Mike76

All true: very well written, flowing, interesting in explaining and bringing together the socio-cultural context with the biographical notes of the artists. Then Reynolds starts from an "anti-rock" perspective (which may not necessarily be his but was that of many artists in that genre) that I also resonate with. On the negative side, as the good Jdv666 says, there's the imbalance of space between negligible groups that occupy entire chapters (Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Bow Wow Wow) and others dismissed in half a page (Cure, A Certain Ratio, Bauhaus), two lines (Colin Newman, Uk Decay, Y Pants), barely mentioned (Sound, Sex Gang Children), or even not mentioned at all (Mx-80 Sound, Psychedelic Furs, Wall of Voodoo, Lizzy Mercier Descloux...), but perhaps this imbalance is due to the amount of information he found as well as personal tastes and friendships (I assume he interviewed some artists multiple times while others not at all). Honestly, if I think about it, it didn't make me discover any group I didn't already know about, but it revealed the working methods, thoughts, and delicious anecdotes of many of my favorite bands. Scaruffi is free while Reynolds cost me €35, but the difference is all there!

Excellent book: it entertains (it's smooth and written with an irresistible irony, albeit bitter) and makes you think. A masterpiece of Italian literature.

I saw it only a few years ago, perhaps too late to appreciate it since living in an era of reality shows and pseudo-historical fiction has given me a certain allergy to those who insist on presenting the raw, unfiltered truth. I admit, though, that twenty years ago it might have made quite an impact.

Third LP for the Cabs and third great album, although it's not without some flaws. More than anything, there's a feeling that the trio is starting to recycle itself (there were already hints of this in "The Voice Of America") and that they are using the same blueprint as previous albums, even though the result is still commendable; moreover, in tracks like "A Thousand Ways," they begin to lose a sense of measure (10 minutes is really too long), a trend that will occur more frequently in the subsequent "2x45." However, it is still a successful work that differs from the first two due to a greater funk influence, more regular rhythms, and a cleaner sound, especially in tracks like "Spread The Virus," a sort of industrial funk that anticipates the turn of "2x45." The most "oblique" track, on the other hand, is the reinterpretation of the soundtrack of Orwellian "A Touch of Evil," composed by Italian-American composer Henry Mancini. Personally, I prefer the more Dadaist predecessors "Mix Up" and "The Voice of America," but this one deserves at least a 4.5.

"With 'Lulù E Marlene' I am enveloped by the sands of the Sahara desert." "The initial scream of 'Desaparecido' takes me to wild Mexico surrounded by dancing Indians." I bet they sent you back in both history and geography.

A full marks album even though I prefer to enjoy JD in singles where there’s a perfect balance between pathos and listening pleasure, while in albums it’s the former that tends to prevail.

Crazy book, a journey into a mind altered by drugs (or worse, withdrawal) where everyone deals, gets fucked, shoots up or stages grotesque episodes (the operating room inside the toilet is one of the most delirious). At times, where the cut-up style becomes more extreme, the smoothness of the reading suffers, but all in all it’s a work that gets devoured thanks to an unparalleled imaginative capability. No one here seems to have pointed it out, but at multiple points Burroughs injects a lot of sense of humor, so that for every time my stomach tightened in disgust I found myself smiling or even laughing at the paradoxical situations and dialogues that were (yes, indeed) also entertaining, while the sense of disorientation remains strong even in laughter. Interesting are also the footnotes that Burroughs, this time lucid and meticulous, writes about the substances used, his own addiction, and the therapies to break free from it. A book that still seems modern today and feels like it was written in a time much closer to us, perhaps because the phenomenon of "popular" drugs in Italy is more recent; however, I was intrigued by the fact that at one point the term "hippy" was used (a translator’s liberty?). A book worth having, and perhaps keeping alongside the Holy Bible.

Miserable review.

Maybe not a masterpiece, but definitely an intriguing album, more Japan than Bauhaus, therefore more dreamlike and exotic than dark. If it's true that the production of the album was troubled and the relationship between Karn and Murphy was conflictual, then it was a fruitful conflict from an artistic point of view, just seven tracks but all successful, dreamy, ecstatic... an album to rediscover, a true gem.