"This is an extremely important and long-overdue analysis of the work of three key American artists. Cary Levine sets up a seductive context–his discussion of the alternative music scene of the 1970s is nothing if not a compelling form of music journalism–so that he can then drag us through the literal and metaphorical gore and excrescences of the artists' actual output. The latter is both a harrowing and a pleasurable experience–we learn to 'pay for our pleasures' willingly and with gratitude."
–Colin Gardner, University of California, Santa Barbara