Retrato do autor

Zoe Street Howe

Autor(a) de Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams & Rumors

11 Works 189 Membros 6 Críticas

About the Author

Obras por Zoe Street Howe

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Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
female

Membros

Críticas

Even though William Reid chose not to be involved in the making of this book, his brother, Jim, did. And so did a lot of other players from the days.

Howe writes the book pretty straight forward, dodging the usual tripe and drunken debauchery that often plagues music biographies by seeming obligatory when it's rarely so. The Mary Chain are described as a lot of moping persons who created music that defined the 1980s somewhat and influenced bands and artists for all time forth, probably.

I wish there'd have been pictures in the book - there are none, bar the cover image.

They wanted to sound like the Shangri-Las and Einstürzende Neubauten at the same time, and they somewhat did, while sounding like nothing else out there:

Musically the brothers had a voracious appetite, listening to bands such as the German industrial group Einstürzende Neubauten, The Beatles, The Birthday Party, The Doors, Dr Mix and the Remix, and 1960s girl groups like the Shangri-Las. But if they had to pick one single group who had the most impact on them, it would have been the Velvet Underground. When they brought home the The Velvet Underground And Nico album (famously bearing Andy Warhol’s image of a banana on the cover), what ensued was tantamount to a religious experience. It was sweet and bitter, ‘psycho and candy’, all on one record.


They walked off stage if bored and practically did what they wanted to do, except for cater much to the media. And they didn't like their peers very much:

‘The whole Scottish scene turns our stomach,’ says Jim. ‘The Welsh as well,’ grins William. ‘And the Irish,’ shrugs Douglas, dourly. (from a Sounds interview with Sandy Robertson, 1985)


And yes, they were viewed as different, by all:

Their parents tried to be understanding of their sons’ often insular behaviour – their mother once bought William a key-ring with the inscription ‘I’m not weird, I’m gifted’ written on it, which cheered him immeasurably.


And they didn't care much about virtuosity:

‘I don’t even think we auditioned Bobby,’ Jim Reid admits. ‘We just said, “Can you drum?” “Yeah, a wee bit.” “Right, OK.”’


Sounds like when Alan McGee thought of John Moore to join The Mary Chain:

Jim says of those early meetings: ‘We’d kind of spotted John around the place; he was almost like a weird stalker. At the Sonic Youth gig John came up and said, “I saw you the other night.” I thought, Oh God, is he coming on to me or what? What’s going on? He was a bit of a hustler, you could see that. He’d spotted the drumming spot was vacant and he was going to go for it. It was McGee as well, he said, “There’s this bloke who looks just like William, and he wears leather trousers. I think you should get him.” We’re like, “Can he drum?” “Er . . . oh, I don’t know about that.”’


...and speaking of drumming:

They actually wanted a drummer, but they couldn’t find anyone who was right. ‘We auditioned dozens of drummers,’ says Jim. ‘Purely on ability, we could have got one easily, but we wanted somebody we could spend ten weeks on a tour bus with. We kept getting these guys that started going on about what type of sticks they would use. We didn’t give a fuck what type of sticks they were going to use! It’s a bit of wood, you moron!’


The band didn't care much for being "correct" with the media:

The journalist asked how they felt about being described variously as both the best and worst group in the western hemisphere. William replied, after a contemplative pause, ‘My favourite colour is gold.’


They loved their fans, who in some cases were as saddening as the band:

Douglas Hart says: ‘I loved playing places like that because they were a bit like the places we grew up in. I remember in Preston this kid came up to me, really young, strange-looking guy, and he said, “I’d like to start a band.” I was like, “You should, you should!” And he said, “But I’ve got no friends.” God, what a thing to say. Kind of beautiful. It haunted me. I always wondered what happened to him.’ This poignant exchange must have accessed a part of Douglas that would surely have felt similarly isolated – another outsider from an outsider town – had he and the Reids not found each other in East Kilbride when they did.


