“This is really profound, evocative stuff—Joel is not only a great player, he’s a great writer. Everyone should read this book.”
“Pity the Genius reads like a memoir told through the lens of a listener, student and friend of pivotal, emotionally complex, guitar innovators of the 20th century. Joel Harrison takes the reader on a deeply personal tour that highlights the musical contributions and the humanity behind the artists.”
“What a wonderful series of essays. While Harrison is writing about guitarists, his subject really is how people deal with the need to make art, what happens at the intersection of creativity and personality. And Harrison was there: Allan Holdsworth, Danny Gatton, you’re finding out what it was like to be in their presence, what the world was like then, what was expected, what happened. Deep, deep stuff, sometimes profoundly sad, sometime ecstatic, but always illuminating.”
“Music is one of the most glorious professions, but it’s also among the cruelest. For every original artist who makes it over, there are hundreds who remain confined to the shadows, forever exiled from mainstream – or any – recognition. In Pity the Genius, a collection of tributes to maverick guitarists many of whom never got their due while they were alive, Joel Harrison rescues his subjects from what E.P. Thompson called ‘the enormous condescension of posterity.’ He captures the music they left behind in a deeply American prose, full of wit and existential wisdom, and refreshingly free of the pretentious cant often disguised as ‘music criticism.’”
“It is rare to find an accomplished musician who is also an accomplished, insightful writer. Joel Harrison’s Pity the Genius is the best of both worlds. Harrison finds the brightest light and the most secret dark in his subjects, and writes them out so they become, for a while, your own experience. If you are at all curious about the phenomenon of obscure mastery, including perhaps your own, read this book. Pity the Genius is a clear source of self-awareness for writer and reader alike.”
“Joel Harrison has created a book that every serious guitar player should, and will no doubt want to, read. It’s as comprehensive a collection of profiles as I’ve ever seen. He’s presented us with an eclectic but seriously comprehensive list of players from Snoozer Quinn to Pat Martino to Jimmy Wyble, Thumbs Carlisle, Danny Gatton, Dennis Budimir and many more extraordinary and smart choices. I can’t think of a good guitarist who wouldn’t think of this book as a delightful way to spend an evening and learn about this amazing art form.”
