Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd

Excellent book! The complete, (or as good as), history of Floyd, as per Nick Mason's view/memory etc. The book was thoroughly enjoyable - Mason is very witty; I was chuckling many a time throughout. He comes across as an English gentleman. He is both honest, too modest frankly, as well as descriptive. Songs, albums, tours, studios, relationships, artwork - it's covered here. I still feel, however, the full story behind Waters' and Gilmour's very strained relationship hasn't been told, although the gist of it is certainly here. That aside, I was hooked from the outset. I don't often fly through books quickly, preferring to take my time however, once in a while I read a book like this and finish it very quickly. The book is that interesting. Any fans of the band need it, (by now, most probably do!) however, any classic rock fan can pick this up, as it paints a picture of the business, from the early touring days in a dodgy car, to the planes and mega stadiums of latter day Floyd; from artwork design discussions to stage and gear talk. It's all here.

I had heard good things about this book - other reviewers, both professional and amateur have praised Mason's honesty and humour so I started on the book with high hopes. Too many memoirs seem little more than ego stoking self justification, designed only to show their authors in the best possible light. Well, hooray! This was exactly the book I'd heard great things about. Little egotism here, I soon warmed to Mason's self-deprecating, open and honest writing style. I was aware that from the earliest days Nick Mason had been recording events, whether as diaries, scrapbooks or whatever. He has done a great job sharing the history of the band with honesty and humour, it was very funny and irreverent of the band that some people take far too seriously. I read this book back-to-back with Mark Blake's band history and they complimented each other very well. Both were excellent books and thoroughly recommended.

Nick Mason has been with Pink Floyd from the beginning - through all the band's incarnations and troubles. He makes a genial host in his biography of the band, yet he proves too easygoing and unconfrontational to give us much analysis of the internal politics (and problems with Syd) that have periodically torn the relationships between the four/five-some apart. Added to that, Syd apart, the Floyd appear to have been about the only band that didn't turn up, tune in and drop out in the late 60s and 70s, continuing their studies and gigging hard until it became impossible to maintain both when their musical success started to take off. My real exposure to Pink Floyd started off with Dark Side - I had the posters on my wall and the stickers on my school binder. It was lovely to imagine them tinkering around to produce all the sound effects, and funny to hear that they rejected Paul McCartney's recorded comments for the background. The four albums starting with Dark Side, running through to the Wall were hugely influential to me - I discovered the charms of Meddle later. There is a theatricality about these four - from a band determined to create coherent albums and give the audience a good show. Of course by the time of Wall, the show was everything - I was so jealous of my brother who went to see it at Earls Court. What does come through is that Mason although not a flashy drummer was, like Ringo, incredibly important to the music, and also in the studio and outside kept the peace. Being a non-songwriter, it helps that Mason has another obsession in motorsport, but this is mostly mentioned in passing, letting Pink Floyd rightfully star. Given the sad passing of Syd and now Rick, we may never hear their side of the story and how they were forced out. The Live8 reunion was a fitting coda to the Pink Floyd story and is added as an afterword in the latest edition. So this remains an entertaining and light read of the history of one of the greatest rock bands in the world.

I'm only a causal fan of Pink Floyd, though would recommend this book. Easy reading and covers the early days, rise to fame and major disputes well. Made me want to read more rock bios.

There are a few Pink Floyd books out there but this is the best I've read. An honest insight into the history of the band from long time drummer Nick Mason. For all the problems and disagreements between the four guys over the years Nick writes as if almost an outsider, not taking sides, not making judgments but just stating the facts in a well organized timeline from the days of Sid Barret to the date of print. A truly fascinating insight into the workings of a touring rock band and he really does hang out all the dirty washing as well as all the fun and glamour of the band at the height of there fame. If you are a fan of Pink Floyd you will love this book!

I can only reccomend this book. Being a Drummer myself and a lifelong Floyd fan i found it Brilliant. NO -it doesn't tell the whole story but it comes close and Nick Mason is extremely funny. I surprised my wife several times by laughing out loud when i read it the first time. It is sad at times when he tells the story of Syd's downward spiral into drug land and very funny when he tell stories from their early concerts (the audience was in such a chemically altered state that they found watching paint dry not only interesting but significant) but above all it is the story of one of the greatest rock bands in the last 40 or so years told by one of the two that stayed all the way (the other is Rick Wright).