On The Smiths:

The other problem for the Mary Chain, Mick observes, was that The Smiths were increasingly stealing the Mary Chain’s thunder as the decade wore on. ‘People began to see The Smiths as the band of the 1980s,’ he explains. ‘But I still think Psychocandy was one of the albums, if not the album, of the 1980s.’


On picking support acts for their tours:

‘I was friends with the label that had just signed Nine Inch Nails, TVT. The guy played me this stuff and I said, “Yes, that sounds like a band that should open for us.” I sent the records to Jim and William. They couldn’t care less: “Hey, you like them? Fine.” Couldn’t give a shit.’


All in all, the book's a labour of love and doesn't pander to the author's ego, but is about the band. Go read if you're into JAMC.
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Assinalado
pivic | Mar 21, 2020 |
As a Stevie Nicks fan, I enjoyed this new biography from British journalist Zoe Howe, but recommend it with some reservations. I was a bit disappointed that most of the material is sourced from published interviews and books, so I would not recommend this book for fans looking for "new" insights about Nicks, especially fans who have already read one of the several Stevie Nicks biographies currently on the market. Howe is clearly a fan of Stevie Nicks, offering commentary throughout the chronological narrative, and while I enjoyed her sometimes sarcastic comments, Howe's writing style might annoy some readers who are looking for a more traditional biography. Make sure to locate your favorite Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks albums, as this book will make fans want to revisit favorite songs.

Kathleen K. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.
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Assinalado
mcpl.wausau | 3 outras críticas | Sep 25, 2017 |
This is a re-release of a book from a few years ago. I received it from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
I have always been enthralled, "bewitched", and fascinated by Stevie Nicks. From the first time I listened to Fleetwood Mac in the mid-seventies until today. That voice. That music. And, later, when I would see concert clips of them on The Midnight Special and other shows, the pure enchantment of watching Stevie perform. And, later, to actually seeing them perform in concert in person. It would just fill me with a sense of wonder.
And the rumors. Of the drug use. Of the drama. Of the in-fighting. What to believe?
Well, it's pretty much all laid bare in this book. I found that I just could not put it down. And it left me, at age 57, still feeling the same way about Stevie Nicks as I did when I was a teenager. Fascinating!
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Assinalado
1Randal | 3 outras críticas | Feb 18, 2017 |
Biographies can offer a wide range of information and insight. This one mostly sticks to the evolution of Stevie Nicks' music career, along with her love life and drug abuse as it coincides with her music. It's important to note that Nicks did not participate in this biography. The author does not interview Nicks or anyone else for this book. All the material is gathered from old interviews and books already published. While that entails a whole lot of research, we don't get any new information or personal insight from Nicks as she reflects back on her life. Conclusions are mostly conjecture based on a compilation of interviews Nicks and her bandmates have done over the years, as well as books already published by people who knew her. In fact, a good deal of the content is borrowed quotes from other books and interviews.

This book excels at giving us a full chronology of Stevie Nicks' recording career. If you want to know the stories behind the songs she writes, you'll find a lot of that information here. Her songs are quite personal, and I enjoyed learning the inspiration behind many of her lyrics.

As far as the way Stevie Nicks is portrayed here, she comes off as childish, insecure, spoiled, self-centered, and, at times, mean. I don't know whether any of that is true about her - and I cling to the hope that it is not - but, whether intentionally or not, that is how the author shows her to us.

The author's writing style is conversational, and the content flows well. The only issue I had came with spelling. The author is British but Nicks is not, and yet many of the quotes attributed to Nicks used British English spelling. It's a minor issue but one I found distracting.

Overall, this is an easy and interesting read following the trajectory of Stevie Nicks' career as she rises to fame. If your focus is mostly on her music, then you'll probably love this book. If you're looking for information on her childhood, family relationships, and honest reflections on how things have worked out in her life, you will probably be disappointed.
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Assinalado
Darcia | 3 outras críticas | Nov 23, 2016 |

Listas

Estatísticas

Obras
11
Membros
189
Popularidade
#115,306
Avaliação
3.9
Críticas
6
ISBN
27
Línguas
1

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