PositivePastePowers makes the compelling argument that American music is best illuminated by studying the erotic symbolism and power of each generation’s musicians ... Powers’ strengths are best on display when she writes on individual lives—especially forgotten ones ... Beyond biography, Powers’ critical insight—in particular her ability to synthesize heaps of scholarly work—is notable...But her analysis thins out and the prose dries up at times, particularly in the book’s overlong first chapter. (It’s hard to blame her—the chapter spans a hundred years.) Summary is the sad partner of necessity ... What’s most impressive about Powers’ book is that she never loses sight of her project: to demonstrate eroticism’s explanatory power in American music and to show that for every moment of freedom given, there’s a boundedness that comes with it.
