14 September 2018

Review: The Long and Winding Way to the Top by Andrew P Street

I read The Long and Winding Way to the Top by Andrew P Street in ebook format borrowed from the library and it contains Fifty (or so) Songs That Made Australia.

Presented chronologically from oldest (at Number 1) to most recent, it contains entertaining details and history on each song. As I was reading, I was constantly googling songs to remind me of the tune or the music video and desperately wanted a playlist associated with the book for easier reference.

Each section was well-researched and the footnotes were funny, but I wish they'd been included in the text as the frequent page flicking in ebook format was distracting^.

The list contains songs that 'made' Australia and were important within the music scene or within Australian culture at the time so it's definitely not a list of the 'most popular' or 'most well-known' songs.


I’ll admit not knowing many of the songs listed, while rushing off to listen to old favourites with renewed zeal and appreciation for their back-stories. Every reader is bound to have an opinion on the songs and their fair share of omissions, but overall this was a nostalgic and informative look at Australian music from 1958 - 2016.

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!


^ See what I mean?

Would you like to comment?

  1. I enjoyed this one. About one chapter in I created a playlist for the entire book and listened as I read. It made for a great Saturday, for me anyway, not sure about the rest of my family!!

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  2. Thanks Theresa, and glad you enjoyed it as well. I should have created a playlist too, but didn't want to look ahead to the songs on the list, hehehe.

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  3. Ha! I'm a serial read the back matter of every book before beginning type of person.

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  4. Nooooo Theresa, you shouldn't do that, lol.

    It's all about the antici.........pation!

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Thanks for your comment, Carpe Librum!