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Product Description
Uncut
He inspired one of Bob Dylan's greatest songs and is now the
subject of Michael Gray's fascinating biographical profile Hand Me My
Travelin' Shoes: In Search Of Blind Willie McTell : Bloomsbury * * * * *.
subject of Michael Gray's fascinating biographical profile Hand Me My
Travelin' Shoes: In Search Of Blind Willie McTell : Bloomsbury * * * * *.
Gray, the author of titanic tomes on Dylan, is a fastidious
researcher and here presents not just an authoritative portrait of the
great bluesman, but also a vivid history of the South in general and the
area of rural Georgia that was mostly home to McTell, with an especially
vivid account of the Civil War and the shaping consequences of the
reconstruction of the South that followed. Gray is also a sharply observant
travel writer and some of the book's best writing is devoted to brilliantly
evocative descriptions of the backwaters he visits and the people he
meets.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
'Part biography/part travelogue, this is a fascinating exploration of the life of the Georgia bluesman from the great Dylanologist' Observer Music Monthly 'The narrative is sprinkled with curious information, memorable meetings and fogeyish asides. At the end of a fascinating journey we know much more not only about McTell but about the world of intractable otherness that blues musicians of his time had to negotiate' Tony Russell, Mojo 'A wonderful book about a spellbinding musician ... his understanding of the strange, contradictory forces that made McTell's music so beguiling is deep' Will Hodgkinson, Guardian 'Fascinating ... Gray is a fastidious researcher and here presents not just an authoritative portrait of the great bluesman, but also a vivid history of the South in general ... Gray is also a sharply observant travel writer and some of the book's best writing is devoted to brilliantly evocative descriptions of the backwaters he visits and the people he meets *****' Uncut
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Michael Gray's astonishingly detailed biography of Blind Willie McTell brings both the man and the world in which he made his music into vivid life. Almost like one of Willie's songs, Grays' book rambles through 150 years of American history - from Willie McTell's white Confederate great-grandfather to today's record companies and his current descendants puzzling over the royalties of songs that were recorded by Taj Mahal and the Allman Brothers. Willie remains a fascinatingly Protean figure. Always fiercely independent despite his blindness, he carried in his head a vivid mental image of the world as he rambled and recorded from Georgia to Chicago. There is a sense of how each person interviewed met a subtly different McTell. His clear tenor voice and idiosyncratic virtuoso 12 string guitar remain undimmed by the passing of time and inspired one of Bob Dylan's most haunting songs.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Michael Gray's biography of the twelve-string wizard is an extensively researched piece of work, essentially charting the author's journey through record offices, archives, libraries and courthouses. Ultimately, a music biography should concentrate on the artist and his music, but this book seems more concerned with birth certificates and family lineage, rather than the spellbinding music McTell produced from his dreadnought twelve string. There are long sections of the book devoted to the civil war, and to the later battle for McTell's musical legacy. Gray has indeed gone to a great deal of effort, but in the search for his subject you have ask whether he really finds him.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As the author says in his introduction, his search forms a part of the book - but acknowledging this does not excuse it.
Additionally, there is far too much low-level detail (relatives of friends of...) and the interesting stuff - about the man and his recordings - kicks in about halfway through. His discussion of the recordings shows that he loves and understands it, but there is a lot of other dull stuff.
Additionally, there is far too much low-level detail (relatives of friends of...) and the interesting stuff - about the man and his recordings - kicks in about halfway through. His discussion of the recordings shows that he loves and understands it, but there is a lot of other dull stuff.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Dylanologist's View Of Blues History
Gray's biography is a remarkable and enormously valuable piece of work, so long as you accept first that - quite the reverse of his work on Bob Dylan - it is an investigation into... Read more
Published 1 month ago by gracenotes
Great bluesman gets great biography
There is no doubt that this is a fascinating book about one of the all time great bluesmen. Ok I'm biased... Read more
Published 21 months ago by James Stagg
hunger
Michael Gray throws as much light on the blues as he does on Bob Dylan - which is to say none. I can only admire the many hours of research that went in to tracing the family... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by hunger
Well researched but dull in places. Still worth a look though.
There is a terrific long magazine article about Blind Willie McTell lurking inside this book. The effort it took researching it doubtless made Gray feel he deserved to put his name... Read more
Published on 28 July 2008 by doublegone
A great read
I first came across the book when the auther was interviewed by Laurie Taylor on Radio 4's 'Thinking Allowed' - it was the detail that was apparent from the interview that atracted... Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2008 by D. J. Williams
Badly in need of an editor
While this book certainly gives some sort of a picture of dustbowl America in the pre-war years in particular, it is a tedious read. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2008 by Three Chord Trick
Fascinating and insightful portrait
This is an eye-opening book, which has enriched my understanding and appreciation of Blind Willie McTell and the blues. Read more
Published on 5 Aug 2007 by J. H. Bretts
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