Rating: 
Summary: Still The Best Who Biography
Review: Like many Who fans, I suppose, I found my interest in the band recently rekindled by the tragic death of Who bassist John Entwistle and the near-miraculous rebirth of the band on their subsequent North American tour. One day while going through some old books of mine, I came across my (very) battered old copy of Before I Get Old, and, being "between books", decided to give it another whirl.I was pleasantly suprised to see how well the book holds up. If nothing else, the sheer amount of research Marsh obviously did to put the book together is enormously impressive. Marsh's knowledge pays off in his ability to treat the book almost like a really wonderful non-fiction novel - it's a story many would consider unbelievable if it weren't actually true. Also in the book's favor is the fact that Marsh has herewithin abstained (praise God!) from the kind of "this guy/these guys can do no wrong" hero-worship which marred his Springsteen bio Glory Days. The main issue I have with Marsh's book (and this is largely a matter of taste, I suppose) is the short shrift he gives to so much of the Who's post-Who's Next work. For example, he seems to regard their magnificient Quadrophenia as pretty much a failure. I think this is absurd. Quadrophenia may not be a perfect album, but I believe it stands as the ultimate realization of Townshend's long-standing ambition to create a musically- and narratively- linked song cycle, not to mention as one of the finest studio albums created by ANY artist, the Who or otherwise. In spite of this, Before I Get Old still stands as the best Who bio that's been written to date. If you're a fan of the band, or are merely curious about the greatest rock band of all time, I highly recommend you pick this up.
Rating:
Summary: Good summary for its time, but it omits many human stories.
Review: Marsh draws an intriguing picture of The Who and it's writer, Pete Townshend. The book could use more photos and descriptions of contextual material. Perhaps it simply needs an update to reflect today's reading audience.
Rating: 
Summary: A detailed history of the Who's career.
Review: Marsh's writing can be extremely annoying, but if you can get past that, it's not a bad book. A very good detailed story (especially the band's early career) of their rise to the top. Marsh can be extremely self-rightous, and that gets in the way sometimes, but if you want to learn about the band, this is the book.
Rating:
Summary: Who Good, Marsh Bad.
Review: Not a bad book, but Dave Marsh's style of writing/preaching/knowing-it-all really got on my nerves (minus 2 stars because he wrote it, and not someone else). There's way too much about the making of "Tommy", and not enough about the older albums. Some great stuff in here about Shel Talmy, Kit Lambert, Radio Caroline, New Action/Track Records, and a good section about Mod culture (essential reading for those outside the UK... Mod was more than just wearing a bulls-eye T-shirt). The book ends after Keith Moon dies, and the first "final tour", so if you were looking for more recent Who history, it's not in here. Still, it's a decent read if you can stomach Dave Marsh.
Rating:
Summary: Who Good, Marsh Bad.
Review: Not a bad book, but Dave Marsh's style of writing/preaching/knowing-it-all really got on my nerves (minus 2 stars because he wrote it, and not someone else). There's way too much about the making of "Tommy", and not enough about the older albums. Some great stuff in here about Shel Talmy, Kit Lambert, Radio Caroline, New Action/Track Records, and a good section about Mod culture (essential reading for those outside the UK... Mod was more than just wearing a bulls-eye T-shirt). The book ends after Keith Moon dies, and the first "final tour", so if you were looking for more recent Who history, it's not in here. Still, it's a decent read if you can stomach Dave Marsh.
Rating:
Summary: All Who'd Out
Review: Sorry guys, but Americans have no place writing about British Rock bands. This is by no means a bad book, it's just that the British have so much more class. This book is rather clinical and there's not really enough story telling for my liking. It does cover the early period quite well. Maybe Entwistle's book will be good (if he ever finishes it.)
Rating: 
Summary: It's great, honest!
Review: The one thing that I really liked about this book is the way the author connects the story of the band with the various musical and artistic trends of the era. He delivers great insight on the band being not only rock musicians, but also thinkers and artists, who had a comcept behind every movement. It also offers great views on their major weakness: their innability to "get along", i.e. working as a cooperative force rather than in isolation from each other. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that is the most authoritative source of information about the history of this great rock band so far
Rating:
Summary: On balance, a great read
Review: This is an exhaustive account of the Who's early to middle career, through the "Who's Last" tour. (It was published in 83 and hasn't been revised, so the Tommy revival tour and the Quadrophenia revival tour and Entwistle's death are not discussed.)
There are a couple of criticisms, chief among them that it seems Marsh didn't get much in the way of original interviews and relies heavily on other sources, giving it a bit of a "clip job" feel. He's also not shy about his opinions, some of which are right on target (Kit Lambert's shortcomings as a producer) and some which are way off base (his slighting of Quadrophenia). The later the story progresss throughout the band's career, the less time he spends on the narrative. In a 525 page book, you're barely out of "Tommy" by page 375.
Still, the 525 pages flies by, as the book is so well organized and the material freshly presented. Kudos especially to Marsh for his portrayal of the evolution and continuing contradictions of Townshend's thoughts.
Rating:
Summary: It's a good book for the early history of the Who.
Review: While I can't say anything personal about David Marsh, this is a great book for the first half, until it hits on the mid-1970's. Then Marsh focuses less and less on the music. Tommy is covered a bit too much, but it is what the Who will be remembered for. The only problem I really had with the book was Marsh's total dislike of Face Dances and It's Hard. While these aren't the best Who albums, they are far from the embarrassment Marsh makes them out to be. Overall, a good introduction to the Who.
|
