The Go-Betweens

Rating:
Summary: High, low and in-between
Review: The book is old news now, however, such is the alure of good music, the band -and this biography- only happened to me much later than the event (note that an updated of the book is planned sometime soon as the bands two songwriters have since reformed as The Go-betweens). David Nichols, a Melbourne writer and some-times musician, tells us in the preface that he began the book with the question as to why people start bands, a seemingly strange premise but he succeeds in showing the apparent cultural vacuum that was Brisbane in the late 1970s through numerous and detailed chapters concerning the genisis of the band. These early chapters in the book are by far the best: several funny anecdotes and personal insights into the founding members of the band and punk music in an ultra-conservative Queensland make for a great read, especially for obsessives of the band such as myself (they are not really a band to have a casual acquaintance with). The latter chapters are much thinner by comparison, which is a shame for their music only (or arguably) got better as the eighties progressed. As relationships in the band begin to deterirate and band politics come to the fore, its as if Nichols loses interest in his subject, the original premise not loose enough to sustain an even and truly thorough examination. There is no question that the author has a great passion for the band and its music (it literally shines through in the first chapters which I have read repeatedly), it is just that the angle comes off as a little superficial as not a lot of insight is given to what makes the bands music and albums so special. Four stars for the first half alone though.