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Title: Dream on: Livin' on the Edge With Steven Tyler & Aerosmith (Berkley Boulevard Celebrity Biography) by Cyrinda Foxe-Tyler, Danny Fields ISBN: 0-425-17142-6 Publisher: Boulevard (Mass Market) Pub. Date: September, 2000 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.39 (18 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: So many gaps, so little time left...
Comment: Firstly, unlike most of the other "reviewers" of this title, this will be a review of the book "Dream On" NOT my personal feelings about Cyrinda Foxe-Tyler and/or ex-husband Steven. Now that you are forewarned, read on:
"Dream On: Livin On the Edge" has many problems & weaknesses. Almost every one of these is due to Ms. Foxe-Tyler's choice of co-authors. Danny Fields has been a close friend of hers for nearly 30 years, & is known to be one of the nicest guys in the music biz. Unfortunately, these traits work against the books' success.
It is the job of the co-author to ask the hard questions, do background research, make the books' subject dig into areas of their life that they would rather forget. As Ms. Foxe-Tyler's confidante, it is obvious that Danny Fields not only failed to do these things, he also dropped the ball in other areas. There are many times in this book where the reader gets the feeling that certain people or events are so familiar to the authors' that they skip right over them, assuming our familiarity to be equal to theirs. When Cyrinda Foxe-Tyler makes an assertion or states an opinion as a fact, Mr. Fields never once questions her or seeks another opinion. While she is entitled to have her say, her word is not gospel on every single subject, & as co-author, Danny Fields is not doing his job by accepting it as such.
Some examples of these problems include: while discussing her childhood, we learn Ms. Foxe-Tyler is the 3rd child of a woman who married 4 times, all to enlisted military men, had her 1st child at 16, moved often to various military bases around the world & is a religious fanatic who abused her. Yet later on we are told that Cyrinda felt she was an "aristocrat" as compared to the "proletariat" members of Aerosmith. I'm not sure how an upbringing as an army brat by a much-married abusive mother qualifies her as an "aristocrat" but Danny Fields never questions the statement. We are told that she feels Steven Tyler's lyrics are "sensitive and romantic and intuitive". It is certainly a stretch to describe lyrics such as "you can't catch me/cause the rabbit done died" as "sensitive and romantic"! I for one cannot recall a single "sensitive and romantic" song by Aerosmith during their heyday.
Speaking of Aerosmith's heyday, this is probably the largest problem with "Dream On"; Cyrinda didn't become involved with the group until they were recording "Draw the Line" which is actually the start of their decline. Nowhere in the book do we learn anything about the dynamics of how Aerosmith formed & their early days. This gap is especially annoying because of her frequent descriptions of animosity between Joe Perry & Steven Tyler. If these 2 men hated each other so, how did the band first gel? When did the anger begin & what were the causes? How did the other 3 band members deal with it? The reader never finds out, so many anecdotes in the book seem missing a good part of their story. Also missing is Steven Tyler's early years. Ms. Foxe-Tyler often calls him a "sick man" who is "consumed by his dark places". She also has nothing good to say about his family. Yet the reader is left wondering how & when Tyler became so sick & disturbed; what forces in his family created the torture she describes?
It isn't just in the Aerosmith department that Fields & Foxe-Tyler leave the reader hanging. Cyrinda lived with David Johansen of the New York Dolls for a longer period of time than she did with Tyler. She was also married to Johansen. Does the reader learn anything about this period of her life? Not in "Dream On"; read "Please Kill Me" by Legs McNeil if you want to hear her anecdotes of her Dolls' days. There is a photo in the book of Cyrinda with Keith Moon of the Who; is he mentioned in the text? Nope. Why the photo then, yet none of her with David Bowie with whom she lived for nearly a year? The most glaring omission of all concerns Foxe-Tyler's alleged drug addiction. She mentions that the 1st 4 years of daughter Mia's life she was addicted to heroin. Yet just a few pages previously we are told she never touched drugs even when those around her were offering. So when did the abuse start? What led to it? How bad did it get? What made her realise she was an addict? These & many many more questions are never raised much less answered.
I purchased this book because it has been reported that Cyrinda Foxe-Tyler is dying from a brain tumor. Because of this, "Dream On" is a worthwhile book, as it may end up being her only defense after she is gone. It is unfortunate that due to using a friend as a co-author she has left so much unsaid.
Rating: 4
Summary: Poor girl- so sad!
Comment: I felt so sorry for Cyrinda after I finished this book. She had such a hard time of it and now she is passed away so I am really glad I own her memoir. I hope she is at peace now and I hope that her memory will live on in the pages of this book. It is worth the read.
Rating: 3
Summary: Good but could've been written better
Comment: I don't see why some of the viewers gave this book 1 star and while it's a good book, I felt that it could've been written better and some parts of the book is interesting and I do have Aerosmith's Walk This Way and this was the book that got me interested in Cyrinda Foxe, the routine with Elissa and the airline stewardesses was funny, overall if you like Aerosmith: Walk This Way or Rebel Heart then you'll like Dream On: Livin' on the Edge with Steven Tyler.
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Title: Walk This Way : The Autobiography of Aerosmith by Aerosmith, Stephen Davis ISBN: 0380795310 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 February, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Aerosmith : The Fall And The Rise Of Rock's Greatest Band by Martin Huxley ISBN: 031211737X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 February, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Rebel Heart by Bebe Buell, Victor Bockris ISBN: 0312301553 Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Best Of Aerosmith by Lee ISBN: 0793500990 Publisher: Hal Leonard Pub. Date: 01 December, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title:Aerosmith: The Making of "Pump" ASIN: 1573300470 Publisher: Sony/Columbia Pub. Date: 11 November, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $17.98 |
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