Arthur Russell

i just finished Richard King's Travels Over Feeling: Arthur Russell, a Life and thought it was a beautiful book. I loved Hold On To Your dreams but I found this to be a more moving, personal account of his life, as told by those closest to him. I would say it is an essential read for any fan and the material (letters, lyrics, flyers, photos ephemera etc.) presented from the Arthur Russell archive is just perfect.

I also love that it rips up the beautiful loser narrative. The idea that Arthur only found success after he left us has always irked me. He led a spectacularly successful life and was of course a creative tour de force. Related to that, something that comes up a few times throught the book is that had all of Arthur's music been successful on a commercial level in his lifetime he would have made a lot less of it. As he didn't have to spend long times on the road, do interviews and all the other demands / hustles required of most professional artists he had all this time to record all this incredible music.

great to hear - I am about to get a copy

Just got my copy, very excited to dive in