It’s been so lovely watching Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound settle into the world. I thoroughly enjoy going into bookshops to see it on display and have, on occasion, told the booksellers I’m the co-author, like some giddy J.R. Hartley.
Mark and I are delighted that the book is being received well, with critics picking up on our core ambitions for the book – as in, to write something accessible and entertaining, for both film and music fans and those new to the world of soundtracks. Here are some highlights, with my favourite parts in bold:
Sean Wilson at BBC Music Magazine wrote: “After several decades as the UK’S pre-eminent film critic, Mark Kermode has plenty to say about the film soundtracks that have imprinted on his consciousness. Here, his latest book is a typically enthralling and comprehensive look at the medium. Co-authored with his former Scala Radio producer Jenny Nelson, it’s a goldmine for soundtrack obsessives and newcomers alike. Kermode expertly interlaces the contextual history of film music around his own reminiscences, alighting every now and then on a key film soundtrack that has shaped his artistic tastes.”
Wilson adds, “The result is a compulsively readable book that moves with the propulsion of John Williams’s Jaws while exhibiting all the breadth of Miklós Rósza’s Benhur”.
Sophie Charara at Shortlist picked it in her top 10 non-fiction reads for Autumn: “Probably the only film critic in the UK that’s genuinely a household name, Mark Kermode has interviewed, hung out with and yes, played music for so many directors and composers over the years that this book of ‘the stories of movie music’, co-written with producer Jenny Nelson, is a treasure trove of quotes and anecdotes. Surround Sound intentionally doesn’t get too technical in terms of musical composition and jargon so it’s perfectly beginner and non-musician-friendly.
“We do get a potted history of canonical 20th and 21st century composers, with the writers inserting lesser known female composers into their rightful spots in the timeline – soundtrack selections from the likes of Brazil, Eyes Wide Shut and Drive My Car, insider peeks into the process from Abbey Road studio engineers and, of course, a run through of some of the greatest collaborations, from Spielberg and Williams to Nolan and Zimmer, Miyazaki and Hisaishi. They cover so, so many titles and people, this is a perfect place to start if you want to discover new films, scores and soundtracks to seek out for yourself.”
John Nugent at Empire wrote: “The tenth book from critic Mark Kermode is another witty and wise affair. Co-written with his former Scala Radio producer Jenny Nelson, it’s an entertaining and assorted history of music and sound in cinema, weaving personal memoir (Kermode’s skiffle band soundtracked a silent F.W. Murnau film at a Finnish film festival) with fascinating insight and trivia (German band Tangerine Dream nearly scored The Exorcist).”
My favourite extracts from NJ McGarrigle’s review in the Irish Independent are: “It’s an accessible, unpretentious examination of the evolution of film music across the last half century, written in an engaging style similar to Kermode’s galloping, garrulous reviews – and what makes the book truly satisfying is that it gives the full picture of the process of film composition (pun intended), for better or worse”.
Also, “Kermode and Nelson strike the right balance with their references across this ambitious journey in film music: there is a wealth of well-known work here to engage a general reader – including Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann – and just enough of the esoteric too, to satisfy those who enjoy delving deeper into this niche subject.”
McGarrigle concludes with “Surround Sound gets to the heart of its subject: unlocking music’s power when combined with the image on a screen to make the heart dance down memories of what your eyes once saw and what your ears once heard“. Wow!
And finally, Sam Davies’ review in Sight and Sound included the lovely quote “a celebratory tour d’horizon of film music history that covers an enormous range, from the popular (John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Hans Zimmer) to the classic (Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Bernard Herrmann, Ennio Morricone) to the bracingly avant garde (Bebe and Louis Barron, Mica Levi)”.
Huge thanks to all the reviewers (the cheque’s in the post) and I’d love to hear from you if you’ve read – or listened to – the book.
