Post by cooksferry on Aug 27, 2020 12:43:57 GMT 12
Just finished cataloguing my music books (363) and quite a few hidden, forgotten items found. One that might bring back a few memories to those from Wellington is When Rock Got Rolling, The Wellington Scene 1958-1970, published 1989. Lots of band biographies and some photos that maybe some band members would like tucked away. Many names that are new to me but also some like The Fourmyula, Kal-Q-Lated Risk and Hogsnort Rupert that gathered national fame. The only band on the list that I actually caught in person was Quincy Conserve in a small club in 1971(?) A couple of the more blues orientated bands , Gutbucket and the Capel Hopkins Blues Dredge are known from a NZ comp, In The Blue Vein, that was released in 1969. www.discogs.com/Various-In-The-Blue-Vein/release/8701027
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Post by Owen Y on Aug 27, 2020 14:07:23 GMT 12
Is Paul McGowan's book rising to the top of the heap, cooksferry? I unearthed a Quincy Conserve (Tasteful?) album in my pile a while ago.
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Post by cooksferry on Aug 27, 2020 14:15:36 GMT 12
Is Paul McGowan's book rising to the top of the heap, cooksferry? I unearthed a Quincy Conserve (Tasteful?) album in my pile a while ago. I have read it I Owen, brief mention near the bottom of page 3. Short answer, worth a read. Quincy Conserve I only have a greatest hits cd. Always rated their vocalist, good voice.
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Post by cooksferry on Sept 20, 2020 10:34:40 GMT 12
Current read, Soul Picnic, the music and passion of Laura Nyro. Interesting read on an artist I don't have a great depth of knowledge of despite owning several albums. While the text is proving a worthwhile read the book is badly let down by the worst photographic reproduction I have come across.
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Post by cooksferry on Sept 29, 2020 13:48:31 GMT 12
Just finished Psychedelic Days 1960-1969 by patrick Campbell-Lyons who was one half of the original Nirvana who achieved mild success on island records in the late 60s. The book almost looks self published, not particularly well laid out or printed. Mildly interesting if you have any attachments to the times but not worth much more than the $2 I paid for my copy.
Just arrived today , Shooting Stars, drugs, Hollywood and the movies by Harry Shapiro. Saw this one get some good press in an old copy of Mojo mag and landed a nice tidy copy via Abe Books for $15. The print in this one is about half the size of the book above so possibly reading glasses on.
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Post by cooksferry on Oct 19, 2020 14:24:32 GMT 12
The Shooting Stars book noted above I found to be an enjoyable read although most of the movies discussed I've never seen.
Back from Chch and as seems to be default now, 2 cds and 10 books. Just finished The Dark Side of the Moon, the Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece bu John Harris. At a 176 small pages this is a quick read with a round a third of the book taken up by early PF history. Some interesting info on the making of the album and the evolution of the songs through live performance before the album was recorded.
Now onto a bit of a classic, STP, A Journey through America with the Rolling Stones by Robert Greenfield. This book covers the Stones 1972 tour of the USA which has gone down in history for it's conspicuous decadence and the birth of music as a mega business. Greenfield was embedded in the touring party so had a first class insiders look into all that occurred as the RS's toured Exile on Main Street.
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Oct 19, 2020 18:57:38 GMT 12
And ive just finished Stoned by Jo wood, which is a fairly lightweight romp through life on the road with the Rolling Stones. It has however re engaged my interest in Ronnie Wood which had me revisiting Black and Blue (V good), Some Girls (Patchy), A nods as good as a wink (Great) and Gasoline Alley (Great).
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Post by cooksferry on Oct 19, 2020 20:22:26 GMT 12
And ive just finished Stoned by Jo wood, which is a fairly lightweight romp through life on the road with the Rolling Stones. It has however re engaged my interest in Ronnie Wood which had me revisiting Black and Blue (V good), Some Girls (Patchy), A nods as good as a wink (Great) and Gasoline Alley (Great). You tried any of his solo releases ? He usually manages to collect a fairly good pickup band in support. No great revelations but as you'd expect some good time music. Bernard Fowler does a pretty good Rod impersonation on this one.
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Post by cartridgeguyonline on Oct 20, 2020 7:44:35 GMT 12
Hi cooks,
No his solo releases have passed me by actually. Any that you would particularly recommend ?
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Post by cooksferry on Oct 20, 2020 8:10:07 GMT 12
Hi cooks, No his solo releases have passed me by actually. Any that you would particularly recommend ? It appears that i only have the live set linked to above on cd and a vinyl copy of Gimmie Some Neck which I haven't played in yonks. Checking out a few videos on YT I'd have to say he's not a great front man or vocalist so probably in the perfect spot for the last few decades.
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Post by RdM on Nov 8, 2020 20:43:44 GMT 12
Not necessarily music related, but technology relates back to music production and reproduction. How Innovation Works : And Why It Flourishes in Freedom Matt Ridley secure.syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780062916594/summary.html&client=elgar&type=rn12discover.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/iii/encore/record/C__Rb3752415?lang=eng&suite=defAn interesting read, I'm about 3/4 way through, but I have to say he got the Tobacco and harm reduction section p.75 totally wrong. In my opinion. I might have to write to him, when I have some leisure time. Obviously he took in shallow propaganda, likely by ASH. Utterly incorrect facts. Still, he is a member of the House of Lords, (which possibly makes susceptibility or exposure to single issue pressure groups more likely). Nevertheless, otherwise a really interesting read of all sorts of historic inventions and innovations, carefully distinguishing between the two.
