Category Archives: books

Ready Steady Go! by Andy Neill

December 23, 2020books, musicAndy Neill, British TV, Cathy McGowan, Dusty Springfield, Keith Fordyce, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Ready Steady Go!, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The WhoChris Meloche

As the 1960s dawned and the era of post-World War II austerity was fading away in Britain, many things in society started to change. One of those areas of change was manifested in the culture of the youth. Rock and pop music had started to blossom and teenagers would spend their pocket money on the latest records.

While there had already been programmes featuring music on TV, there seemed to be a need for something better. And in 1963, Associated-Rediffusion (the commercial competition to the state-owned BBC) decided to test the waters with something new.

The brainchild of Elkan Allan, the music programme Ready Steady Go! was prepared to start broadcasting in August of 1963. This was certainly good timing as it coincided with the pop music phenomenon of The Beatles.

Initially, the artists featured on the show would mime to their most recent release. As time went on, the bands played to backing tracks with live vocals. Eventually, the music was totally live.

The show started in a tiny, cramped studio space located in Rediffusion’s headquarters building in London. The bands were positioned in the space on tiny stages surrounded by an audience of enthusiastic young dancing teens. The space was crowded and the massive TV cameras would weave among the crowd.

What was unique about the programming of the show was that it did not just feature artists that were already well known. It was a springboard for new and exciting acts which the production staff (like Vicki Wickham) would often spot at clubs.

The show helped to launch the careers of The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Animals, The Kinks and a host of others. One regular performer on the show was Dusty Springfield. It was through her knowledge of the American R&B and soul scene that RSG soon started to feature the likes of Otis Redding, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas and James Brown. In fact, an entire episode was devoted to Motown groups.

While a number of hosts went in front of the cameras, the person who became synonymous with RSG was Cathy McGowan. Although not the most professional of hosts, her personality and sense of style won over the teenage audience. Initially paired with the older and more professional Keith Fordyce, this team is the most remembered.

In this book, Andy Neill has created an exhaustive document which put the reader straight into the vortex of a programme which was destined to change the face of how popular music was presented on television.

First-hand accounts of the action have been provided by almost every surviving person associated with the show including the most of the people responsible for getting the show on the air each week to the performers and members of the audience.

Fascinating insights are provided from the likes of the show’s creator Elkan Allan to Michael Lindsay-Hogg who directed many of the episodes.

Through its run, the series had its ups and downs. It eventually moved to a large stage housed at Wembley in order to accommodate live performances by the groups as well as a larger crowd. But, by December 1966 with the show still very popular, it ended its run.

The book ends with updates about many people who were associated with the programme over the years as well as a comprehensive list of the artists featured on each show.

As with many TV programmes of the era, most of the shows were not archived and just a smattering of shows survive. What did manage to remain was purchased by Dave Clark (yes, he of the Dave Clark Five). In the 1980s, a few compilations of surviving material were issued on home video. In those pre-youtube days, that is where I finally got to see this legendary programme.

Ready Steady Go! is a massive tome in a 12 x 12″ format weighing in at nearly six pounds. It is packed from cover to cover with incredibly detailed information and hundreds of wonderful photographs. If this era of music is of interest to you, it is well worth the investment.

In 2019, the BBC put together a documentary about the programme. Thanks to the power of youtube, here it is…

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Wendy Carlos: A Biography by Amanda Sewell

September 16, 2020avant-garde, books, electroacoustic, electronic music, experimental music, musicAmanda Sewell, ambient music, biography, Brian Eno, electronic music, Moog synthesizer, Robert Moog, Sonic Seasonings, Switched-On Bach, Wendy CarlosChris Meloche

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In 1968, Wendy Carlos was thrust into the limelight with her synthesizer interpretations of the music of J.S. Bach. The LP Switched-On Bach caught the attention of both classical and non-classical music listeners alike.

As a child, Carlos began playing piano and eventually composing her own works. At the same time, she also developed a keen interest in electronics. By the time she was in high school in the early 1950s, she had built her own home computer.

