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Brilliantly researched and presented. --Record Collector
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Plugs a significant gap in the history of the British folk underground.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Enigma Engagingly Unveiled,
By Allan Frewin Jones (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Empty Pocket Blues: The Life and Music of Clive Palmer (Paperback)
As an Incredible String Band fan who has also engaged over the decades with Clive Palmer's seemingly sporadic musical ventures, I had always suffered from the feeling of never quite being able fully to engage with the man, almost as if Clive habitually left a room moments before I entered it, musically speaking. Thus, it was pure delight to have the gaps in his life and career filled for me in such a charming and egoless way by writer Grahame Hood.
Clive comes across as a man who would probably find the idea of himself as "enigmatic" to be way off the mark; he has simply led his life by doing what he wanted to when he wanted to, and with whom he wanted to, sometimes being in the position where his music funded his life, and sometimes using his life to fund his music, as I suspect is the way with many, many musicians who choose not to follow the narrow road to commercial success. As is often the case with biographies of this kind, it is always fascinating to see how the lives of disparate musicians weave together, then go shooting off into far corners before somehow braiding back together again in similar or different combinations. And as always, the delights are often to be found in the details. I mean, who would have known that the banjo Clive now uses live was a gift from Billy Connolly? And who would have suspected the ambling, diffident Mr Palmer to also be a chainsaw weilding firebrand who had to flee France for fear of the guillotine - well, kind of...allegedly... Bottom line, anyone interested in the ISB or in any of the psych-folk or prog-folk or acid-folk or folk-rock or whatever you want to call it acoustic or semi-acoustic kinds of music from the 1960s pretty much up to date (name-checking Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsome along the way) will find this book an absolute gem. Five stars for sure, and maybe a couple of suns and moons thrown in for good measure, too.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clive Palmer in the spotlights,
By
This review is from: Empty Pocket Blues: The Life and Music of Clive Palmer (Paperback)
I was delighted (and quite surprised!) when I saw this book - who would think that Clive Palmer, banjoist, singer and mystery man par excellence, would get such attention? I purchased the book immediately, of course, and started reading it right away.
To state that Clive Palmer is always taking his own course is bordering on the obvious. He's enigmatic, cool, creative, self-taught in lots of ways (building and mending instruments and clothes for example) and always seems to be on the brink of poverty. Does he like being famous? It doesn't look like it, and one may even wonder whether he likes being the subject of a book. He's played and met with a countless number of people, quite a few of whom would gain (commercial) success. Not that he will be bothered by that too much, I suspect: mr. Palmer will not equate affluence and stardom with success at all. Mr. Hood has done a very thorough job, interviewing lots of people (including Clive himself) and coming up with a detailed account of events, dates and goings-on, while, refreshingly, making it quite clear that memory cannot be accessed in all instances. Sometimes the sheer amount of details gets in the way of the story, and this book is not written as a critical analysis but as a loving retelling of the (musical) life of a fascinating person. Which is a pity, because you don't get into Clive Palmer, really - when you've finished the book you know a lot more, but you're still not able to truly understand his motives and actions. A minor criticism: the font used makes for harder reading than necessary. If you're anywhere near being a fan of Clive Palmer you should buy this as a matter of course. If you're an ISB-fan you may think again: Clive was of course founding member of the Incredible String Band, but he asserts that he did not like the musical course that would gain Robin Williamson and Mike Heron so much fame. You will find no elaborate musings on the ISB in the book. That said, if you're interested in the English folk scene of the sixties and early seventies, this book offers you a lot and may lead you to exploring the lives and work of other very interesting people connected to the enigmatic mr. Palmer.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Folk hero,
By
This review is from: Empty Pocket Blues: The Life and Music of Clive Palmer (Paperback)
This book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the folk music of the 1960's & 70's, not just ISB fans. I hadn't realised that Clive had created so much music since the first ISB album - and I've enjoyed exploring some of his key albums since reading the book.
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