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Tony Visconti: The Autobiography: Bowie, Bolan and the Brooklyn Boy
by
Tony Visconti
,
Morrissey
Arollercoaster journey through the glory days of pop music, this memoir from famed produced Tony Visconti brings to life more than five decades of music history. Soon after abandoning his native New York in the 1960s to pursue his career in the UK, Visconti found himself in the thick of the emerging glam rock movement. His first commercial success came with T.Rex, but it w
...more
Paperback
,
400 pages
Published
April 28th 2008
by HarperCollins UK
(first published January 1st 2007)
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Community Reviews
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I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a primer on corporate ass kissing. Viconti has his tongue so far up the ass of certain living show business figures that his ghost writer's turdy tongue speaks with their voice - and in particular with the inflections of the tedious David Bowie. On the other hand, Marc Bolan is long dead and gets slagged off for being the ego-maniac he so obviously was (although personally I still really dig his super-dumb three chord bop). Reading this rant you can't help
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Library Journal Review:
Behind every crash of the cymbal and strum of the guitar sits the music producer weaving notes into a musical tapestry. Over the last forty years, Tony Visconti has applied his creativity and genius to producing music’s most legendary artists: T. Rex, David Bowie, Thin Lizzy, The Moody Blues, Paul McCartney, and Morrissey. Following his rise to stardom from his humble childhood in Brooklyn to producing Bowie in London, the narrative reveals a man passionate about music and ...more
Behind every crash of the cymbal and strum of the guitar sits the music producer weaving notes into a musical tapestry. Over the last forty years, Tony Visconti has applied his creativity and genius to producing music’s most legendary artists: T. Rex, David Bowie, Thin Lizzy, The Moody Blues, Paul McCartney, and Morrissey. Following his rise to stardom from his humble childhood in Brooklyn to producing Bowie in London, the narrative reveals a man passionate about music and ...more
in my world Tony Visconti as a producer couldn't do no wrong. Please note his work with the great Les Rita Mitsouko, but here we have the main focus of his work with the fantastic David Bowie and the iconic Marc Bolan (T-Rex).
The book goes into some nerdy areas of record production as well as insights on the making of certain recordings (especially Bowie's 'Scary Monster'). Saying that Visconti wants to correct some past credits (he did the strings for McCartney's Band on the Run) and he for su ...more
The book goes into some nerdy areas of record production as well as insights on the making of certain recordings (especially Bowie's 'Scary Monster'). Saying that Visconti wants to correct some past credits (he did the strings for McCartney's Band on the Run) and he for su ...more
Because he was behind the recording controls for so much of it, Visconti gives us a great look at the evolution of pop music (especially British pop music) from the late 1960s and into the 21st century. A great read for music fans with an appreciation for good production, as well as for fans of Bowie and T. Rex. Visconti's emotional development--which he links to his focus on music above all else--results in some relationshps that, narratively speaking, start to seem repetitive. But the man's li
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Refreshingly, this memoir is actually well WRITTEN, unlike so many rock and roll memoirs where clunky language and typos "understate the hugeness of the object," to quote Spinal Tap. Visconti's life and times would be pretty intriguing even without his famous work and legendary rock star associations, but as told in this book, the balance is pretty much perfect. Really recommended to anyone who enjoys the anecdotes behind the star making machine.
Lots of good stuff on his work with Bowie, a bit on living with him (they shared a home, in the early days!) and his class. Contrasted nicely with what a jerk Marc Bolan turned out to be... it was also cool that, unlike LOTS of 1960s/70s artists, Tony moved on with the times and worked with modern, diverse artists. It was also cool to read about Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy, regardless of whether Bowie approves!
a long strange ride - from the Catskills to T.Rex, Bowie, Funky Chateau and beyond.
lots of great detail about Visconti's recordings : Mary Hopkin sings the opening "doo doo doo" on Electric Blue ! The strings on the chorus of "Get It On" were a last minute addition !
and lots of great stuff about the people he worked with, too.
I went back to Electric Warrior and enjoyed it all the more!
lots of great detail about Visconti's recordings : Mary Hopkin sings the opening "doo doo doo" on Electric Blue ! The strings on the chorus of "Get It On" were a last minute addition !
and lots of great stuff about the people he worked with, too.
I went back to Electric Warrior and enjoyed it all the more!
Not inarticulate, but also not particularly insightful, except through some backhanded compliments. This is a common problem with As-Told-To autobiographies. We learn very little about the birth of glam rock, but Visconti does mention that when he ran into Nathalie Merchant in 2001, she served him a tuna wrap. For a Yank in Swinging London tome, I'd go with Joe Boyd's book instead.
Nice, but not technically crunchy enough. Could have been better.
This book made it hard for me to listen to T. Rex without thinking what a dick Marc Bolan seemed to have been, but other than that it was a positive reading experience for me. If you like rock and Anglophilia, it's good times most of the time.
skipped the sections on bands i don't care for and his marriage bits. overall: dull.... i had guessed as much though - you don't stay friends with moz and bowie if you don't know how to keep your mouth shut, lol.
The beginning of his career is fascinating, but -- like many rock bios -- the book begins to drag when Visconti exciting early years are over. He handles his childhood well, though! Rare in this genre...
I learned that Tony is a reformed druggie who has produced some classic albums and been divorced 3 times.
I didn't learn much of interest about the details of recording Bowie's Berlin trilogy.
I didn't learn much of interest about the details of recording Bowie's Berlin trilogy.
Excellent, hard to believe Marc Bolan was such a dick. Some interesting stuff about Bowie which I wasnt aware of and overall Tony is a very interesting guy. Top book.
Excellent. The best part was the author's account of Bowie's hatred of Thin Lizzy, both personally and professionally.
The autobiography of one of my favorite record producers. Hilarious anecdotes about the rock aristocracy.
Not the best writing ever, but some good stories. Tony sure holds a grudge against Marc Bolan, though!
Interesting insight into the record production business from T. Rex and Bowie producer Visconti.
great stories. not so greatly told. oh to be a fly... musical visionary. profound respect.
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