David Bowie: Living on the Brink

Rating:
Summary: David Bowie Living on The Brink
Review: David Bowie: Living on The Brink was a fascinating insight into the man, David Bowie. It openned with how the author knew David, and how they got along. That was a little boring because you want to know about David, not the writter, but once you get passed this the book levels out. You get to understand David's history, who he was, and how his parents and relitives shapped his life. The book writes of his relationship with his father and the ever faithful Kenneth Pit. It highlights Bowie's unpredictable and always charismatic character. The book fervently discusses finance managment as well. It also writes of David's other talents in art and how music was not his first choice. From David's early years- through scattered lovers, sexual, religious, and personality explorations we get to know David Bowie. This is a really good book, and if you are a David Bowie fan, as I have just recently found myself thrown head first into then you will enjoy it. I mean it's Bowie, where could you go wrong!

Rating:
Summary: David Bowie Living on The Brink
Review: David Bowie: Living on The Brink was a fascinating insight into the man, David Bowie. It openned with how the author knew David, and how they got along. That was a little boring because you want to know about David, not the writter, but once you get passed this the book levels out. You get to understand David's history, who he was, and how his parents and relitives shapped his life. The book writes of his relationship with his father and the ever faithful Kenneth Pit. It highlights Bowie's unpredictable and always charismatic character. The book fervently discusses finance managment as well. It also writes of David's other talents in art and how music was not his first choice. From David's early years- through scattered lovers, sexual, religious, and personality explorations we get to know David Bowie. This is a really good book, and if you are a David Bowie fan, as I have just recently found myself thrown head first into then you will enjoy it. I mean it's Bowie, where could you go wrong!

Rating:
Summary: Observations from the "Brink"
Review: He's a rock chameleon, a musical star who has acquired and shed all sorts of onstage personas -- Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke among them. George Tremlett's biography "David Bowie: Living on the Brink" doesn't reveal much that's new, but he does manage to give a new spin to Bowie's story.

Author George Tremlett first encountered David Bowie (born David Jones) in the 1970s, as the talented young musician was blossoming into what would be a long and fruitful career. He chronicles Bowie's troubled family (including a family history of schizophrenia), Bowie being taken under the wing of Kenneth Pitt, his marriage to wild child Angela Bowie, and a colorful career that never failed to fascinate.

Most biographers either trash or glorify the people they are writing about. George Tremlett really does neither. Not for long, anyway. On one hand, he analyzes song lyrics, quibbles on Bowie's sexuality and sometimes makes excuses for dumb stunts. On the other, he is quite willing to chronicle Bowie's flaws -- his sometime insensitivity, coldness and weirdness. Bowie's complexity seems to fascinate Tremlett.

His writing is a hodgepodge of the conversational, the distant and professional, and his own experiences. It's a bit uneven, but it works. Most of the information is gleaned from other books; Tremlett gives it a slightly new outlook, refuting some rumors and questioning others. Thankfully, he does not try to spin up his conversations with Bowie into a friendship, as many rock journalists do.

Those looking for a trashy read will be sated by anecdotes like Bowie's two lovers (one male, one female) arguing over him, and the glitz, seediness and glamour of 1970s London. But Tremlett also covers a side of Bowie that you don't see often: the businessman. He tackles the complicated world of agents, music deals, bestselling records and everything that fills in the gaps. And he makes it clear that Bowie is not just an excellent musician, but a capable businessman as well.

Sometimes conversational, sometimes distant and professional, "David Bowie: Living on the Brink" is a nice solid read about the Man Who Fell To Earth. Recommended for fans of classic rock'n'roll, and Bowie himself.

Rating:
Summary: Observations from the "Brink"
Review: He's a rock chameleon, a musical star who has acquired and shed all sorts of onstage personas -- Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke among them. George Tremlett's biography "David Bowie: Living on the Brink" doesn't reveal much that's new, but he does manage to give a new spin to Bowie's story.

Author George Tremlett first encountered David Bowie (born David Jones) in the 1970s, as the talented young musician was blossoming into what would be a long and fruitful career. He chronicles Bowie's troubled family (including a family history of schizophrenia), Bowie being taken under the wing of Kenneth Pitt, his marriage to wild child Angela Bowie, and a colorful career that never failed to fascinate.

Most biographers either trash or glorify the people they are writing about. George Tremlett really does neither. Not for long, anyway. On one hand, he analyzes song lyrics, quibbles on Bowie's sexuality and sometimes makes excuses for dumb stunts. On the other, he is quite willing to chronicle Bowie's flaws -- his sometime insensitivity, coldness and weirdness. Bowie's complexity seems to fascinate Tremlett.

