One Train Later

by Andy Summers

Book Overview

"The train jerks to a halt, and as I get out at Oxford Circus, Stewart gets out with me. We look at each other, laugh, and make the standard remark about it being a small world. But this is the brilliant collision, one train later and it might all have turned out differently." ? In this extraordinary memoir, world-renowned guitarist Andy Summers provides a revealing and passionate account of a life dedicated to music. From his first guitar at age...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312359144
• ISBN13: 9780312359140
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A Zelig-like, hysterically funny journey through modern popular culture!

I could NOT have enjoyed this book more! Andy Summers proves to be a terrific writer. The book follows his life from childhood to the break-up of the Police. I found myself laughing out loud often while reading this memoir. He's genuinely funny; describing a boxing match in which he was forced to participate in grade school, he comments that his loutish opponent burst from his corner towards him like "a dog with his tail on fire." During a sojourn through Spain while still a teenager, he recounts a dinner where he and a friend are guests of a kind Spanish family, with two beautiful daughters there to tempt them. At the table, he says the mother enjoyed torturing them (by sitting them across from the two goddesses but preventing any sort of contact) "like a witch cooking two shrimps in her cauldron." He's self-deprecating, witty and vivid with his descriptions of life in England, life on the road, observations on human behavior. He's merciless in commenting on his own shortcomings, especially with his wife and with drug use. There are passages that are acutely painful, like how he let his family down while seduced by the life of a rock star. On the other hand, I will never forget his description of what it is like to urinate while on LSD. I laughed so hard I had to put the book down. I was continually surprised to see how he floated through popular culture, Zelig-like, for decades. The tale of the 1959 Les Paul Sunburst, Eric Clapton and the first Cream album will have you slack-jawed. Not only are there several episodes involving Clapton (and how he fits into rock history as a central figure), but Summers encounters people like Hendrix, places like NYC and LA, the psychedelic era, prog-rock...I had no idea he was such good friends with John Belushi! He captures Belushi wonderfully. The birth of the Police is fascinating. Being one of the biggest Police fans ever, this was the initial reason for buying the book, being in The Police is a thread laced throughout the whole book. You know they're gonna be huge, and then break up. It all happens with such inevitability, like some Shakespearean tragedy. The image of the three guys pushing a dead van over a bridge in Paris is a riot, and the subsequent genesis of the song, "Roxanne" (and hence, the whole Police sound) is almost fairy-tale in it's construction. Seriously, I feel like starting all over and reading this book one more time...there are SO many great passages, SO well written! His love of music...the appreciation for musical theory and talent...is infectious. You will want to learn how to play guitar after finishing this book. The story of the Police plays out like the arc of a flare, burning impossibly bright for a few moments, sailing high, and then at it's apogee, it burns out. Disappeared. The epilogue is most hopeful...both personally and professionally. It seems with the Police reunion this year, Mr. Summers may have done what he wanted...to give us Police fans a proper fa

Another Brilliant Work

The one thread that connects all of Andy Summer's varied projects is that each one of them is consistantly brilliant. Guitarist for The Police, jazz guitarist, photographer, and now author - you know that you will be getting a product that is of the highest quality. The book gives you the expected rundown of his Police years, but many people do not realize his rich experience in the music business long before that band came along. He was an exceptional guitarist long before Sting and Stewart met up with him. Summer's has a very snappy and enjoyable writing style which matches the wonderful guitar lines that made The Police songs so memorable. If you are a Police fan you will become an Andy Summers fan as well after reading this book. Well done Andy, what's next ?

And, it's showtime...

So, I'm on the road myself, on my own book tour stuff. Oddly, I haven't got anything of my own along for the trip; the bookstores in question can hand me a copy to read to the people who come along. What I have got with me to read - the only thing - is Andy Summers' memoir. After the first couple of chapters, I've made myself a deal: I can pick it up anytime I like, except at bedtime, because if I try reading it then, I won't sleep. The book is so there, so real, so honest, and so damned evocative of a world I've spent some time in, that reading it before sleep is like conjuring ghosts. It's also happens to be gorgeously written. Summers neither demonizes the darker patches of his world, nor glorifies them - the world of a professional musician making music, from session work to the old Speakeasy club in London in the sixties to the top of the world at Shea Stadium, is simply what it is. Pure musicians are born, and the music is not merely what they do, it's what they are. The music industry is the environment in which a consummate guitarist does what he does, and is what he is; the pitfalls and prizes are part of that environment. The story of the Police is a fascinating read, but truth to tell, I was fascinated by every word of "One Train Later". I know the England he writes about, felt some serious pangs of memory as he described various smaller, quieter moments of life as a guitarist in the sixties, tasted the familiarity of California in the seventies and eighties. If you're looking for dirt or canonisation, this may not be the perfect book for you. Any dirt in here is the dirt of a musician's daily grind, and he's not interested in beatifying his fellows, or demonizing them, either. On the other hand, if you're looking for a stellar memoir by a world-class player about his life and work in the rarified and highly controversial environoment that is rock and roll? Settle in for a killer good read. Just - don't do it at bedtime. You won't want to stop reading.

behind andy's camel

Out of all The Police guys, Andy had the most wicked sense of humor. He saw, and still sees, things a tad differently than the rest of us. Having chatted with him a few times in person, I can say he is a most interesting man. I had no idea he wrote so well. I was a bit surprised when I heard this book was coming out. Andy, despite his mischief in The Police, always seemed the most private of the three. I also learned a few things I didn't know. And,to me,that's incredible. I have listened to his music since I was a teenager. Part of his appeal as a guitarist is his love for his instrument, of course. But Andy is also one of those rare performers that thinks more of "the song." He's not a flashy-solo kinda guy. The song is more important than any one member's part in it. A highly enjoyable read to be sure.

A funny blitz-force adventure of the highest order!

This is an amazing "life story" told with heaping amounts of humor and insight -- easily accessible to both the hardcore Police fan, and the reader simply interested in gaining perspective on the churnings of the music business amidst a more spiritual pursuit. Andy uses his fantastic sense of humor to great effect here. I was constantly giggling at the absolute mayhem surrounding him at every turn. I had no idea he was such a roving wild man -- but from the man who wrote the classic "Behind My Camel" -- who would expect otherwise. I admire someone who enjoys Spinal Tap and Camus. I'm baffled at his ability to stay sane amidst this carnival of motion. If you are even remotely interested in the sacrifice, hard work, and drive that it takes to "make it" in the music industry, this is required reading. Make plans, but do it in pencil. In the end, you follow the music. This book is a spiritual adventure. I'm looking forward to the next one!