Top Ten
- The Last of the Apple Blossom, Mary-Lou Stephens
“The Last of the Apple Blossom is a wonderful book and, I think, an important one. It operates on several levels at once without ever losing its focus or any clarity.”
- Blessed, John Doyle
In the process of creating an origin story for his Roy Slaven character, John Doyle has painted a loving, trenchant, nostalgic portrait of life in a country coal mining town in late 60s Australia.
- Loud, Tana Douglas
“… Douglas provides interesting insights that bust a few myths and might change a few minds. There are, as you might expect, plenty of outrageous and very funny anecdotes …”
- Suburban Songbook, Clinton Walker
- Funny Stories, Hugh Wayland
- My Rock ‘n’ Roll Friend, Tracey Thorn
- Last Chance Texaco, Rickie Lee Jones
- Behind Dark Eyes, Jeff Apter
- Punk Outsider, Toby Zoates
- Beeswing, Richard Thompson
“Fantastic! Walker cleverly focuses on the emergence of Australian pop/rock songwriting from post-WWII to 1975 when Countdown started. ”
Read my review of Suburban Songbook
“Outstanding! Superbly put together, this account of Sydney’s Funny Stories performance troupe from the 80s is a brilliant read.”
Read my review of Funny Stories
“I’ve just finished reading My Rock ‘n’ Roll Friend, a fascinating account by Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn of her friendship with that drummer, Lindy Morrison. ”
Read my review of My Rock ‘n’ Roll Friend
“As a narrator she wavers between portraying herself as a deeply knowing, self-aware, purposeful artist and a naive, awkward hippy who got lucky. Often both.”
Read my review of Last Chance Texaco
“You get a great sense of the flow of English’s life, cleverly bookended by the revelatory breakthrough of Jesus Christ Superstar and his doomed efforts to stage his own rock musical.”
Read my review of Behind Dark Eyes
“Punk Outsider takes us into life in the squats, the pubs, the marches, the crackdowns, the cells, the coffee shops, and the streets of inner city Sydney in the 70s and 80s.”
Read my review of Punk Outsider
The memoir of international music icon Richard Thompson, co-founder of the legendary folk rock group Fairport Convention.