BOOK REVIEW

CENtral 1179

Keith Rylatt + Phil Scott - Bee Cool Publishing

Excellent packaging - good design and a nice hardback looking softback cover!

The title and even the subtitle are a little obscure to the mainstream. Whilst this doesn't bother me one iota I would have thought that the publishers would want to reach as wide an audience as possible. A friend of mine, Chris Brown, who has just had a book published chronicling the football and soul scene in Bristol was forced to change his title for impact purposes. Still this book probably highlights the advantages, or disadvantages, of a small publisher - whichever way you look at it. But essentially I suppose that this is one for the In Crowd.

Clearly painstaking research has been carried out, as the book is littered with posters, lists and pictures from back in the day and some of the lists are exhaustingly comprehensive. Some of the old pictures work, some don't but hey this is a nostalgia trip.

Introduction by the guru Dave Godin, who's column we all religiously went to first in Blues and Soul. A small Dave Godin related anecdote - many years ago when I was buying and selling a few records I had acquired The Crippled Crow by Booker T and Priscilla on A&M. It cost me virtually nothing and I hated it. I sold it at a record fair to a well known person on the scene for as I recall 40 pence - yes 40 pence, this was a long time ago. The purchaser raced of in glee clutching his 'Dave Godin recommended masterpiece' - such was Dave's power. I doubt whether the purchaser had even heard it - I even at that price had made my money, and as I said I didn't like it anyway. I wonder what it's worth now. I don't hold this against Dave because my favourite of all time, and Dave's so I understand, is Make me Yours by Bettye Swann.

Speaking of which I thought that was a big Wheel sound - off the top of my head I think it's on Goldmine's Wheel CD - yet it doesn't get a mention in the book!

I must admit to being sceptical about books that purport to tell it like it is and are supposed to recollect what something was really like. After all that would in most cases be not good reading. Consequently there must either be an element of artistic license and/or a 'flowering up' or exaggeration of the 'truth' to make it sound better or be more entertaining. Also there is a tendency to remember the 'good old days' which may not actually be exactly as it originally was. On the other hand it is pleasing when someone can chronicle these things especially when it is something you a) are interested in, and b) been a part of. (For the record The Wheel was just before my time and I only became part of the scene around the end of The Torch, beginning of the Casino). This book seems to be extensively researched to back up the recollections and so far as I can tell is as near to the truth as one can get, even if there are one or two exaggerations or emphases, and the authors should be applauded for this.

The book starts of with a historic perspective of the music in the US from the early 50's. I found this a very good precis of a complicated and controversial era. The comparison of US and UK youth culture also is well summarized and sets the scene at the commencement of The Wheel. The next thing of course is to explain the UK regional differences and why Manchester, and why The Wheel.

I found the basic text by the authors interesting readable and a good interpretation of the era, the history, the background and so on. This was backed by factual listings, posters and photos. What I didn't like so much was the anecdotes, the stories and contributions by others because anybody has a story to tell and truth gets bent, particularly over time and with a promise of a mention in a book. That's not to say I necessarily disbelieve any of the pieces.

In summary it's a very good book, one that you can pick up and read, or you can pick it up from time to time and pick out bits and bobs of interest. I would say the market for such a volume is limited and whether it will be regarded as an historical reference, or just a tapestry of the times I would not like to say.

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