Palmer’s extraordinary knowledge and boundless love of music were evident in all his writing. He was an authority on rock & roll, blues, jazz, punk, avant-garde, and world music-often discovering new artists and trends years (even decades) before they hit the mainstream. Now, noted music writer Anthony DeCurtis has compiled the best pieces from Palmer’s oeuvre and presents them here, in one compelling volume.
A member of the elite group of the defining rock critics who emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, Palmer possessed a vision so complete that, as DeCurtis writes, «it’s almost as if, if you read Bob, you didn’t need to read anyone else.» Blues & Chaos features some of his most memorable pieces, including gripping stories about John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, Moroccan trance music, Miles Davis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Philip Glass, and Muddy Waters.
Wonderfully entertaining, infused with passion, and deeply inspiring, Blues & Chaos is a must for music fans everywhere.

ROBERT PALMER (1945-1997) began writing for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s and continued to do so throughout his life. From 1981 until 1988, he was the chief pop music critic at The New York Times, the first person to hold that title. He is the author of several books, including the definitive Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta. His work appeared in a wide range of publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, Penthouse, Down Beat, Guitar World, Musician, and Crawdaddy!

ANTHONY DECURTIS is a longtime contributing editor at Rolling Stone and the author of In Other Words: Artists Talk about Life and Work. His essay accompanying the Eric Clapton box set Crossroads won a Grammy. DeCurtis holds a Ph.D. in American literature, and he teaches in the writing program at the University of Pennsylvania.