Her interest in both music and electronics led to her studying composition at Columbia University with two pioneers in electronic music – Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening. It was during this time that she learned the trade of working in a recording studio and eventually met up with Robert Moog.

Her relationship with Moog was a fruitful one in which she provided much feedback to the electronics engineer regarding the design and construction of devices which would eventually be incorporated into Moog’s modular synthesizers.

Carlos’ meticulous sound construction process would eventually lead to her experimenting with producing a piece of music by Bach. The concept of an entire album of synthesized Bach works was presented to Columbia Records by her long-time collaborator Rachel Elkind and it was agreed to issue the set on their Masterworks classical label.

After its release in October of 1968, the set was so popular that it held the number one spot on Billboard’s Classical Music chart for three years. By the mid-70s, its sales surpassed a million copies in the US alone.

In 1969, she released a second LP entitled The Well-Tempered Synthesizer which included works by Bach and other classical composers.

1972 saw the release of an expansive double LP set entitled Sonic Seasonings. Here, she devoted each side to a different season and used a combination of real-world nature recordings combined with synthetic sounds to produce evocative soundscapes. This was well before Brian Eno introduced his concept of “ambient music” on such recordings as Discreet Music and Music for Airports.

It was around this time that Carlos was invited to record music for Stanley Kubrick’s upcoming film A Clockwork Orange. In the end, only a small portion of her recordings made its way into the film and original soundtrack album. But, she eventually released her own works on a separate LP.

In the 1980s Carlos began working with digital synthesizers and created her album Digital Moonscapes. The versatility of the digital domain also made her want to experiment with alternate keyboard tunings such as microtonal scales with as many as 35 notes per octave. This resulted in the LP Beauty in the Beast. As the ’80s drew to a close, she collaborated with “Weird Al” Yankovic on a unique take on the work Peter and the Wolf.

The 1990s saw Carlos enter a partnership with the label East Side Digital where she would eventually re-issue remastered versions of her older albums (and previously unissued material) as well as her final album to date entitled Tales from Heaven and Hell.

Of course, one cannot cover the life and work of Wendy Carlos without acknowledging the path of her personal life. The most obvious aspect of which was her gender transition which took place over several years. Author Amanda Sewell does not side-step this part of Carlos’s life and treats the subject with care and respect. This includes the effect which is had on both her personal and professional life.

The biography of Wendy Carlos is an engrossing read about a musical pioneer whose work helped to bring attention to the world of electronic music and provide a vision of music’s future.

Pynchon’s Sound of Music by Christian Hänggi

September 5, 2020books, fiction, musicAgainst the Day, Bleeding Edge, Christian Hänggi, fiction, Gravity's Rainbow, Inherent Vice, literary criticism, Mason and Dixon, music, Slow Learner, The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon, V., VinelandChris Meloche

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As a music fan, music collector and composer, I am always interested in finding musical references in works of fiction. American author Thomas Pynchon is one of my favourite writers and over the course of his work there are countless references to music.

At one point in time, I thought that it might be interesting to re-read his books and make note of the various musical references just for my own amusement. Luckily, I no longer have to consider this arduous task as author Christian Hänggi has now done all of the heavy lifting. And what a load it is!

Over the course of Pynchon’s Sound of Music, Hänggi has spotted and identified hundreds of musical mentions which encompass real works by real people, fictitious works by real people and fictitious songs and artists which have sprung from the mind of the author.

Since 1963 when Thomas Pynchon published his first book, V., he has only issued a total of eight novels and one collection of short stories. For his research on his subject, Hänggi has also included other uncollected short works which he considers as a tenth book. So, the task would not appear to be quite as daunting as considering the endless oeuvre as someone like Stephen King. But, a daunting task it was, taking some four and a half years to collate.

During the course of his research, countless areas were explored. These include the context in which music is mentioned, the mode in which it is presented (live, a recording etc…), its part in progressing the story-line etc…

He also catalogues the various instruments which play a part in the stories such as saxophone, guitar, accordion, ukulele, harmonica, kazoo etc… This includes the number of references in total as well as in each book or story.

