Quick Capsule Reviews: Greg Renoff's Van Halen Rising

Greg Renoff's compelling biography takes readers on a comprehensive trip through Van Halen's early years as a backyard party band that performed under names like Trojan Rubber Co. and Mammoth. It also covers their initial club gigs through their first stadium tours with luminaries like Black Sabbath.  

A good read for Van Halen fans and music biography fans alike, Renoff's narrative covers the tough life of a young band on the rise. I'm not a big hard rock fan and do not care much about their later music, so this one was perfect for me, but there is something for most music fans here.

I found the section on David Lee Roth worming his way into the band particularly compelling. Since Eddie and Alex did not like his glam style or singing, he started his band to compete in the party scene, the aptly named Red Ball Jets, which focused more on pure entertainment. Once he convinced the Van Halen brothers to let him join, his marketing chops were integral in helping them become major stars. They obtained coveted Sunset Strip club dates and label interest by combining his performance focus with their musicianship. I highly recommend this one because of Renoff's penchant for peppering the book with similar historical details that will delight casual and diehard fans.

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