More than 20 years after its initial publication, Mystery Train remains one of the smartest, most provocative books ever written about rock-and-roll. Marcus puts his subjects--which include Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, The Band, Randy Newman and Sly Stone--into their proper context, which is the culture-at-large. He makes you understand why these musicians matter and what they have contributed to the American imagination. In his introduction, Marcus confesses that he is no longer "capable of mulling over Elvis without thinking about Herman Melville"--to the benefit, I might add, of both parties. --Gala Brand

2006-03-04 unreadable

I ask you, has there ever been a more overrated writer than Greil Marcus? I bought this book solely on the hype it has generated over the years and had high hopes - this is the man, let's not forget, who edited Lester Bangs' wonderful 'Psychotic Reactions...'. However, unlike the raw passion and unbridled power of Bangs here we have a dry, pseudo-academic (and it's this horrible so-called intellectualism that is maybe most offensive about this book), unreadable (his prose style is like wading through drying concrete)and very probably meaningless book. Frankly I hated this book and learnt little about America that was worth knowing, or didn't know before. Avoid like the plague, unless you fancy taking the pure beauty and excitement of rock 'n' roll and turning it into something dry and dead.