I feel a bit mean awarding this book only 3 starts, but as much as it provides a dignified account of the band's well documented difficult history, it also lacks warmth and insight and feels at times as if it has been written by committee. By so obviously setting out not to offend anyone, Nick Mason comes across as terribly nice, but petrified to make a comment or share an anecdote about Messrs Gilmour and Waters. Indeed the two of them were asked to vet the book and no doubt it would have been a more interesting read prior to this process. At times the prose leans heavily towards the technical, explaining in great detail the recording process, use of instruments etc., which whilst fascinating to some, will leave others cold. I'd have liked more about the motivation and background of the members and how they maintained a fresh, creative approach to their craft. There is an obvious need for either Roger or David to talk, and in his wife David has the perfect biographer!

I've not yet finished the book, but Mason writes well and amusingly and there some great photos. Their early history with Syd and their run of amazing middle (Meddle?) period albums hold the most interest for me as inevitably from the 80's onwards, like the rest of the pop/rock world at that time, it all becomes more corporate and, let's face it, a bit boring. Recommended!

Un livre incontournable pour ceux qui aiment les Pink Floyd, et/ou en général le rock anglais des années 60/70. Compte-rendu riche, passionnant et enrichissant ; beaucoup de photos, même rares, de très bonne qualité.

Even though it was a little bit expensive, it was absolutely worth it, with an iteresting story and a great index.

To hear the voice of Nick Mason as he meticulously and oftentimes hilariously chronicles the long strange trip that is the ever enigmatic Pink Floyd is truly a wondrous thrill for this die-hard Floydiac. I would highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who may be interested in learning what exactly is this thing called Pink Floyd. Nick Mason has taken upon himself the task of being the band historian, and he delivers a very entertaining and enlightening good fun read. (or in this case, listen). The audiobook version comes with 3 CDs in a high quality hardcover book. There is also a short written introduction with some interesting band pictures as well. I believe these are a limited and hard to find run, so grab one while they are still available. Well worth it.

DIeses Buch wird man vermutlich (?) nur kaufen, wenn man ein Fan der Musik von Pink Floyd ist, und für die ist es ein tolles Buch! Für jemanden wie mich, den die Musik dieser Band seit seiner Jugend begleitet hat, war es sehr spannend, diesen EInblick hinter die Kulissen dieser langlebigen Supergroup zu bekommen. Nick Mason ist so ehrlich, auch die Schattenseiten und die internen Reibungen ungeschönt (so weit man das von außen beurteilen kann) zu beschreiben. Sein Humor, der immer wieder aufblitzt, ist auch eine Bereicherung de Lektüre. Auf einem KINDLE, mit dem integrierten Wörterbuch, kann man einen englischen Text deutlich einfacher lesen als in Papierform.

出版に際しては元メンバー、特にDaveの強い反対があり、暴露本とも言われていたこの本が本当に日の目を見るのか心配だったが、暴露内容よりもまず凝った装丁とボリュームに驚いた。2キロものこの重い本を読むには姿勢を正して適度な照明のもと、白手袋をはめてそっと広げたい。それから読むページに合わせてその時代のアルバムをBGMにして、スコッチのシングルモルトをロックで少し離れたテーブルサイドに置けば、私にとってこの本を読むにふさわしい完璧なスタイル。 30年以上Pink Floydのファンとして彼らを追いかけ、20年近く海外コレクターたちと交流して手に入れた多数の資料を以ってしても、この本に載せられた秘蔵写真の数々や、Nickのウイットに富んだ絶妙のコメントには驚かされる。Nickお得意のドローイングをはじめとするデザインも美しく、英語で書かれていることを差し引いても、十分な時間をかけてじっくり読まなくては申し訳ない、と思わせる。比較的廉価なペーパーバックも出ているようだが、このフルカラーの蔵書版はファンにとってマイルズ以上のマストアイテムではないだろうか。