A funny anecdote about why I wanted to read this book: It was a case of mistaken identity. I thought Ted Templeman was Motley Crue's producer of their earlier albums, but it was actually Tom Werman! I kept wondering when I was going to get to the part in this book where they covered the antics of the wiley Motley Crue members, but it never came. A quick google search uncovered my mistake, lol. But it turns out that Ted Templeman discovered and signed the iconic hard rock band Van Halen, and he produced practically all of their albums. He also discovered, signed and produced The Doobie Brothers. Over the years he worked with musical artists such as Van Morrison, Michael McDonald, Nicolette Larson, Ronnie Montrose, Bette Midler, Carly Simon and many others.

As a child Ted was exposed to a wide range of musical styles, particularly black r&b music, while working in the music store his grandfather owned. He learned how to play the trumpet and the drums and found some mild success in a band called The Tikis. When it was discovered that there was already a band with that name, they went under The Other Tikis. The band evolved into another entity called "Harpers Bizarre" which pulled him from his comfort zone behind the drums and pushed him into the forefront as co-lead singer. Working in the recording studio he realized that he was more fascinated with working behind the recording console. He used his musical industry contacts to ask to hang out watching recording sessions. He was very lucky to have witnessed an incredible recording session for Frank Sinatra as well as Elvis Presley. While still in Harpers Bizarre, they were fortunate to be a supporting act to The Beach Boys. They are a great favorite band of mine, so I was thrilled- and hung upon every word- of a backstage practice session conducted by lead Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Ted marvelled in amazement at how perfect their harmonies blended under the tutelage of Brian, even superior to that of "The Four Freshman" whom Brian idolized. Ted also talked about the exquisite Fender branded musical equipment that The Beach Boys used, finding their live performance sound to be superb.

Ted eventually transitioned from musical performer to record producer and vice president of Warner Brother Records. Ted covers the evolution of The Doobie Brothers from his signing of the band through the intricate details of recording their albums. After great success, one of the main singers/songwriters in the band had to take leave due to personal issues, which was a major crisis to be navigated. This is where the great talent of Michael MacDonald was infused into the band. While it brought wild success, especially with the song "What a Fool Believes", Michael's inclusion in the Doobie Brothers changed its previous rock flavor to a more soulful and r&b feel.

However, the biggest chunk of the book is devoted to Van Halen! They came to fame when I was in high school in the late seventies. I love their first album and songs such as "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and "Jamie's Cryin". Ted covers everything from soup to nuts with this band. In his mind, Eddie Van Halen is the greatest lead guitarist that ever existed. He didn't feel the same about flamboyant singer David Lee Roth, but admired his intelligence, work ethic and incredible talent to write great lyrics on the spot. Ted also considered it divine providence that all the band members and himself lived about 4 minutes from each other in Pasadena, CA. Ted also loved the large, cement basement rehearsal area in David Lee Roth's house (his father was a physician) where Van Halen would practice and crank out new material.

This book really impressed me with how good it was. The narrative was so well-spoken and sounded like Ted Templeman was just talking to you. The writing style flowed easily, and I could put the book down and read something else and come back to it without losing a beat. This book was an absolute joy to read.

Thank you to the publisher ECW Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Ted Templeman started out on the other side of the mixing desk as a musician, being part of Harpers Bizarre who had a number of US hits, the most well-known being ‘59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)’. It is fascinating to discover his early musical roots and influences.

The Doobie Brothers rise to becoming a touring success and having a string of hit albums and singles is well covered. Ted Templeman is honest over some mistakes he may have made and also the insight to his relationship with band members and how they evolved one Michael McDonald joined the band.

The Van Halen days get plenty of coverage, which is to be expected as Greg Renoff wrote the well-received ‘Van Halen Rising’ book. He obviously cared a lot about the band and certainly seemed to put a lot of effort into making them known. Bizarre how various musical paths cross, as he worked on with Montrose and Sammy Hagar (on his ‘VOA’ album) earlier in his career, only for Hagar to replace Roth in Van Halen and signal the end also of Templeman producing the band’s albums.

Interesting the account of working with Dave Lee Roth on his solo EP and how he got names like Carl Wilson and Christopher Cross to guest on the Beach Boys cover ‘California Girls’. Roth stitched him up though asking him to work on his next solo album after they worked together on ‘Eat ‘Em And Smile’. Ted Templeman was due to produce Aerosmith’s next album ‘Permanent Vacation’ (he produced that band’s comeback album ‘Done With Mirrors’), but declined as Roth asked him to work with him, only to tell Ted he no longer wanted to work with him.

Ted Templeman also co-produced the Private Life album with Eddie Van Halen. A band that gained rave reviews back in the day (late 80’s) but never really made an impact, although singer/keys player Jennifer Blakeman is now a leading music executive.

Outside of the rock side of music he also worked with Carly Simon, Van Morrison and Bette Midler, all of whom have interesting stories told about them and working with them.

The 90’s are covered quite briefly and to date the last album he produced was the 2010 album ‘World Gone Crazy’ by the Doobie Brothers.

