“Syd had a strange kind of authority. Whenever he said anything, everybody listened”
JOE Boyd has produced some pretty significant albums in his time – Liege & Lief, Bryter Layter, Fables Of The Reconstruction – but his most impressive achievement may be his new book, And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music. Its 900 pages fly by in a rush of interconnected anecdotes: Paul Simon venturing into Soweto; João Gilberto inventing bossa nova in his sister’s bathroom; Chris Blackwell becoming reggae’s biggest champion after being rescued by a Rastafarian fisherman.
It’s a lot of fun to read. Was it the same to write? “Oh no, I wish. I mean, it took me 17 years!” Boyd was driven forward by his constant discovery of these little musical eureka moments. “When I read that John [Lennon] and George [Harrison] got their lesson in Indian music from [Roger] McGuinn and [David] Crosby sitting in Zsa Zsa Gabor’s bathtub, I thought that was a pretty good moment that I would definitely try and make a bit