The first three sections of the book: The Job of Sorting It All Out, Lessons in Organology and The Sounds of Societies to Come serve to open up the many worlds of Pynchon and to connect the dots within the various references to music.

In addition to real-world references to artists such as Pat Boone or Jimi Hendrix, Pynchon would introduce his own world of performers such as Sick Dick and the Volkswagens or the Paranoids in The Crying of Lot 49. But, there are also fictitious works by real people such as Vivaldi’s Kazoo Concerto.

Pynchon’s work is also scattered with songs from the author’s own imagination. From “Have a Banana” in Gravity’s Rainbow to “Polecat in the Parlor” in Mason & Dixon, the author carries the story with his own take on a musical moment.

In the chapter Analysing the Pynchon Playlist, numbers have been crunched to produce graphs and spreadsheets which highlight various details across the spectrum. The types and frequency of references are put under the microscope as well as detailing their distribution throughout the works.

In the end, the real icing on the cake is The Pynchon Playlist. This is the section in which each book is taken and had each of its musical references noted. This includes specific references to songs, composers and performers.

So, if this particular aspect of Thomas Pynchon’s work is of specific interest to you, you can stop googling the multiple sources scattered all over the internet. Pretty well everything that you will want to know is contained within the covers of this exhaustive volume. Sit back and soak it all in.

A Hipgnosis Oddity

July 11, 2020books, folk / folk-rockA.L. Lloyd, Attic Books, book, Folk Song in England, graphic design, Hipgnosis, Panther Arts, Pink FloydChris Meloche

Chances are that if you own records from the 1970s, you probably have an example of the graphic design team known as Hipgnosis.

Formed in the late ’60s with the team of Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell, they were later joined by Peter Christopherson. In 1968, they were approached by Pink Floyd to design the cover for their second LP – A Saucerful of Secrets. They continued designing covers for the band for several years as well as providing artwork for several other artists including Led Zeppelin, The Pretty Things, Humble Pie, The Nice, Wishbone Ash, Genesis and a host of others.

I probably have dozens of albums with covers designed by Hipgnosis as well as two large format books featuring their work. However, I recently discovered an oddity by sheer accident.

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I was perusing the selection of music books at Attic Books here in London, Ontario the other day and found a book that I had been wanting for some time. I am always on the lookout for books about British folk music and Folk Song in England by A.L. Lloyd was always on my wants list. Finally, there is was.

Originally published in 1967 by Lawrence and Wishart, this was a mass market paperback edition issued by Panther Arts in 1969. The cover illustration was created for this edition and did not copy the original release. It wasn’t until I got the book home that I noticed on the back the text, “Cover illustration by Hipgnosis“.

This seems to be a unique item in the history of Hipgnosis and I can find no mention of any other books that might feature their work on the cover.

An oddity, indeed.

Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany by Uwe Schütte

May 31, 2020books, electronic music, experimental music, Krautrock, musicbook, electronic music, Kraftwerk, Uwe SchütteChris Meloche

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The news that Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider had passed away at the beginning of May was one of those announcements that seemed to strike a particularly resonant note for me. I had first heard their music long before their breakthrough album Autobahn courtesy of a radio programme featuring import albums back in the early ’70s. They were one of my personal inspirations to start making electronic music.

It was certainly a much more pleasant experience to learn of a new biography of Kraftwerk was being published by Penguin Books earlier in the year.

Kraftwerk: Music of the Future by Uwe Schütte is a rather succinct volume which covers the careers of co-founders Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter. The pair met at school in the turbulent days of the late ’60s and immediately hit it off. In 1968, they formed a band called Organization who released a sole LP called Tone Float (only in the UK as German record companies had no interest in their work).

Keeping their base in their hometown of Düsseldorf, the pair then went on to create the concept of Kraftwerk (literally translated a Power Station). Their early work did include electronics but also guitar, flute and drums. Much of this work was based around improvisation and electronic sound manipulation.

Their first three releases were prime examples of their work at the time. It’s unfortunate that to this day these albums basically been written out of the band history and not been any part of a re-issue program for their recordings.