An entertaining read for any fan of the Doobie Brothers and Van Halen, plus those who enjoy getting more insight to how great music and albums are made. It’s not a muck raking or tell all memoir, more giving his side of the some of the famous albums and bands he has been involved in.

I really wanted to like this book, but quit about a third of the way in. I think if I were more interested in the nitty gritty of the music industry, I would have read more. Reading about the producing and recording of records was interesting up to a point. The problem for me, is I was more interested in the results rather than the making of music by some if my favorites. If someone is interested in the making of the music, then this is the book for you, otherwise like me you may get bored and not finish the book. I was given the book by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

While Ted Templeman has worked with a lot of famous and legendary musicians over the years he is probably best known for his work with two bands:The Doobie Brothers and Van Halen. His extensive work with those two bands is what built his reputation.

After discussing his early biographical information (which is pretty interesting on its own) Templeman focuses mainly on his professional life. Who he worked with, how he tried to help them get the sound they wanted, things like that. It's interesting and gave me a much better understanding of just what it is that a producer contributes to the whole process.

There's some insight into how The Doobie Brothers transitioned from the guitar driven rock band that he first discovered into the more R & B flavored band they became with the addition of Michael McDonald.

And, of course, there is considerable space devoted to the acrimonious departure of David Lee Roth from Van Halen. That's to be expected considering that over the years both sides have raked Templeman over the coals a good bit. He does an admirable job of relating his side of things while still allowing others the benefit of the doubt when possible. You can easily see how he must have been able to keep the peace during stressful recording sessions.

There are plenty of odd and end tidbits about the various musicians he's worked with over the years. Captain Beefheart was insufferable in the studio. Aerosmith's Joey Kramer was so unhappy with Templeman's production that they got into a screaming match (Templeman concedes that Kramer was in the right). Michael McDonald co-wrote a Van Halen song. The producer considers David Lee Roth a much better lyricist than Sammy Hagar. Much, much more.

While he doesn't shy away from giving his version of events Templeman also doesn't get too in-depth into his personal life (or theirs). For example:He discusses working on several projects with Lowell George and the band Little Feat. How the songs came together, some of the things they experimented with to get a specific sound, artistic differences, and how George could be difficult at times. It's only when he discusses how devastated he was by the death of Lowell George that we learn that they were very close friends. There's not even a hint of it up to that point.

It's not so much a "tell-all" as it is "the way I remember it". I would recommend this book to any fan of classic rock or those who enjoy insight into the creative process.

***Thanks to NetGalley, ECW Press, and Ted Templeman (with Greg Renoff) for providing me with a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Before reading I was familiar with Ted Templeman, but only as a record producer. This book does an excellent job of recounting his journey through the music industry, beginning as a musician and later as a successful producer and label exec. The writing is straightforward, honest, and engaging, and I learned a lot getting an insider's view of the music business. I highly recommend this book.

I became aware of the author, Greg Renoff after hearing about and reading Van Halen Rising. This book is outstanding as it details the rise of one of my favorite bands, Van Halen. I caught wind through Renoffs Twitter account that a book about longtime Van Halen producer Ted Templeman was in the works. I was instantly intrigued and knew it was a biography I wanted to read. At the outset, I wanted to read this book because I wanted detailed information about the production and thought process that went into making those Van Halen albums. After reading the book, it was so much more interesting learning about Templeman's life in music. It is very interesting learning about all of the contributions this man has had on the industry, whether that be with Van Morrison, The Doobie Brothers, Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar, Montrose, and of course Van Halen and David Lee Roth's early solo work. This book is well worth reading for any fan of the artists he has worked with or fans of music in terms of how it is created and recorded. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this advanced copy for an honest review. This book will be available for purchase on April 21, 2020.

When I came across this book, I was hoping that I would be approved for it by Netgalley. See I already knew that this person was a producer. The producer for one of my favorite bands the Doobie Brothers. I was thirteen when their third album came out and before Christmas, myself and some friends were at one of there concerts, back then people did not care about age as long as you had a ticket. That night was great seeing my first live concert especially them a true rock band. On tour, they had two drummers and played rock music all night.
When a few years go by and Tom Johnston is not singing with the group and Michael MacDonald had taken over the whole feel of the band changed to what ii call pop sound. People were happy that they won a Grammy. I was not there last two albums sucked, and here in this book, he speaks about how though they won the award record sales went down. Here was a man that started this group and he did not notice that the change in their music would have an effect on the people from the beginning of the band. It was finally nice to hear someone speak about that.
I did not know that he was a musician or that he played in a band in the ’60s. then after then after the doobie’s he produced some of the better Sammy Hagar solo stuff before he joined Van Halen. He also speaks of the time he was their producer up to when Eddie and his brother changed everything, firing David Lee Roth, then hiring Sammy. Roth’s first solo album was not only a top seller but had great musicians on it as well. He does go into some of the stuff with Van Halen but not much which I thought was good. He also speaks of other artists he has worked with, so overall this is a very good book and everything that I was expecting and more.