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Book Review: A Long Way Down
by Lang Reid
Another book from Nick Hornby, which might be put in the basket of ‘black
humor’. Published by Penguin, (ISBN 0-141-02577-8, 2006) it is a small
novel, but according to the plaudits, large on content.
The book is centered on four people with a common aim. Suicide. And a common
method – jumping off a city building. And a further commonality is the fact
that they have all decided on the same building, and for their final act to
be on New Year’s Eve. With that wry twist of his, author Hornby calls the
building they had chosen to jump from, “Toppers’ House”, a most suitable
venue from which to top oneself!
The raison d’etre is somewhat contrived, but as the plot unfolds, you find
you are being given some very fine character descriptions of the disparate
four, all of whom have a different mental make-up, ranging from teenage
immaturity, through neuroticism, self recrimination and dissolute regrets.
How each remaining three deal with each of the four’s mental problems
provides the insight into all of their characters.
The second part of the book reveals more about the four, and shows the
development of co-dependency holding them together, and off the parapet of
the tall building, but not one of them was really over his or her depression
that had driven them there in the first place.
Part three for me was a repeat of part two. More endless attempts at
insight, with the group hanging together by the same co-dependency, while
they continue with their self examinations/recriminations. You get the
feeling that there is nothing in the world that will help this quartet. They
have reached their nadir, but are now living it.
For a book which has received some very positive reviews, I kept reading to
see just what it was, and when or where it was, that was going to show me
the light, but I never found it. It finally seemed like reading a bunch of
psychologist’s case notes, that had no conclusion. To be frank, I was
disappointed. I even got to the stage of hoping that at least one of them
would commit the suicide that they were all afraid of, but was the central
theme. It would have given the book some point, or a finality, which it
lacks.
The black humor is all through the book. One of the would-be jumpers waited
patiently to get to the ledge, but became impatient at the delay. “I just
went up to him and put my hand through the wire and tapped him on the
shoulder. I only wanted to ask him if he was going to be long.” However, it
is sporadic, and I did not judge it to be “frequently hilarious” as the
Washington Post apparently did.
At B. 350 from my local Bookazine store, it is a most inexpensive read, but
eventually one that left me dissatisfied. The writing is superb, the
character sketches likewise, but it takes you nowhere. Perhaps I am too old
fashioned to expect an introduction, development of a plot and a conclusion.
This book did not deliver it.
Mott’s CD review: Kevin Ayers
The Confessions Of Dr Dream and Other Stories
Mott the Dog
 5
Stars *****
In the early Sixties a very young Kevin Ayers was drawn to the
Canterbury, Kent social whirl from his birth town Herne Bay by the
happening scene in the Cathedral City. Mostly this involved copious
amounts of drinking and girls which the young Ayers found much to his
liking. Out of this disarray a band was formed, which has always been
accredited with what became known as the Canterbury sound ‘The Wilde
Flowers’ (The ‘e’ to Wilde was not out of misspelling like ‘The Beatles’
or ‘The Byrds’, but as a tribute to Kevin Ayers hero Oscar Wilde.)
At the time Kevin Ayers had no musical knowledge at all. Not letting
this get in the way Ayers became the vocalist whilst he learnt
rudimentary guitar (which he was later to become more than proficient
at). After being replaced from the Wilde Flowers when Robert Wyatt was
moved up front of the stage to sing instead of sitting behind the drum
kit, Kevin Ayers took an extended vacation to his beloved Spain, which
was to become a recurring theme, where he practiced his guitar and
started to write his own songs. Upon his return, he ventured out to form
a new band.
They were to be called ‘Soft Machine’ after the William Burroughs’s
novel (in the book the soft machines were the humanoids). Finding the
aforementioned Robert Wyatt had also taken his leave of ‘The Wilde
Flowers’ he was quickly roped in behind the drum kit, like minded
guitarist David Allen was brought in on guitar, and the line up was
completed by the rather sinister keyboards player Mike Ratledge.
According to legend the initial finances came from one Wes, a spectacle
manufacturer/millionaire from Oklahoma who came across Allen and Ayers
on the beach in Majorca. Without asking anything in return, he gave them
enough money to buy top of the range equipment and more importantly food
to eat! By the time the band had made some money and went to look for
their mysterious benefactor, he had joined some religious sect and no
longer had need of material things. Oh well, hope he liked the music.
The Soft Machine soon became part of the London underground scene, even
playing at the legendary 24 Hour Technicolor Dream Concert, as well as
at other concerts with such bands as Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix
Experience, Eric Burdon and the Animals, The Move, The Who, The Graham
Bond Organization (with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker), Blue Cheer, Jeff
Beck, Sam Global Dream and Paper Blitz Tissue. I did not make the last
two up. But what would you give for a time machine?
The Soft Machine also did a six month tour of America as part of a
package with Jimi Hendrix, and managed to release the first Soft Machine
album, Soft Machine (1968), which was taped and recorded in four days
and was not released in Europe for some twenty years, which made it even
weirder when the first Soft Machine album was released in Europe under
the title ‘Soft Machine Volume Two’.
