To gain some insight into Dave Grohl's achievements, imagine a parallel universe where Queen drummer Roger Taylor went on to enjoy enormous international success with his band the Cross. Sounds daft? Well, that's exactly what Grohl pulled off when he bounced back from Nirvana's messy demise, swapping his drumsticks for an electric guitar and the coolest goatee on the planet.
Martin James's brisk, no-nonsense biography may be short on lurid rock'n'roll stories, but that's only because Grohl isn't really that kind of guy. His attitude is informed by his impeccably cool punk-rock background, and the book's early chapters provide a fascinating account of the politically-charged music scene of Washington DC circa the mid-1980s. Grohl emerges as a sweet-natured workaholic, a multi-instrumentalist who was recording sought-after solo albums long before he met Kurt Cobain. Talented and lucky? It's enough to make you sick.
· Independent Music Press, £12.99
