RICK BUCKLER – That’s Entertainment – My Life in the Jam

Albums Reviews

RICK BUCKLER – That’s Entertainment – My Life in the Jam

"That’s Entertainment – My Life in the Jam" by renowned drummer Rick Buckler is a thought-provoking and interesting biography chronicling his years with the legendary The Jam as well as his many other musical endeavors and activities outside of the aforementioned band. As with any good biography, Buckler starts from the beginning, more specifically his childhood and upbringing in Woking in the UK, and then takes us on an inspiring journey up to the present day. As you can probably imagine, Buckler’s life has been a fascinating one and there are plenty of great anecdotes ranging from funny and uplifting ones to those of a rather sad and devastating character, but such is life, especially if you were the drummer in a pioneering rock/punk/mod/new wave outfit whose music still endures and resonates with people.

"That’s Entertainment – My Life in the Jam" is about much more than music and The Jam, though. While it does serve as a fairly comprehensive history of the much reverered band, it is also a book about friendship, trust, personal sacrifice, artistic highs and lows, triumphs and defeats, love and loss, and so on and so forth. Personally, I enjoyed the chapters on Buckler’s teenage years as well as the formative years of The Jam the most. Those were truly excellent and quite rich in detail. Reading about The Jam’s work in the studio, the countless days and months on the road, the gigs, the dressing rooms, the management, the pranks, the fans, and that seemingly never-ending strive to accomplish something exceptional is both compelling and deeply satisfying regardless of whether one is a fan or not. It does feel as if Buckler is holding something back at times, almost as if he is afraid of saying something bad about his former band mates, but I reckon that is just the gentleman in him not really wanting to utter anything hurtful or vicious about others, which is quite admirable, really. Still, there were instances where I wished that he had elaborated a bit more on how he felt about certain things and how the actions, decisions, and behaviors of others impacted him. The chapters focusing on his work with The Gift, Time UK, The Highliners, and From the Jam are also a treasure trove and it was nice to be able to get a comprehensive overview of and in-depth look at those somewhat overlooked ensembles.

If you are on the lookout for drama and gossip, you ought to steer clear of this well-written and nicely composed biography of Buckler’s. This is a no-nonsense, sincere, and at times heart-warming account of his life in and out of The Jam. The fact that he still takes so much pride and joy in what he achieved with the aforementioned act shines through on pretty much every page. To any fan of The Jam and rock music in general, this little gem of a book will be a pure treat.

Find the book here http://www.omnibuspress.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=1129463