Voices

by Nick Coleman

***ONE OF BILLBOARD 'S TOP TEN MUSIC BOOKS OF 2018*** ‘A brilliant book about singing… I have been talking to Nick Coleman about music, in person and in my head, for forty years now. [With Voices ] you have the opportunity to hear what I have heard. I hope you take it’ Nick Hornby in The Believer What happens when we fall in love with a voice; the siren call of someone singing? The history of post-war popular music is traditionally told sociologically or in terms of musicological influence and innovation in style. Voices takes a different tack. In ten discrete but cohering essays Coleman tackles the arc of that history as if it were an emotional experience with real psychological consequences – as chaotic, random, challenging and unpredictable as life itself. Voices is the story of what it is to listen and learn. Above all, it is a story of what it means to feel.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Essays, Psychology

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2018

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. This book is part memoir and part music history. Very easy and relaxing read.

[Pablo Vázquez Varela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sin duda es un libro interesante para los melómanos, ya que habla de numerosos artistas conocidos y otros tantos por conocer. El problema reside en cómo todo está escrito. No quiero decir que Nick Coleman escriba mal, ni mucho menos, sino que su prosa es bastante lenta, densa y pomposa. Te cuenta en dos párrafos lo que podría contar en una línea. Y sí, a veces estas rebuscadas reflexiones pueden ser interesantes, especialmente si tratan de un artista que te gusta, pero cuando no es el caso... ánimo. Ha sido el libro que más he tardado en leer este año, con eso lo digo todo.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exploration of the pop and rock singers whose sound has meant something to Coleman, an established music journalist. They’re not necessarily the most technically adroit or conventionally beautiful voices, but they’re the ones that have connected somewhere deep in his gut. His writing is both off-the-wall (the first chapter includes extended musing on a putative race of post-apocalyptic ant-men and their likely reaction to the music of Elvis Presley and Little Richard) and effectively personal (there’s a beautiful section on watching a friend have a panic attack to the sounds of Joy Division). Really worthwhile – now I have a playlist.

[Kevin Hodgson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing focus on the power of voice ... and the author’s own hearing problems make the topic all the more acute. Explorations of singing and nuance and the way we, through music, project our voice and emotion into the world was fascinating.

[Peter Nowakowski]

Tedious........................at best...……….too bad because I had very high hopes for this

[Link · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Highly recommended.

[Ambrosia Lovie · Rating 1 out of 5]

wasn't what i expected.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this. It is the book about music I have been wanting to read for so long

[Rafa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Se puede divagar, pero esto ya es otro nivel. Me encanta la música y el libro prometía, así que el chasco ha sido mayúsculo. Lo he dejado en la página 200: demasiado tarde.

[Alberto · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mehh

[Kevin J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather than an in-depth study of ‘how a great singer can change your life’ this is a heartfelt and highly personal account of the (mainly) pop singers who have impacted the writer's life.
As we are talking about music here, it is always going to be subjective. The picture of Aretha on the cover drew me in but I found the ‘What is Soul’ chapter disappointing in not really nailing the essence of the music. Rock and pop are the author's forte, and he writes well about them. However, the section on jazz had many interesting insights, and a reflection on the psalms unexpected and interesting.
Coleman is a music journalist and it shows. It feels like a series of articles rather than a coherent book. However, he really writes very well. The prose zips along, it is always lively and interesting, and his genuine love of music shines through.
A surprising epilogue adds a new dimension as to just why and how music is so central to the authors life. It puts a new aspect on what we have just read and acts as a great testament to the power of music in our lives.