didn’t expect Glass to be such an everyman or a tough, and I didn’t appreciate what an incredibly rich time and place it was that he came through - mid century into 1980s NY, connected to all the most relevant artists of sight and sound of that period. The story is kept modest and to the point, without detailing every album or year (though I wish I could have learned about “Liquid Days”!) It leaves me inspired for music, and people and artists.
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