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Inside
Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd
By Nick Mason
Chronicle Books
Review by David Chiu
There had been books written about the
legends of space rock, but none of them have had the inside track
as Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason does in his personal perspective
on the band. Considered the droll member of the band, Mason documents
the 40 year-old saga of Pink Floyd through his witty observations
behind the drum kit. Drawing on the familiar episodes of the
band's career such as eccentric singer/guitarist Syd Barrett;
the making of The Dark Side of the Moon album; the elaborate
staging of The Wall tour; the acrimonious departure of
bassist and creative mastermind Roger Waters; and Mason, guitarist
David Gilmour, and keyboardist Rick Wright valiantly carrying
on the band into the '90s, Mason also reveals the poignant, almost
funny side of the band not relatively known for a sense of humor.
Some of those include: the first meeting between Mason and Roger
Waters at architecture college; an early TV appearance on the
Pat Boone show; longtime band visualist Storm Thorgerson being
screamed at by an EMI record executive over the cover of Atom
Heart Mother ("Do you want to destroy this record company?
asked the exec); and a photograph of Waters wearing a John Denver
T-shirt (what was he thinking?). As painstaking Pink Floyd was
in the studio and on tour, Mason applies a similar approach in
the book documenting almost the band's almost every twist and
turn in an easy-going and wry narrative accompanied by lavish
photos. Most refreshingly is how it avoids the sex, drugs (with
the exception of Syd Barrett's situation), and seediness that
seems standard in rock and roll biographies. Through Mason's
eyes on Inside Out, the members of Pink Floyd actually
come across as human rather than the distant and dark visionaries
they have been renowned for these last 40 years. At a coffee-sized
300 + pages, Inside Out is the most authoritative and
fun tome on the band to date.
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