About book Inside Out: A Personal History Of Pink Floyd (2005)
For years I've been an enormous fan of the band. Enormous. So much so that I can't distance myself enough to judge whether this book might have any appeal whatsoever to those of a more disco dancin' persuasion. I'm guessing it wouldn't, which is fine.Nick Mason is a fine writer, a thorough archivist and a seemingly all-round good bloke. He sent me some signed drumsticks once, after reading my own book - a little out-of-the-blue gesture that knocked me sideways - there seems to be no trace anywhere of any sort of Rock God Airs to which he would surely be entitled. The word 'genial' might have been invented for him. He has a wry turn of phrase - smiles and nods rather than laugh-out-loud - although perhaps the ellipsis button on his keyboard may have worn down a little too far.His problem as a writer is that Pink Floyd, the band not the music, were so boring. It's interesting, looking at the three massive English exponents of big, ambitious music in that early/mid seventies time - Floyd, Genesis, Jethro Tull - quite how similar they were in the 'non wild and wacky people' stakes. Given that you can pick up every other issue of Mojo for the making of Dark Side of the Moon/Syd Leaving/Syd Turning Up At The Wish You Were Here Session stories et al, the only void for this book to fill is 'how did it feel?' and 'go on - give us the inside stuff on the fights'.But of course the Floyd don't do feelings, and there's really not a lot of inside stuff to tell. Those fights always took place with folded arms. Nick Mason sees both sides of stories; he doesn't bear grudges; he is desperately, frustratingly modest about his role in things, which admittedly diminished gradually over the years; the straighter music of later years was well removed from those days when the director picked him out as the focal star in 'Live at Pompeii'.This makes it sound dull. It's not, if you skim the massively detailed bits about lighting design. It's the inside story of one of the world's most influential and intriguing bunch of musicians. If you're searching for things that aren't there then it will disappoint. And don't expect him to call anybody a c--t.
I managed to score a hardcover copy of "Inside Out" at a record fair for £12--not a bad find. I was a bit disappointed after reading it, though, as it's not exactly the "compleat insider history" of Pink Floyd I had imagined it to be.Mason's flashes of very dry wit do help and the early years are covered in some depth, especially the nascent London underground happenings and the recording of "The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn". The following years, however, seem to pass by in a blur--just studio/tour/studio/tour/ad nauseum. Mason spends a little time on Floyd's magnum opus, "The Dark Side Of The Moon", but then it's back to discussing lighting rigs, pyramid-shaped stages and their infamous Britannia Row studio. His other ventures as a sometime producer, for The Damned, Robert Wyatt & Gong barely get a page each (Gong doesn't even get a mention).He handles the band's eventual dissolution during andfollowing "The Wall" sessions and re-forming Floyd as a duo (or "Pink Fraud" if that's how you choose to view their latter out-put--retaining Rick Wright on keyboards as a hired gun), with panache--but it all seems too congenial. Mason has described himself as the "Henry Kissinger" of Pink Floyd and I'm assuming he means the diplomatic envoy bit, not the war criminal bit.If anything, Mason's tome keeps most of the mystery surrounding the band intact. You never learn much more about the five of them than from reading Nicholas Schaffner's excellent "Saucerful Of Secrets" (which I recommend). An extra star is awarded for the many rare photos included in the hardcover edition, however.
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قسمت هیجان‌انگیز ول‌گردی توی کتاب‌‌فروشی‌های پیزوری اینه که بی‌خبر و ناگهان، چشم تو چشم کتابی بشی که انتظار دیدنش رو نداری؛ یه چیزی مثل غافل‌گیر شدن با چشم‌های هار معشوق. از اون کتاب‌ها که تا از قفسه می‌کشی بیرون می‌دونی مال توئه. از اون‌هایی که وحشی نگاهش می‌کنی... بی‌پلک زدن. خیره میشی به جلد سیاهش. به عکس سیاه و سفید پشت جلد. به عکس پنج نفره‌شون. به سید برتی که اون ته‌مه‌ها محو و مبهم هست. کتاب رو زیر و رو می‌کنی. کاغذهای گلاسه‌اش رو ورق می‌زنی و خیره میشی به عکس‌هایی که هیچ‌وقت ندیدی. به راجر واترز، به دیوید گیلمور. به پشت و رو: تاریخچه‌ی خصوصی پینک فلوید. راوی هم آشناست؛ نیک میسون. تنها عضو گروه که توی این مسیر پر پیچ و خم قهر و آشتی همیشه بوده و نواخته. چی بهتر از این؟
—Amir
This is, quite simply, a brilliant book. The story of Pink Floyd is a long and twisted one, and there's nothing quite like getting an inside perspective on it. Mason's writing style and sense of humor make for an engaging read, and the photographs accompanying the story are wonderful - there are many "behind the scenes" photos that I haven't seen anywhere else. As with any biographical piece, there are going to be "holes in the plot", where the author's memories may be fuzzy or non-existent, or they may not have been present, so those looking for a general overview of band history might be better served by reading something like "Comfortably Numb" (by Mark Blake, I believe). But, Mason's book is excellent for providing depth to so many of the stories from the band's past, especially when read alongside a general band history.
—Katie
Inside Out achieves the seemingly impossible - demystifying and humanizing one of the most enigmatic musical groups of the last fifty years. In some ways, this is unfortunate, as the illusion of the group being musical idealists and romantics is quickly shattered. Like so many other bands, they started out as friends in college who went through countless local-band challenges - booking shows, getting booed, being robbed of instruments, writer's block, etc. And like so many successful bands, Pink Floyd also fell victim to the business side of the music industry. Egos conquered art, and this led to the firing of Rick Wright and Roger Waters's leaving the band in the early 1980s. However, these trials and tribulations also make Pink Floyd far more relatable as well. They're four guys who loved music and found a way to make a decades-long career out of it. Something so many musicians dream about as they toil through their days. After 40+ years making music, they successfully came out the other end wiser, and still phenomenal artists.
—Aaron
