Graham Reid reviews Chris Bourke’s book Blue Smoke: The Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918-1964:
“Out of such rude and unpromising clay – and his scores of interviews, research in the archives of professionals and amateurs, pursuing the narrative in Australia and listening to hundred of hours of music – Bourke has shaped a book remarkable in its breadth and historical accuracy, and rich in its its story-telling.
[...]
“Blue Smoke is a beautifully presented book which is reference text, bedside-table read and coffee table page-turner in one.
“Chris Bourke has given us back an important part of our musical and social history, the soundtrack of which was in danger of being lost or barely audible.”
Looking forward to reading that.