George Alexander - Slow Death: My Life With the Flamin Groovies

The Flamin' Groovies brand of rock'n'roll knocked me out when I first heard Teenage Head and Flamingo back in the early 70's, thanks to fellow Gizmo Kenne Highland. This rockabilly-tinged, pure-ass r'n'r music was a bit of a breath of fresh air among the heavy metal, psych, folk, etc. going on (which I also liked) and I still listen to these records regularly. I dug their transition to a 60's-styled pop-folk-rock band, as well, even though it lacked the punch of the earlier records, it was still a good time and their live shows were super enjoyable. I have never known much about the history of the band so I was intrigued by this book from their bassist, George Alexander.

I absolutely dig his tales of the time with the band but unfortunately he intersperses the linear story with random hippie-ish/new-age-isms that, while I don't necessarily disagree with, are not especially unique thoughts and basically sound not much different than a discussion you might have while stoned with one of your friends. Again, not negative viewpoints, but they are completely unrelated to the story at hand.

It is a short book overall (and apparently self published, and looks it), so the brevity combined with his philosophical ramblings means that you do not get a lot of details regarding the band, which is lamentable. But I learned a few things, such as: I was unfamiliar with the band's time in the mid-to-late 80's where Cyril and George were the only original members and they were a four piece band with members that looked like they came from a hair metal group! Several other incarnations followed, with Chris Wilson rejoining and George eventually being ousted, among other changes. I saw them a number of years ago with Roy Loney, Cyril and Chris (not George and I don't know who the drummer was) but unfortunately, they were only ok, as they sounded under rehearsed. Who knows what other changes has happened since then!

In any case, the book, while it contains some interesting tidbits, is a bit of a disappointment. I hope that someone does a proper biography of the band and if someone already has, please let me know!