The world of rock and roll has seen many amazing journeys, but few like Dawn Eden Goldstein's. Using the pen name of Dawn Eden, Goldstein carved out a niche in the 1990s as a rock historian. As the concept of the deluxe CD reissue took hold, she contributed essential liner notes to albums by artists including Harry Nilsson, The Hollies, and The Seekers, and wrote for publications such as Billboard and The Village Voice. But Goldstein was a seeker herself. Born into a Jewish family, she found herself upon a spiritual odyssey that would take her first to Christianity and then, finally, to Catholicism. Her latest book, the conversion memoir Sunday Will Never Be the Same: A Rock and Roll Journalist Opens Her Ears to God (Catholic Answers Press), chronicles her journey of faith and music in often moving and even quirkily humorous fashion.
Sunday Will Never Be the Same, titled after Spanky and Our Gang's ebullient 1967 sunshine pop hit and decorated with a wonderful cover by Steve Stanley of Now Sounds, is presented in diary style. In a clever touch, each chapter bears the name of a relevant pop song ("God Only Knows," "Soul and Inspiration," "Along Comes Mary," etc.). The breezy, easily digestible format quickly draws the reader in, and Goldstein keeps interest high throughout. She displays enormous candor reflecting upon both the difficulties she has endured and overcome - sexual abuse, thoughts of suicide, a battle with depression, a rocky relationship with her parents - and the moments of pivotal discovery that occurred along the way.
Goldstein's gifts as a memoirist are abundant. She vividly conjures the underground scene of Greenwich Village in the 1980s and 1990s, now seemingly lost forever to the new landscape of Starbucks and luxury condominiums. She deftly recalls her experiences attending New York University in a music business program as well as her extracurricular life as a budding rock journalist. Many of these recollections are universal, such as a beautiful passage in which she describes the thrill of seeing a favorite artist, Robyn Hitchcock, perform live. Naturally, there are period references a-plenty, whether to Tower Records, The Dive, The Ritz, or Maxwell's across the river - not to mention nostalgia for the days when like-minded individuals bonded not over the internet but via fanzines. (And remember when you had to pay for a call to long-distance information?) Other now-shuttered haunts, like the louche music and video emporium Mondo Kim's (where Goldstein was once employed), figure into some of her more unpleasant memories.
The search for connection is a key theme of the book. Goldstein made profound connections with the music of artists like the late Curt Boettcher; the arc of her relationship with the sunshine pop guru behind The Millennium, The Ballroom, and Sagittarius makes for truly affecting prose. Upon hearing the Boettcher production of The Millennium's "It's You," she asks, "How is it possible for something to be so perfectly calculated and yet so authentically affecting? It was like the musical equivalent of those Impressionist paintings that look from a distance as though they are painted the usual ways, but when you get up close you find they are actually thousands of tiny dots." Not only did she uncover the pointillism in Boettcher's layered yet accessible works, but her quest to uncover the man behind the music actually gave her a reason to live at a difficult moment. Her descriptions of his music will leave you reaching for your CD player (or digital app) for a soundtrack as you read: "Curt's impossibly pure voice, sounding every bit as angelic as that ethereal photo on his solo-album cover [1973's There's an Innocent Face] looks, asks the object of his affection if she - he? - will ever know how he feels," Goldstein writes. "Again he is reaching out toward a love of seemingly cosmic dimensions. The sense of longing is so intense, I can hardly bear it."
Goldstein's longing to answer the questions of faith she faced in her life is palpable, as is her thrill and relief at her eventual spiritual discoveries. As for music fans, they will delight in her mentions of Judee Sill, Lou Christie, or Tommy Roe, and especially her warm, often unexpected, and altogether poignant encounters with rock royalty like Dave Davies, Del Shannon, and John Carter (the British songwriter of hits like "Little Bit O' Soul," "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" and "Beach Baby"). The latter two are particularly significant. Goldstein shared a tender and eye-opening moment with Shannon not long before his tragic death; as for Carter, she arranged for him to perform his first concert in New York, which led to one of the crucial appearances of the divine in her life.
The author is frank about her bumpy experience as a copy editor and headline writer at The New York Post as well as her embrace of political conservatism. Sunday details how Goldstein was inspired by St. Maximillian to pursue her interest in pro-life doctrine and ultimately immerse herself into the Catholic faith. While some hot-topic opinions expressed in these climactic chapters may not align with all readers' views, Goldstein's book is not a polemic. Late in Sunday, she describes the luck of snagging a seat close to the stage for a theological speech, much as she had earlier in her life for countless rock shows. There's a sense of coming full circle as Goldstein found herself and her calling in Catholicism, learning from her past life and work rather than renouncing them.
Sunday Will Never Be the Same concludes in 2009 upon Goldstein's acceptance of Mary. Over the last decade, Goldstein has become the first woman to earn a doctorate in sacred theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake, and today, she is currently an assistant professor of dogmatic theology in the online division of Holy Apostles Church and Seminary. She's continued writing about Catholicism and its tenets, and has even occasionally returned to the liner notes fold, as with The Goldebriars' 2014 collection Walkin' Down the Line on Now Sounds.
