A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Paperback – September 17, 2008

I remember, in vivid detail, when I first heard of Shannon Hoon's death, like many remember with photographic accuracy their whereabouts upon learning of the Challenger disaster or the terrorist destruction of the Twin Towers. Not to make light of the latter national tragedies, but I am perhaps disproportionately affected by the early demise of troubled musicians.Sunday, October 22, 1995, 8:00 am: I was preparing mass batches of yeasty dough for my collegiate workplace, Runza. I turned on my favourite local radio station, 105.9 the Lazer in Lawrence, Kansas, to hear the DJ somberly announce that the frontman of Blind Melon had been discovered lifeless on the tourbus prior to sound check in New Orleans, the day before. I was so stunned that I had to quit working and call my boyfriend. After all, Blind Melon's latest release, "Soup" had become the soundtrack for my life that year. Honestly, I had become irritated by MTV's overplay of the "No Rain" video and was not as enamoured by the "Bee Girl" as the rest of society. I could relate to the dark undertones of the lyrics on "Soup"; the alternately optimistic and despairingly addictive themes of the album; and the masterful musicianship of all band members. I abruptly stopped listening to Blind Melon music, confused and discouraged by the lack of answers surrounding the details of Shannon's demise.Nearly 15 years after Shannon Hoon's death, intuition led me to revisit my former favorite album "Soup". I discovered Greg Prato's book, "A Devil on One Shoulder and an Angel on the Other: The Story of Shannon Hoon and Blind Melon." All of my previous unanswered questions regarding Shannon's untimely death were answered in entertaining, candid, and often heartbreaking detail. Greg has painstakingly compiled quotes from hundreds of interviews of those closest to Shannon. I can't imagine the amount of time it took to sift through the countless interviews of Blind Melon band members, Shannon's family members, music industry associates, and personal friends to weave such a well-organized anthology of Blind Melon's inception, rise to stardom, and struggles as Shannon battled and ultimately lost to his demons. Greg has also tenderly pieced together recollections of Shannon post-mortem, as well as the efforts of the band members to revive Blind Melon over a decade following Shannon's death.I devoured most of the 300+ page book on a flight from California to Kansas; once I started reading, I could hardly put the book down. For anyone who has been touched by Blind Melon's music or any soul who has been tormented by addiction, this book is a must-read. Though Shannon's life met a tragic end, this story can provide inspiration and hope to anyone artistic yet conflicted, loving yet pained by the demands of life. No one who reads this book will be unchanged by the firsthand recollections of this amazing band and all close to them. Many thanks to Greg for creating this most important work.

I was in my 20s when Blind Melon was popular, one of my favorite bands at the time and it was shocking when Shannon Hoon died. This is a very interesting and sad read. It seems to touch a little bit on possible mental problems, and how they can contribute to addiction issues, especially if they happen gradually. Knowing people in my life who were diagnosed with manic depression (in their early 20s) seeing it come on gradually in the late teens until when they were diagnosed, I can see some of the similarities in the descriptions of Shannon.The books is written like an interview, from the people who knew him, and you really do get the feeling you know him and the people around him in the book. It is a very good read, and very respectful of the band and Shannon. It is a very quick read, I read in less than 2 days I think. They book includes some neat pictures.

I am generally not a fan of oral histories, but Greg Prato does a great job structuring this book to make it very readable and remarkably fascinating. I decided to read this after becoming obsessed with the "Soup" album for nearly a month, listening to it in its entirety everyday, sometimes more than once. This book really makes you feel as though you are a fly on the wall for the formation of the band, recording sessions, live shows and everything in between and even as Shannon's path is a given part of you still hopes the end will be different and it is the hope and passion with which Prato shows for his subjects and his understanding of the hopefulness of their recordings that give you a sense of hope where there is none. This is a wonderful, tragic story of a real band coming together with all their brilliant flaws on display and making some of the most powerful music of the 90s that was ultimately lost due to Hoon's untimely demise.

I was very pleasantly surprised when reading this book at cool it really is. I love the format it is written in even though at first I wasn't real crazy about, but after the first chapter or 2 it grew on me. I have to admit that I wasn't a big Blind Melon fan and really only knew their radio songs and of course I was aware of the Shannon/ Axl connection, but the book made me more interested and I am now checking out more of their music. This book is a glimpse into the life of a band the ups and downs, the craziness, and in the end it's survival or destruction. Good book for anyone and a must read for any Blind Melon fan.

Purchased as a gift for my wife who has always loved Shannon Hoon. She even got me, a 50 year old with an insatiable appetite for the most brutal metal, to recognize his talent and now I can say I am also a fan. This book contained things even she didn't know which made her very happy and that was the point. Her happiness is my happiness.

This book was an excellent read from front to back. I'd highly recommend it to anyone, whether you're a Blind Melon fan or not. Greg Prato did an incredible job of putting together all of the interviews from the band, friends, family and others involved in the life of Blind Melon. I was so happy to learn many things about the group and Shannon Hoon in particular. There were a lot of stories about the songs from the albums and how/ why they were written. St. Andrews Fall is my favorite song of theirs and learning about what the lyrics meant just gives that song so much more power now when I listen to it. Very grateful to have found this book and this author!

A must-read for any Blind Melon's fan.

I am currently reading this and will update when finished, but so far it's amazing. A must have for any BM SH fans!!!

Biographie von Shannon Hoon und Blind Melon. Enthält auch ein Kapitel über Axl Rose.

Muy entretenido y refleja muy bien la vida del grupo

Loving this book,shannon was a sweet soul .He was blind melon.reading inbetween i would say there was jealousy in the band. He was and is the voice of Blind Melon. I personaly think they should of changed the band name after shannons early demise. Only shannon can sing them songs,sorry but thats my respect to shannon 🙏❤