Customer Reviews

Bit of a Blur: The Autobiography

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As an American Blur fan, I am pretty unfamiliar with the 4 personalities within Blur. Since they have never been huge over here I have not been bombarded with press about them. So, the vague impressions I had of the bassist were that he was a life of the party archetypal rock star. This impression is fleshed out in his autobiography. His personality comes through as he relays what it was like to be in one of the biggest bands in the world through the 90s. And a major plus about this book is that it isn't bogged down with too much back story of his life as a child...just enough to give you a taste of where he came from. But that brevity is somewhat of a double edged sword because he also gives only cursory recollections of the recording process of Blur's music. As a fan of the band I felt a little short changed by that. Make no mistake though he does talk about it to some degree but not as much as I would have liked (for instance I don't recall him even mentioning "The Universal" much less go into detail about it). He does however go on at length about French literature, space travel, and flying among other topics that I could really take or leave. This is not to say that I only want to read about his musical ventures, but when entire chapters are devoted to these aforementioned other topics, wading through it does get a bit trying.

That being said, all in all this was an enjoyable read for someone interested in Blur. James is witty and recalls things with a style that will put a smile on your face as you read what it was/is like to be in Blur whether it's in front a mass of adoring people in Sweden or walking through a snake infested wilderness in Montana. His personal insight into his other bandmates; Damon, Graham and Dave is also even keeled and gives you a more well-rounded perspective than any outside source could. Also, his observations on the nature of celebrity are quite eye opening.

I would recommend this to any fan of the band curious to get an up close and personal account of the band. However for those wanting to read a book that concentrates mostly on the musical output of the band I would recommend reading Blur: 3862 Days: The Official History first.

Very nicely written book by the bassist of Blur, who was probably one of the less interesting figures of that group. It does however show a man's life during his tenure in a very very popular group during the golden Britpop movement. The cover is very beautiful and worth the price alone. recommended. It shows the excesses of life in a rock band in a mush more intelligent way than what you can read in the recently published books that I have also reviewed.