LISTEN On Music, Sound and Us

Nathaniel Priestley's creative pitch patterns and British enunciation give wonderful vitality to Michel Faber's colorful prose and expansive thinking about music. The Scotland-based writer of short stories and novels is controversial in literary circles. His idiosyncratic opinions on how music connects with the human race can sound snarky and unsubstantiated--more like "sofa ventilations" than insights--but are invariably entertaining. With statements like "Some people have crap taste" as an example, there is a steady flow of bold comments on such topics as pop bands, composers, and sound equipment, as well as broader subjects like British imperialism and global finance. This top-shelf writing could not have found a better narrator than Nathaniel Priestley, who consistently finds the exact vocal tone to express one hundred percent of this author's originality. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2023]