Category Archives: BOOK REVIEWS

Book review: On track…JETHRO TULL, THE BEATLES

On Track...The Beatles by Andrew Wild

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

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: GARTH CARTWRIGHT – Going For A Song (A Chronicle Of The UK Record Shop)

GARTH CARTWRIGHT - Going For A Song (A Chronicle Of The UK Record Shop)

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

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: BLUE OYSTER CULT – Every Album, Every Song (On Track) by Jacob Holm-Lupo

BLUE OYSTER CULT – Every Album, Every Song (On Track) by Jacob Holm-Lupo

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

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: ON TRACK…ELP, DEEP PURPLE & RAINBOW

On Track … Emerson Lake & Palmer by Mike Goode

On Track … Emerson Lake & Palmer by Mike Goode [Publication date 18.12.18] Sonic Bond Publishing Two books in a series, that are subtitled “Every Album, Every Song”. These track by track intros to bands are not a new idea, … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: QUEEN – Every Album, Every Song (On Track) by Andrew Wild

QUEEN - Every Album, Every Song (On Track) by Andrew Wild

Sonicbond Publishing [Publication date 08.11.18] Nicely timed by this new publisher Sonicbound (future titles in the series include ones on Blue Oyster Cult, Yes and Roy Wood & The Move), a book on Queen and their music as the film … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL by Kenney Jones

Blink Publishing [Publication date 31.05.18] Drummer Kenney Jones has penned an entertaining memoir, that covers his time in the Small Faces right up to the present with the Jones Gang, a collection of seasoned musicians who do the occasional gig, … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: SNAKES! GUILLOTINES! ELECTRIC CHAIRS! Dennis Dunaway & Chris Hodenfield

St Martin’s Press [Published 14.08.18] Although this book, co-authored with Rolling Stone writer Chris Hodenfield, was first published in 2015, it now gets a paperback version and if you missed out on it first time around make sure you get this one. … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: JIM McCARTY with DAVE THOMPSON – Nobody Told Me: My Life With The Yardbirds, Renaissance and Other Stories

JIM McCARTY with DAVE THOMPSON – Nobody Told Me: My Life With The Yardbirds, Renaissance and Other Stories

http://www.jamesmccarty.com/ 305 pages paperback ISBN 978-0-244-96650-8 [Publication date: May 2018] ‘Nobody Told Me’ is a suitably titled autobiography that documents the life and times of Jim McCarty, The Yardbirds founder member, drummer and rock and roll hall of fame inductee. … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: GORDY MARSHALL – Postcards From A Rock & Roll Tour

GORDY MARSHALL – Postcards From A Rock & Roll Tour

Splendid Books Limited – 251 pages paperback [Publication date: December 2012] ‘Postcards From A Rock & Roll Tour’ is: “a series of personal daily journals,” or as the Moody Blues co-drummer and author Gordy Marshall further elucidates: “more like extended … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: JACKIE MCAULEY – I, SIDEMAN: The Story Of Me In The 60′s & 70′s

JACKIE MCAULEY - I, SIDEMAN: The Story Of Me In The 60

www.jackiemcauley.com – 253 pages paperback [Publication date: December 2017] Jackie McAuley’s ‘I Sideman: The Story Of Me In The 60′s and 70′s’ is an eloquently written, partial biography by a multi instrumentalist and vocalist who takes three quarters of the … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: SO HERE IT IS by Dave Hill

DAVE HILL - So Here It Is

Unbound Books [Published date 16.11.17] Noddy Holder has written a couple of books and drummer Don Powell has published his memoir, now it is the turn of guitarist Dave Hill. Dave Hill was born in a castle in Devon, the … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: THE MEANEY OF LIFE – Sean Meaney

Sean Meaney - The Meaney Of Life

Cunas Music & Publishing – 329 pages paperback [Publication date: 28.07.2017] ‘The Meaney of Life’ is an autobiographical journey though the life and times of a proud Irishman Sean Meaney. He’s a passionate music fan who rises above what the … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: PINK FLOYD: SONG BY SONG – Andrew Wild

