Memory Songs: A Personal Journey into the Music that Shaped the 90s

“Nothing stays with you like music you loved between the ages of fifteen and nineteen.” 

So true. 

I was not familiar with James Cook prior to requesting this from NetGalley, but I’m a fan now. He’s so passionate, and even though I don’t share the exact same passion, reading about the music that shaped him made me happy. I was impressed by his writing and knack for storytelling.

Cook says a Memory Song is a song where one can look back at the layers of memory, when and where the song was one's companion, on which dark nights of the soul. 

That seems a little too dramatic for me, but I can get his point. Sadly, that is about all I can get from this book. I didn't really connect with the book because frankly the music he discusses I had nor have any interest in and the memories he shares are neither a entertaining or visceral experience for me.

This was a fantastic read of a bygone era .Might sound like a cliche but this was what this was.Britpop was a moment and a movement if that could be possible.I like how James grew to tolerate Nirvana ,maybe even like them.I liked the part were his girlfriend got an Oasis demo and James said it would never work.It was a funny moment but not true as it did work.James was honest and I like that in a person.A must read for music fans.

A really good read, I loved the 90's music so this definitely hooked me in.  Recommended and interesting read.

There's lots to enjoy here - an account of nearly making it as a musician amidst the rise of Suede, Pulp and (most frustratingly for Cook) Oasis in the 1990s.  Alongside the bittersweet reminiscing of what might have been, there's a sharp picture of what it was like to grow up music-obsessed not quite near enough to London in the 1980s. There's also some very good critical writing about all kinds of music (Beatles and Led Zep especially) and much insightfulness about bad luck and failure.  Overall, it's very engagingly written - pursue it through the opening few pages though which tend towards cliche in a way the rest of the book largely avoids.

This book reminded me of Dick Clark's "Music is the Soundtrack of our Lives."
As someone who grew up in the 1990s, so many of Cook's stories resonated me, even as I was across an ocean and completely musically untalented. 

I loved so many of the stories, and so many of the artists and songs featured were personal favorites of mine. 

Those who grew up as music lovers in the 1990s will really enjoy this book.

James Cook's poignant memoir isn't just about the songs that saved your life - it's about the songs that made your life, too. As somebody who was 'created' by Bowie, Morrissey, and a whole cherished cast of others, this tale of a life in music truly touched a chord; from the first stirrings of curiosity as a child, to the hunger to get inside the music which compels you to pick up an instrument for the first time, to the friendships and lifelong bonds that music creates - it's all here. 

Memory Songs is a memoir unlike any I've read, soundtracked as it is by Cook's most beloved songs and albums (many of which are familiar friends, some of which I revisited - joyously - after reading, a few of which were new to me and, being me, I had to investigate further. And I'm glad I did). Cook writes with great warmth and sensitivity; his relationships with his parents and his brother are often quite affecting, and I have yet to read, anywhere else, more touchingly honest and moving words on the topic of Richey Edwards.

For me, Memory Songs was something of a personal journey - I lived in London in the mid-90s and there were a fair few recognisable faces (Kevin, the drummer in Cook's band, being particularly memorable from my days propping up Camden bars). But there's something personal for everyone who's ever loved music here - for anyone who's ever felt that rush of adrenaline at the start of a show, who's made a mix tape for the object of their affection, who's studied sleeve art for hidden meaning, who's worn the t shirt or the hairstyle to identify oneself to like minds. It's about music as life, not background, and it's actually pretty perfect.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love the music of the 90's, Britpop and MADchester and this book took me back to those days of  playing our records loud, singing along, Top of the Pops.
This authors musical memories really evoke the music of those times, making the reader walk through their own personal soundtrack/
I loved this book and have already told friends about it