Seth Rogovoy to read and sign copies of new George Harrison book at The Chatham Bookstore in Chatham, N.Y., Sunday November 3
(CHATHAM, N.Y.) - Seth Rogovoy will read from and sign copies of his new book, Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison, at The Chatham Bookstore on Sunday, November 3, at 5pm. The event will also include a conversation with Elena Siyanko, director of PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, N.Y.
Publisher’s Weekly calls Within You Without You “a boisterous celebration of George Harrison ... [Seth Rogovoy provides] astute analysis of Harrison’s musical evolution and delightful turns of phrase . . . [this] loving ode will captivate Harrison’s fans.”
The Wall Street Journal writes: “In WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU Seth Rogovoy guides us through [George] Harrison’s career. ... Mr. Rogovoy is a keen listener with a knack for rendering musical details in plain language. Here he sheds new light on old favorites and brings forgotten gems out of the shadows.”
In Salon.com, Beatles expert Kenneth Womack writes: “When it comes to the so-called Quiet Beatle, author Seth Rogovoy’s WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU accomplishes a rare feat. In a sea of ineffectual biographies devoted to the Beatles’ guitarist, Rogovoy makes a case for Harrison’s most important contribution: the music itself . . . Rogovoy’s eye towards soberly capturing the history of the Beatles with a welcome dose of critical objectivity makes WITHIN YOU WITHOUT YOU required reading when it comes to the guitarist. It’s that good.”
How did the most reluctant member of the Fab Four put his mark on all of their music? Rock critic and historian Seth Rogovoy offers a highly personal exploration of George Harrison’s essential contributions to the Beatles and the musical world in Within You Without You.
Through close examination of Harrison’s guitar playing, as well as insights from expert observers including English rock singer-songwriters Robyn Hitchcock and John Wesley Harding aka Wesley Stace, Rogovoy guides readers through how Harrison shaped the sound of The Beatles and carried that sound forward into his solo career. Within You Without Youforever changes how listeners hear the Beatles, while enhancing appreciation of Harrison as a cultural figure above and beyond his work as a musician.
Special features include:
• A new look at George Harrison’s role as a co-creator of most Beatles music through his contributions on guitar, providing the intros, hooks, fills, and riffs that distinguished the Beatles’ sound
• Close analysis of Harrison’s songs and how they revealed his struggles with relationships, the music industry, fame, depression, and spiritual beliefs
• An exclusive interview with Beatles filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg (of Hudson, N.Y.) that provides deeper insight into how and why George Harrison left the “Get Back” sessions
“Seth Rogovoy’s insightful, comprehensive Within You Without You offers perceptive, unexpected takes on Harrison favorites you’ve heard a million times - but it will also send you, maybe for the first time, to some of his more obscure, yet rewarding music,” writes Alan Light, author of The Holy or the Broken and Let’s Go Crazy and co-host of the “Sound Up!” podcast.
Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Wonder Boys, and Telegraph Avenue, says “Rogovoy deploys deep scholarship, insightful analysis, sharp prose, and a knowledgeable ear to make a powerful and ultimately persuasive case that George Harrison was as important to the music of the Beatles as the Beatles were to the history of popular music.”
Seth Rogovoy is the author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet and The Essential Klezmer: A Music Lover’s Guide to Jewish Roots and Soul Music and contributing editor at The Forward. His weekly cultural commentary is heard on WAMC Northeast Public Radio, and he publishes Substacks including The Rogovoy Report and Everything Is Broken. Seth lives in Hudson, N.Y.
Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison by Seth Rogovoy is published in hardcover by Oxford University Press and retails for $25. It is also available as an e-book and an audiobook.