Rock and Roll Mountains - Graham Forbes


Guide to British Music of the 1960s			July 2005
Book Review		*Rock and Roll Mountains by Graham Forbes*
About Making Time Advertising Add url	Graham Forbes was a member of the Incredible String Band during its final days. As such this book is slightly off-topic for Making Time but it is a worthwhile read anyway. Towards the end of its career, the Incredible String Band has been expended beyond the nucleus of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron to include Malcolm LeMaistre, Gerard Dott, Stan Lee, John Gilston and Forbes on guitar. While this gave the band more options about what they could do, many felt that the sound was moving away from the folk upon what is was based to a more rock sound. Graham Forbes covers the last days of the String Band and discusses the break-up although, for the String enthusiast, there is probably no new revelations. From there, Forbes played in many bands, mostly around his native Scotland. This was parallel to his fledgling career as a transport entrepreneur. The stress of running a growing business and dealing with frequently drunk or drugged employees led Forbes to the mountains of Scotland. He found that hill walking and later mountaineering were ideal stress-relievers. This side of his life became more and more important as he sought to claim all the Munros before going further afield to attempt new climbs. Graham Forbes shows that there is life after rock & roll. Both rock music and mountain climbing are surviving. Forbes shows just how this can be possible. The book is inspiring for anyone who is looking to get out of a rut and requires motivation. It is also an easy and very humorous read.

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