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Hugh Cornwell Hoover Dam Companion 2012 Edition
"A BLOODY GOOD READ" - Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta.com"I THINK IT'S GREAT" - Hugh Cornwell"HIGHLY INFORMATIVE" - Brighton MagazineAll you need to know about the groundbreaking album, Hoover Dam, the latest studio album by ex Stranglers frontman Hugh Cornwell. Released by Invisible Hands, the album is available as a free download from Cornwell's site. The book explores this fruitful period in Hugh's career; featuring interviews with head of IH Charles Kennedy, Hugh Cornwell, bassist Caroline Campbell and producer Liam Watson. A must have for all Stranglers/ Cornwell fans..........
124 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2011
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 4, 2026
Just about worthy of ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Firstly, I want to say that I’m a big admirer of Hugh Cornwell’s work, whether it be his solo career or as frontman of The Stranglers. He is, in my opinion, one of the foremost homegrown singer songwriters of the last 50 years. So, whenever I have the opportunity to learn more about him I jump at the chance.
My overriding problem with this book is the author himself. By his own admission, when he published this he “was very new to the world of writing.” This is highlighted in the quality of his interview transcripts versus those contributions of other writers included in this volume.
His writing style feels like that of an over enthusiastic adolescent rather than a professional music journalist. Consequently the book has the feel of a padded out fanzine rather than a cohesive publication. A dissection of the tracklist is interspersed with a mishmash of interviews, live reviews and blurbs borrowed from other contributors.
Also, given that this was a ‘Revised Second Edition’, there were a multitude of glaring typos, like the whole proofreading process had been bypassed.
That said, there is still much to enjoy for anybody who is a Hugh Cornwell fan. I have to say that I found by far the most interesting and articulate passages were those relayed by Hugh himself, as well as those of record label boss, Charles Kennedy. On this evidence, I have to admit to being surprised how many subsequent publications Chris Wade has been responsible for.
Firstly, I want to say that I’m a big admirer of Hugh Cornwell’s work, whether it be his solo career or as frontman of The Stranglers. He is, in my opinion, one of the foremost homegrown singer songwriters of the last 50 years. So, whenever I have the opportunity to learn more about him I jump at the chance.
My overriding problem with this book is the author himself. By his own admission, when he published this he “was very new to the world of writing.” This is highlighted in the quality of his interview transcripts versus those contributions of other writers included in this volume.
His writing style feels like that of an over enthusiastic adolescent rather than a professional music journalist. Consequently the book has the feel of a padded out fanzine rather than a cohesive publication. A dissection of the tracklist is interspersed with a mishmash of interviews, live reviews and blurbs borrowed from other contributors.
Also, given that this was a ‘Revised Second Edition’, there were a multitude of glaring typos, like the whole proofreading process had been bypassed.
That said, there is still much to enjoy for anybody who is a Hugh Cornwell fan. I have to say that I found by far the most interesting and articulate passages were those relayed by Hugh himself, as well as those of record label boss, Charles Kennedy. On this evidence, I have to admit to being surprised how many subsequent publications Chris Wade has been responsible for.
Displaying 1 of 1 review