Search - Jeff Wayne :: Raconteur : Show Biz Stories from the Soul

Compelling, Genius, and Positively Sagiatic

Tom Lavagnino | Los Angeles, CA USA | 08/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"RACONTEUR is the CD equivalent of cornering a show business legend at the bar at Joe Allen's, buying the guy a couple of stiff drinks, and -- systematically pointing to the portraits on the walls -- having him regale you with some of the wildest, funniest, and most poignant entertainment industry-related tales you've ever heard. Jeff Wayne is himself a veteran performer, and his "been there" perspective on these show business stories lends a curiously profound sense of verisimilitude to their telling. (And when Wayne becomes excited and/or begins laughing in the process of relating the accounts, the sheer glee in his voice becomes positively infectious.) My favorite stories: Johnny Mathis (and his post-golf-game ride in the back of a pickup truck), Errol Flynn (and his visit to the "decadent" nightclub), and Sammy Davis, Jr. (whom Wayne correctly identifies as one of the most under-rated talents in the history of show business). Highly recommended."