Customer Reviews

Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are into Pink Floyd you must read this book. This is by far the best book on this band. As most of you know, Pink Floyd is very guarded when it comes to their past and their personal lives. Floyd drummer Nick Mason's book Inside Out was supposed to be the definitive book about the band. It was learned that he allowed all of the Floyd members to edit out all of the dirt and honest truth he had written about each member. This left his book very lackluster.

I can't imagine how long it took Mark Blake to research this book let alone write it. He took quotes and articles from every major book ever written about the band. He got people from each members past to talk on record. A lot of them for the first time in print. Their are stories here that have never seen the light of day. The best part about this book is that he got some of Pink Floyd's inner circle to talk without disclosing their identities.

For the first time, problems in each members personal lives are disclosed in great detail. It's about time all Pink Floyd fans got the real stories behind the history of this amazing band.

This is a must have for any rock n roll buff.

I have read a fair few Floyd books now including Nick Masons and i have to say this is by far and away the best and most comprehensive. It starts right back at the begining in the mid 60's right through to 2007, covering literally everything. It also covers their solo ventures during and after Floyd and also gives great info on how all the albums faired in the US and the UK (Solo's included). He must have been working on this book for years. I was very impressed that he mentioned Dave Gilmour turned up on Michael Parkinsons chat show in 1999 as a session guitarist for Paul McCartney who was having a full show dedicated to him. Dave Gilmour was never mentioned on the show and i only noticed myself that he was there playing. Very impressive research. I learn't a lot about the band and its members that i never knew and will have to read it again as its hard to remember everything. Its a great story and also quite sad (Syd's decline). Roger Waters comes out of it the worst, looks like he gave Gilmour a very hard time and the rest of the band also. His ego and tempermant being his main problem. And considering the abuse he has taken, Dave Gilmour comes out of it with dignity in tact.

If your a Floyd fanantic or a casual music listener with a passing interest in the band, its a must buy.

This book is extremely well written and researched. The quality of writing is impeccable. Covering the history of Pink Floyd until the present, it is full of fascinating material and clarifies or fills in stories about the band which have circulated throughout the years. Any PF fan who enjoys learning all about the crafting of the music, the individual personalities and points of view, and how the miracle of Pink Floyd came about will surely be delighted.

I agree with everything that the previous reviewer had to say except for the comment about the Nick Mason book. I am not convinced that Nick's original intent was to go into depth about the band's various personality conflicts over the years. His book with its extensive collection of photographs was written from a loving perspective and with great humor. I value that book very much just as it is. It is a beautiful book with stunning artwork worthy of a true Pink Floyd product. I highly recommend both these wonderful books which compliment each other very nicely.

Mark Blake has done a yeoman's job putting together a profile of the evolution of the band members associated with Pink Floyd over the past several decades. Whereas Nick Mason's book glossed over some of the grittier aspects of their lives, Blake has dug deep and turned over every stone. It's not a tell-all expose, but a frank look at sex, drugs and rock and roll as it pertained to one of the more mysterious bands of the 20th century. Given how few interviews the band members granted over the years, a lot of it comes down to sometimes conflicting memories of events. When he encounters more than one recollection, he presents both (or all) sides without discernable bias. To his credit, he also keeps up with people who splintered off from the group in parallel with the obvious focus on the central five figures who defined Floyd: Barrett, Gilmour, Mason, Wright and Waters. He keeps tab on Barrett and forks off to Waters' solo career.

Waters fares the worst from Blakes unflinching eye, depicted as a controlling, abrasive personality who seems aware of his character flaws but unwilling or unable to change them. Gilmour is strong-willed and stubborn, but recalictrant and quiet. Mason and Wright are wallflowers, though the conflict between Wright and Waters is an ongoing theme.

All in all, an excellent in-depth treatment that is very readable and perceptive. Blake occasionally reviews the musical content, but that isn't his strength. Getting people to talk and digging out the facts--or the beliefs and suppositions and fading (or drug-addled) memories--is.

Highly recommended for anyone who has ever been a fan of Pink Floyd.

I like Pink Floyd. I like Pink Floyd a lot. But unlike some people (including my husband, who first saw them on tour circa 1970 in what he's called "one step above a high school gymnasium"), I am not a die-hard, trivia-spouting fan. I just like their music.

If you're a SERIOUS fan, you don't have to read any farther: you *will* like this book. Author Mark Blake goes into exhaustive detail about every facet of the band's existence, from the apartments they crashed in to their school history. Journalisticly, he did an awesome job of interviewing everyone whose lives these guys touched. Dark Side Of The Moon isn't covered (except as a frame for the story, since it's their best known work) until page 170. If you want to know how these people got where they did, you'll surely find out how.

If you just like the music... I think you'll _also_ like the book, but perhaps for different reasons.