For Kraftwerk, it was their fourth album – Autobahn – that denoted the beginning of their recording career. It’s the album (and song) that brought the group to international attention (although, it was virtually ignored in their own country).

They subsequently built up their reputation with their next three releases of the ’70s – Radio-Activity, Trans Europe Express and The Man Machine. It was also at this point that their work started to reverberate into other forms of music. It became an influence in electronic dance music and what would develop into techno.

They brought in the ’80s with Computer World with it’s ubiquitous Pocket Calculator emanating from radios around the world.

After that, the space between album releases would become much greater. It was another five years before the release of Electric Cafe and another seventeen years until the Tour de France Soundtracks (with a stop-gap remix effort called The Mix in 1991).

But, that doesn’t mean that Kraftwerk were inactive during these long apparent silences. As the author points out, Kraftwerk were not really a “band”. They considered themselves to be a multi-media project. They spent a lot of time concentrating of visual elements to their work, as well. Stage presentations, museum exhibitions… you name it, they seemed to have their finger in it.

In the past twenty years, Kraftwerk were very active in the area of live performances. The miniaturisation of their music producing gear helped a great deal in this regard.

Throughout the book, Schütte puts the efforts of Kraftwerk in the context of the music, society and art of the times and also details how it affected the future of music. It is a good overview of their music and art helped to shape many things to come.

Isolation Reading: Fiction

May 27, 2020books, fictionAdrian Mole, books, David Foster Wallace, Don DeLillo, Donald Barthelme, fiction, Infinite Jest, James Joyce, Nicola Barker, Sue Townsend, UlyssesChris Meloche

Isolation can be fine when you have some good reading material

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Over the years, the bulk of my reading has been non-fiction books. These have mainly been art-related books with a heavy emphasis on music. It’s really not been until recent years that I have gotten into the habit of reading fiction to any extent. In fact, fiction has made of about three quarters of my reading for the past few years as I play catch-up with a lot of interesting stuff.

Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo. This is the story of Eric Packer who is a financial industry billionaire living in New York City. Eric simply wants to go out to get a haircut. So, he gets into his limousine and heads across Manhattan. But, the trip is not so straight-forward. Along the way, he hops out of the limo for various interactions. Other times, he is stuck in traffic while at the same time dealing with others who have jumped into the car for meetings of different natures. Often hilarious and sometimes a bit frightening. Always involving.

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I first read this book three years ago. Since that time, seeing it on my bookshelf has often beckoned me to re-read it. I finally decided that now was the time.

For some reason, this book seems to have a reputation of being a difficult read. It seems to wind up on lists mentioning the likes of Gravity’s Rainbow and Ulysses. But, other that being a very long book, it really isn’t a particularly difficult book to get into.

The three main plots involved include a tennis academy for young people, the residents of a rehab house and the search for an illusive media called the Entertainment. As the story unfolds, the three plots are seen to intersect at various junctions.

Probably the aspect of the book that is most at the forefront is the detail. Wallace is one to stack detail upon detail upon detail. It often makes for very dense passages of text. And there is another aspect of the book that also makes it even more dense. End-notes. At the back of the book there are nearly 100 pages of notes regarding the main text. The reader is expected to pause their reading and flip to the back of the book in order to discover the subtext involved as they hit the number of an end-note. And I highly recommend getting involved in the practice – at least the first time you read it – as it often does lead to a deeper understanding of what is happening (although some seem a bit superfluous).

Stick to it and you will find yourself with a highly rewarding reading experience. It’s just as good the second time around, as well.

Ulysses by James Joyce. OK. Now, this truly is a difficult one. It certainly makes Infinite Jest seem like a walk in the park. Ulysses has a reputation of being one of the landmarks of twentieth century literature. It also has the reputation of being a notoriously difficult book to read. Correct on both counts.

I recently picked up the Dover reprint of the 1922 version of this book. It has undergone several revisions in succeeding years but, this was the way that it was first published (in a form corrected by Joyce).

