I got a couple of those 33 1/3 books I mentioned for Christmas. I was more excited about the Smiths one because Joe Pernice wrote it. He explains in the foreward (and it’s funny that a 100 page book has a foreward) that he didn’t follow the 33 1/3 template by talking in the first person about Meat Is Murder but rather writing fiction where the album pops in from time to time. It made for a good read because JP writes well. I have his lyric book and one of his poetry collections so I am obviously biased in his favor. Still, it was nice, quick read if not exactly about the Smiths album.
Douglas Wolk’s book about the James Brown classic Live at The Apollo is more like the rest of the series. He talks about what was happening in the world during the week the album was recorded (the Cuban missile crisis), the history of Brown’s revue leading up to that night, and the actual recording and editing process. It was like reading the best liner notes ever.
I’m going to pick up more books in the series soon, specifically the one on Paul’s Boutique. It comes out March 15th.
Post a Comment