"The music created with this humble Strat has entered into the homes and lives of quite literally billions of people..."
This book, written by Phil Taylor, David Gilmour's long-term guitar technician, studio manager, production director and much more, takes a careful and detailed look at one of rock's most iconic instruments. Rather than a dry, technical manual, suited only to those who already know guitars inside and out, it is a rewarding and accessible book that Pink Floyd fans the world over will thoroughly enjoy.
Phil explains that the book explores the history of DG's black Strat from its early days as David's primary guitar in Pink Floyd.
Through the pages, one finds out how and why the various modifications have taken place, changing the instrument pretty comprehensively from the standard model bought in 1970 at Manny's Music in New York. For those that understand the phrase, it seems a real "Trigger's broom"!
The first thing that strikes you is the sumptuous design and quality of the book. It is laid out in a fresh, clear and clean format, balancing text nicely with the fine array of pictures. These come from various sources, including the archives of Nick Mason, Jill Furmanovsky, Polly Samson, and Phil's own behind-the-scenes shots.
From pictures of David at Abbey Road during the sessions for A Saucerful Of Secrets, in 1968, right up to the recent Live8 and On An Island activity, every aspect of David's career is covered in an enthralling text. With Phil's enviable position at the heart of things, plenty of detail is revealed on events which has not been shared before.
The book also covers some of David's other guitars, explaining where and why they were used, and how they were more suitable in some circumstances than the black Strat. Indeed, for a while, the guitar fell out of favour and it took a special event to get it back into action. All of this discussion is fitted into a good summary of the band's key tours, albums, and performances. The text never delves into fiendishly technical minutiae, making it very accessible for all of us who are not guitarists.
For all those who thought an interesting book couldn't be written focusing on one guitar (and this would seem to include David himself, based on a quote from him at the start of the book!), this will prove a nice surprise.
And, with the book (now hardback) given an overhaul with technical and factual information uncovered since the first edition, and a nice selection of additional, newly unearthed and previously unseen pictures, it is also a very tempting proposition for those who already own the first edition paperback...
