Review by Booklist Review
Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, was born in London, the son of an English businessman and a Jamaican mother of Sephardic Jewish heritage, but grew up in 1940s and 1950s Jamaica, where Rastafarians were considered "more as a violent gang" than a religious movement. Then one fateful day, as he recalls, Rastas came to his aid after a boating incident. This was a life-changing experience, leading, 17 years later, to his working with Bob Marley, Rastafarianism's "most celebrated advocate." Blackwell is a natural storyteller, writing vividly about how his mother was a friend of novelist Ian Fleming as well as the inspiration for the characters played by Ursula Andress and Honor Blackman in the James Bond movie adaptations. He recalls Island Records' golden decades, the 1970s and 1980s, when he worked with John Martyn, Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, Jimmy Cliff, U2, Tom Waits, Talking Heads, Grace Jones, and, of course, Marley. His memoir should be of interest to anyone curious about the backstory of an important record label as well as to readers who enjoy personal accounts of lives gloriously well-lived.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Blackwell, founder of Island Records, delivers a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of his consequential career as a record producer. Following his family's move from England to Jamaica in 1938, less than a year after he was born, Blackwell lived a comfortable, cloistered life. That changed when, at age 18, he and two friends took a boating trip that left them stranded on an unfamiliar stretch of shore; eventually they were rescued by a community of Rastafarians. As the impresario observes, his encounter with people he'd been taught by "white Jamaican society" to regard as a threatening "gang" was life-changing; most significantly, it planted a seed within Blackwell that ultimately led him to partner with "Rastafarianism's most celebrated... ambassador, Bob Marley." His career began humbly in the late 1950s, as a selector, responsible for picking out songs for jukeboxes around Kingston to play, and eventually led him to start his own label, Island Records, in 1959. Throughout, Blackwell provides engrossing details of his road to success--including discovering such famed musicians as Bono and Cat Stevens--but most impressive is his refreshing self-awareness; as he writes, "There's no two ways about it: I am a member of the Lucky Sperm Club. I was born into wealth and position." Music lovers shouldn't miss this. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Readers will know they're in for a rollicking, fun, and vertigo-inducing wild ride of a memoir when by page seven, the author at age eighteen is getting punched out by Errol Flynn for attempting to steal one of his girlfriends. So begins octogenarian Blackwell's long awaited life story. Founder of seminal record label Island Records, he signed Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Traffic, Roxy Music, Sparks, the B-52s, U2, and numerous other celebrated recording artists. Blackwell is also widely regarded as the primary catalyst for introducing reggae music to a world audience. "Rhythm to me was always king, and in reggae it is at the front of everything," he writes. Blackwell wends his way chronologically through his colorful story devoting separate decade chapters from the fifties through the nineties. Impresario and raconteur that he is, the cornucopia of stories and anecdotes of rock stars in the popular music firmament is an embarrassment of riches that alone is worth the price of admission. Of special note is the extended story of his transformational relationship with Bob Marley and the Wailers. VERDICT An obligatory purchase for all self-respecting rock and pop culture collections.--Barry X. Miller
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A memoir of a singular music mogul, his record label, and an era before rock became so corporate. Early on, Blackwell identifies himself as "a member of the Lucky Sperm Club," hailing from a mixed aristocratic bloodline reflective of his native Jamaica. Before music even enters the story, he recalls being punched by Errol Flynn and hanging out with Ian Fleming. Both had eyes for the author's mother (Fleming modeled Pussy Galore on her), and both were partly responsible for popularizing the romantic notion of Jamaica as a unique tourist destination--as would Blackwell and his Island Records via their promotion of reggae music, especially Bob Marley and the Wailers. Writing with Morley, Blackwell chronicles how he straddled the cultures of London and Jamaica and how an indifferent student with few career prospects learned the music business from the ground up--stocking jukeboxes, paying close attention to what was drawing the crowds on Jamaican sound systems, and then delving into the process of recording, producing, and releasing music on his own label. He took his passion for Jamaican music back to England, where the breakthrough R & B/ska hit by teenager Millie Small, "My Boy Lollipop," helped establish Blackwell as someone who could help emerging talent. The author went on to champion a young Steve Winwood and, later, U2. Though not a musician or studio technician, Blackwell showed a knack for putting people together in settings where magic might happen--and then recognizing it when it did. A wide variety of artists flourished at Island--from Tom Waits to Marianne Faithfull, Robert Palmer to Grace Jones--and Blackwell continued to demonstrate his originality in an increasingly stale industry. Yet Island was caught in the middle--too big to be a true indie, not big enough to compete with the majors--and Blackwell became a casualty of corporate consolidation. Living well is the best revenge, and the author has lived very well indeed. Highly recommended. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
