Well-written and researched biography of the band, focussing on enigmatic lead singer Bryan Ferry. I found this considerably more comprehensive than another biography on the band that I read a while back (Unknown Pleasures, by Paul Stump), and it's also more recent, being written in 2004.
The major shortcoming for me is the paucity of direct interviews with the band members -- we get plenty (indeed, often an excess) of opinionated quotes from lesser known associates of the band and various other hangers on, presumably quite happy to get their two cents on the record -- but what's glaringly absent are the opinions that really count. I'd love to read lengthy discussions/confessions from Ferry and Eno regarding Eno's acrimonious departure from the band after the second album, or Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger regarding the latter's wooing of the former away from a hapless Ferry. But probably even the most clout-wielding journalist in town would be unable to elicit such information, so it's not surprising that it's well beyond the author's reach. That being said, the author does provide a balanced, and at times starkly critical, perspective on Ferry that would perhaps would have suffered from greater collaboration with the singer.
I'd like to see a second edition (though not sure if I'd bother to read it), updated to include Ferry's latest solo effort, Olympia -- which is actually quite a decent album.
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