Author:Hilary Mantel

Here we have the long anticipated culmination of Hilary Mantel’s Tudor trilogy and it was certainly worth the extended wait. Most will probably be aware of the novel’s subject matter, picking up Thomas Cromwell’s story from the end of Bring Up The Bodies, which concluded with the execution of Anne Boleyn. This new work follows the final years of his life from 1536-40, chronicling his gradual fall from grace from arguably the second most powerful man in England to his untimely demise, ultimately suffering the same fate he had bestowed on enemies and rivals over the years. The skill of the author is to make this inevitable outcome to the story suspenseful, even though the ending is of course well known. Indeed, Cromwell’s fate seems to come almost as a surprise to himself, perhaps blinded by hubris, or maybe complacency eventually encouraged him to take just too many risks. Mantel manages to give us an insight into the inner man behind the public persona as the king’s right hand man, exposing his own self doubts and increasing loneliness as the years pass by. At the end of his story, we are left with the enigma and ambiguities of » Continue Reading.

Author:Elizabeth Kay

I became aware of this debut novel by complete chance when I happened to hear a late night radio interview with the author a few weeks ago. It’s a tale of how a lifelong friendship can quickly turn sour when the relationship means far more to one person than it does to the other, of how it can soon become obsessional, fixated, suffocating and ultimately toxic. The story centres on two childhood girlfriends, one of whom narrates the story, and follows them into adulthood. The narrator’s life is marred by untimely tragedy, causing her to gradually and almost unknowingly become mentally unbalanced and lean ever more heavily on her successful friend. Such is her suffocating and obsessive dependence that, as she recounts their story, she remembers seven crucial and sometimes manipulative lies she told to keep their friendship and inter-reliance alive and keep the pair firmly tethered together as life progresses, with each lie having progressively more catastrophic and lasting implications and consequences than the last. This dark, claustrophobic read is an excellent first novel, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed – hopefully there will be more to come, but the author has set the bar high with » Continue Reading.

Author:Van Morrison

There has been a number of this type of lyric book published over the last few years by, among others, artists as diverse as Kate Bush, Sean Ryder and Lou Reed. One of the earliest to present lyrics almost in the form of a poetry book was Van Morrison’s 2014 effort Lit Up Inside. Now we have a second volume in the same format with a generous number of lyrics on offer (120 songs in broadly chronological order), and although there is no background information as to how they were chosen or even what album they originate from (although I guess if you are interested in buying this you probably know already), it’s certainly an intriguing volume to dip in and out of. The choices cover the whole gamut of Van’s fifty-year career, the good, the bad and the ugly, and to be honest some work better than others when presented in this rather formal style. Of course there’s a huge difference between poetry and lyrics, but some of the pieces here do come very close to the former – Astral Weeks, And It Stoned Me, Queen of the Slipstream and Wonderful Remark are prime examples from the » Continue Reading.

Author:Stephen King

This collection contains four new novellas from King, and has been brought forward from its original May publication date, unlike many others, which have been pushed back.

The centrepiece, from which the book takes its title, is also the longest story on offer – roughly double the length of the other individual tales. It’s a sequel to a novel from a couple of years back, The Outsider, and although it can also be read as a standalone piece, really you need to have read that previous work. If you enjoyed that one though, then this is essential reading and is a great postscript to the original book. It’s a gripping thriller of a tale, the pick of the bunch here.

The remaining three stories are

Mr Harrigan’s Phone – a story in which the author muses on the impact made by the internet and mobile phones when they first arrived, along with the monetisation of personal data, all wrapped up in a good old fashioned tale of the supernatural.

The Life of Chuck – I’m not sure I totally understand this one. It’s the story of an ordinary life, told in reverse chronology, with the final scenes (which » Continue Reading.

