Seymour Stein’s Book
He takes a swing at Mo Ostin, multiple swings, in fact. He who writes history owns it, will this sway people’s opinion of the Warner majordomo, does anybody care?
That’s what struck me so much reading this book, so much is ancient history. The decimation of the Warner Music Group was in the middle nineties. Paul Ackerman is dead. I remember when Tommy Noonan ran “Billboard”‘s charts. Does anybody else, does anybody care?
This is the anti-Clive book, although Seymour takes a swing at Clive too. “Siren Song” is not self-aggrandizing, not a tribute to himself. Be sure, Seymour takes credit for his signings, and shouldn’t he? His acts will last, have a much greater impact than the blowhard Clive’s ever will. Seymour Stein is the heart and soul of American rock and roll, Clive is just another schlockmeister. As for Mo, it’s Seymour’s acts that buoyed Warner in the eighties. Seymour signed Madonna, as well as the Talking Heads and even Seal.
So…
Usually these tomes focus on the stars, I did this, I did that, the household names we’re all familiar with. Whereas “Siren Song” spends a substantial length on history. Not only Seymour’s personal one, but most especially Syd Nathan and his King Records operation, an outfit that was already superseded when most baby boomers started paying attention, after the Beatles.
You cannot have a conversation with Seymour without him mentioning Syd. Here he goes into detail. How Syd owned every piece of the chain other than radio and retail. He signed and manufactured and shipped. He drove a Buick as to not appear too glammy, and he did it all out of CINCINNATI!
As for Seymour…
Before he worked for Syd, he interned at “Billboard.” He knows all the history, to this day.
And he scraps and scrambles to make it. Forming Sire with Richard Gottehrer and limping along on the U.S. rights to British records until he hits it big with Focus, whereupon his wife Linda tells him to squeeze Richard out. Never underestimate the power of a spouse, you need a TEAM!
But Seymour is GAY!
But this isn’t a coming out story. Seymour always knew he was gay, his first sexual experience was with a man, but he kind of fell into it with Linda, before he fell out of it. Meanwhile, he was part of the scene, Elton John and his lover/manager John Reid stayed at his house during the height of Elton’s fame. That’s right, SEYMOUR! If you know him, it’s hard to believe, but Seymour’s got the gift of gab and is always a friend and his wife needed the action.
As for signing all those acts…
He combed international before anybody else.
And he signed the Ramones, Depeche Mode and…
The list is too long to mention. Sure, he had a bunch of flops. But for a while there…
And he just knew it in his gut. It was all about songs. And records.
So the truth is he believes Mo screwed him financially. Essentially stole his company for $2 million. Hmm… He admits he needed a joint venture to get Warner’s team behind his records, and there was a contract, doesn’t Seymour bear some of the fault?
I’m sure he does. But he keeps hitting it over the fence and he feels mistreated emotionally, not only financially. He makes a good case for Mo running a cult wherein he was king and demanded fealty and still might squeeze you out.
As for Geffen, he’s up on the man, because David helped AIDS patients, even those he didn’t know, without publicity.
And in between, you’ve got Roger Ames and the story of the death of Warner. He doesn’t blame Morgado, but the egos involved. And it is interesting that both Mo and Kras could not succeed on their own, after the fact.
It’s been a long ride, and Seymour has loved every minute of it. In a business where you work 24/7 and don’t complain, where your personal life is demoted and those around you suffer but you just can’t get enough of the action.
But it’s all about those records, the songs.
At the end of the book Seymour pays tribute to national anthems, Hebrew hymns, and I must say, those songs in shul turned me on, made me a music fan.
“Siren Song” is not “Hit Men,” it’s not the best book ever written on the music business. But other than Fredric Dannen’s legendary work, and Tom King’s book about David Geffen, “The Operator,” “Siren Song” could be the third best book about the music business ever. Because it pulls no punches. It gives history. It tells how the business works. It illuminates a path to success.
It’s easily readable.
You should buy it.
P.S. Drives me crazy how the book was not proofread. This happens again and again with books from major publishers. In this case, articles are left out constantly, there are many missing “to’s,” “the’s” and “and’s.”
P.P.S. Unlike Joel Selvin’s Sammy Hagar book, “Siren Song” is not written in Seymour’s voice, it does not sound like him, he doesn’t talk that way, but his emotional self does shine through. Seymour is passionate, a complainer with a gleam in his eye. He’s Jewish through and through, and he owns it!
P.P.P.S. Seymour is not afraid to pass judgment. He says Michael Ostin suffered from working under his father, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, whereas Lenny Waronker did not work for his dad at Liberty and Michael Rosenblatt did not work for his father at his labels.
P.P.P.P.S. Seymour is unafraid to delineate people’s pluses and minuses. He thinks Howie Klein knew how to make the trains run on time, but was a bad A&R guy. You have to get the gig that fits your strengths.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Of course Seymour is biased, of course he’s got scores to settle, but at least he’s honest about all of it. This is a two-faced business, where most people are not friends, despite glad-handing. To get how Seymour truly feels makes the book resonate, whether you agree or not.
