BOOK REVIEWS

RECENT BOOK REVIEWS

  • CAROLINE AND DAVID STAFFORD – Anymore for Anymore: The Ronnie Lane Story

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/anymore-for-anymore-the-ronnie-lane-story-published-24th-august-2023 Anymore for Anymore: The Story of Ronnie Lane is a moving and most interesting piece of gripping music literature that sheds light on a hugely skilled musician and songwriter who was held in high esteem by his friends and peers yet somehow came across as an overlooked or underappreciated musical…

  • STEVE TURNER WITH ADEM TEPEDELEN – Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion by Steve Turner, Guitarist and Founding Member of Mudhoney

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/mud-ride-a-messy-trip-through-the-grunge-explosion-signed-edition-published-on-8th-june-2023 Renowned Mudhoney guitarist Steve Turner recently published this fantastically entertaining, engaging, and sincere autobiography of his, and this humorous page-turner (see what I did there?) does an absolutely splendid job at chronicling the birth and evolution of grunge and how the Seattle scene came into being and eventually exploded into…

  • MAX DÉCHARNÉ – King’s Road: The Rise and Fall of the Hippest Street in the World (Expanded and Revised Edition)

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/kings-road-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-hippest-street-in-the-world-published-on-6th-april-2023 This expanded and revised edition of author Max Décharné’s vibrant and colorful story of the infamous King’s Road in London makes for a delightful summer read and is both insightful and humorous. With its warm and perfectly ironic tone, the book expertly guides us through the labyrinthine and deeply fascinating…

  • GEEZER BUTLER – Into the Void: From Birth to Black Sabbath and Beyond

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/into-the-void-geezer-butler?variant=40952153079842 This scribe has been eagerly awaiting this autobiography by legendary bassist Geezer Butler – one of the founding fathers of the mighty Black Sabbath – and this literary gem has undoubtedly been worth the wait as it provides the reader with a wealth of insight into the pioneering metal act…

  • SIMON GODDARD – BOWIE ODYSSEY 73

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/coming-soon/products/bowie-odyssey-73-published-on-25th-may-2023 The three previous entries in the Bowie Odyssey series impressed me greatly with 71 and 72 in particular leaving their mark on me due to them being flawlessly written excursions into a rich and evocative literary universe unlike anything else out there. In other words, those two masterpieces were an…

  • HARVEY LISBERG – I’m Into Something Good: My Life Managing 10cc, Herman’s Hermits & Many More

    RELEASE YEAR: 2023BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/into-something-good-my-life-with-herman-s-hermits-10cc-and-jimmy-white-published-on-30th-march-2023 Wildly entertaining, enthusiastically told, and brimming with joy and energy, this utterly rewarding read by former Herman’s Hermits and 10cc manager Harvey Lisberg is a real adventure from beginning to end. Chronicling his days growing up in Salford in Greater Manchester and becoming smitten with music (in particular The Beatles)…

  • DAFYDD REES – The Beatles 1963: A Year in the Life

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/beatles-1963-published-on-13th-october-2022 1963 was undoubtedly one of the most eventful and action-packed years in Beatles history and saw the group evolve into a global and widespread phenomenon that cemented their legend. This beautiful hardback sees author Dafydd Rees explore that hallowed year in great detail and essentially provides the reader with an…

  • RJ SMITH – Chuck Berry: An American Life

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/chuck-berry-an-american-life-published-on-8th-november-2022 Much has been written about rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry over the years, but few books feel as comprehensive and in-depth as this evocative 415-page gem by RJ Smith does. Beautifully written and capable of transporting the reader back in time to bygone eras, this is quite the page-turner.…

  • RICHARD EVANS – Listening to the Music the Machines Make: Inventing Electronic Pop 1978-1983

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/listening-to-the-music-the-machines-make-the-electronic-pop-revolution-1978-1983-published-on-27th-october-2022?_pos=1&_sid=d27e49c6e&_ss=r This excellent examination of the birth and rise of electronic pop music in Britain by author Richard Evans combines a fresh approach to the success and longevity of the genre with a thorough analysis of its cultural impact and why it resonated with the post-punk generation back in the late…

  • LAURA SHENTON – The Stranglers- La Folie: In-depth

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.wymeruk.co.uk/webshop/books/album-in-depth-series/the-stranglers-la-folie-%E2%80%94-in-depth/ The first time yours truly came across the uncompromising and legendary The Stranglers was when ‘Golden Brown’ appeared in Guy Ritchie’s movie Snatch, and that song prompted me to explore the group’s catalogue and especially 1981’s La Folie, which was a rewarding experience. Now, the thing is that there is…

  • Kid Congo Powers – Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/ Renowned musician and songwriter Kid Congo Powers, whose musical resume is rather impressive and includes stints with the Cramps, The Gun Club, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, published this deeply evocative and engrossing memoir of his via the brilliant Omnibus Press a few months ago. If you did…

  • RICK BUCKLER & ZOË HOWE – The Jam 1982

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022   BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/the-jam-1982-published-on-17th-november-2022 What a marvelous piece of work this visually stunning book on that tumultuous yet highly productive year in The Jam’s life that was 1982 is. That was the fateful year when front man Paul Weller decided to lay The Jam to rest following an intensely creative spell from 1977…

