Spinning Around - A History of The Soul Lp - Book Review

I bagged one on Amazon. Good stuff! Well worth £20

 

Great review John. Summed the book up perfectly for me.

Well done John Lias!

John did a terrific review of the Spinning Round Volume 1 above;  I thought it might be acceptable to add a few favourable words urging anyone interested to support this book release.

Very briefly, the book arrived this morning and absolutely exceeds expectations - a tour de force on a huge subject!   Aside from the actual putting words down on paper, it occurs to me that in order to write each review, the author actually had to listen to each album.  And given the number of albums, that is truly mind-boggling.  Firstly, getting access to each album to listen to, secondly the time it takes to listen through each album, carrying out the background research on the album, and then the setting down of the opinion. This is a massive undertaking in the same spirit and commitment as the DFTMC and Motown Junkies websites.

Like the author, I abandoned 45s at the outset for LPs and for exactly the same reasons, back in 1966! I have long recognised the soul LP lives in the shadow of the soul 45 and has been somewhat neglected.  I have long thought there was a need for a definitive soul album reference book, and this is exactly what ‘Spinning Around – The History of The Soul LP ‘is.

First thing I did was RTFM rather than my usual habit of delving straight into the tome.    I took time to read the preface and introduction, thereby understanding the house rules and locking into the methodology John Lias employed.   I'd urge anyone else to do likewise to get the very best out of the book.

Secondly, it rapidly dawned on me that unlike numerous other soul books/ encyclopaedias/ discographies/ reviews, the book is written in a conversational style, i.e., the author sets out his personal opinion and one finds oneself silently responding in agreement or otherwise.   I’m sure many of us have strongly held views on what are great soul albums or otherwise and have our own favourites and disappointments, but don’t necessarily discuss our views with anyone.   The format and style of this book very much facilitates that kind of engagement.

It stimulates, challenges and reaffirms one's own opinions and causes one to dig out those neglected albums sitting in those crates and reacquaint oneself with all those sadly unheard tracks.

This is as comprehensive study of the American Soul LP as one could ever wish for; the layout is easy to negotiate, the writing style is knowledgeable and to the point, the sheer size of the subject necessitates being split into two volumes, it’s worth every penny/ cent and it will be indispensable to anyone who is passionate about soul music. It will definitely not disappoint. Oh, and it just proves that no matter how deep one is in the subject matter, one never stops learning and discovering new aspects of the music, the artists and the art form.