Stuart Cosgrove

Well researched, well written and entertaining from start to finish. "Harlem 69: The Future of Soul" by music and sub-culture journalist Stuart Cosgrove is a comprehensive look at the year that was. The book is a month by month account of the major musical and cultural events in Harlem in 1969, covering the influence of drug dealers, small record labels, the Black Panthers, the moon landing, jazz, blues, disco, funk, pop, blacksploitation movies, and of course the Apollo theatre. I learned a show more lot about some of my favourite artists and how certain pieces were developed. (I found myself humming Bobby Womack's "Up on 110th Street" - even thought this was released in 1972). The book is the third in a series (designed to read in chronological order) and I scrambling through our vast pile of unread books to see if we had the other two. But we don't, and I need to order them through Book Depository and will have to wait until the COVID-19 restrictions are listed). A brilliant book which I thoroughly recommend for all lovers of music. show less

I'm a Motown fanatic, and I wanted to love this book. I really appreciated the narrative aspect of the book, how events were put in their proper order and connected to other events happening at the same time.

But, there were several problems, far beyond my annoyance at the author's constant defense of Berry Gordy. He describes Gordy's attention to detail twice as "autistic-like," which ... yikes. He also takes time to point out that a young man murdered by police at the Algiers Motel was "no show more angel" as though this thing wasn't published post-Mike Brown.

But the worst problem is the several glaring errors. Cosgrove at various points completely invents a new lyric to "Sitting On the Dock of the Bay" and twice gives the wrong title to a John Lennon song. These are easily googleable pieces of information. The fact that they're so glaringly wrong makes me question everything else in the book. If he doesn't know one of the most famous soul songs of all time well enough to even remotely quote it accurately, how can I trust any of the idiosyncratic details that brought the book to life? Unfortuntely, I can't. show less

"Detroit 67: The year that changed soul" is the first in a trilogy describing the contributions of (mostly) African American artists to the world music scene. This work focusses on the importance of Motown, the disintegration of The Supremes, the emergence of artists like Stevie Wonder and the work of Berry Gordie in a year of turmoil in the motor city - think the contributions of Martin Luther King Jr, dreadful weather, virulent flu, the war in Vietnam, and riots in the streets. Cosgrove show more engaging and personable writing style allows the reader to get a feel for the artists' personal struggles and an understanding of exactly how hard these people worked, in less than supportive conditions. A must for music lovers. I have read the books out of sequence and this does not impact the understanding and value of each individual work. show less

I must admit that I started with the third book last year in this Soul Trilogy, and now moving on to the second. "Memphis 68: The Tragedy of Southern Soul" maintains the momentum of his other books, being well research and jam packed with fascinating music and social history snippets. Focusing on Memphis, Stax records and their many artists of note (Redding, Hayes, Cropper and Booker T for example), Cosgrove examines the music scene in the a year of racial tensions, labour disputes, and the show more Vietnam War. A great read for fans of Soul and music generally. I look forward to reading the first book in the series. show less