book Archive
19 Feb 2020
No Good Trying: Syd Barrett’s ‘The Madcap Laughs’ at 50 (Part 2)
Continued from Part One … excerpted from my book, Reinventing Pink Floyd Barrett had approached his old friend David Gilmour – then on holiday in Ibiza, Spain, the setting for the Barbet Schroeder film More – and asked him and Roger Waters to produce. They agreed, and scheduled overdub and recording sessions on spare days
18 Feb 2020
No Good Trying: Syd Barrett’s ‘The Madcap Laughs’ at 50 (Part 1)
excerpted from my book, Reinventing Pink Floyd In early 1968, mere months after Syd Barrett left (or was dismissed from) Pink Floyd, his management team of Peter Jenner and Andrew King encouraged him to begin work on a solo album. Upon Barrett’s exit from Pink Floyd, Jenner and King had cast their lot with Barrett,
14 Feb 2020
Bartender-Author Sandlin Gaither on Tequila, Dog Hair and Chainsaw Fights
Note: This story first appeared in Mountain Xpress ahead of the live performance referenced herein. Sandlin Gaither has been listening to you and your friends. From his position behind the bar at popular local music venues in Asheville, N.C., he’s been witness to some memorable conversations. Without causing a delay in the serving of beer,
12 Jan 2020
Book Review: Rip it Up: The Specialty Records Story
BMG Publishing launched a series of books, the RPM Series, a few years ago. Superficially similar in scope to the 33-1/3 series, these volumes are designed to chronicle the history of some of music’s most important record labels. Gillian Gaar’s World Domination: The Sub Pop Records Story is among the best, as it traces the
24 Dec 2019
Musoscribe’s Best of 2019: Books
I’ve read ten music-related books this year (one of those, Billy Vera’s Rip it Up: The Specialty Records Story I’m still reading and will review soon). I enjoyed all of them to varying degrees, but a few stood out. If you’re thinking of a belated Christmas gift for someone – or just a good read
22 Dec 2019
Boxed Set Review: Land of 1000 Dances
Though there were certainly earlier examples, the era of the lavish boxed set began a few decades back; it more or less coincided with the CD era. And it persisted well into the 21st century. In the last few years, it seems to have trailed off, though superb exceptions to that rule continue to pop
16 Oct 2019
Book Review: The Show Won’t Go On
Popular culture has long held a fascination with death. The old “death and taxes” saw about it being one of life’s inevitabilities speaks to the importance we place upon it. And that fixation – mixed with fear and dread – has manifested itself in all forms of artistic expression. Against that backdrop, a book that
10 Oct 2019
Book Review: “Echoes” by Glenn Phillips
For nearly fifty years, guitarist Glenn Phillips has been making music that defies classification. First with the Hampton Grease Band, and later as a prolific solo artist and active contributor to the works of others, Atlanta-based Phillips has continued to confound those who would apply labels to his music. And now with the release of
21 Sep 2019
Book Review: There Was a Light
I’m a voracious reader. My tastes run decidedly toward nonfiction, but I like a good narrative. And that’s been the case since I was very young. What I never could get into, however, was reading plays. My thinking is that plays are written to be performed, not read (unless you’re an actor, of course). A
09 Sep 2019
Book Review: A Voice of the Warm
Every so often, some of my Facebook friends and I engage in a little game. You might call it Dreadful Earworms: we try to outdo each other by rattling off the titles of some of the most annoying, saccharine, maudlin and just downright awful songs. If you’re a boomer (or perhaps even the child of