It is basically the story of an advertising salesman called Leopold Bloom. The entire volume covers twenty-four hours of his life. During this time, he meets up with friends, goes to a funeral, goes out to drink and dine and other seeming mundane activities. All the while, he does his best to stay away from home as he knows that his wife is having an affair.

While the book seems to start as a fairly straight-forward read, Joyce changes styles quite drastically from section to section. There are sections that read like a play and other parts which unfold as a dense run-on sentence.

Often perplexing, it is worth the effort to soldier on. I can’t say that it is an easy task to make it through to the end. But, I certainly did find it an intriguing read.

The King by Donald Barthelme. What seems to start out as a fairly normal tale of King Arthur eventually starts to take a turn in an unexpected direction. This comes when the characters start making references to photographs printed in the newspaper and listening to speeches by Winston Churchill on the radio.

For some reason, King Arthur and the others have found themselves living in England during the second world war. It’s best to just go with the flow and see how things progress. A very amusing read.

The Yips by Nicola Barker. I first became aware of the author from a Guardian article last year. It made me curious to check out her work. This was the first book that I found. The story mainly revolves around the golfer Stuart Ransom. His life – professionally, financially and personally – is on a downward spiral. His encounters with such characters as a female priest and puzzling barmaid take his life into often comic turns.

Despite the book’s length, the rapid unfolding of the various story elements seem to make the book whip by at an accelerated pace. Very enjoyable, indeed.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend. Adrian Mole has just entered his teenage years and like most people of that age is finding the going a bit rough. He’s a self-proclaimed intellectual and he seems to attribute that fact as to why he has a difficult time relating to other people.

Adrian’s daily journal entries follow his relationship with his parents, girlfriend and others involved in his life on a daily basis. It’s apparently not an easy life for Adrian and this leads to countless chuckles and many laugh-out-loud moments. It reads like a modern day take on the classic British book The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith from the 1890s (which is still in print and highly recommended!). A great read for some comic relief… especially in difficult times.

Isolation Reading: Music Books

May 24, 2020books, musicbooks, Curtis Mayfield, Jaki Liebezeit, Karen Carpenter, Phil CollinsChris Meloche

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During the current days of isolation, many people have taken to reading as a way to while away the time. Personally, I’ve pretty well always got a book on the go. According to my info on Goodreads, I read over 70 books last year. At the moment, I’m at the two dozen mark for 2020.

At this point, I thought that I’d share some of things that I’ve read so far this year. In this post, I’ll cover some of the music-related books.

Jaki Liebezet: The Life, Theory and Practice of a Master Drummer – Jono Podmore (editor). As a fan of the German group Can since I heard their first album (Monster Movie) on an import records radio programme in 1970, I was very pleased to learn of this new book on their incredible drummer.

This volume is bookended with a concise biography and a massive discography. But, the meat-and-potatoes of the book centres around the rhythm system of drumming known as dot-dash. Since this part of the book makes up about half of the content, this is where the value of the book will vary from reader to reader. Despite the fact that my own compositional work rarely deals with percussion or rhythm, I still found this section very interesting.

For me, one of the highlights of the book is the exhaustive discography which covers every release from his jazz beginnings through his work with Can and the last chapter of his life with Club Off Chaos.

Overall, I found this book to be a very engaging read. But, I’m not sure how it will appeal to people who are not interested in all of the technical information presented here.

The Life of Curtis Mayfield: Traveling Soul by Todd Mayfield with Travis Atria. The re-release of Curtis Mayfield’s first four LPs as a box set last year got me to wonder if there was a biography out there. Sure enough, I discovered this book by his son Todd.

The book covers his humble beginnings towards a successful career as a member of the Impressions and subsequent journey into his solo work. It reveals him to be a man focused on his music and also someone who was driven to retain the rights to everything he was involved with. It also shows how this drive could often lead to conflict in both this personal and professional life.

It is a thoroughly researched and well presented portrait of one of the most important figures to ever emerge from the American music scene.

Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins. Despite the fact that I have been a Genesis fan since the early ’70s, this book was not particularly high on my list to read. But, I stumbled across an advance uncorrected proof at a thrift shop and picked it up. I’m glad that I did as it proved to be a quite enjoyable read.

