THE MAD ONES Crazy Joe Gallo and the Revolution at the Edge of the Underworld

Joey Gallo was a gangster who read existential philosophers, wrote poetry, painted watercolors, and was the inspiration for Bob Dylan’s song "Joey" and popular journalist Jimmy Breslin’s novel THE GANG THAT COULDN’T SHOOT STRAIGHT. Narrator Josh Clark’s reading of Folsom’s history of the Gallo brothers is an odd mix of violence and comedy. Clark’s tone is amused as he quotes Gallo: "My life is one foot in the coffin and the other on a banana peel." Clark is equally adept at recounting moments of utter brutality as Gallo brags about executing the barbershop hit on Albert Anastasia and delivering an assortment of vicious beatings. Clark has an upbeat, jazzy reading style that fits this colorful account of the life and times of “Crazy Joe.” S.J.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]