Short Synopsis
Fire and Rain tells the story of four iconic albums of 1970 and the lives and times of the artists who made them, set against the backdrop of the twelve turbulent months when the '60s effectively ended and the '70s began.

Full Synopsis
January 1970: the Beatles assemble one more time to put the finishing touches on Let It Be; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young are wrapping up Déjà Vu; Simon and Garfunkel are unveiling Bridge Over Troubled Water; James Taylor is an upstart singer-songwriter who's just completed Sweet Baby James. Over the course of the next twelve months, their lives—and the world around them—will change irrevocably.

Fire and Rain tells the story of four iconic albums of 1970 and the lives, times, and constantly intertwining personal ties of the remarkable artists who made them. Acclaimed journalist David Browne sets these stories against an increasingly chaotic backdrop of events that sent the world spinning throughout that tumultuous year: Kent State, the Apollo 13 debacle, ongoing bombings by radical left-wing groups, the diffusion of the antiwar movement, and much more.

Featuring candid interviews with more than one hundred luminaries, including some of the artists themselves, Browne's vivid narrative tells the incredible story of how—over the course of twelve turbulent months—the '60s effectively ended and the '70s began.

"Veteran voice actor Sean Runette performs excellently." ---Library Journal Audio Review

"Browne's engrossing account of this fertile but volatile period sets the standard by which comprehensive musical histories should be judged." ---BookPage

"Intimately familiar with the music, fully comprehending the cross-pollination among the artists, thoroughly awake to the dynamics of the decade's last gasp, the author expertly captures a volatile and hugely interesting moment in rock history." ---Kirkus

"Runnette's unfurling smoky cadences emphasize the 'mellow' groove." ---AudioFile