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Post by cooksferry on Mar 21, 2021 16:17:20 GMT 12
Not actually reading, more listening. Audio book "Don't suck, Don't die: Giving up" Vic Chesnutt, as told by friend Kristin Hersh. Not an autobiography as such but more about the relationship between the two. Just finished this which I found at my local library. I found it touching in places. A pair of troubled souls.
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Post by cooksferry on Mar 24, 2021 9:29:58 GMT 12
Let The Good Times Roll, my life in the Small Faces, Faces and the Who by Kenney Jones.
Reasonably interesting read from the man who drummed for three of the top UK bands. If you're up to speed on your rock history there's nothing especially revealing but some intimate detail on a few of his band mates keeps the book alive. Jones isn't afraid to own up to his mistakes over the years and comes across as a reasonably grounded bloke. Got this from the library and not sure I would have spent my own money on it but definitely put it down as a good holiday or wet weekend read.
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Post by cooksferry on Apr 14, 2021 16:01:13 GMT 12
A couple from recent visit to Hard to Find in Dunedin.
Death Discs by Alan Clayson. Fun paperback subtitled Ashes to Smashes, an account of fatality in popular song. If you're old enough to remember Leader of the Pack, Tell Laura I Love Her, Deadman's Curve and Terry you'll probably end up like I did with plenty of long forgotten earworm popping into your head page after page. $6 well spent.
Now onto Arthur Lee by Barney Hoskyns. Fairly slim volume but hopefully will fill in a few gaps about Lee and his masterpiece with Love, Forever Changes.
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Post by cooksferry on May 4, 2021 12:16:41 GMT 12
About halfway through Beeswing, Fairport, Folk Rock and finding my voice 1967-75. Hopefully this is only part one in Richard Thompson's autobiography, something he seemed very much against not so many years ago. One interesting point, he notes around 1969 in his flat he was using home made Quad amps along with Keef speakers. Unfortunately doesn't say which tt was in the system but I'd think this would be a pretty good setup for the time.
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Post by Citroen on Jan 11, 2022 16:07:13 GMT 12
Blue Note - Uncompromising expression
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Post by cooksferry on Jan 12, 2022 7:16:54 GMT 12
As with my music listening my reading has trailed away post retirement. After 40 years working in a cave it's any excuse to be out in the fresh air. According to my app my music book collection is stalled at 399. I'm sure I can find one more to hit 400.
Currently reading, Looking to get Lost: adventures in music and writing by Peter Guaralnick.
"Cruel To Be Kind: The Life and Music of Nick Lowe" by Will Birch
Started Ronnie Woods autobiography but gave up after reading his claims that Peter Grant wanted him as lead guitar in a new band called Led Zeppelin. Really.
Talking of Peter Grant, maybe the most famous manager in rock history, or at least rivalling Brian Epstein , I have two biographies. The latest, "Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and Beyond: The Story of Rock's Greatest Manager" by Mark Blake. This one is done with help from Grant's family and a good read . Not afraid to bring up the warts that plagued him and the band in the late '70s.
Finally one I heartly recommend. "Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. (Faber Social)" by Viv Albertine best know as part of the Slits. This is part one of her autobiography, "To Throw Away Unopened" is part two , also an excellent read, deals deeper with her family relationships including the deaths of her separated and feuding parents. Not much about music but I found it equal parts funny and heartbreaking.
I did go through a phase of reading Elvis books last year and some great and revealing reads about which I'll put up some thoughts soon.
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Post by cooksferry on Apr 19, 2022 11:13:05 GMT 12
Picked up several music related books on our Auckland road trip. A lot of small towns with shops worth a stop.
Just finished Overpaid,Oversexed and over there. How a few skinny Brits with bad teeth rocked America by David Hepworth.
Cover mainly '64 to '84 and throws up several stories that were new to me.
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Post by cooksferry on Apr 26, 2022 11:18:52 GMT 12
Now working through The Chitlin' Circuit and the road to rock n Roll by Preston Lauterbach.
Covers from the '30s into the 1950s when a handful of black promotors and club owners developed a circuit of clubs, speakeasys and juke joints to tour an ever changing cast of musicians, mainly through the southern states. What started with swing and big bands changed over time into small combos that drove dance parties and threw up the seeds of rock n Roll.
Lots of background info about the main promotors and how much of the seed money for clubs and touring came from illegal gambling profits.
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Post by RdM on Sept 9, 2022 21:10:05 GMT 12
I have this to pick up.
The following item/s are waiting for you and should be collected by the date shown below. Please bring your library card with you when you collect this material.
