Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd

by Mark Blake

Book Overview

The acclaimed, definitive biography of Pink Floyd, from their iconic beginnings in psychedelic, Swinging London to their historic reunion at the Live8 concert ("The most complete, insightful, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306817527
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 418 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Classifying the condition as 'good' when it wasn't

The book just arrived, the condition was classified as 'good' but the cover was torn & creased, the interior pages are brown. Definitely not the condition I expected.

Easily among the best Pink Floyd bios

Quite a few books have been devoted to Pink Floyd and they make for quite a mixed bag. The two best have been Nicholas Shaffner's "A Saucerful of Secrets" and Nick Mason's own "Inside Out." Now we can safely add a third book to that list, perhaps even at the top. What makes this book so great is that Mark Blake has built quite a respository of behind-the-scenes Floyd info, culled from interviews he conducted over many years as a music writer. It seems that he was willing to pull out all the stops in delivering that info within the pages of this book. As a result, even the most die-hard Floyd fan is bound to learn something new here. While I loved Shaffner's book, and really considered it the best on Pink Floyd, it presented a somewhat uneven treatment of the band's history, with everything after the release of "Dark Side of the Moon" being somewhat rushed. Not in this book. Blake really digs in deep in his treatment of the "breakup years" of 1974-81, and even delivers new commentary from many players (including Bob Ezrin) on the post-Waters "litigation years" of 1987-94. I particularly enjoyed the backstage info he presents regarding the reunion at Live 8. And given Rick Wright's untimely passing (while I was in the middle of this book ironically), it would seem that event really marks the end of Pink Floyd. This book covers everything that happened after Live 8 -- essentially the Gilmour and Waters solo tours of 2006-07 -- and the only significant event left out is Rick's death. Really, I can't say enough good things about this book. If you're a Floyd fan, you owe it to yourself to read this book. I guarantee you'll get many new nuggets if information.

Definitive, hard-core Pink Floyd history; also notable as creativity case study

I like Pink Floyd. I like Pink Floyd a lot. But unlike some people (including my husband, who first saw them on tour circa 1970 in what he's called "one step above a high school gymnasium"), I am not a die-hard, trivia-spouting fan. I just like their music. If you're a SERIOUS fan, you don't have to read any farther: you *will* like this book. Author Mark Blake goes into exhaustive detail about every facet of the band's existence, from the apartments they crashed in to their school history. Journalisticly, he did an awesome job of interviewing everyone whose lives these guys touched. Dark Side Of The Moon isn't covered (except as a frame for the story, since it's their best known work) until page 170. If you want to know how these people got where they did, you'll surely find out how. If you just like the music... I think you'll _also_ like the book, but perhaps for different reasons. What drew me to read Comfortably Numb was the inherent mystery about Syd Barrett. Everyone had always described him as the former band member who went a little crazy, probably as the result of one bad trip too many. But, well, what did they mean by "a little crazy"? As I suppose I should have expected, the full story is hard to summarize... but it certainly comes across. For example, an anecdote from Alice Cooper describes getting up one morning, "...and there was Syd staring at a box of cornflakes the way that you or I would watch television. It was obvious that there was already something very, very wrong." Since Pink Floyd interacted with so many other musicians (I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact they shared a bill once with Paul Simon...), it's interesting in a "history of rock and roll" manner. Not a must-have in that regard, but the book has many anecdotes about the famous (such as the Beatles) and the not-quite-so-famous (Jerry Shirley of Humble Pie). I was held to the book, however, because I'm always very curious about how _this_ particular band (or creative person of any type) succeeded when others did not. These guys knew each other since childhood, for the most part; they got together to play music in an era when everyone was playing music; and somehow they got a record deal. But *then* what? Within only a few years, the "team" had a huge amount of internal strife... and yet they managed to create one of the most successful albums of all time. What makes one team able to rise above personalities -- temporarily, at least -- and another be lost in the politics (not to mention the drugs, record company interactions, etc.)? Perhaps it isn't surprising that they didn't know how they succeeded (or how they later failed, with all the personality fallouts) either. During the making of Dark Side, the musicians were interviewed, and some admitted to conflict. "'How do you get over the difficult times?' asks Maben. 'I don't know how,' answers Wright, 'but we do.'" The book is so detailed and detailed that, for me at least, it's slow going. I'

Best Floyd book ever

I have read a fair few Floyd books now including Nick Masons and i have to say this is by far and away the best and most comprehensive. It starts right back at the begining in the mid 60's right through to 2007, covering literally everything. It also covers their solo ventures during and after Floyd and also gives great info on how all the albums faired in the US and the UK (Solo's included). He must have been working on this book for years. I was very impressed that he mentioned Dave Gilmour turned up on Michael Parkinsons chat show in 1999 as a session guitarist for Paul McCartney who was having a full show dedicated to him. Dave Gilmour was never mentioned on the show and i only noticed myself that he was there playing. Very impressive research. I learn't a lot about the band and its members that i never knew and will have to read it again as its hard to remember everything. Its a great story and also quite sad (Syd's decline). Roger Waters comes out of it the worst, looks like he gave Gilmour a very hard time and the rest of the band also. His ego and tempermant being his main problem. And considering the abuse he has taken, Dave Gilmour comes out of it with dignity in tact. If your a Floyd fanantic or a casual music listener with a passing interest in the band, its a must buy.

The Best Pink Floyd Book Available

If you are into Pink Floyd you must read this book. This is by far the best book on this band. As most of you know, Pink Floyd is very guarded when it comes to their past and their personal lives. Floyd drummer Nick Mason's book Inside Out was supposed to be the definitive book about the band. It was learned that he allowed all of the Floyd members to edit out all of the dirt and honest truth he had written about each member. This left his book very lackluster. I can't imagine how long it took Mark Blake to research this book let alone write it. He took quotes and articles from every major book ever written about the band. He got people from each members past to talk on record. A lot of them for the first time in print. Their are stories here that have never seen the light of day. The best part about this book is that he got some of Pink Floyd's inner circle to talk without disclosing their identities. For the first time, problems in each members personal lives are disclosed in great detail. It's about time all Pink Floyd fans got the real stories behind the history of this amazing band. This is a must have for any rock n roll buff.

Very thorough and well crafted!

This book is extremely well written and researched. The quality of writing is impeccable. Covering the history of Pink Floyd until the present, it is full of fascinating material and clarifies or fills in stories about the band which have circulated throughout the years. Any PF fan who enjoys learning all about the crafting of the music, the individual personalities and points of view, and how the miracle of Pink Floyd came about will surely be delighted. I agree with everything that the previous reviewer had to say except for the comment about the Nick Mason book. I am not convinced that Nick's original intent was to go into depth about the band's various personality conflicts over the years. His book with its extensive collection of photographs was written from a loving perspective and with great humor. I value that book very much just as it is. It is a beautiful book with stunning artwork worthy of a true Pink Floyd product. I highly recommend both these wonderful books which compliment each other very nicely.