Mike McGonigalMy Bloody Valentine's Loveless (33 1/3)

Brilliant overview of my favorite album of all time. So despite my bias toward MBV's effort, my intent was to read this book with an eye toward disinterested formalism. And the result for me was quite pleasing. McGonigal gave several perspectives that overrided some long standing myths, and maybe gave us a couple new ones to ponder. Bottom line, he gets it. He gets the fact that this CD goes beyond the overused ethereal descriptors, and touches the listener in a deep spiritual way. It's not about lyrics, melody, production, sounds...it's about the whole. The poignant philosopher Schopenhauer stated that great art will always dissolve the subject from the object, and he always placed music on top of the hierarchy of art forms. Loveless always had that experience for me, so when I read McGonigal's book I was happy to see that he never swayed from his lofty view, yet remained grounded as well. After all, the process of making great art is never quite as lofty as the outcome. We learn of the painstaking process Shields and others went through to make something that always seemed to be on the brink of demise. McGonigal made this struggle an enjoyable read, and he has given us a perfect literary companion to one of the most perfect musical experiences.

I thought this generally was a good book - the quotes from Shields were probably the highlight of it. It was also pretty cool how the author described in first person how he felt at one of their newer concerts. The thing I didn't like was how he tried to make it a fact that MBV use to suck. I personally think as well as many others, that they were awesome. I can say that their old work is not as good as Loveless but they were so young when they started and they were also just beginning their journey on separating themselves from all other types of bands - to become one of the greatest of all time.

This book does a fantastic job describing the heart and passion of the underground scene, while documenting the sonic eclipse that was MBV and their album "Loveless"

Not a bad book, but I was hoping for more insight into what was happening behind the scenes and possibly more about the making of the album. While some of this does exist, there is more to do with gut-feeling impressions about the album itself. I already have gut-feeling impressions...that's why I was interested in the book. I think it's worth reading for the information included and for anyone who knows little about the album and is interested, but, for me, there was too much of what I consider typical music reviews...meaningless pondering and poetry about sound.

More than a little fangirlish but generally well written and gives clarity and insight to one of the great albums in all of pop music.

Mike McGonical's contribution in the 33 1/3 series is an essential item for any fans of My Bloody Valentine. I suspect more than a few people came to MBV's music like myself, via the Lost in Translation soundtrack, the purchase of Loveless, and then back tracking through the earlier albums, and scouring websites for downloads of other pieces, live concerts and videos. The book is well researched with much of the narrative from interviews conducted by McGonical with Kevin Shields. Much has been written about the lengthy gestation of this album and the financial implications this had for Creation records. However, what comes across more strongly in the personal accounts from Shields, Bilinda Butcher and Deb Googe is the cost it incurred in terms of Shields' relationships with the other group members and the final demise of one of the most original bands of the 1980s and early 1990s. That Colm O'Ciosoig hardly played on the album was probably well known to MBV fans: that Deb Googe played not a note on the album is a revelation indeed and, one senses the hurt and tension this must have caused. The history of the album seems almost oddessey-like in its progress from studio to studio with a multitude of engineers and the debilitating illness from depression that robbed O'Ciosoig of his playing abilities. Loveless is a testament to Shields abilities to keep things moving despite these adversities. Of course, the release of Loveless did not usher in happy times for the Valentines, who were kept afloat for a few years by Island records, before they too lost patience and pulled the plug on the band as MBV struggled to build their own studio. Besides an account of the epic struggle to make the album, there are some interesting conversations with Shields on the creative process, and on the way feedback, trances, dreams and sleeplessness can intersect to provide inspiration. Mike McGonical and 33 1/3 have done a great job in enhancing the enjoyment of Loveless and Valentine's music.

It's not a great book in terms of writing style--McGonigal's isn't crisp and the book's narrative is pretty average--but as usual with this series, there's a lot of latitude in that department anyhow.The great news is that he was able to get a lot of quotes from Kevin Shields, which of course is why you want to read the book anyway. McGonigal also does a compentent, enjoyable job of describing the album from many angles and his personal experience both with the band and the album are engaging.

Loveless is author Mike McGonigal's tale as much as it is about this immortal record and even more legendary band. Beginning with a frozen moment where he was mentally baptized by the "noise stretch inside of `You Made Me Realize'" at a 1992 MBV concert, McGonigal investigates, via conversations with those involved in the making of the album, how MBV developed their sound (it's a tremolo bar, not effects!), how they spent time during the two years it took to finish Loveless, the disintegration of Kevin Shields' and guitarist/vocalist Bilinda Butcher's relationship and the controversy surrounding the band's ties with pre-Oasis-signing Creation Records. Between McGonigal's quips and research and Shields' retorts (Shields actually halted the book at the press to clarify facts), the essay is inviting enough to inspire even tenuous fans (like myself) to revisit this magenta-colored record - even if just to test Shields' claim that the "vocals sound the same, at any volume".

Excelente producto

In February 2013 My Bloody Valentine released, with much fanfare, though little information, MBV, the long-awaited follow-up to Loveless. To a certain extent Loveless has always been something of an enigma: the blurry cover reflecting the sound found therein (In my opinion the album is Shields attempt to externalize some fairly abstract, personal thoughts and experiences in a way that they were recognizable both to himself and to others).Pros: I came to this book hoping to have a better understanding of the band, and I feel on that level it was successful What you get is a history of the band and album, including details on it's prolonged gestation provided by new interviews conducted by the author with 3/4 of the band (Colm was unavailable or unwilling to be interview), as well as with various engineers (though sadly nothing with Alan Moulder) and others associated with the band and album. As a history of the band, album and context, it was invaluable, providing a balance to the other main print source on My Bloody Valentine:  The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize . I do think a full My Bloody Valentine biography should be produced, but until that time this book will do.Cons: More problematic is the author's continuing insertion of himself into the text, mixing his opinion with the history. I found that this mixture sometimes got confusing, with some parsing and careful reading being required.As a book I would give it 3.5 stars, which I've rounded up to four based on the pre-existing 1 star reviews. The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize

Great item. Highly recommended.

You leave this tiny book with no real insight to the maki g of loveless. The only new information contained for me was the fact Kevin and Belinda kept chinchillas. A real missed opertunity considering the writer had several interviews with the band.