“A trick of memory” – Martin Barre

Author:Martin Barre

Martin Barre’s autobiography is an enjoyable romp through his life and career brought to life by inset boxed anecdotes telling of fun on the road and in the studio. Martin starts at the beginning and we have a well-paced look at childhood, school and his early love of music which clearly prevails to this day. There’s lots about Tull of course, with an unflinchingly honest look at his contribution to, and departure from, the band. Finally he covers his subsequent session/side man work and launching and running his own band.

Reports from those who have met him always say what a nice bloke he is and that comes across here. He’s quite honest about things he didn’t like but his positive outlook prevails. There’s plenty on guitar and gear nerdery for those who like that sort of thing, and despite the universal recognition by his peers, even those who don’t seem to like anyone (looking at you Richie Blackmore), he is consistently generous in his praise of others and modest about his own achievements.

The book seems to be written by Martin himself – having heard him interviewed a few times (and indeed having interviewed him myself on our venerable podcast) you can hear his voice and the text doesn’t have the slightly generic feel of ghost written books. There are lots of pictures and various lists of his favourite tracks, albums etc.

Overall a most enjoyable read.

Length of Read:Medium

Might appeal to people who enjoyed…

As a guitarist and Tull fan this was cat nip for me but I’m sure anyone who enjoys a rock biog would enjoy it – the middle section is obviously Tull centric but elsewhere plenty of famous names appear. I enjoyed it a lot and polished it off in 3 sittings.

One thing you’ve learned

Being in Jethro Tull was a tough gig.

5