Author:Philip Kerr

Between 1991 and 2006 Philip Kerr put his best known creation, Bernie Gunther, on hold and published a number of standalone novels. This title originally appeared in 1995, although for some reason it was never published in the UK, and in fact part of the plot (a massacre in a Polish forest) resurfaced in the 2013 Gunther novel A Man Without Breath. Being a huge Gunther fan, I approached this book with some trepidation, but it turns out my fears were unfounded as this is a very good read in the spy thriller/ alternate history vein. It’s a fast paced tale that keeps you turning the pages, and is set in 1943 as Hitler realises he can’t win the Second World War and puts out feelers for a negotiated peace with Russia and the US, with only Churchill refusing to play ball. The main protagonist, a US agent doubling as Roosevelt’s special envoy to the proposed peace talks, does bear many similarities to Bernie Gunther, and at times it’s easy to forget you’re not reading a novel in that series. As was typical of those books, this one also merges fact with fiction, and is populated by a » Continue Reading.

Author:Polly Samson

This is a novel that takes a long lingering nostalgic look at an idyllic sun soaked past. Set on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, it combines the fictional lives of the narrator and her friends and family with real life figures such as the Australian novelists Charmian Clift and George Johnston, the writer Axel Jensen and perhaps more famously Leonard Cohen and his soon to be girlfriend Marianne Ihlen. It reminded me a little of the Martin Amis novel The Pregnant Widow, which takes a similar conceit and sets it in the same era, but in Italy rather than Greece. Amis’s novel though is a black comedy, taking a rather more cutting, satirical view on things than is present in Samson’s writing. She prefers to look back with a hazy rose-tinted fondness at a period when, as they say, even the bad times were good. I suppose it’s a novel about Utopian dreams, and how, inevitably, they unravel as innocence is lost and the bohemian circle of poets, writers, musicians and artists dwelling in this seeming paradise gradually self destructs. This is all observed from the point of view of a newcomer to the island, an » Continue Reading.

Author:David Watkinson

I recall reading a book by ex England and Lancashire cricketer David Lloyd a few years ago, where he recalls growing up in Accrington and hanging around with one of his best childhood mates Johnny Anderson, who went on to do big things. This fascinating biography looks at Anderson’s pre-Yes life, concentrating on his time in his first band, The Warriors, who were very active on the Lancashire music scene in the early sixties, releasing a single, appearing on TV and eventually following in The Beatles footsteps to the German clubs. Ultimately the band imploded and returned to the UK, where Anderson had a subsequent brief solo fling as Hans Christian before bumping into a certain Chris Squire in London, and the rest, as they say, is history. The story is told in brief bursts of narrative by the author, linked by extensive interviews with the original band members and of course with Anderson himself, supplemented by numerous previously unseen photographs of the band and associated memorabilia. This unique and meticulously researched book is a really enjoyable read and is recommended, indeed essential, reading for those interested not just in Jon Anderson and Yes, but also in the » Continue Reading.

Author:Duncan Harris/Kevan Furbank

The next two artists covered in this ongoing series make strange bedfellows indeed, coming from opposite ends of the musical spectrum, although perhaps there is a connection in their longevity, both having been around in various guises for over fifty years now.

My Hawkwind period really runs from In Search Of Space through to Hall Of The Mountain Grill, encompassing of course the mighty Space Ritual live set – what memories listening to that one! Subsequent albums were very much a mixed bag, ranging from good, eg Quark, Strangeness and Charm, Levitation, through run of the mill to frankly poor – too many fall into these last two categories unfortunately, At least recent years have seen something of a resurgence with The Machine Stops and Into The Woods, showing there is still some creative fuel left in the tank after all these years and all those drugs.

Fairport Convention must have had as many different line ups as Hawkwind over the past five decades. Again, my interest was more around their early work from What We Did On Our Holidays through to Full House really. There’s some great music there, and that run of albums really encompasses » Continue Reading.

