If music is the space between the notes, a musician’s life is found in the spaces between the shows and the strange quiet that settles after the final chord has dissolved. Peter McDade’s The Weight of Sound unearths those hidden moments with heartbreaking precision. It is a panoramic reading and listening experience that will forever deepen your understanding of what you see happening on the rock and roll stage.

Each chapter moves chronologically through Spider’s life but is told from a different person’s perspective: Spider’s bandmates, a girlfriend, a tour manager, a record executive, various fans. This could have felt jumpy and disconcerting, but McDade compels us so expertly with these characters that we’re quickly immersed in their voices and concerns. All these characters feel fully formed, solid and idiosyncratic

Anyone who wants to understand what it’s like to be in a band, to love music, and to love those who make music with you should read The Weight of Sound, with writing as tight as John Bonham on drums.