Wounds to Bind

April 1, 2014

Folksinger Burgan (Folk Songs & Stories), with assistance from Rifkin (creative writing, California State Univ., Long Beach; Signal Hill: Stories), recounts his life as a founding member of the San Francisco electro-folk band We Five ("You Were on My Mind"). This memoir brings together his experiences at a time, the 1960s and 1970s, when the folk and rock music cultures were undeniably going through a transformation. Regardless of your prior knowledge of music or desire to read explicitly about We Five, this book tactfully delves much deeper than band history. It integrates stories of growth and maturity of a group of musicians from teens through adulthood with tales of drugs, religion, relationships, love, and discrimination as seen through Burgan's eyes. The final chapters include recent updates on the band and its members; for several it was the final days of life among longtime friends. VERDICT This excellent, well-written chronicle of the folk-rock revolution from an active band member of that time will be enjoyed by general readers and fans of music memoirs.--Elizabeth Berndt-Morris, Central Michigan Univ. Lib., Mount Pleasant

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