Book Reviews

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Trafford Publishing John Barrow’s hugely entertaining memoir about his life as a working musician is now onto its third edition, having originally been published in 2004. Having instantly taken a liking to John from reading the original edition, it’s good … Continue reading →

Wymer Publishing [Publication date 24.07.20] It was perhaps inevitable: riding the crest of the prog resurgence, repurposing classic Genesis in front of insatiable crowds, and making well received solo albums.  And now, the book! Steve Hackett traces his journey from … Continue reading →

Dandelion Records [Publication date 15.06.20] ‘Flyposting – Posters Of A Music Revolution’ doesn’t so  much document the radically changing times of the 70′s, as reflect an era when the medium became the message. Up until such times as when local … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 26.03.20] ‘Hawkwind – every album, every song’ is another volume in Sonicbond’s ‘On Track’ series, this time taking on the Herculean task of documenting the prolific adventures of Dave Brock’s gang of space rockers in the … Continue reading →

Quercus [Publication date 05.03.20] An entertaining memoir that works on two levels, first and foremost as a musical journey through the hits (and some misses) of the 70s and 80s charts, and secondly as Pete Paphides recalls his own family … Continue reading →

ECW Press [Publication date 21.04.20] Ted Templeman started out on the other side of the mixing desk as a musician, being part of Harpers Bizarre who had a number of US hits, the most well-known being ‘59th Street Bridge Song … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 26.03.20] The ‘On Track’ series by publishers Sonic Bond provides an album by album, track by track overview of a number of artists. The latest in the series to get this treatment are British folk-rock legends … Continue reading →

Astral Horizon Press [Publication date 21.05.20] Steve Rothery’s photo book was first published in 2016 when it was sold via a pre-order campaign and then at gigs and the band website.  Now it gets a full release. Rothery was a … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Pubishing [Publication date January/February 2020] Liked and loathed in equal measures by the music press in the 1970s and 1980s, ultimately the band may have had the last laugh.  As author Jacob Holm-Lupp reiterates, their latest offering – XIV … Continue reading →

Trapeze [Publication date 31.10.19] Based on the bestselling series of NOW compilation albums this is a good all-round music quiz book. Split into sections that include decades, the themed NOW compilations (e.g. Disney, football anthems) and genres (rock, classic rock … Continue reading →

4th Estate [Publication date 28.11.19] Previously self-published by Bernie as a limited release via a Pledge campaign in early 2017 under the title ‘Where’s My Guitar?: On the Tour Bus with the Snakeman’, the book now gets a full publication … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 29.09.19] Where Ben Watson’s exhaustive mid 90′s ‘Frank Zappa: The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play’ provided a left wing cultural and critical examination of Frank Zappa and his conceptual continuity, Eric Benac’s ‘On Track’ take a different approach. … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 22.08.19] The format follows the tried and tested Every Album, Every Song formula by tackling each album in chronological order. In this book though Feakes adds in piece about the album cover – the Moody Blues … Continue reading →

SonicBond Publishing [Publication date 16.08.19] This book is nicely timed what with ‘Rocket Man’ recently being shown in cinemas and the DVD release in August, plus of course Elton John is currently on his worldwide farewell tour. The book covers … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 5.07.19] For those wishing to find out more about the prog rockers who went pop, this is a useful summary following the band’s progress from shaky beginnings in 1969 to their final studio album ‘Calling All … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 27.06.19] Over the years I have read a number of these types of books, each telling the story behind well-known artists albums and songs, and the trouble is that a song can easily be interpreted differently … Continue reading →

Create Space Independent Publishing Platform [Published 18.09.18] Vicente Abbate’s 143 page paperback ‘Doug MacLeod: The Authorized Compact Biography’, takes a unique approach in his appreciation of his blues hero. Abbate dives straight into the first time he came across the … Continue reading →

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 26.04.19] The On Track… series continues with some momentum, nearly 20 titles currently scheduled, spearheaded by prog aficionado Stephen Lambe. The idea is to discuss in some detail individual songs but that invariably means talking about … Continue reading →

As we approach another Record Store Day, it is timely to revisit one of the more recent tomes extolling the virtues or otherwise of the record shop.  And also to compare and contrast with its antecedent which celebrates a 10th … Continue reading →

Sonicbound Publishing [Published 22.02.19] These Every Album, Every Song books are coming thick and fast with this one on Blue Oyster Cult coming after ones on Queen, ELP and Deep Purple. Norway’s number one Blue Oyster fan Jacob Holm-Lupo penned … Continue reading →