2005 Articles

Uncut 05/05

Wall of Sound 05/05

Amazing Journey: The Life Of Pete Townshend - Mark Ian Wilkerson

Amazing Journey: The Life Of Pete Townshend - Mark Ian Wilkerson
2005

Out Of Print

This is a wonderful read, approaching the career of Pete Townshend through the interviews he has done over the years. Unlike other cut and paste affairs this is very well researched, not relying on the mainstream musical press. The reference pages alone are worth reading to see the scope of this work.

Pete Townshend has consistently given interesting interviews, which are a bit more thoughtful than “our new lp is the best we’ve ever done”, and it has long been a pleasure of mine reading these. This book links extracts from the interviews with a thoughtful commentary.

Where as Maximum RnB and Anyway Anyhow Anywhere had wonderful photographs, this book hasn’t but it more than makes up for it by the quality of the writing. It is also one of the few books that realises the Pete Townshend’s career did not end in 1978 and about half the books 640 pages covers the period from 1978 up to the Live8 appearance in July 2005.

There are additional reviews on Marks site at http://www.townshendbio.com/reviews.htm

Keith Moon - Instant party - Musing Memories and Minutae -Alan Clayson

Keith Moon - Instant party - Musing Memories and Minutae -Alan Clayson


2005, Chrome Dreams
ISBN 1-84240-310-9

Bought this cheap and it wasn’t worth the money.


Michael Heatley, Classic Rock,

4 out of 10

Any book on the Who’s much missed drummer has to fight its way out of the considerable shadow cast by Dear Boy, Tony Fletcher’s all encompassing Moon biography, which omnibus have just issued in paperback. At £14.95 its two pounds more expensive than Instant Party, but twice as thick.

Veteran 60s rock scribe Alan Clayson sensibly admits defeat from the start, choosing to tell the story in a roundabout way via vignettes essays and the occasional interview with Moon’s contemporaries.

The end result, as with much of Claysons work, but not necessarily to the point. Entertaining but not always enlightning.

The Who and the Making of Tommy - Nigel Cawthorne

Vinyl Frontier - The Who and the Making of Tommy - Nigel Cawthorne


2005, Unanimous Ltd
ISBN 1-90331-876-9

Well worth the couple of quid I paid for it. The Tommy live does seem a little excessive detailing almost every show when Tommy or a Tommy Medley was played, but it does what it says on the cover – the history of Tommy.

Rex Features The Who

Rex Features The Who


2005, Reynolds and Hearn
ISBN 1-905287-06-2

Great photos (but very little text) particularly from the 1960s, right up to the Live8 concert, from one of the world’s premier photographic catalogues.

A cheap substitute for anyone who can’t (or won’t) pay the price for the Genesis photo books.