Collins covers his entire history from his early years as a child actor to his work with Genesis, his solo career and eventual situation of alcoholism and illness. It’s a warts-and-all account of both is successes where he does not shy from accounts of pitfalls and personal failures. A quick and enjoyable read.

Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter by Randy L. Schmidt. Whether you were a fan of soft rock in the ’70s or not, everybody seemed to agree that Karen Carpenter was a singular voice in the music world at the time. I can still recall buying the Carpenters self-titled LP on the same day as Paranoid by Black Sabbath. Both held appeal to me for different reasons.

While others had attempted to write a biography of Karen Carpenter in the past, the hyper-protective nature of her family always resulted in a dead end. Fortunately, this was not the case for Schmidt. He was able to finally dig beyond the surface in order to get to the roots of her life.

Of course, it was a life of tremendous success on the surface but, he manages to dig deep into a personal life which was far from perfect. It’s a touching portrait that shows the sad physical decline of Carpenter leading to her eventual death from complications related to anorexia. In the end, it’s a story that will no doubt be of interest to the fans of one of the most distinctive voices in popular music.

In the Court of King Crimson by Sid Smith

January 22, 2020books, musicbook, King Crimson, music, Robert Fripp, Sid SmithChris Meloche

Once upon a time there was a young boy named Robert who dreamed of one day making music that would be so unique that it would basically defy description. And he did.

Back in 2001, Sid Smith published a book entitled In the Court of King Crimson. It related the history of the first thirty years of the band King Crimson. With 2019 marking the fiftieth anniversary of the group, Sid decided to mark the occasion with an expanded edition covering that fifty year span. He didn’t, however, just tack on chapters covering the subsequent twenty years. He virtually started again from scratch.

For King Crimson fans, this is excellent news.

The first part of the book focuses on band founder Robert Fripp and his early life and progress into the world of music. This would eventually lead to the formation of a trio along with the Giles brothers – Michael and Peter.

The trio of Giles, Giles and Fripp were signed to Decca Records and released a period piece entitled The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp. Its contents featuring jaunty pop tunes interspersed with spoken tales linking them seems a perfect period of the times – that being 1968. It’s not until the last track on the second side – Erudite Eyes – that the sounds of improvisation appear and actually seem to give a hit as to the direction in which Fripp would soon head.

Indeed, the following year, Fripp would join forces Michael Giles, Greg Lake and Ian McDonald (plus lyricist Peter Sinfield) to create the first incarnation of King Crimson in 1969.

Before they even released and LP, the band were blowing audiences away with their unique brand of music. This included a spot as one of the opening acts at Hyde Park where the Rolling Stones headlined the bill.

But, it was the release of their debut album – In the Court of the Crimson King – that would solidify their stature in the world of new music later in the year.

With a unique painting by artist Barry Godber of a visibly disturbed figure gracing the cover, the contents ranged from the all-out sonic attack of opener 21st Century Schizoid Man to the pastoral mellotron strains of the title track. This was a record that demanded repeated listening.

But, the intensity of the creation of such music would take its toll of many of the people involved in its creation. By 1970, their second album – In the Wake of Poseidon – would include Mel Collins and Gordon Haskell along with contributions by Peter Giles and Keith Tippett. Even more changes were in order for their third release – Lizard.

By the time of their 1971 LP – Islands – Ian Wallace was brought in on the drums and Boz Burrell (later of Bad Company) was on bass. Reaction to the music on this album was a mixed bag.

The raw sounding 1972 live album Earthbound gave a brief snapshot of what was happening with the band dynamics at the time. Culled from cassette recordings, the sound was so raw that their US record label (Atlantic) passed on its release.

But, by 1973, things were really starting to percolate with the release of Larks’ Tongue in Aspic. With Fripp’s often scorching guitar sounds accompanied by Bill Bruford (drums), John Wetton (bass), Jamie Muir (percussion) and David Cross (violin) the band seemed to once again be reaching for the stars.

