Product Description

This is the inside story of The Jam and The Style Council by the man who oversaw their careers for nearly three decades. This frank account reveals the trials and triumphs of Paul Weller's career, from The Jam's first single in 1977 to the break-up of the Style Council in 1989. This is also a unique insight into Paul Weller's solo career.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59832 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

Review
"...a riveting read" - MOJO "Entertaining and informative" - Play Music magazine "Munday casts a fascinating light on the troubled relationship between Polydor and Weller" - Classic Rock

magazine.brighton.co.uk
Shout To The Top is a must for fans and the just-plain-curious
alike.

Mojo, December 2006
"... a riveting read"

Customer Reviews

a music biz view with great insight
Great read with nice mixture of facts (from the label point of view), historical notes, friendly advices and a music lover approach (rare these days in the music biz). The last chapters should have been better edited: repetitions, many typos, strangely placed commas; probably rushed a bit to be as up-to-date as possible. All in all, a genuine work of passion with excellent knowledge and first-rate insight.

Shout
I agree with the other reviews - the amount of typo mistakes in this book is unbelievable. Don't they employ people to proof read? Every other paragraph you have to fill your own words in to make sense of the sentence and it becomes really annoying. He has an interesting story to tell and it's a decent read. I don't quite understand his point about TSC - that they should have stuck to the 'floating' line-up. He loves Steve White's playing, TSC changed bass players constantly, sometimes they used a horn section, sometimes a string quartet. Does he think they should have used different drummers?? Also, what does he mean when he says Steve White was one of the few drummers who knew 'where the 2 and 4 are'. I think that's exactly what most drummers of the time knew and little else. White is great at the non back-beat stuff ( 'Dropping Bombs,' 'Down in the Seine' etc). No excuses for so many typo mistakes (possibly not his fault) - it feels like you're reading a teenager's school project.

An interesting account of Artist vs Record Company
As a biography of Weller, The Jam and the Style Council this told me little that I did not already know. However, as an account of Dennis Munday's relationship with the Wellers, and a peak into the often Machiavellian workings of the record industry there is some good stuff here.

Grammatically the book is poorly written, occasionally hard to read and must have more typos per square inch than any book I've ever read. And for a pop biography it is also quite a long book, with three clearly defined sections of roughly equal length reflecting the respective stages of Weller's career.

In brief, if you're seeking an eye-opening expose on The Modfather this book is not for you. If, on the other hand you're interested in the story of one man's on-off relationship with Weller (and Munday certainly seems to have been as close to Weller as anyone outside his immediate family) and in a true and frank account of how record companies really treat their artists, and vice versa, then there is enough here to make it a decent read