What drew me to read Comfortably Numb was the inherent mystery about Syd Barrett. Everyone had always described him as the former band member who went a little crazy, probably as the result of one bad trip too many. But, well, what did they mean by "a little crazy"? As I suppose I should have expected, the full story is hard to summarize... but it certainly comes across. For example, an anecdote from Alice Cooper describes getting up one morning, "...and there was Syd staring at a box of cornflakes the way that you or I would watch television. It was obvious that there was already something very, very wrong."

Since Pink Floyd interacted with so many other musicians (I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact they shared a bill once with Paul Simon...), it's interesting in a "history of rock and roll" manner. Not a must-have in that regard, but the book has many anecdotes about the famous (such as the Beatles) and the not-quite-so-famous (Jerry Shirley of Humble Pie).

I was held to the book, however, because I'm always very curious about how _this_ particular band (or creative person of any type) succeeded when others did not. These guys knew each other since childhood, for the most part; they got together to play music in an era when everyone was playing music; and somehow they got a record deal. But *then* what? Within only a few years, the "team" had a huge amount of internal strife... and yet they managed to create one of the most successful albums of all time. What makes one team able to rise above personalities -- temporarily, at least -- and another be lost in the politics (not to mention the drugs, record company interactions, etc.)?

Perhaps it isn't surprising that they didn't know how they succeeded (or how they later failed, with all the personality fallouts) either. During the making of Dark Side, the musicians were interviewed, and some admitted to conflict. "'How do you get over the difficult times?' asks Maben. 'I don't know how,' answers Wright, 'but we do.'"

The book is so detailed and detailed that, for me at least, it's slow going. I've read a chapter here and there, never tempted to sit down for a front-to-back reading. I'm not done yet, I confess, but I _am_ still reading the book. So I wouldn't recommend Comfortably Numb for a cross-country plane flight, except perhaps for the die-hard fan. But I certainly like this book, on several levels. You probably will, too.

Quite a few books have been devoted to Pink Floyd and they make for quite a mixed bag. The two best have been Nicholas Shaffner's "A Saucerful of Secrets" and Nick Mason's own "Inside Out." Now we can safely add a third book to that list, perhaps even at the top.

What makes this book so great is that Mark Blake has built quite a respository of behind-the-scenes Floyd info, culled from interviews he conducted over many years as a music writer. It seems that he was willing to pull out all the stops in delivering that info within the pages of this book. As a result, even the most die-hard Floyd fan is bound to learn something new here.

While I loved Shaffner's book, and really considered it the best on Pink Floyd, it presented a somewhat uneven treatment of the band's history, with everything after the release of "Dark Side of the Moon" being somewhat rushed. Not in this book. Blake really digs in deep in his treatment of the "breakup years" of 1974-81, and even delivers new commentary from many players (including Bob Ezrin) on the post-Waters "litigation years" of 1987-94. I particularly enjoyed the backstage info he presents regarding the reunion at Live 8. And given Rick Wright's untimely passing (while I was in the middle of this book ironically), it would seem that event really marks the end of Pink Floyd. This book covers everything that happened after Live 8 -- essentially the Gilmour and Waters solo tours of 2006-07 -- and the only significant event left out is Rick's death.

Really, I can't say enough good things about this book. If you're a Floyd fan, you owe it to yourself to read this book. I guarantee you'll get many new nuggets if information.

Pink Floyd has been an important part of my life since I heard Ummagumma at the age of 14 in 1970. I feel fortunate to have seen Pink Floyd live in the 70s and Roger Waters' Dark Side of the Moon concert in Madison Square Garden two years ago, paying tribute to Syd Barrett. Now, with Rick Wright gone, I know that Pink Floyd is history. All vague hopes of another reunion are gone. Blake's book is rich on details and anecdotes on the important contributions of this extraordnary band, and is a superb compliment to the more subjective document by Nick Mason, "Inside Out" which provides fascinating photo material but is rather stingy on the creation of the Pink Floyd music. Blake weighs up for much of that, but no written account can describe the music anyhow. I have appreciated the recreation of what must have been a very peculiar Cambridge scene, the British "hippie" culture and a creative music environment, almost too personalized by Syd Barrett's bizarre indulgence. Syd's deep branding of the band is beautifully and tragically conserved throughout the book, and in my opinion, the most touching part is the description of the Syd Barrett tribute concert in the Barbican Theatre in 2007, which would have been an opportunity for another reunion, but which ends up with Waters playing his own music - alone - while the remaining members join up to play Barrett's music, as a real tribute to the spiritual inspiration to Pink Floyd, their fame and success. I agree with other reviewers that Blake has made a very well researched and documented account. The comments from former girlfriends, dealers, roadies and alikes makes up for rather scarse reflections from the rather exentric band members. I have really enjoyed the book which I read in one stretch flying from New York via Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and I will truly recommend the book to everyone whose life has been affected by the music of Pink Floyd.

