Author:Steve Pilkington / William Allen / Eric Benac
Three more titles in this ever increasing and very readable look at the subjects’ careers on an album by album, song by song basis.
I would think everything that could be written about Led Zep has already been written, probably several times over. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this trawl through their career even though it didn’t tell me much I didn’t already know. The author has a dry, sardonic wit which makes the book an entertaining read, and it covers all the studio and live recordings – one of the things I like about these books is they encourage you to dig out the original albums and rediscover music you’d maybe forgotten about as the years have passed. He’s a bit brief on the two cd reissues of the catalogue a few years ago, although to be fair they were a bit of a let down, with little in the way of unreleased songs and most of the alternate versions being very similar to the final songs. A good read that doesn’t take too long to get through but keeps you interested throughout.
I’m no expert on Radiohead – I lost touch with them really around the Kid A/Amnesiac years and never really returned to the fold. Again, this is a very comprehensive look at their output, including unreleased songs, but it was a bit forensic for my taste with lots of information about chords and tunings and the like which is a bit wearing for a non-musician. I was surprised at how many non-album tracks were released as B sides etc – there’s almost a whole new back catalogue there alongside the albums themselves. It was good to revisit Pablo Honey, The Bends and OK Computer though, after not hearing them for many a year.
I confess I knew nothing about Cardiacs or their music before reading this book. A cult band under the leadership of Tim Smith until his untimely death in July 2020, they were actually only active until 2008 when a heart attack effectively ended the band’s activities. I’ve dipped in and out of their music in the course of reading this, but didn’t really get the music at all, but hey, each to their own and if you’re a fan of the band then I’m sure you’ll find lots to interest you here as there can’t be too many books about them out there.
Length of Read:Short
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
The careers of these artists.
One thing you’ve learned
All three authors are obviously avid fans and have put a lot of time and effort into preparing these books.
Cardiacs were an astonishing band – unique, mad and brilliant. I found out about them only months before Tim Smith’s stroke sadly and will regret the missed opportunities to see them live. Like “The Fall” they are an acquired taste – but worth acquiring I think. “Sing to God” is an all time top five album for me.
The Cardiacs were the greatest small band that never broke through to bigger appeal. They seemed to upset the 80s music press by being too progressive (though Marillion fans hated them, and they had to leave a support act role with them which may have broken them further if they had been appreciated). They were probably too quirky for the mass audience, which has bland tastes. Live the Cardiacs were incredible. Strange, tight, fascinating, uncanny.