PINK FLOYD: SONG BY SONG – Andrew Wild

Fonthill Media [Publication date: 28.07.2017] There is a whole library-worth of books already penned about Pink Floyd, the third-best selling band in the history of popular music. So why, you may wonder, does the world need another? Well, having delved … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review: Overkill The Untold Story of Motörhead by Joel McIver

Omnibus Press [Publication date 21.08.17] The original book was published in 2011, however since Lemmy’s death back in December 2015 the book has been re-issued as an enhanced eBook. Basically it adds a newly written chapter covering Motörhead from 2011 to … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: Some Fantastic Place by Chris Difford

W&N [Publication date 31.08.17] Chris Difford is the lyricist to Glen Tilbrook’s music and arranging in Squeeze, a band who have split up twice and now since reforming again in 2007 seem to be enjoying a purple patch both in terms … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: Smashing it Up: A Decade of Chaos with the Damned by Kieron Tyler

Smashing it Up: A Decade of Chaos with the Damned by Kieron Tyler

Omnibus Press The book focuses on their formation and subsequent first decade, where along with the Clash and the Sex Pistols, were one of the first punk bands. The influence of the band stretches far and wide, be it them … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: Some Weird Sin – On Tour with Iggy Pop by Alvin Gibbs

Extradition Publishing [Publication date 25.08.17] UK Subs bass player Alvin Gibbs and I share a birthday. I was born on his 16th birthday and as I celebrated my own 16th birthday he was playing the last of 230 nights over … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: Metal Guru – The Life and Music of Marc Bolan by Paul Roland

Metal Guru - The Life and Music of Marc Bolan by Paul Roland

Extraction Publishing [Publication date 04.09.17] Paul Roland has already written four biographies on Marc Bolan and this latest one is published just before the 40th anniversary of Bolan’s death. There is one spooky part about Marc Bolan in that he knew … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: PETE WAY – Fast Ride Out of Here: Confessions of Rock’s Most Dangerous Man

PETE WAY – Fast Ride Out of Here: Confessions of Rock’s Most Dangerous Man

Constable Books [Publication date 11.05.17] It is about time that someone wrote a book that gives the life and times of UFO an objective and entertaining airing from the inside. For about two-thirds of Pete Way’s autobiography, I was bemoaning … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: THOMAS DOLBY – The Speed of Sound

THOMAS DOLBY - The Speed of Sound

Icon Books www.iconbooks.co.uk [Published 08.06.17] Thomas Morgan Robertson become Thomas Dolby after his friends named him after the famous Dolby noise reduction device found on many 70′s and 80′s sound systems. Most will know the name for his early 80′s … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: MARTIN HANNETT – His Equipment And Strawberry Studios by Chris Hewitt

MARTIN HANNETT – His Equipment And Strawberry Studios by Chris Hewitt

Dandelion Records & Books [Publication date 07.04.17] Given the fact that the author Chris Hewitt has already released the exhaustive DVD ‘Martin Hannett – He Wasn’t Just The Fifth Member Of Joy Division’ and the book ‘The Pleasures Of The … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: Somebody to Love: The Life, Death & Legacy of Freddie Mercury

Matt Richards & Mark Langthorne Blink Publishing There have been many books published on both Queen and Freddie Mercury, so why another one and what is its hook? Well the two authors here have included the usual Queen story of … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: GEORGE HARRISON – I Me Mine (The Extended Edition)

GEORGE HARRISON - I Me Mine (The Extended Edition)

Genesis Publications [Publication date 21.02.17] It’s probably not a book you would want to take on holiday, fearing that Ryan Air would charge excess baggage.  Similarly it may break your coffee table.  But ‘I Me Mine  – The Extended Edition’ … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: TOM RUSSELL – The Godfather of Rock by Martin Kielty

Published by Beard Books Tom Russell will be a familiar name to many, he has been a leading figure in the Scottish rock scene for many years and has broadcast on radio across the UK on occasion. It is in … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book review: AC/DC In Full Flight – by Alan Perry

AC/DC In Full Flight - by Alan Perry

Wymer Publishing [Publication date: November 2016]  www.wymeruk.co.uk This 128 page, A4-landscape coffee table tome documents the Aussie rockers during the years 1978-82.  Photographed by Alan Perry – and with his own comments putting the gigs in context – this becomes … Continue reading

Posted in ALL POSTS, BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment