A Dysfunctional Success: The Wreckless Eric Manual

Rating:
Summary: Wreckless Eric pens a Big Smash!
Review: Man,talk about outta nowhere...
This autobiography/memoir from "Wreckless Eric" Goulden is a must-read for anyone who recalls the glory days of punk/new wave and the DIY (do it yourself) sound of Stiff records.
Goulden begins by taking the reader through his underdog upbringing in the British school system,tenement homelife,and wonderfully discreptive dead-end jobs(you can almost smell a few of them).
Goulden eventually stumbles into a series of pub bands which leads to a demo which leads to a record deal on Stiff Records. Stiff played a major role in the early days of punk,and almost everyone associated with the label went on to greatness (Nick Lowe,Elvis Costello,Ian Dury to name a few).
Eric's recollection of those days are captured well here,which is worth the price of the book itself. The coming's and going's at Stiff,the low budget/grimy/cheapness of the whole operation, is well writ. About time somebody got it down (Thanks,Eric!).
The usual "trappings of fame" also make their appearance here, mainly alcoholism,which Goulden has beat.
Goulden tells a good story here,and he tells it well. I'd put it up there with Jon Savage's epic "England's Dreaming" simply because it captures the mood of England in the mid to late 70's so well.
Hopefully,the Wreckless Eric catalog will get a past due re-issue,at least here in the States,where his work is difficult to find.