But by that time of course David Allen had left to go and form Gong, and
Kevin Ayers, finding life on the road in a rock band just a little bit
too much, had departed back to Ibiza. Soft Machine went off into their
own little world of Jazz/Rock with a constantly revolving line up, but
the first whimsical album still keeps its charm to this day.
A year later Kevin Ayers was to return, and was immediately snapped up
by the fledgling Harvest label and released a well received solo album,
Joy Of A Toy (1969), then, with his backing band The Whole World,
‘Shooting At The Moon’ (1970) ‘Whatever she brings’ (1972), and
Bananamour (1973). Then the band sort of broke up in a drunken shambles;
no one is quite sure why, as they were too drunk to remember.
By this time Kevin Ayers had become the Canterbury sound equivalent of
what John Mayall was to the blues, with lots of musicians going through
his band to go on to relatively better things, including, David Bedford
(big time producer), Mike Oldfield (as if you need to ask), Andy Summers
(The Police), Lol Coxhill (saxophone everybody), Archie Leggit
(everybody else), Steve Hillage (Gong and an illustrious solo career) ,
and Rabbit Bunrick (The Who).
But it was perhaps during the making of Kevin Ayers’ next solo album,
the wonderful ‘The Confessions of Dr Dream and other stories’, that
Kevin Ayers met his musical soul buddy, the great guitarist Ollie
Halsall. (It was perhaps after Ollie Halsall was taken away from us to
the great gig in the sky that Kevin Ayers gave up his music, apart from
the odd dabble here and there).
But the first time that Halsall and Ayers got together on ‘Dr Dream and
Other Stories’ they produced the best collection of music to come out
under the Ayers banner.
‘Day by Day’ is a lovely little song to get us underway, telling the
story of each day insisting upon going its own separate way, and there
really isn’t very much you can do about it all, so you may just as well
let fate take its course.
Second track in is where Ollie Halsall first makes his presence felt
with some attention grabbing guitar. Although Kevin Ayers had no regular
band at the time of this recording, Ollie Halsall being the only
musician to play on every track, all the rest being session musicians,
you would never know from listening, as it all sounds very tight and
inventive.
‘See You Later’ is a song about saying seeing you later, but not exactly
meaning it, a sin far too many of us are guilty of. ‘Didn’t feel lonely
till I thought of you’ is self explanatory, with some wonderful guitar
picking from Ollie Halsall, whilst Kevin Ayers gives out his most
melancholy vocals.
From here on out Kevin Ayers turns into a storyteller - the Vincent
Price of progressive rock, as he keeps you balanced on the edge of your
seat waiting for either each spoken word, or knocked over the back of
the settee with a sudden rousing chorus, lulled into a totally false
sense of security by a lilting piano lyric, or with Ayers’ whispering
over the top of some quiet Hammond organ chords,
‘’It begins with a blessing, once I awakened, but it ends with a curse.
My head is a nightclub, making life easy waiting for something already
there, tomorrow they will find it if they don’t drown in their dreams,
with glasses of wine, but the customers are always dancing, and as you
turn to your partners she screams ‘Get Out Of My Dreams’.”
In the middle of all this you get a quick burst of some old blues style
acoustic guitar with ‘Ballbearing Blues’, which just softens you up for
the main course: the multi structured guitar riff of the title song
which comes to you in four parts, but always with that incessant riff
bludgeoning into your self conscious. Kevin Ayers is at his most
menacing as he warns you of the perils of falling asleep, and what lies
waiting for you there. Without doubt this is the most haunting piece of
music ever listened to by these ears, fair makes the blood run cold. The
vocals are all fed to you through echo chambers as if from beyond the
grave, dragging you further and further into the mind of Mr Ayers. In
the middle section Ollie Halsall leads the musicians into the gloom like
a burning torch to show you the way home, and some lovely piano work
gives you some respite, whilst Kevin Ayers sings words of hope as if by
way of apology. Of course for the finale the dirty riffs come storming
back as they drag Ayers, and you, screaming back into his nightmare. If
you are a Stephen King fan you will enjoy Kevin Ayers and his alias Dr
Dream.
Surprisingly the album ends with an almost Beatlish song, even Kopping
(sic) some of the Fab four’s lyrics to finish off the album.
I was never sure why Kevin Ayers never became a huge star, maybe people
were just to scared.
Musicians
Kevin Ayers: Vocals, Guitar
Ollie Halsall: Guitars
Songs of Dr Dream
Day By Day
See You Later
Didn’t Feel Lonely Till I Thought Of You
Everybody’s Sometime And Some People’s All The Time Blues
It Begins With A Blessing/Once I Awakened/ But It Ends In A Curse
Ball Bearing Blues
The Confessions Of Dr Dream
(a) Irreversible Neural Damage (b) Invitation (c) The One Chance (d) Dr
Dream Theme
Two Goes Into Four
To contact Mott the
Dog email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.mott-the-dog.com
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