Book Review: Adventures in Modern Recording

As a renowned recording-studio maven, Trevor Horn has been dubbed 'the man who invented the '80s'. His production work since the glory days of ZTT represents a veritable 'who's who' of intelligent modern pop, including the likes of ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Simple Minds, Grace Jones and Yes - among many others.

This book is Trevor's story in his own words, as told through the prism of twenty-three of his most important songs - from the ones that inspired him to the ones that defined him. This play-by-play memoir transports readers into the heart of the studio to witness the making of some of music's most memorable moments, from the Buggles' ground-breaking 'Video Killed the Radio Star' to Band Aid's perennial 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', via hits such as 'Relax', 'Poison Arrow', 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' and 'Crazy'.

Adventures in Modern Recording: From ABC to ZZT by Trevor Horn was published October 13, 2022, by Nine Eight Books.

British New Wave music was a big part of my life as a high school teen in the early 80's. Those rich synths and lush melodies accompanying dance beats were my lifeblood at the time. And at the heart of much of that was producer Trevor Horn.

I like Horn's approach to this look at his life and music with twenty-three chapters themed by song titles. I found it interesting to hear about how the Buggles came about and how he ended up briefly as the frontman for Yes. And I very much appreciated the in-depth looks at the making of some of my favorite albums at the time: ABC's Lexicon of Love, Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock and Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome.