Bill Bruford - The Autobiography

This will be a review of Bill Bruford's autobiography.  I ordered this book off of Amazon about 6 months ago and I keep reading it.  I'll flip to different sections and even read parts that I've already read before.  This is to say that to me, it's interesting.

I will say up front that I haven't read many artist biography's.  I read Jeff Beck's, Eric Clapton's, Ozzy Osbourne's, and Motley Crue's - I know the last two may considered "cheesy" by some, but they were "fun".

Bruford's is nothing like those.  You get the sense that (and he confirms this in his book by saying it) that he needed to write a book to bring closure to his career. 

On to the review...

He wrote the book as answers to some of the questions that he's been asked OVER and OVER throughout his career such as "What's it like working with Robert Fripp?" or "Why did you leave Yes?".

The book is well written and well thought out.  One can tell that he wasn't just trying to "cash in" by putting out a book.  It really seems like it was something that he felt he needed to do and the book is that much better for it.

There are a few funny stories and anecdotes in the book, but not as many as I would like.  That's really my only complaint with the book is that there could have been a bit more of that type of stuff.

Other than that, you feel like it's a Sunday evening and you have the chance to sit down and share a few pints with BB and hear about the high and low notes of his career and learn several valuable lessons while doing so.

For aspiring drummers (and musicians alike) there are several tips and tricks that deal with the music business in general that I would encourage anyone to read if they were about to try and play music for a living.  There is plenty of sound advice on that topic indeed.

As I said, there are a _few_ funny stories from his career, but not many.  It's more of a "This is what it was like for me, and I did it for over 40 years".

If you are a BB fan, get the book as soon as you can.

If you are not a BB fan, but are thinking about playing music for a living, get the book as soon as you can.

If you are a drummer, get the book as soon as you can.

If you are just a fan of music and want to read some interesting material, avoid this one.

Adam

I sampled three or four pages of the thing on some book web site, and Bruford's writing appeared to suffer from being a tad over-flippant for its subject matter. I mean just tell the story already (I do want to read it in its entirety though).

Rednight wrote: I sampled three or four pages of the thing on some book web site, and Bruford's writing appeared to suffer from being a tad over-flippant for its subject matter. I mean just tell the story already (I do want to read it in its entirety though).

Edited by moshkito - May 16 2015 at 16:11

moshkito wrote: Rednight wrote: I sampled three or four pages of the thing on some book web site, and Bruford's writing appeared to suffer from being a tad over-flippant for its subject matter. I mean just tell the story already (I do want to read it in its entirety though).   I am not sure that "flippant" is the right word for it. There is no major artist out there, that does not study and stand up for their work, and while Bill has not been a "major" artist in terms of the success derived from millions and millions of sales, he has, for the most part simply learned to play his own music.   I do think that it takes guts to do what he did. But sometimes, there is a side of life that is not all wine and roses, similar to the Hollywood "fame" and "star" thing. And not a whole lot of "biographies" discuss anything but the Juicy Lucy stories that we have a thirst for.   His takes on a lot of the art and its "definition" is a MAJOR institution in Europe in Germany, France, Italy and even Spain, and other parts of the world, but unfortunately we think that someone that started out playing in a rock band, has to remain a bum the rest of his life.   That is not fair!   However, this part in the book, is something that I imagine a lot of American folks will not readily appreciate, and not necessarily in a bad way, and even Bill suggests that many times when discussing the differences in the audience in the US and Europe. In America, they don't want "music". It's almost like, they want the "hits". You can see this by YES touring America continually, where they will probably get boo'd in Paris these days! But it is a very valid document, with specific details about things that you need to be aware of, if you want a career in the most damaging place there is! The world of music! Or even the arts! Where today you are competing with others for attention and the media that owns its own "artists' and you are supposed to like them!   One thing we're missing here ... is that this is as honest as honest is. And he admits his own faults, including the image and idea that a song can be played perfectly ... when that is one of the most insane evaluations, since you are ever comparing it to an idea and your idea changes minutely every day and every hour! . Call in Scotland Yard for the detection of some kind of a point, I'm afraid.

Now I want this book...

Hi,

I bought this book when it first came out. But truth be told, could not get past a few chapters. I got into Bruford with Yes back in 1972 and followed his every move in and out of bands all along the way til he retired. So for me the book was just a regurgitation of what I already knew. I do owe it a comeback around though to try to get to some nuggets I never read or heard about along the way. 

I am on my 5th reading of this informative and entertaining book and recommend it very highly.

Turn your computer on.

Does Bill mention Harry Hughes (Clouds) in his book? He should do - Harry gave him lessons, and included a contribution by him in his book "UK Rock Drumming" by Premier Drums. Hughes also did the same for Carl Palmer - I don't know if Carl has credited him either. Harry Hughes was revered by his peers as THE drummer. As stated by Billboard Magazine, Hughes was "surely the most technically-brilliant drummer of the early Rock era".