About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Bob Dylan
Rave The Guardian (UK) It’s unlikely, but it’s wonderful ... Much of it reads like his DJ patter. Some of it could even be simple transcription ... Dylan, unsurprisingly, enjoys being a contrarian ... He also wants you to dig, wants you to work to get the most from the book ... This would all seem like flat one-upmanship if Dylan weren’t such an engaging and lively host, prone to grumble occasionally, but more likely to make you laugh out loud. He’d had enough of being a symbol, the voice of the people, long ago – now he’s entirely comfortable and can have a lot of fun with it.
Derek Taylor
Rave The Guardian First published in 1972, now with an excellent introductory essay by Jon Savage, Derek Taylor’s As Time Goes By was the first, and remains the sharpest, memoir written by one of the Beatles’ inner circle ... Taylor was an elegant man, and an elegant writer, who knew when to deploy swearwords for maximum impact. Among the best chapters is one that describes a day in the life of the Apple office, which sounds relentless and miserable ... As Time Goes By works as an industry insider companion to Nik Cohn’s Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom, which saw the 60s’ pop explosion from a fan’s perspective. Both Taylor and Cohn started as journalists, but explain how the edges blurred—everyone involved in the scene was a fan, everyone had ideas, things moved forward fast on a diet of brandy breakfasts, boozy record launch lunches, acid-inspired shows and spliffs at home.
David Hepworth
Mixed The Guardian His lack of objectivity doesn’t make the book any less of a treat to read, as Hepworth marries his innocent teenage joy with four decades as a pop critic – frequently an acerbic one ... Never a Dull Moment rarely dips into backwaters, only mentioning groups such as Caravan, Van der Graaf Generator and even Genesis and Free in passing. Neither is there much deviation from the mindset of the day. Hepworth admits he was untroubled by sexism when he was 21 – it simply didn’t come up in conversation – and so the enthusiasm he felt for certain artists still overrides some difficult issues.