The Greatest Band That Never Was

By: Jeff Meshel
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89132-499-2
Reviewed by: Kathy Stickles
Review Date: January 27, 2025

The Greatest Band That Never Was is a riveting story that is filled with everything a reader could want in a story. There is emotion, humor, drama, music, relationships, fun and confusion for all of the characters. It is a story that gives readers a chance to believe that dreams can come true. The book is heart-warming and will grab you immediately and keep you completely addicted until the very last page. Spanning over seven hundred pages, author Jeff Meshel has created something truly epic and I just could not stop reading once I started.

At the beginning of the story, the author presents us with two separate stories that will eventually come together as the book continues. The separate storylines are both wrapped around one old song; with an almost forgotten band in one decade and a paralegal named Shelly Griffin in another decade. As Shelly connects the song to a local hometown beer and a family-owned brewery that is about to shut down, we find that the band from long ago is actually the creator of this magical piece of music. The author goes back and forth flawlessly showing how the band, Decapede, forms and how, in a future time, Shelly hears a song and decides that she is going to bring the band who sang it, if she can figure out who they are, back together to save a failing business.

As readers observe Decapede come together and then break apart, these wonderful characters become a part of our own family. From Aaron Wainwright, who is the leader and creator of the band; to Sam Miller, an amazing singer who seems to appear out of nowhere; to Kathleen, the simple waitress who turns out to be an incredible singer and one that both Aaron and Sam want to be with. All the members of the band have a story to tell about themselves and their ability to interact with the others. Of course, everything falls apart as they are neither ready or able to be the overnight sensations that the world wants them to be.

Everything becomes even more interesting when Shelly decides to bring the band back together and make them famous again in order to save her new friend’s business and gift the song and Decapede back to the world. Can she bring everyone back and, if she does, what is going to happen between the band members, given the problems that broke them up in the first place? How will all of these clashing personalities work together decades after they dropped out of sight?

The Greatest Band That Never Was is an incredible tale that takes readers on a nostalgic trip into the past filled with music and emotion and it is a trip that should not be missed. Everything about the storyline and writing is outstanding. While Jeff Meshel has proven with this book that he is a wonderful writer, I have to say that his character development is beyond any that I have seen before in a book. It is obvious to this reader that he stands out among other writers with his ability to craft each and every character into a person that we care about and cheer on. Each of the characters have such a distinctive personality and an interesting, well-developed backstory and you cannot help but adore them, whether they are at their best or their worst in any given moment. Even with the number of characters and the long length of this book, Jeff Meshel never once lost control of it. It remains flawless throughout and keeps you wanting more.

I cannot recommend The Greatest Band That Never Was strongly enough. Regardless of what draws you to a story as a reader: music, great dialogue, an extremely well-crafted plot, a lot of twists and turns, or a remarkable and diverse group of characters, you are guaranteed to find it in the pages of this book. I can honestly say I was very sad to see this story end!

Quill says: It is not very often that a reader is offered such an enchanting, heart-warming, and truly epic story that is so fabulously written. It is so wonderful to find a book where you do not expect as much as you are given. The Greatest Band That Never Was is just such a book and I have no doubt that it will be a great success.

For more information about The Greatest Band That Never Was, please visit the author’s website at: jmeshel.com.