Author:Pete Paphides

I’m sure many on here are familiar with the work of music journalist and radio broadcaster Pete Paphides. This delightful book tells the story of his childhood years in Birmingham after his parents moved there in the nineteen sixties from Cyprus in search of a better life for their family. It’s a catalogue of fond (and sometimes not so fond) childhood memories of growing up in a strange country with an alien culture and a language he and his parents could initially barely speak. He was a very shy and introverted child – indeed he uttered not a single word other than to close family between the ages of four and seven. As his parents both worked full time in their fish and chip shop business, he found both a safety net and an outlet for his feelings in the pop music of the seventies and eighties, firstly through Top Of The Pops and the joys of the Dial A DIsc service (remember that?), then later from buying carefully selected singles with his pocket money. Sugar Baby Love and Don’t Go Breaking My Heart were early favourites, then along came The Brotherhood of Man, Abba, The Bee Gees » Continue Reading.

Author:Alan Parks

This is the third novel in this crime thriller series set in 1970s Glasgow, and featuring Detective Harry McCoy and his childhood friend and now sometime nemesis Stevie Cooper. It’s also partly the tale of a local boy made good rock star, the Bobby March of the title, whose fortunes are now somewhat on the wane, and who is found dead from an overdose in his hotel room after a homecoming show. The story of his career is told throughout the book in a series of flashbacks, running alongside two current investigations involving missing girls, one official, the other off the record. Throw in plenty of drugs, gang violence, links to terrorism and a rather jaundiced view of the rock scene, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a damn good read! I got through this in one sitting on a long train journey and loved every page, hoping I could finish it before I reached my final destination. I suppose you’d describe it as being part of the ‘tartan noir’ genre, but the closest comparison I can give is that it’s like one of Stuart MacBride’s Logan McCrae novels but set forty years or so ago. If » Continue Reading.

Author:Jacob Holm-Lupo

Although they sold over forty million albums over a forty year period, when I think of Toto I think, like most people I suspect, of just three songs – Hold The Line, Rosanna and of course the ubiquitous Africa. However, you obviously don’t shift that many units on the basis of just a handful of songs, as this in depth look at their career confirms. As always, I listened to the respective albums while reading this guide, and actually I think I must have owned at some point their 1978 debut effort as it certainly rang some distant bells. Throughout their long career, the music has always been impeccably played and the songs immaculately constructed, while the production shines like a new pin. The author is obviously a huge fan, and enjoys explaining every nuance of each song, album by album, even if sometimes the amount of detail is a little overwhelming for the casual listener. Certainly the first four albums still make pretty good AOR listening, in the vein of US giants of the genre such as Journey, Boston and Styx, but like all those bands they had a much more limited impact in the UK, and, » Continue Reading.

Author:Mike Barnes

Just what I always wanted! This epic six hundred page plus tome really has everything you could hope for and more besides, covering the genesis (pardon the pun) of prog, on into its prime era and then the gradual fade from the public consciousness, touching on all the major players, plus a goodly number of minor ones too. The quality and in depth nature of the writing can’t be faulted, comprehensive and well researched to the nth degree. It’s one of those books you pick up late in an evening to read, say, just the chapter on Pink Floyd, then you realise the next one is on Yes, so you stay up and read that too, only to find the following one is on Tull…. and before you know it it’s two in the morning. As well as the big names, the author covers numerous lesser acts – the likes of Henry Cow, Hatfield and The North, even Renaissance, Curved Air and Steve Hillage all get a look in. In fact, just about every prog act you can think of features somewhere in these pages. As well as the writing on bands, there’s also a number of informative » Continue Reading.

Author:Liam Newton

The original, long out of print, edition of this book first appeared in 2000. It has now been revised, updated and expanded for this comprehensive new publication, which features contributions from three of the four original members (Lol Crème chose not to participate), plus subsequent band members, managers, producers and collaborators – in fact just about everyone who has had any involvement with the band has their say. I had quite a liking for 10cc back in their seventies heyday, particularly the albums from Sheet Music to Deceptive Bends, and I wasn’t the only one – incredible as it may seem now, luminaries such as Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent sing the band praises in articles from the time. I’ve been playing the albums for the first time in many a long year in conjunction with reading this book, and there’s certainly some great songs there that have really lasted well, even if they were sometimes too clever for their own good. Okay, some pieces were a bit throwaway and haven’t aged that well, but there’s plenty of top quality material that still holds up today, much of which I’d quite forgotten about – in fact I’d » Continue Reading.