AUTHOR: Gillanders, Grant, TITLE: Wired for sound : the Stebbing history of New Zealand music CALL NO: 781.49 GILL BARCODE: 4200000532562 LOCATION: Central City non-fiction PICKUP AT: Central (CBD) BY: 19-09-2022
Thought I might have mentioned it before, but can't find that. Maybe it was just a hint, but I'd thought read of it here somewhere. Never mind. Could be interesting, likely has photos.
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Post by cooksferry on Mar 17, 2023 12:25:05 GMT 12
Currently in the to read pile
Charlie's Good Tonight, biog of Stones drummer
Friday on My Mind- the life of George Young(Easybeats, ACDC etc)
Porcupine Tree - every album,every song.
Say it one time for the broken hearted,country soul in the American south.
Black Sabbath, symptom of the Universe
Dylan behind closed doors. The recording sessions 1960-1994.
Also finally finished a four volume set covering post war UK from Suez crisis to the election of Thatcher. Author is Dominic Sandbrook. As a child of the 50s/60s a lot of this covered familiar events and names but with a depth that I didn't have at the time. At around 3600 pages in four separate books good winter reading for the history buff.
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Post by cooksferry on May 8, 2023 9:20:23 GMT 12
Currently wading through The Double Life of Bob Dylan, 1941-1966 by Clinton Heylin. This updated version runs to over 500 pages and is packed full of new detail since access to Dylan's archives has occured. I have several books by Heylin, an author who's generally convinced of his own expertise and most of the time it's difficult not to agree with him. It's not hard to believe that Heylin thinks he knows more about his subject than the man in question. Despite that caveat it's an interesting read.
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Post by cooksferry on May 14, 2023 9:52:17 GMT 12
Finished the Dylan book noted above. I found it well worth reading but probably going deeper than most casual fans would want to go.
Currently finishing a new publication, Biography of a Phantom by Mac McCormick and John W Troutman. McCormick is legendary in blues collectors circles for his decades long research into Robert Johnson. The book is more about his search mainly in the southern states than a biography of Johnson. Over the years McCormick became increasingly paranoid that others would steal his research and this book has only appeared after his death. Unfortunately he appears to have been less than honest with some of his dealings with Johnson's family with regards to photos and other items. Troutman provides both foreword and afterword tying things together and explaining why the trusties of McCormick's estate felt some things were best left out due to dubious acquirement. One I'm happy to add to my collection but the best biography of Johnson is Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson by Conforth and Wardlow . Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues by Elijah Wald is another good read providing a lot of background info into the music and lives of the delta inhabitants at the time.
Also finished In Search of the Blues, Black Voices, White Visions by Marybeth Hamilton. Book looks at how white collectors have shaped our vision of the blues and specifically rural/delta blues going right back to the early jazz collectors and the folklorists like John Lomax. The reality and the myth seldom align .
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Pundit
Post by papahemi on Jun 4, 2023 15:49:22 GMT 12
Good Pop Bad Pop - Jarvis Cocker In which Jarvis reveals Joe is his dad .... Nah! A story of Jarvis's early years told through a series of artefacts. Funny, an easy read.
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
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Pundit
Post by papahemi on Jun 19, 2023 16:47:16 GMT 12
Pull Down The Shades is a great read, of course I'm biased.
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
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Post by Citroen on Jun 20, 2023 17:14:28 GMT 12
Never seen that original photo before
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Pundit
Post by papahemi on Jun 21, 2023 17:45:53 GMT 12
Yeah, lotsa original stuff inside too.
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.
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Post by cooksferry on Jul 23, 2023 14:31:53 GMT 12
Leon Russell, Master of Space and Times journey through rock and rolls history.
Hefty biog, over 500 pages. Just into the early years so far as a studio musician for everyone from Phil Spector to Herb Albert.
For anyone missing the Book Depository try Amazon Aus. Some good pre order pricing on many items and reasonable post.
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Post by cooksferry on Aug 16, 2023 16:43:04 GMT 12
Finished the Leon Russell biography and moving onto Memphis Man: Living High, Laying Low a biography of Don Nix who worked with Russell in the early 70s. Also on the list and a real find from Amazon Australia where they had a brief $60 price drop American Magus Harry Smith: A Modern Alchemist The wonderfully eccentric Smith is probably best know as the compiler of Anthology Of American Folk Music which helped kick start the folk and blues revival in the late 1950s. The reissued cd box set is still hard to beat. www.discogs.com/release/652964-Harry-Smith-Anthology-Of-American-Folk-Music
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Post by cooksferry on Sept 15, 2023 8:39:44 GMT 12
Nick Drake - The biography by Richard Morton Jack. It's a big book at 562 pages for an artist who died so young and only released three records.
It's done with sisters and estates blessing and apparently manages to dig deeper than previous books. This is the 4th book on ND in my collection now.
Legends on Tour: The Pop Package Tours of the 1960s. Just finished this . It covers some of the package tours that toured the UK in the early to mid 60s. Lots of memories from artists and fans plus numerous quality photos. Concentrates on shows in the Aldershot area. Last show featured Englebert Humperdinck, Cat Stevens, Jimi Hendrix and The Walker Brothers. Times change...photo of Stevens singing I'm Going to Get Me a Gun on his knees aiming a toy pistol at the punters.
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