Sid Smith Libri

Sid Smith's 2001 edition of In The Court of King Crimson was widely regarded as both the definitive history of the band to that point and as one of the few incisive books about the genre usually known as Progressive Rock. It was originally slated for revision and a fresh publication with a concluding chapter devoted to the band's post 2001 activities when Crimson reformed, unexpectedly, in 2014 for what was assumed to be a once off reunion tour. When it became clear that this line-up was continuing it's now the longest line-up in the band's history the opportunity was taken to essentially rewrite the entire book with fresh interviews with band members, associates and those who work & have worked closely with the band, an in depth look at the band s current line-up, a track by track guide to the albums & a fascinating guide to the band's extensive live recordings

This is Jim Fraser's account of his life as a deserter living through the Cultural Revolution in China. Fraser makes his home in a community so isolated that it has become the perfect location for experiments of indescribable terror.

At last, from the crest of a little cliff, we gazed with emotion on the rushing waters of the great river. How touching it was to see again our childhood friend, and to think that the very waters we now gaze upon will, after who knows how many weeks, and after how many strange sights and unknown scenes, pass our childhood homes. Sid Smiths second novel is set in the early 1900s, in a place as inaccessible, mysterious and beguiling as the setting of Something Like A House. In A House By The River, two western missionaries visit a lonely community by the river. The wife, Grace, keeps a diary, and through this the reader begins to find out about Chinese ideograms and the foundations of Christianitysomething so world-shattering that a prominent Chinese official wants it to remain suppressed. Sid Smith spent the first seven years of his working life in labouring jobsincluding woodsman, hod-carrier, railway labourer, gravedigger, stagehand and self-employed gardener. Smith has worked extensively for newspapers and magazines and is now a freelance sub-editor on national newspapers. His first novel, Something Like A House, won the 2001 Whitbread First Novel Award.

Sid Smith completes his acclaimed trilogy with this dazzling new novel For weeks they went all over London on the little red Honda, weaving up hills at walking speed, down alleys and pavements, through shopping precincts, warm in the late-summer nights . . . and he'd park outside pubs, proud of his China girl . . . For Tom it was a wonderful summer. Innocent, broke, and slightly awestruck on his arrival in London, he was working as a delivery boy at a Chinese takeaway. Then May, the daughter of the owner, became his love. But suddenly, inexplicably, Tom loses his home, his job, and his beloved. A squat, then a battered green van, become his refuge, his longing for May his one obsession. As Tom travels through the desperate sub cultures of low-life London, he is also caught up in his dreams about China, each more vivid and shocking than the last.China Dreamsis dazzling, disturbing, lyrical, and occasionally fearsome—a stunning literary achievement.

V roce 1969 se King Crimson objevili na undergroundové hudební scéně a po vystoupení jako předkapela The Rolling Stones v londýnském Hyde Parku nahráli debutové album, které položilo základy progresivního rocku. Jejich náhlý úspěch však vedl k rychlému rozchodu. Robert Fripp, jako jediná stálá postava kapely, se vydal na vlastní hudební cestu, která trvá přes pět desetiletí, a King Crimson se stali synonymem pro jeho nekonvenční přístup k hudbě. Po letech obtíží si kapela v 21. století získává stále větší uznání a je považována za jednu z nejvýznamnějších skupin své generace. Sid Smith, po více než 20 letech výzkumu, přináší důkladný rozbor skladeb a rozhovory s klíčovými hráči a studiovými muzikanty, kteří s kapelou spolupracovali. Tento přehled pokrývá proměnlivou mozaiku postav a příběhů spojených s třinácti studiovými alby vydanými mezi lety 1969 a 2003. Dodatkové rozhovory a materiály od přátel, techniků, manažerů a fanoušků zachycují fascinující obraz života na dvoře karmínového krále a cestu kapely od jejích počátků až po zkoušky před turné v roce 2019.