Who: Maximum R&B Book

Took me quite a while to get through this one... the page number (which is low) is rather misleading, as the book itself is enormous. The photos are quite high quality, and rather beautiful, but the bulk of the pages are full of rather tiny type... and oddly, there are a large number of typos.

Richard Barnes was, and is, a good friend of Pete Townshend's. Naturally, the book focuses more upon Townshend's doings than the other members of The Who. Richard Barnes' experiences are related, and particularly insightful as he experienced the Cincinnati disaster firsthand. It's interesting to see an outsiders view, even if one feels at times that some of the bigger issues in the band are skimmed over. Unfortunately, John Entwistle's role was rather thoroughly glossed over in the book - they didn't even mention his marriage to Alison or the birth of his son!

While the book is well put together, and certainly insightful in terms of Chris Stamp, Kit Lambert, and Shel Talmy fiascos, I feel it didn't go into enough depth when it comes to the technical aspect (and personal lives) of those involved with the band. I'd consider it more of a supplementary text than anything truly in depth.