Tim Book Two – Vinyl Adventures From Istanbul To San Francisco

Tim Burgess

Like Hercules and Anneka Rice, The Charlatans’ frontman and memoirist likes a quest. Here he asks for friends’ album recommendations and tries to buy them all in shops. Sometimes it’s as simple as it sounds, but the list is growing as testimonials arrive, several shops offer only distraction, and many LPs are elusive. The concept is as flimsy as that, but Burgess’s skills as a raconteur bring to life the story, search, collectors and shops: occasionally nothing unusual happens (Unknown Pleasures), sometimes he ends up inexplicably in Hull (Pam Hogg). The recommendations, taken individually, are inspiring. But, as a list of great albums, there’s a predictable niggle: women are alarmingly under-represented, while Sergio Mendes, Tomita and Graceland are the sole representatives of three entire continents. That said, if you have displayed any of the same vinyl-addiction symptoms as Burgess, this is a one-sitting read.