Author:Josh Frank,Caryn Ganz
Pixies' career spanned just seven years before the pressures of the road and personality clashes tore the band apart. But in that time they became one of the pioneers of alternative rock and left a musical legacy that would inspire generations of musicians, from Kurt Cobain and David Bowie to U2, Radiohead and Blur.
This is the story of a band called Pixies and how they turned their distinctive, warped breed of dynamic surf-punk into music legend. Told in the words of the band themselves, the studio owners, producers and engineers who worked with them, and admirers of their music, including Bono, Courtney Love and Beck, Fool The World is a complete journey through the life, death and rebirth of one of the most influential bands of all time.
Anecdote-filled and definitive, Fool the World is an eyewitness account of the Pixies' tumultuous career and their subsequent reinvention of underground rock.
—— Q MagazineSkinner is insightful, erudite and, naturally, funny when dissecting the craft of writing and performing successful stand-up comedy
—— EsquireHe manages to provide a fascinating insight into the world, and the insecure mind, of a stand-up comedian . . . This is a real, honest account of life on the road. And you can't expect more from a tour diary than that
—— ChortleQuite possibly the best book about stand-up ever written
—— GQA minor masterpiece
—— The GuardianOne of the most frank (excuse the pun), funny and best written books ever about being a comedian. Surprisingly brilliant
—— Dominic Maxwell , The TimesIt's f**king brilliant. The best book about stand-up I've ever read, hands-down. So, f**king well done, I didn't want it to end. Thank you and f**k you and congratulations. Great great great great
—— Jimmy CarrA fascinating insight into the world, and the insecure mind, of a stand-up comedian
—— Dennis LearySplendidly entertaining, reflecting on everything from eating a loaf to Shintoism and...sex.
—— Bournemouth Daily EchoThere are . . . completely honest admissions about his drinking, and laugh-out-loud accounts of his various fashion errors . . . Enjoy gleefully politically incorrect posturing and plain old-fashioned entertainment.
—— The ResidentClapton reveals all in this unflinching confessional.
—— IndependentA powerfully honest and very moving insight into the life of a rock legend
—— The Herald (Glasgow)Clapton bares his soul. Fascinating. It's an absorbing read, like you've been granted access to a mind finally coming to terms with itself.
—— The Sunday Tribune (Ireland)Difficult to put down
—— Sunday TimesClapton provides an orderly account of life in which all other considerations are secondary to the frequently selfish needs of The Artist'
—— GuardianGold-plated tales of sex, drink, drugs and fame and moments of musical incandescence.
—— Observer Music MonthlyA warm portrait
—— FT MagazineA harrowing and searingly honest book about the unreal rock star life.
—— Daily ExpressClapton lays bare his life story in this witty but also painfully honest autobiography. Compelling and accomplished.
—— Sunday ExpressA painfully honest insider's account of an age all too often portrayed as one long party
—— Daily MailA glorious rock history.
—— New York PostThis book does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend...puts a lie to the glamour of what it means to be a rock star.
—— Greg Kot, Chicago TribuneStrong stuff. Clapton reveals its author's journey to self-acceptance and manhood. Anyone who cares about the man and his music will want to take the trip with him.
—— Anthony DcCurtis, Rolling StoneClapton is honest...even searing and often witty, with a hard-won survivor's humor...an honorable badge of a book.
—— Stephen King, New York Times Book ReviewRiveting
—— Boston HeraldAn even, unblinking sensibility defines the author's voice.
—— New York TimesAn unsparing self-portrait.
—— USA TodayBoth the youthful excesses and the current calm state are narrated with an engaging tone that nudges Clapton's story ahead of other rock'n'roll memoirs.
—— Publisher’s WeeklyClapton is a confessional, an addiction memoir, and a glorious rock history rolled into one, with a smidgeon of guilt and, ultimately redemption thrown in for good measure.
—— New York PostClapton fills in many gray areas, recounting his highs and lows with a thoughtfulness often lacking rock memoirs.Methodically he whittles away at the larger-than-life rock god until a vulnerable, messed-up mortal emerges...Clapton is an absorbing tale of artistry, decadence and redemption.It's also an important reminder of the guitarist's imprint on rock music, as a sideman, solo artist and bandleader.Not bad for a blues snob from Surrey.
—— Los Angeles TimesClapton: The Autobiography does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend, de-mythologizes one of the most mythologized electric guitarists ever, puts a lie to the glamour of what is means to be a rock star...It's a cautionary tale that spills over into tragedy several times as love, lives and talents are all wasted.
—— Chicago TribuneLike the bluesmen who inspired him, Clapton has his share of scars...his compelling memoir is... a soulful performance.
—— PeopleCharming and surprisingly candid.
—— Entertainment WeeklyAbsolutely brilliant
—— Daily Express