Customer Reviews

The Who: Maximum R&B

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This is the book for every Who fan. Thousands of pics, and more information than any other book. Richard Barnes knows the Who extremly well, and although his writing isn't all that great, there is more info than anyone could ever want. The Who Maximum R&B is the greatest Who book ever written.

This book was my introduction to The Who. And it remains my favourite. Because it's so well written, that you can read it ten times over, and still find details. And the pictures and memorabilia are stunning. Written by the man who came up with the name "THE WHO" no less.

As a 15-year Who fan, I've often lamented that the end of the creative Who coincided with my interest in the band. I wondered why there weren't at least more albums from their peak creative years. After reading this book, I now understand all the complex group dynamics that both fueled and hindered the band. From this book, we see it all from an eyewitness unencumbered by celebrity. As introspective as Townshend often was (is), he often contradicted historical recollections of the legendary Who. Richard Barnes seems to set the story straight, and despite being a close friend of the band, tells it honestly. Warts on the arse and all. A great read broken up by scores of previously unseen photos and memorabilia.

Simply put, The Who transcended rock in their heyday. A much more compelling live act than the Stones or Beatles...lyrically soaring over Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. A chronicle of the greatest band to emerge from the British Invasion. The Who's magic, was that it was a machine...but an ever-changing one. Pete Townshend's lyrical courage, Roger Daltrey's agressive vocals, John Entwistle's thundering bass and Keith Moon's anarchic drumming made this a band for the ages. This book, a must for any Who completist, is also a wonderful source for the new fan. With it's use of exclusive photos and insider tales, the books author (Barnes) has managed to please even the most informed fanatic. Towsnhend, Daltrey, Entwistle and Moon are captured in their true form...as flawed individuals and as peerless performers. Anyone who has been a fans for years will love the "behind-the-scenes" peeks...and the new fans will delight in these stories as an introduction to the greates band in rock and roll. Loud, raucous, destructive, brilliant. Pick it up if you love the Who!

Casual boutique-dwelling, pop fans saw The Who almost a novelty act that wrote a few catchy tunes (see Pinball Wizard). Then maybe they heard the radio staples like Baba O'Reilly and Bargain and thought they knew The Who as a group with a few good songs that had an interesting stage show. These trend followers received the shock of their lives when they found out that the four sweet English boys who sang nice songs like Happy Jack and Squeeze Box actively loathed each other, fought with each other on stage and in the press, smashed their instruments and thought that feedback was "interesting". Dave Marsh wrote that The Who was the family on the block whose public squabbles "told the real story" and that the fans who couldn't handle The Who's entire package "moved on to less challenging heroes", but that those who stayed stayed for life. Richard Barnes book "Maximum R&B" is for the LIFERS. Barnes gets below the Ivy League clad Mod surface to show how The Who's lack of apparent personal chemistry and tendency to outdo one another made the band go. The early stories of the Detours and Daltrey's initial domination only explain why the band is what it is today. Additionally, the Keith Moon anecdotes are particularly amusing, especially when the reader realizes that Keith Moon was a living person, and not some myth MCA records created to sell The Who's back catalog. The photo's are all top-notch. I've read the original version of the book and the updated 1996 edition. My only problem with the latest version is that it doesn't contain the Flexi-single of Townshend's demoes of "Pinball Wizard" and "My Generation". Maximum R&B is a must for any Who fan or anyone who realizes that rock music, not pop music, is more than just entertainment.

A wonderful book loaded with factual information and first-hand observations, filled with fascinating photographs. The definitive source for Who history from its original publication in 1982 until last year when Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere was published. My only complaint is that this new edition no longer includes the soundsheet recording in the original that reproduced Pete Townshend's original demo of My Generation, but most people don't have turntables anymore these days anyway.

As a HUGE Who fan, I first picked up "Maximum R&B" in the late 80's, and recently dug into the updated version.

Richard Barnes was an old art school friend of Pete Townshend's, and remained close to him and the band over the decades. His history of the Who is detailed, mixed with intimiate remembrances, especially of the early days of the band.

Barnes for the most part tells the story with a straight-forward, unbiased eye. He details the tulmultuous relationship between the band members, especially Townshend and Roger Daltrey, and draws on numerous interviews and press articles (the press materials are classic--some very early pix of a very young Detours lineup are among the entertaining bits).

Barnes also examines the Mod movement of the 60's, which was so critical to exposing the Who (for a while the High Numbers) to a hardcore audience.

For Who fans like myself, you may find some minor errors, and Barnes doesn't go too deep into some of the band member's personal lives, except where he seems to have an in. Among these would be Townshend's fascination with Meher Baba, his later drug and alcohol problems, and his later struggles with trying to deal with the Who while establishing himself as a solo artist.

In any case, a fantastic document of the history of one of rock's greatest and most talented bands.

The Who have long been described as "the Violent Ones" for destroying their instruments at the end of performances. They have also been called "the World's Loudest Band". They are also in my opinion one of the best bands to ever hit the stage. Long categorized as being grittier than the Beatles, but more musically inclined than the Rolling Stones, The Who has evolved over the years to explore new methods of relaying to it's audiences the never ending story of angst. That angst has been brought to the pages of this book by compiler Richard Barnes. Barnes shows us the angst that The Who has displayed over the years through their various stages of development and self-destruction. Maximum R&B is a photo collection of memorable moments that any Who fan would enjoy.

This is without question the only book that tells it like it was, all the stories, what really went on between the band members, and plenty of surprises that you never would have imagined. Written in part by Pete Townsend, Richard Barnes was with the band from the get go. This book clarifies fact from fiction, and we all know how much has been written about this band, this book is all fact, so no nonsense here, no made up Keith Moon stories. You get to know the Who for who they really were as four individuals, and you will be quite surprised to find out about the power struggles, for they were much more complicated than most people imagined. Read This Book!!!

This book is really a great overview of the WHO's career. Starting out when the band started to meet as teenagers and spannig all the way to a few years after Keith's death, this book covers every single recording the WHO did.

Aside from just following the WHO through their career, this book is also jam-packed with those crazy Keith Moon anecdotes and interesting picures.

I really enjoyed this book, and enjoyed seein what one of my favorite bands was really like. I would definately recommend it to anyone who loves the WHO.