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maplessence's review
4.0
4.5★
& for me Rick Bryant's Rough Justice is obscure, even though the 70's is my era. I didn't even know well respected Kiwi rock journalist Nick Bollinger played with them.(they never released a record, although Bryant has said he has some old tapes) Like a lot of Kiwis at the time (& Bollinger certainly more than touches on this) I was happy to hear local bands, but I wanted them to play covers. The local bands I liked were from the softer end of the spectrum, not Rough Justice's hard edged blues. I've played some of Rick Bryant's music on You Tube with later band Jive City Bombers. Wow. Awesome voice.
The back jacket says Bollinger talks with complete candour. He writes but although he is very open about his unconventional background and a family tragedy, he chooses his words more carefully when talking about the band. Regarding early member Simon Page, Bollinger says he was dismayed at his inclusion in early Rough Justice (Mark 2) because of Page's different style of music, Bryant has flatly said the rest of the band hated Page.
But Bollinger has certainly a great recall for events both in seventies music and the politics of the time which makes this book more than a musical memoir but an important record of political events and the hippy lifestyle of the time. I really enjoyed it and finished the book in record time! & I'll add, he has scrupulously recorded his sources for each chapter.
Further Reading: Rick Bryant interview (his account of the break up of the first version of Rough Justice is hilarious!) http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/rick-bryant/stories/rick-bryant-on-rough-justice
And Goneville? It is a name that kept coming up as I was writing this book, and each time its meaning shifted a little. It's almost Gonville, the suburb of Whanganui where Johnny Devlin, New Zealand's first rock 'n'roll star, grew up, so arguably the birthplace of New Zealand rock 'n'roll. But it is also an imaginary place that might be every obscure New Zealand town that every obscure New Zealand band ever played.Nick Bollinger
& for me Rick Bryant's Rough Justice is obscure, even though the 70's is my era. I didn't even know well respected Kiwi rock journalist Nick Bollinger played with them.(they never released a record, although Bryant has said he has some old tapes) Like a lot of Kiwis at the time (& Bollinger certainly more than touches on this) I was happy to hear local bands, but I wanted them to play covers. The local bands I liked were from the softer end of the spectrum, not Rough Justice's hard edged blues. I've played some of Rick Bryant's music on You Tube with later band Jive City Bombers. Wow. Awesome voice.
The back jacket says Bollinger talks with complete candour. He writes but although he is very open about his unconventional background and a family tragedy, he chooses his words more carefully when talking about the band. Regarding early member Simon Page, Bollinger says he was dismayed at his inclusion in early Rough Justice (Mark 2) because of Page's different style of music, Bryant has flatly said the rest of the band hated Page.
But Bollinger has certainly a great recall for events both in seventies music and the politics of the time which makes this book more than a musical memoir but an important record of political events and the hippy lifestyle of the time. I really enjoyed it and finished the book in record time! & I'll add, he has scrupulously recorded his sources for each chapter.
Further Reading: Rick Bryant interview (his account of the break up of the first version of Rough Justice is hilarious!) http://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/rick-bryant/stories/rick-bryant-on-rough-justice
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