The Jan & Dean Record — "Ugly Things" Review Excerpt
"An extraordinary book in which the sheer volume of minutiae combines to engulf the reader and immerse them completely in the world of Jan Berry. . . . The level of detail in the chronology is nothing short of astonishing. . . . The Jan & Dean Record can also be read as a conventional and thoroughly absorbing Berry biography. The chronology is fleshed out with large chunks of narrative text detailing the events of Berry’s life—and what a life it was, as compelling and, ultimately, tragic as anything you could find in fiction. Berry had it all. . . . He lived the first 25 years of his life in top gear, without any regard for rules or consequences. . . . He was a fine songwriter, and an exceptionally gifted arranger and producer. . . The details of [Jan’s] traumatic [car] accident are covered in scrupulous detail here for the first time. . . . The last three decades of his life, his efforts to make a living in the music industry, with and without Dean, make for sometimes depressing reading. . . . This book is an astounding monument to Berry’s many accomplishments, but also a heart-breaking cautionary tale about a life lived too fast. Beyond definitive, it raises the bar for the rock chronology format to a level that may never be surpassed."
Mike Stax, Ugly Things Magazine #42 — Wild Sounds from Past Dimensions