New Book: The Holy Bible 33 1/3

[Nobody]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Manic-Stree...ers+holy+bible

Out next April, part of the 33 1/3 book series.

[Europa Gluten Free]

Originally Posted by Nobody

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Manic-Stree...ers+holy+bible

Out next April, part of the 33 1/3 book series.

Hope it's a better read than the last Holy Bible book. That one was awful.

[handbag]

I liked the proposal for this person's THB 33 1/3 (which was rejected).
http://www.fromahighhorse.com/wp-con...ssa_Wodtke.pdf

Looks like the publishers think that being born in Cardiff and having a degree from Oxford means he's going to produce something better. I'm not expecting much.

[Son of Stopped]

...I thought it was the same book coming out. Yeah, really really took the eye off the ball on that one.
Universal Credit Clause*

Although at least it's a different author with a better business plan than "I've written a book about the making of Pink Floyd's The Final Cut... But you can only buy it if you also buy my book on the making of The Wall!! Haha! Ahahahaha!".

It's a book so I hope it does well and hope I come across it sometime.

[Son of Stopped]

Originally Posted by Son of Stopped

It's a book so I hope it does well and hope I come across it sometime.

Thank you sister! That's me getting into the book tonight! Merry Christmas!

[Son of Stopped]

*One Day Later

Well I finished it. Thought it would take longer. Glad it took in the whole of the bands history.
And by goodness, I am indeed in an arrested development as I still put this band above everything else. (Oh there are other bands, but yeah, it's the Manics. Every day for all days).
I can't see myself collecting every title in the series. But a pretty decent piece.
I'd recommend this AND I only ran to my smartphone a couple of times to look up some words.
Like you've ever felt the need to drop "etiolated" into a sentence or when going to the shops to pay for the gas and electric.

[Silver10]

I didn't know about this one! I'll have to check it out (although I haven't gotten to reading the last two manics books I bought yet)

[raven]

Originally Posted by handbag

I liked the proposal for this person's THB 33 1/3 (which was rejected).
http://www.fromahighhorse.com/wp-con...ssa_Wodtke.pdf

Looks like the publishers think that being born in Cardiff and having a degree from Oxford means he's going to produce something better. I'm not expecting much.

I can see why that proposal got turned down

[starfucker]

I personally loved the last Holy Bible book, 'Triptych'. It was hard work and super dense but well worth the effort.

The only 33 1/3 book I've read was the Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusions one and it was fucking terrible. The author clearly hated the band and the albums and was basically slagging them off for the duration of the text. No new or interesting facts about the albums at all, no insight, no anything apart from criticising the albums. And not even in a funny rant kind of way. I finished it thinking, "Why the fuck would you even think to write a book about something you clearly despise without it at least being amusing?"

Saying that, I'll no doubt read The Holy Bible one when it comes out. It can't be any worse than the GNR one...

[hummingbird]

Aren't the 33 1/3 books supposed to celebrate albums ??

[blackflower]

I've just seen that 33 1/3 are accepting new proposals and I'm thinking of having a go (probably for Mansun's Attack of the Grey Lantern), but I've never actually read any of the books, so I need to read a few to get an idea of what gets accepted. Thinking of ordering the THB one discussed here but wondered if anyone had read it or had any opinions on it?

[blackflower]

Originally Posted by blackflower

I've just seen that 33 1/3 are accepting new proposals and I'm thinking of having a go (probably for Mansun's Attack of the Grey Lantern), but I've never actually read any of the books, so I need to read a few to get an idea of what gets accepted. Thinking of ordering the THB one discussed here but wondered if anyone had read it or had any opinions on it?

So I'm going to answer my own question! I received the book on Wednesday and read it over Weds and Thurs. It's definitely competently written and an enjoyable read. The author's main thesis about the album itself was that it has a Welshness about it which is usually more associated with later Manics albums, and embodies the concepts of hiraeth (homesickness, longing for the past) and hwyl (strong powerful emotion). But only a few chapters are about the album itself - the rest is very much a potted history of the Manics leading up to THB and what happened afterwards.

And this is where the book really falls short, for me. The author didn't discover the Manics until the early 2000s, and it feels like such a massive wasted opportunity that they chose a proposal from someone who wasn't actually a fan at the time of THB. For an album that means so much to so many, and from a Manics era so full of incident, it would have been so much more interesting to hear about, for example, Richey's final Astoria gigs from someone who was actually there, rather than someone just repeating second-hand information. It's not the author's fault - he clearly loves the album and had every right to put it a proposal - but it seems to show a lack of insight from the 33 1/3 team that they thought this was the best approach for such an important album.

I would still recommend the book as a very good introduction to the band for a new fan, and the three or so chapters actually analysing THB are worth reading for any fan. But it's sad to think of what might have been. I haven't read "Tryptych", but I'm guessing that is better suited to the hardcore fan.

I'm moving on to read the other 33 1/3 book I ordered, on Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" - my favourite album of all time, and actually written by someone who was a fan at the time - looking forward to this one!

[Glass Angel]

I finished reading it today, and I thought it was good. I didn’t learn much, but it was nice to read about someone else’s journey with the album (similar to mine tbh), and the ‘Welshness’ angle was interesting. Definitely worth a read.