As an avid fan for over 22 years, I have to say I finally found the book I have been looking for. Two enthusiastic thumbs up for 'Comfortably Numb'. Previously, I had read the late Nicholas Schaffner's 'A Saucerful of Secrets' back when it first came out (he penned 'Beatles Forever' - great book. A certain "Beatles starter" for me way back when). 'Saucerful' was nice, providing a simplistic yet informing overview of the history of the band- suitable for newer fans. 'Comfortably Numb', however, covers their entire history, including in depth details of Barrett's life after Floyd, as well as Roger and Dave's non Floyd ventures (not to mention Nick and Rick). It was easy to hear the soundtrack in my head while reading through each phase of their music. I learned a lot about Syd, as well as pretty much each member (or non-member) of the group. Tons of research must have been done for this book, as the author spoke to pretty much everyone humanly possible about the subject at hand. And what a subject! Live 8, although knowing it was a 1 and done, gave me hope that anything is possible. There is even a point where the book gets me hoping that a real reunion can and may happen, if only Dave gets off his arse. (Have to admit- 'On an Island' and the DVD from the Royal Albert Hall are terrific (Fat Old Sun, title of this review). Hoping to catch Zeppelin in the fall??? Definitely recommended for the true fans of Pink Floyd. Hoping for more docs a la "The Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd Story" and Classic Albums - Dark Side of the Moon...

"With the last-minute reprieve, the familiar sound of a human heartbeat could be heard booming across the darkened park: the beginning of "Dark Side of the Moon". Pink Floyd could be glimpsed in the wings; a smattering of worn jeans, greying hair, nervous smiles - incongruous rock stars one and all. Behind the stage, a pig floated over Battersea Power Station. For the first time in almost twenty-five years, the four members of the classic Pink Floyd walked out on stage together. Hostilities suspended. For once, the lawsuits, recriminations, clashing egos and musical squabbles were forgotten. For the next few glorious minutes it was all about the music."

A great excerpt from Mark Blake's terrific book, "Comfortably Numb, The Inside Story of Pink Floyd", which chronicles the band from the early lives of its members prior to Pink Floyd,through the breakup of the band, their reunion for the Live 8 concert in 2004, and beyond to 2007. To me, it's incredible the amount of research and detail that Mark Blake has put into this definitive history of one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.

I've been a fan nearly 30 years and there has always been a strange mystique surrounding the band mainly due to their desire to remain outside of the public's eye by rarely giving interviews. I've always wondered about all the stories that surrounded their progression, from stories of their original song writer and singer Syd Barret's demise, to the incredible legal fights after Roger Waters left the band. This book allows the reader a clear window on the band and Mark Blake has obviously gone to great lengths to give a comprehensive look. He interviews countless friends, roadies, drug buddies, first girlfriends/wives, business associates, family, etc., to create such a detailed timeline and incredible insight of the band. He also gets the story from each member of the band so there aren't any one sided views of what was going on at any given time. Another nice thing that Blake does is how he not only goes through the happenings of Pink Floyd, the band, but also what is going on in each of the member's individual lives outside of Pink Floyd.

Comfortably Numb is a definite must-read for any fan of Pink Floyd, from the hard core to the casual. The book is long, it jumps around a bit between the decades but Blake's writing style keeps it on track.

I've learned and gotten so much insight on Pink Floyd from this book, I highly recommend it.

Superb book in its own right. I think if you've read the earlier books on the Floyd (the late Shaffners tome up to the late 80s, Crazy Diamond concerning the earlier period) this will still add a lot to the pot

Its exhaustive, interesting and engrossing. More info on Syd. More info on the break up during the Wall, and Roger dominating the group. Blake doesn't take sides, its an interesting story on its own. An original member (Rick Wright) is sacked and still does the tour, somehow. Comfortably Numb indeed

The book covers up to the present day, just about, so it ends around Syds death (hopefully an updated edition will cover the 3cd reissue of Piper and the news that EMI & the BBC have reached an agreement and are going to release the early Floyd sessions (of interest is the early Floyd with Syd radio sessions of Top Gear)

But - anyway - the book is a good read. Blake has done his research. Zee is gone into detail - Ricks first (and only) band is done with Harris from the band Fashion. Rogers personality is talked about, Geesin talking about his breaking with the Floyd "main man" during the "Amused to Death" period over the lack of a cd.

As mentioned in the Mojo review for the book, noone comes out smelling of roses. Waters comes across as someone who dominates the group and can't tolerate working with the other "Muffins" - as he calls the rest of the Floyd. Mason is troubled by mention of the Wall at an Inside Out signing, yet the album is gone into detail on, even the lawsuit filed by the schoolkid singers!

Is it worth reading? Yes! Goddamn yes! Its a long book, but its the best book out there on the Floyd. Hopefully it will be updated though, because the Piper reissue deserves to be discussed (unfortunately Saucerful didn't see such treatment on its 30th anniversary, but then that wasn't "Syds baby")