Paul Kossoff: All Right Now: The Guitars, The Gear, The Music

Affectionately known as 'Koss', Paul Kossoff's playing touched people. It still does today, more than forty years after his sad and untimely death at the age of twenty-five. This authorised biography pays fitting tribute to a much-loved and widely admired musician whose influence and inspiration is still very evident today.

It's all here: Kossoff's musical childhood, his formative years with Black Cat Bones, forming Free at seventeen, that group's dizzying success, breakup, reforming and dissolution, the solo years, Back Street Crawler – the sessions, the tours and big concerts, the triumphs, the tragedies and the heartbreak – J.P. James takes the reader right there.

Over four distinct sections, Kossoff's many guitars and the equipment he used to make them sing are fully documented; a brand-new detailed analysis of Kossoff's distinctive playing style and technique is presented for the first time; a broad overview of Kossoff's creative life draws on the voices of family, friends and fellow musicians; and finally, Kossoff's musical influences, approach to playing and his wider musical interests, hopes and dreams are explored – all drawn from his own words.With full references and appendices, including a new, original and complete transcript of Kossoff's final interview from early 1976).

Cramming so much into his short years, Paul Kossoff left a rich musical legacy, and he is indeed All Right Now. Thoroughly researched and sensitively written, given often in Kossoff's own words and packed with anecdotes from those who were there, musicians and fans alike will enjoy this authoritative and comprehensive biography

REVIEW

According to Simon Kossoff (Paul's older brother) this is a "fascinating, remarkably researched and comprehensive tribute to my brother Paul's talent and memory". This book, years in the making, is surely the definitive biography of one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

The book is set out in five parts. Parts 1, 2 & 3 document his guitars, equipment and technique in remarkable detail. Parts 4 & 5 cover the early years in Black Cat Bones, the formation and history of Free through to Back Street Crawler and the now familiar story of his battle with addiction to heavy drugs and untimely death in March 1976. It is written in a style that will appeal not only to guitarists but also those with little or no knowledge of guitars or the finer technical points of guitar playing.

The book contains many previously unpublished photos and some lovely anecdotes. Wonderful story from Richard Digby Smith about Kossoff's inimitable guitar sound and the recording of his beautiful solo on 'Come Together In The Morning' (p 34-36). Amusing tale from Kossoff himself about an encounter with Jimi Hendrix, one of his heroes, whilst he was working as a junior salesman at Selmer's Music shop in late 1966 (p 388). Kossoff's admiration for Clapton and Hendrix really shine through.

A fitting tribute to a gifted guitarist who could say more with one note than many other guitarists with a thousand notes.