His writing is a hodgepodge of the conversational, the distant and professional, and his own experiences. It's a bit uneven, but it works. Most of the information is gleaned from other books; Tremlett gives it a slightly new outlook, refuting some rumors and questioning others. Thankfully, he does not try to spin up his conversations with Bowie into a friendship, as many rock journalists do.

Those looking for a trashy read will be sated by anecdotes like Bowie's two lovers (one male, one female) arguing over him, and the glitz, seediness and glamour of 1970s London. But Tremlett also covers a side of Bowie that you don't see often: the businessman. He tackles the complicated world of agents, music deals, bestselling records and everything that fills in the gaps. And he makes it clear that Bowie is not just an excellent musician, but a capable businessman as well.

Sometimes conversational, sometimes distant and professional, "David Bowie: Living on the Brink" is a nice solid read about the Man Who Fell To Earth. Recommended for fans of classic rock'n'roll, and Bowie himself.

Rating:
Summary: Great insight on a cloudy past!
Review: It helps when you have interviewed a rock legend before he earned his fame, success, power, and wealth. George Tremlett got into rather lengthy interview with Bowie in Ken Pitt's apartment. This is where George gets much of his information of Bowie's early days, and of about up to 1970. I believe after this personal interview, George became a huge fan of David's. Which, for the reader, is not a good thing. Tremlett seems to make up unbelievable excuses for some of the most obscene things Bowie has ever done. For instance, when Bowie gave his infamous Nazi salute on a train. Tremlett likes to explain that it was misunderstanded as a Nazi salute when Bowie was actually waving to all of his adoring fans. Now, as a devoted Bowie I would like to believe this garbage, but my intelligence asks: Then why did Bowie move to Berlin and visit Hitler's bunker so often? Tremlett also seems to think that Bowie was never gay. The infamous interview in which Bowie was quoted as saying he was gay was probably invented by Tony DeFries. (Which is most likely true.) But then Tremlett goes on to say that Bowie never had a male sex partner and merely "experimented". Who knows what George means by that. My point is that Tremlett is nothing more than adoring fan trying to make excuses for Bowie's faults in life. He seems to be more interested in making excuses then to sharing detailed insight on Bowie's true nature.

Rating:
Summary: A Very believeable account of an unbeleivable musician!
Review: The book appears to ramble, lacking organization. I found myself questioning the reliability of Tremlett's accounts, and I came away with a sense of not knowing what is true or imagined, authentic or hype. In Tremlett's defense, Bowie's life is quite disjointed and probably difficult to nail down in many respects, but I think that that is the job of a biographer. The writing, at times, is not clear and lacks sophistication and style. I did finish the book, however; the subject matter transcends the narrative.

Rating:
Summary: Fills in great gaps but leaves a few
Review: This book merely reinforces the enigma that is David Bowie: naive, impressionable young man or evasive, cool, calm and in control. But this merely reflects how thorough and incisive the book is, and it reveals a Bowie that reinforces his cool and fills in the gaps. Only complaint is that once it reaches post-76/77 it focusses more on his finances than his creativity, which is a pity if you dig Heroes/Lodger/Scarey Monsters, but not if you think that the '80s were a creative lowpoint in Bowie's career. Either way "Living on the Brink" exhibits Bowie as a master of music and art and promotion.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent for Bowie fans
Review: Tremlett recycles the best bits from older, trashier bios, and adds his own, substantial pre-Ziggy interview material. His presentation is clear, concise, and buttressed by a detailed chronology and annotated bibliography, and his record critiques are fair if overly focused on lyrics. There's enough name-dropping and 70's hedonism for smut grazers, and plenty of financial analysis for those interested in rock's corporate machine. But there are weak points: Tremlett runs through the last two decades with no enthusiasm or insider knowledge, there's no index or discography, and the photo section isn't anything special.

Rating:
Summary: Just When You Thought You Knew David Bowie!
Review: What's very interesting about this book is the fact that it gives you more facts about David Bowie that nobody really knew, and it's more up to date...YAY!!!!! Also, it gives you the inside scoop of what happened during his tours and talked about his other lovers, who weren't really well known, the way Angie and Iman are. It actually kind of highlights his marriage to Iman, which makes you think, "What did he see in Angie in the first place?" You might even be surprised to hear what you read. You learn about the two lovers who fought over Bowie to win his love, the much younger woman who was once in Bowie's life, as well as other interesting facts. You just have to read if you are interested!