Author:Jez Rowden/ Andrew Wild

Two more titles in this excellent, fascinating series, covering Steely Dan, and the solo output of the ex-members of The Beatles up to 1980.

There aren’t, as far as I’m aware, too many books about the Dan, so this one is very welcome. As usual, it starts with a brief history of the very early pre-fame years, before moving on to give a track by track breakdown of each album. Personally, I’m a Pretzel Logic to Gaucho era fan, with an honourable mention for Two Against Nature, and the book gives some interesting insights into the songs and the often torturous recording process. It also rounds up rarities and unreleased tracks, although these are for the most part early songs, other than The Bear from the Aja sessions and The Second Arrangement from the Gaucho era. Also covered are the solo albums by Becker and Fagen – for me The Nightfly is by the best of the bunch, a superb album that Fagen never managed to consistently match with his subsequent releases. A very engaging if all too brief read.

Unlike Steely Dan, there are already a plethora of books on The Beatles and their post » Continue Reading.

Author:Bernie Marsden

This book originally appeared a couple of years ago via a Pledge campaign, but has now been picked up by a mainstream publisher, getting a welcome update in the process.

Rather than being a lurid sensationalist expose of rock n roll debauchery, this is instead an honest warts and all look at the author’s days of hard graft on the British blues rock scene. Of course, he’s best known for his work with the original classic line up of Whitesnake in the late seventies and early eighties, before they transformed themselves into the hair metal darlings of MTV as they targeted the lucrative US market. Nevertheless, no doubt the royalties from his co-authorship of Here I Go Again provide a nice annual pension, and there are some interesting insights into the band’s hectic recording and touring schedule in their heyday, and the inevitable tensions it created. The book isn’t exclusively about Whitesnake though, and Marsden has many a tale to tell of life before and after his tenure with the band. There are also interesting accounts of the first gigs and festivals he attended and musical heroes he has met and played with, as well as a chapter » Continue Reading.

Author:Gerald Seymour

It’s that time of the year again, when Gerald Seymour’s annual novel hits the shelves. I’ve been reading his books since his debut, Harry’s Game, appeared way back in the seventies when I was but a teenager and he was still a regular sight on the nightly TV news bulletins. I’ve followed him ever since and although there have been a few bumps in the road, by and large his work rarely disappoints. His novels are always firmly rooted in grim reality, with no glamorous women, fast car chases or shoot outs, and this one is no exception. Here, a member of a covert military observation unit who suffers from PTSD after witnessing an atrocity in Syria is brought back into the fold to locate and identify the person responsible and dispense justice. The book superbly captures the various scenarios, the desolate Orkneys, the bare Syrian Desert and the bleakness of Russia, as well as the damaged personalities of the main protagonists. As expertly plotted and written as usual, if you haven’t read any of Seymour’s previous novels then this is a good place to start and then work your way through them all. – just don’t expect » Continue Reading.

Author:Mark Blake

Jethro Tull have set a high bar with their excellent ongoing program of cd reissues, but this super book has no problem in meeting that standard. Encased in what can only be described as a cushioned cover, it gives for the first time the official authorised history of the band. Although author Mark Blake pulls the strings to provide the narrative of the story through the words of the thirty odd players who’ve passed through the Tull camp at one time or another, it is unsurprisingly Ian Anderson’s voice that is heard most often, either through his own contributions or via interjections in to the recollections of others. There are certainly some revealing insights into life in the band in this chronological trip through their sometimes tempestuous career – Dave Pegg, for example, contrasts life in a group of mates who play music (Fairport) with life with a group of musicians who aren’t mates at all. The earlier years of the band’s career, up to the late seventies, are covered in most detail, unsurprisingly given this was their most creative and successful era. However, as we move past 1980, the detail becomes noticeably less forensic, although Anderson interestingly » Continue Reading.