Small Town Talk

Barney Hoskyns is a music historian, editorial director of the online music-journalism library Rock's Backpages, and author of Hotel California, Lowside of the Road: A Life of Tom Waits, and an oral history of Led Zeppelin. He lives in London.

"Replete with gossip, freewheeling dalliances, artistic adventures and tales of general wildness, it also weaves in the history of the community...A very readable and interesting book."—Chicago Life
"[An engrossing oral history of sorts...A copiously illustrated East Coast complement to his well received Los Angeles canyon classic Hotel California of a few years ago...An absorbing, totally fascinating read."—Big City Rhythm & Blues
"Hoskyns has astutely described the ebbs and flows of Woodstock (the town, not so much the festival that borrowed the town's name), its varied iconic citizenry (namely The Band, Van Morrison, and enigmatic Dylan manager/Bearsville Records magnate Albert Grossman), and how the ripples from its '60s boon have left erosions in the town to this day...Through often heartbreaking historical accounts, Hoskyns manages to craft a strong, acute account of the legacy of an enclave that almost lived up to all its Shangri-La promises."

—Chico News & Review