The same band minus Jamie Muir continued with Starless and Bible Black which was followed by their final studio LP of the seventies – Red. After that, Fripp dissolved the group and begin work on other collaborations and solo endevours.

By 1981, Fripp began to feel that it was time to revive Crimson and joined forces with Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Bill Bruford. Initially performing live under the name Discipline, the band was re-christened as the latest incarnation of KC.

This line-up released a trio of fine albums – Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair. And then it was over. Again.

Starting in the nineties, Crimson re-appeared in different configurations from a double trio to a double duo. In recent years, the line-up has once again expanded to the point of having a line of three drummers spread across the front of the stage. It’s this line-up that hit the road in 2019 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the group playing a wide cross-section of classic material interspersed with brand new works.

Throughout the first section of the book, Sid Smith paints a detailed and vivid picture of a band whose nature and music has managed to stay faithful to the vision of its leader Robert Fripp.

After the chapters relating the KC story, there are other sections which are of equal interest to fans. Firstly, there is a chapter which provides details on what the many past members of the band go up to after their departure from the group. Sadly, some people like Greg Lake and John Wetton are no longer with us.

Next up is a track by track analysis of every song appearing on the studio albums from The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp to 2003’s The Power to Believe.

If that was not enough, Smith then provides an Annotated Gigography spanning 1969 to 2003. This consists of notes that he wrote for the countless concerts available for download on the DGM website. The capsule reviews of these shows provide a vivid glimpse as to the ever changing nature of the performances of the band.

At over 600 pages, this book is a true labour of love that provides fans of the band with the most detailed view of one of the most unique bands of the past fifty years. It’s a book that you’ll grab when you are listening to their music in order to jog your memory about the details surrounding the songs.

In the long run, Sid Smith is to King Crimson what Mark Lewisohn is to The Beatles. End of.

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Thomas Pynchon: The Demon in the Text by Albert Rolls

April 4, 2019booksAlbert Rolls, Gravity's Rainbow, literature, Thomas PynchonChris Meloche

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Thomas Pynchon: The Demon in the Text by Albert Rolls (Edward Everett Root, 2019)

For many readers, the name Thomas Pynchon signifies a special place in the world of fiction writing. Arguably one of the finest post-WWII writers to come out of the USA, Pynchon has only published eight novels and one collection of early short stories since his debut novel V. was issued in 1963.

His thick and densely packed 1973 tome Gravity’s Rainbow has been synonymous with some of the most demanding reading ever to grace the shelves of bookshops and libraries. However, little is known about the man behind the text. Over the past sixty years, Pynchon has managed to keep his private life private.

Often referred to as a reclusive figure, only a few early photographs have ever made their way into the public realm. He has never courted publicity or even granted an interview. This has made him a near mythical figure in the literary world.

With his new book, Albert Rolls has taken on the task of attempting to peel away some of the layers of the author’s writings to create a picture of his activities and thought processes. Through this means, he hoped to reveal the depth and breadth of a creative and complex literary mind.

Since Pynchon’s friends are as guarded about the author’s privacy as Pynchon himself, trying to assemble an accurate picture of his life via them is not a practical solution. They are apparently quick to perpetuate stories which are likely fiction, such as the one in which Pynchon once sold vacuum cleaners in Guadalajara.

Instead, Rolls has to rely on the various written works that Pynchon has released to the public over the years. He also examines some lesser known works such as his aborted play Minstrel Island as well as his earliest writings from his high school days.

This process can prove to be as challenging as playing connect-the-dots where the dots are located on a continuously shifting three dimensional plane. Or perhaps peering into a bag full of snakes and attempting to deduce which head belongs to which tail. Luckily, Rolls is up for the challenge.

Over the course of three lengthy essays, he dissects Pynchon’s writings and examines the author’s point of view on culture, sociology, relationships and politics. He manages this in a manner which is both well-informed and enthusiastic.

He examines the relationship between the perceptions of Tom Pynchon and Thomas Pynchon. He delineates between areas which are Pynchonian and Pynchonesque. It is a tapestry woven from the intersection of the genesis of ideas to the interplay of high and low-brow presentation.