  • MARTIN POPOFF – Killing the Dragon: Dio in the ’90s and 2000s

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: http://www.martinpopoff.com/html/killing-the-dragon-dio-in-the-90-and-2000s.html Renowned author and music critic Martin Popoff never fails to impress and inspire me thanks to the quality and depth of his written works. Killing the Dragon: Dio in the ’90s and 2000s is no exception to that rule. This one is actually the kind of book that I had…

  • MARK PAYTRESS – Glam! When Superstars Rocked the World, 1970-74

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/glam-when-superstars-ruled-the-world-1970-74-published-on-7th-july-2022 What a lovely and evocative delight this colorful and captivating piece on the birth and creative peaks of glam rock is. Filled to the brim with pictures of bands, concert posters, album adverts, fan club newsletters, badges, and single and album covers, author Mark Paytress has composed a most impressive…

  • KARL BARTOS – The Sound of the Machine: My Life in Kraftwerk and Beyond

    Omnibus Press, 2022 RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/the-sound-of-the-machine-published-on-14th-july-2022 Renowned artist Karl Bartos, who is undoubtedly best known for his pioneering work with the German avantgarde outfit Kraftwerk, published this mammoth 634-page autobiography of his a few months ago, and it turned out to be an informative read and a bit of an eye-opener in many…

  • MARTIN CELMINS – Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac (Revised and Updated Version)

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/peter-green-the-authorised-biography-published-on-31st-march-2022 This updated and revised classic on the wildly gifted and enigmatic founder of Fleetwood Mac, more specifically blues legend Peter Green, is an illuminating study of a musical icon and an extraordinarily complex human being that perpetually seemed to shun fame and fortune. Written by Martin Celmins who was a…

  • DAVID LEAF – God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys & the California Myth

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/collections/frontpage/products/god-only-knows-the-story-of-brian-wilson-the-beach-boys-and-the-california-myth This legendary and outright essential book on Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, which originally saw the light of day back in 1978, was extensively updated by author David Leaf quite recently and then published by the ever-reliable purveyors of quality literature, namely Omnibus Press. What we have here is…

  • JAN ERIKSEN – 40 år med Pretty Maids

    RELEASE YEAR: 2021  BAND URL: http://forlagetmomenta.dk/nye-udgivelser/ Quite by chance I stumbled on a copy of this hugely enter­taining book on the Danish hard rockers/heavy metallers Pretty Maids while vacating in Denmark, and although it was published late last year, I simply had to do a short review on the piece. The two founders and sole original…

  • LAURA SHENTON – In-depth: Rainbow Straight Between the Eyes

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://www.wymeruk.co.uk/webshop/books/album-in-depth-series/rainbow-straight-between-the-eyes-in-depth/ Author Laura Shenton has written an impressive number of books in a relatively short amount of time, and one of the reasons why they are so enjoyable to read (apart from being incredibly well-researched, that is) is that she narrows her focus quite considerably in her work and delves deep…

  • DARRYL W. BULLOCK – Pride, Pop and Politics: Music, Theatre and LGBT Activism, 1970-2021

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: Omnibus Press Yours truly was enthralled by author Darryl W. Bullock’s previous book, the thought-provoking and illuminating “The Velvet Mafia: The Gay Men Who Ran the Swinging Sixties” (2021), which turned out to be one of that year’s literary highlights. Needless to say, I was very much looking forward to digesting…

  • SIMON GODDARD – Bowie Odyssey 72

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/ Following the publication of last year’s “Bowie Odyssey 71”, yours truly had been eagerly awaiting its follow-up, and what a treat it now is to be able to tell you that we are dealing with a sparkling new literary gem here. Simon Goddard’s story is an engrossing account of Bowie’s…

  • KEITH CAMERON – Mudhoney: The Sound and the Fury from Seattle (Updated Edition)

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL:  This revised and updated edition of Keith Cameron’s book on the legendary Seattle rockers Mudhoney is a most welcome addition to the bookshelf, and its title is an apt one. Cameron’s work is Incredibly detailed and imbued with an ability to paint a vibrant and exciting picture of the nascent Seattle…

  • RRORY SULLIVAN-BURKE – The Light Pours Out of Me: The Authorised Biography of John McGeoch

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/ The story of John McGeoch is an engrossing one and let me start out by telling you that I am thrilled that there is finally a remarkably candid and deftly executed biography on the late guitarist and songwriter out there now. Known for his stellar work with Magazine, Siouxsie and the…

  • Jacky Smith & Jim Jenkins – Queen: As It Began (Authorised and Revised Edition)

    RELEASE YEAR: 2022BAND URL: Omnibus Press – omnibuspress.com This revised and updated version of “Queen: As It Began” is a vibrant and highly entertaining introduction to the British legends’ storied career and legacy as well as their recorded outputs and the impact that they have had on fans and the wider cultural sphere in general.…

  • TONY FLETCHER – The Best of Jamming! Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up, 1977-86

    RELEASE YEAR: 2021  BAND URL: https://omnibuspress.com/products/the-best-of-jamming-published-on-23rd-september-2021 Jamming! was a DIY fanzine that was launched by Tony Fletcher back in 1977 when he was merely thirteen years old and over time it evolved into a proper, professional-looking magazine. Despite growing into a popular and well-respected magazine, it never really lost touch with its DIY roots or abandoned…