"No longer can I walk these paths for they have changed," Spanky McFarlane sang in "Sunday Will Never Be the Same." Happily, Dawn Eden Goldstein has revisited her past paths in edifying style. Whether or not you're a person of faith, Catholic or otherwise, interested in the author's spiritual travels or you're a music fan looking to learn more about a favorite writer (or both!), Sunday Will Never Be the Same is a colorful and compelling read.
Sunday Will Never Be the Same is available now at Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada.
Eric V says
Is this a press release or the liner notes to the album? It reads that way. If she has found her way to a spiritual enlightenment that gives her peace then more power to her. I take comfort and strength in my religion on a daily basis-the same religion she embraces. Stating that her story is "not a polemic" makes me think otherwise. I'm so tired of people who "find God" and, really, only try to use it to for their own glorification or to try to bully other people. I will read her book since it sounds very interesting. As for my self-I never had a problem reconciling my faith with my love of music or partying hardy while I was dancing in combat boots in the late 70's.
Ed Silverman says
There are so many books, why is this one reviewed? What are the standard and litmus tests?
Joe Marchese says
The standard is quite simple: whether the editorial staff feels the book will be of interest to our readers. As a memoir by a respected music historian with a background in catalog music reissues, this book fit the bill. So did producer Bruce Kimmel’s memoir a while back, the upcoming Joni Mitchell “Morning Glory on the Vine” book, and the others we’ve covered over the years. When a publisher or author contacts us about possibly covering a book, we consider it the same way we do a CD, LP, DVD or Blu-ray.
ed says
Thanks, Joe. But why wait until a publisher or author contacts you? Why not be more proactive? There are many memoirs and biographies that this site doesn't review.
Joe Marchese says
Ed, this is the same way it works vis-à-vis CDs/LPs/DVDs/Blu-rays: We receive a press release and/or an item with a request for coverage, and we determine its newsworthiness and whether to review. As far as "there are many memoirs and biographies that this site doesn't review," there are also many CDs, etc. that we don't review. We would need a staff of many times our size to cover every catalog title released. 🙂 What we review comes down to our making a decision as to what to spend our time and bandwidth on. Ms. Goldstein's memoir dealt with many classic pop rock figures, and she herself is a public figure of interest as a well-known liner notes author; that was all I needed to know to agree to cover the book.
I truly don't see how her book is any more "off topic" than any of the other books we've covered here. We've also reviewed Thomas Dolby's memoir, in which he wrote about his journey from the music biz to the fields of technology and education. Would you also consider that off topic? I think the discomfort here has to do with the fact that Ms. Goldstein is also writing about religion. I understand that's a subject that makes many people uneasy, but I'm not about to make any topic here taboo. Dialogue is always a positive thing, especially in today's climate. If Bob Dylan ever writes a second volume of his memoirs and chooses to open up about his own (very well-publicized) conversion, would that also be off topic? Perhaps you'd answer "yes," and I, of course, would respect that even as I disagree. Again, Ed, thanks for reading. I understand your concerns here, but we stand by the decision to cover "Sunday Will Never Be the Same."
ed says
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I'll just agree to disagree. From the review, it seems the book is ultimately more about her personal journey through religions than her journey through the music biz. I get the 'big tent' notion, but its still seems less than relevant
Joe Marchese says
Thanks for reading, Ed. Indeed, I'm happy agreeing to disagree on this one...but I hope there's plenty coming each day here that's more to your taste. All my best.
Phil Cohen says
Maybe it would be better to keep this forum on topic. It's a forum about CD & vinyl music releases. I have some CD's with liner notes by Ms.Eden/Goldstein in my collection, but her book is basically preaching to the choir; to fellow believers. If she is happy, good for her. Personally, I'm secular (not a believer or participant in organized religion), but I'm not going to go write a book about my beliefs (or lack thereof)
Joe Marchese says
Hey Phil! Indeed, this isn’t the appropriate venue for extended discourse on the subject of religion (or politics!). But as far as covering the book goes, I believe our coverage was as every bit as appropriate as our covering Dylan’s Christian period, or the contemporary Christian albums of Glen Campbell or B.J. Thomas. (I’m sure there are other examples over our near-decade, too!)
Ms. Goldstein has stated that she intended her memoir "to reach people who can’t even imagine why anyone with a choice, let alone a Jewish rock and roll journalist...would want to become Catholic." Seeing as her liner notes are so familiar to the readers here, I found her story to be germane for our general audience. As I endeavored to point out in the review, there are plenty of great music memories in it that I believe will be entertaining and edifying, regardless of one’s religious beliefs. Thanks as always for reading.
I’m glad the review has sparked dialogue here; that’s always welcome here.
ed says
Joe - I agree with Phil. I'm more interested in music topics than her personal journey, which is off topic, no matter how much she recounts her time in the music biz. I think the litmus test for this review misses the boat.
Again, you want to review books, review books that are out there and not wait to be approached by authors or publishers.