At the top of the mast: Dan Toren's memoir is full of excitement from music

"Going Back There Now," the fluent illustrator of the Israeli rock's soul actor, is full of brief reflections on his impressive career.

It's a fun book, but you can only regret that Toren chose not to tell his story more systematically and settled for a few sentences about what you would like to read 200 pages about.

Review

Nadav Menuhin

01/12/2021

Wednesday, 01 December 2021, 10:04 Updated: 10:41

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

• Share on general

• Comments

  Comments

In his new comedy, "Back There Now," musician and actor Dan Thorne recalled how moved he was by the biography of musician Tom Patty, explaining that as he delves into a book about a musician, "I listen to the songs mentioned in the book." This recommendation is also nice for a book by Toren himself, a man who has been a partner in local rock classics since the 1980s. If you do, you will hear a wondrous soundtrack: there will be "Empires Falling Slow" and "White on White," "See You Can't See" and "Starlings," "You Don't Touch" and "Gidi." And many other songs. You will not believe how many of them you know and love.

A mast is what is commonly called in other fields a soul player.

The man thanks to whom things connect, and everyone wants him in their group.

Alongside his solo career, which has yielded quite a few achievements, Toren's path is characterized by a variety of collaborations, playing in iconic ensembles like Mess and the Flies, and working with behind-the-scenes artists.

He saw up close how artists like Sharon Lifshitz, Maor Cohen and Dana Berger grow, and was there when Barry Sakharof became a superstar.

In other words, there are few people who have such a deep familiarity with the guts of the golden age of Israeli rock in the nineties.

That's why "Back There Now" is such an intriguing book, even against the backdrop of the joyous wave of musical illuminators who have come out here in recent years.

More on Walla!

What, he wrote that too ?!

To the full article

A soul player.

Toren (Photo: Aviv Hofi)

It should be made clear at the outset that this is not really an autobiography. This is not a chronological story, but more a collection of short career reflections. Thorne touches snippets of memoirs, looks at them from a distance and tries to decipher their part in his great story, and sometimes they merge into insights in two or three pages.

"Back There Now" clarifies how Thorne has become such a popular figure in the music industry. He is revealed in him as a particularly kind and sociable man, who often praises and cherishes his partners, and is moved by music at the age of 60 with the same enthusiasm and obsession of a 16-year-old boy who discovers the world. This is evident in every page and column of the book. Some of the interesting parts of The Illustrated deal with the moments and people who inspired him in the beginning, and it is always fascinating to discover how a significant artist is shaped.

What also emerges from the many stories, not surprisingly, is how much rock and roll in a small country like Israel is a much less glorious affair than the mythology built around it.

No conditions, no money, no crowds and no never-ending roads.

What there is, according to Thorne, is good people, who make this dream something worth fighting for every day.

At the same time it must be said that this book is far from realizing its full potential.

First of all, because Thorne chose not to tell his story in an orderly fashion.

Blagan, who had a major partner on duty, had an amazing band, but he almost completely refrained from engaging in it (as did his bandmate, Yuval Mesner).

Sharon Lifshitz, for whom Toren wrote great hits, is mentioned in a few general lines.

The voyeuristic instinct will not swear either: in the face of some honest confessions, and lots of paragons and kind words - you will not find harsh criticism or dirt here (except for Shlomo Gronich, who once asked him to play more quietly), and very little gossip (but one detailed sex scene) .

In many ways, the main course is the fourth and fifth parts of the book, where Thorne allows himself a little more to tell how certain songs and some musical partnerships were born, and expands for example on the work behind "The Other," Berry Sakharof's masterpiece album, or How You Were Born " "In response to a lynching in Ramallah.

But Thorne is usually content with a few concise paragraphs where you would aspire to read 200 pages.

The guts of Israeli rock remain, therefore, mostly hidden.

And yet, "Back There Now" is a wonderfully enjoyable, readable and fluid book that can be finished in a day.

Israeli rock lovers will celebrate it, but will wait for a much more detailed sequel.

• culture

• Literature

• Book review

Tags

• Dan Toren

• Israeli rock

• Israeli music