The Stories Behind Our Biggest Hit Songs, Glen Humphries
Book review of Aussie Rock Anthems Top 40
Music journalist Glen Humphries’ slick, passionate, photo-packed celebration of Australian rock hits some targets but misses others.
Glen Humphries, Illawarra Mercury journalist and author of Sounds Like an Ending: Midnight Oil, 10 – 1 and Red Sails in the Sunset has, presumably with many mates over many beers, compiled the top 40 most “Aussie” rock anthems into one volume, adding the stories behind each song. Lists like these are inevitably subjective, and books like them vary enormously in terms of journalistic quality. Humphries’ book is no exception.
Overall, his list is good – most of these songs do indeed reflect the national musical psyche, being (mostly) songs that great swathes of Australians know, even if they don’t know the song’s name…
Click here to read the full review by Ash Brom, from artshub.com.au
