Mullardman
Moderately extreme...
Indeed.. Dominic Sandbrook is a prick.. but surely even he can't be wrong all of the time?
I wish Mark Lewisohn would get his finger out. At this rate either he or I will have dropped off the perch before he’s finished his biography.
Damn the internet. Three buttons clicked and it’s on the way.I’m trying to work out whether I ought to buy it or not based on the pfm perceptions of the authors of the mini-crits on the cover. I think Julian Barnes got a thumbs-up at some point, maybe for that book with the picture of The Raft of the Medusa inside, the name of which escapes me. Dominic Sandbrook was definitely thumbs-down - I think he once wrote an article for a Tory Tabloid - which leaves Alexander Armstrong. I’m not sure if the pfm massive has expressed an opinion on him yet, but personally I think it he should be charged with crimes against singing. So two to one against - but I like the Beatles, and Craig Brown, so sod that.
Indeed.. Dominic Sandbrook is a prick.. but surely even he can't be wrong all of the time?
When wine-loving friends are put under similar orders they find they only last until they hear the words ‘have we got any more of that one that I really like?’ A negative answer and restrictions are immediately removed. I suppose it’s a little trickier with books.I am under strict orders to buy no more books for the foreseeable future, so have to content myself with reading the reviews in the LRB.
‘Never seared by the flames of matrimony’ my old chum used to say.'You aren't married, are you, Bertie?'
Volume 2 in 2023 ‘maybe, but most likely afterwards’ according to his website.Will he ever finish?
Hello Saxondale, I have got the Oxford book and while it is scholarly and well written, there is a LOT in there that I am not interested in such as trad, dixie etc and not that much on 50's, 60's and fusion etc which is my flavour. I have not got the Ted book you mentioned but I do have "How to Listen to Jazz" by him which is one of the best I have read for a while as it explains so much regarding styles and techniques by the masters together with track details so that relative novices like me can listen along for the relevant points in his essays.I’ve been torn between getting this or The History of Jazz by Ted Gioia
Thanks for the detailed feedback. I know what you mean - some books simply have too much information (for the novice I mean). And yes, it can often lead to a second mortgage.Hello Saxondale, I have got the Oxford book and while it is scholarly and well written, there is a LOT in there that I am not interested in such as trad, dixie etc and not that much on 50's, 60's and fusion etc which is my flavour. I have not got the Ted book you mentioned but I do have "How to Listen to Jazz" by him which is one of the best I have read for a while as it explains so much regarding styles and techniques by the masters together with track details so that relative novices like me can listen along for the relevant points in his essays.
Trouble with all these volumes is that you inevitably end up spending ££££'s on source material you have not already got!
Bought this on the strength of massive reviews and awards. Not read it yet.
I don't think it's so much him being wrong, as over-simplifying things. Clearly all history writing is to some extent a simplification, but when it's history of the times one's actually lived through, the exclusions and glossing-overs become more obvious.
Bought this on the strength of massive reviews and awards. Not read it yet.