This is a daunting book in more ways than one. First the subject matter. Creation Records existed from 1983 to 2000, documented such movements as twee pop, C-86, shoegaze, dream pop, acid house, and britpop, and launched the careers of such luminaries as the Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Oasis. And the book itself is appropriately imposing. A whopping 752 pages squeezed into the tiny pocket book size (instead of the more appropriate trade paperback format) makes it look more like a doorstop than a little light reading. One person I showed it to was convinced it was “a joke.”

David Cavanagh does an impressive job of tracing Alan McGee’s trajectory from frustrated Glasgewian punk rocker to paranoid, drug addicted, millionaire label boss all the while contrasting his (usually) flawless and prescient taste in music with his utter lack of business acumen. Creation began with some pretty inauspicious roots with such forgettable bands as the Jasmine Minks, the Loft, and, their inaugural release, the universally panned the Legend! (I highly recommend getting an early Creation compilation such as The Patron Saints of Teenage to put some music to these names.) They eventually went on to champion a new generation of British guitar bands and later cross-pollinated this sound with electronic acid house music before reinventing themselves again with the discovery of Oasis and embodiment of working class “lad” culture. If you’ve ever wondered just what those people behind the scenes in the music business do this book fleshes out their functions pretty well. McGee, for his part, seemed to do a little bit of everything including running a club (The Living Room), publishing a fanzine (Communication Blur), managing bands (The Jesus and Mary Chain, The House of Love), brokering international deals for his acts with other labels (Warner Bros., Sony), as well as finding time to sing and play guitar in his own band (Biff Bang Pow!). As a music fan, I was enthralled by the stories behind some of my favorite bands – the mental instability and megalomania behind The House of Love, Kevin Shields and My Bloody Valentine’s studio hopping and perfectionism which almost bankrupted the label and was finally rewarded by McGee’s unceremonious dropping of them after delivering Loveless, the circuitous route that Primal Scream took to produce the seminal Screamadelica album including producer/remixer Andy Weatherall’s role, and of course the brotherly infighting and drama of Oasis. Some of the names that don’t have known faces to go with them though (business partners, managers, other label employees) tend to get a little confused and hard to keep track of.

Despite Creation’s stellar track record Cavanagh shows how the label was more often than not in debt (when they even knew the numbers) and always on the verge of collapse. After a quick fall from grace following Oasis’s disappointing third album and the more than questionable signing of acts such as white Rastafarian Mishka and former Dexy’s Midnight Runners leader and cross-dresser Kevin Rowland, McGee finally folded the label and moved on to the more indie-minded Poptones. For such a thick tome I flew through this book in no time and enjoyed every page of it. While I would have liked to have seen just a tad bit less about the sides the office staff took regarding Oasis and maybe a little more of Kevin Shields’s skewed genius I really can’t say many bad things about this book. If you like the music you should find it indispensable. Near impossible to find in America but I highly recommend seeking it out.

Recommended: Yes