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3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
3 1/2 stars. An extensive record of the Fab Five’s story, but a bit dry if you’re not a fan. This group was part of the soundtrack of my childhood.
Not necessarily new or groundbreaking revelations, but I still enjoyed the heck out of this one. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to see them in concert twice.
Started strong then the fact checking went by the way side. Getting song titles wrong is really lazy along with just regurgitating old interviews. Incorrect facts, incorrect spelling of people’s names, toward the end of the book you could tell he wanted to finish as there was an error every other page. Maybe he needs a refresher on how to use Google. If you want to read this just let me know, I’ll give you my copy which I got used so at least he’s not getting royalties from me. That’s how much I hate this book.
informative
medium-paced
Very good book- never boring. Although I've heard some isn't accurate probably most is and it is very interesting. It's a shame how it all disintegrated for the band and the best listen is about those early years . They made some classic early albums.
In the 80s I was a huge Duran Duran fan. As they changed I found that I didn't enjoy their music as much, and sort of grew out of it. This book was truly fascinating and shows a perspective of what was going on with the band. I learned why their music changed as the years went on and can now understand and appreciate those changes. They were trying to evolve to stay relevant. What this book has ultimately done is reminded me of just how much I love Duran Duran and their music. I feel it's a must read for any Duran Duran fan.
I’m not as well versed as some Duran Duran fans on their history, but even I found fault with this book. It was poorly researched by the author with some obvious inaccuracies. Among them:
The author spelled Duranie “Durannie” multiple times, while both are used, the former is used more frequently by fans and even the band’s social media.
The author wrote that Paul and Linda McCartney came and said goodnight to the band while they were recording a demo at AIR Studios sometime in 1980. If you read factually correct books and interviews with the band about the recording of Rio, it was during its recording.
The author wrote that Andy and John mimed the sax solos in Rio, if you watch the video, it's obvious that it's Nick and John, not Andy.
The author seems to not hide his disdain for most of the band members, discussing more about their drinking and drugs, sexual prowess, losing their trousers, and how much makeup they wore than anything particularly informative about what they contributed to the band. Andy is the only one who seems to come out relatively unscathed, he also somehow gets four chapters dedicated to his backstory, prior to joining the band, in Part 2.
Less than 25% of the book is dedicated to the band’s over 35-year career post-Live Aid, where Warren comes off as the savior of the band and every creative idea was his. There are better written, better researched, and more informative books, articles, and blogs about this band. Read those instead.
The author spelled Duranie “Durannie” multiple times, while both are used, the former is used more frequently by fans and even the band’s social media.
The author wrote that Paul and Linda McCartney came and said goodnight to the band while they were recording a demo at AIR Studios sometime in 1980. If you read factually correct books and interviews with the band about the recording of Rio, it was during its recording.
The author wrote that Andy and John mimed the sax solos in Rio, if you watch the video, it's obvious that it's Nick and John, not Andy.
The author seems to not hide his disdain for most of the band members, discussing more about their drinking and drugs, sexual prowess, losing their trousers, and how much makeup they wore than anything particularly informative about what they contributed to the band. Andy is the only one who seems to come out relatively unscathed, he also somehow gets four chapters dedicated to his backstory, prior to joining the band, in Part 2.
Less than 25% of the book is dedicated to the band’s over 35-year career post-Live Aid, where Warren comes off as the savior of the band and every creative idea was his. There are better written, better researched, and more informative books, articles, and blogs about this band. Read those instead.
Terrible writing. Repeating information. Writing is everywhere, hard to follow. Too much information about other bands. Waste of time.
A bit of a weird one. Lots of old interviews that have been rehashed and repeated through the book, quite a few errors which could have easily been picked up and corrected with better research/editing. Also a very weird take on British history/culture through the eyes of an American. It's only a small thing but I got irrationally irritated that the Labour Party, which is a proper noun, had been corrected to the Labor Party, for example. Also a lot of strangely partial ideas and opinions which are reported as fact when in fact they are the opinions of the writer. There was a bit too much misty eyed reverence for Margaret Thatcher in a book which was supposed to be about a pop group. Also, there was a very disappointing exploration of the New Romantic scene which was pretty poor. The last quarter of the book was largely a list of gigs and recording contracts which zipped through several decades in a deeply unsatisfying way and it felt like the whole book had been cobbled together, mostly as a money making afterthought. Apart from that, it was great.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced