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Hail! Hail!
Rock’n’Roll
by John Harris
A titanic collection of trivia
Confused as to whether the metal music that rocks your world is thrash, death, nu or even Viking? Hungry for a handy collection of wisdom from such quote machines as Little Richard, Bob Dylan or Shaun Ryder? Look no further, this is the book for you.
Author Harris may be making waves today as a “serious” critic for The Guardian and Newsnight Review, but he’s never lost the adolescent thrill evident in his earlier writing for NME or a range of glossy music monthlies. This compendium of facts and figures, both essential and superficial, delights at every turn, be it a breakdown of the history of guitar effects pedals, the origins of Kiss members’ makeup, the geography of Beatles-era Hamburg, real-life figures mentioned in Manic Street Preachers songs, or how to play bass in half an hour.
It’s common for a miscellany of information like this volume to be called a stocking-filler (at this time of year) or, even more dismissively, a lavatory book. Harris has produced something much more respectable, though: a potted but pleasingly scattergun encyclopaedia of the riches of pop that tend to be overlooked in more straitlaced tomes. Buy it and become the most knowledgeable nerd in your local.
ISBN 9781847442932, 206 pages
Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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