In the end, it is a thought-provoking portrait of a man whose work has served to enrich the minds of those who have chosen to delve into his unique world of words.

The Hard Stuff by Wayne Kramer

December 26, 2018books, musicbook, Detroit, MC5, rock and roll, The Hard Stuff, Wayne KamerChris Meloche

Wayne Kramer – The Hard Stuff (Da Capo, 2018)

Growing up across the river from Detroit in Windsor, Ontario, it was hard not to be exposed to the wealth of music emerging from the Motor City. The sounds of Motown and beyond were ever-present on the radio airwaves.

The advent of so-called “underground” and “progressive” FM radio beginning in 1968 with WABX gave previously unheard sounds from AM radio a whole new venue for rock music. So, bands like the MC5 and Stooges would suddenly have an outlet for their sounds on the airwaves.

In this book, the MC5 founder and guitarist details the ups and downs of the band and music scene of the time from an insiders point of view.

Like most music bios, his begins with his childhood in and around the Detroit area. It follows his interest in music and particularly his attraction to the guitar which ultimately lead to the formation of one of the most highly regarded rock bands of the era.

The band encapsulated the raw energy behind the revolutionary talk and actions of the late ’60s. They dove in head-first and eventually came to the attention of Elektra Records who would release their debut album.

Kick Out the Jams was a raucous live recording which presented the group in their element at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom. It was a warts-and-all presentation which Kramer was really not pleased. What could have been a hot national release was soon to have some major problems. Copies of the unedited album were rushed to promotional outlets and the major industry broadsheets which were incredibly influential at the time reacted negatively. They sited the obscene introduction of the title track (“Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!”) and the inflammatory revolutionary rhetoric of the liner note as a reason to suppress its mass distribution.
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So, no sooner had they started as a new hot commodity, their plans were dashed. It eventually lead to the band being dumped by the label.

This was only the start of their ongoing challenges as Kramer details the world that surrounded the band during those times. The White Panther movement. the incredible Detroit riots in the summer of 1967, the harassment from the police, the drug busts etc…

Kramer continues to spin the tale through the challenges of creating music, dealing with drug addiction and eventually to his own incarceration. It is often a harrowing read which eventually ends in redemption.

In recent times, Wayne Kramer has been back on the road celebrating his former band by currently using the banner MC50.

Over the years, the legacy of the MC5 has only been on the upswing. So, it seems quite appropriate that one of its founders tells its tale some fifty years from its beginnings. If you are a fan, this will help to shed some light on the full story behind the band.

Going for a Song by Garth Cartwright

August 26, 2018books, music, vinylbook, England, Garth Cartwright, Going for a Song, LPs, record shops, records, UK, vinylChris Meloche

Garth Cartwright – Going for a Song (Flood Gallery Publishing, 2018)

If you are a music fan of a certain vintage, you probably have many fond memories of cruising the bins of your local record shops. Before the days of internet “add to cart” methods of purchasing music and downloading, this is what people did.

In his 2009 book Last Shop Standing, author Graham Jones wrote about some of the remaining record shops across Britain. As the founder of Proper Music Distribution, his job took him across the land to provide stock to numerous stores. In the process, he was able to get to know the people behind the scenes and tell their tales of the trials and tribulations of music retail.

Writer and music fan Garth Cartwright arrived in the UK from New Zealand some time after the explosion of the record industry in the sixties and seventies. With this book, he has attempted to put together the puzzle pieces of the British music retail industry from its very beginnings up to its current state.

As someone who has been a music fan since the sixties and worked in music retail myself (initially at the Windsor, Ontario Sam the Record Man store in the seventies), these type of stories attract my interest. Not least because of my interest in British music.

The story begins with the longest last shop in the UK which is Spillers in Cardiff, Wales. An institution since 1894, it is still in operation today.

Throughout the book, Cartwright covers the story from the inception of wax cylinders to shellac 78s, to vinyl and eventually to CDs. It’s a story which includes the large chains such as HMV to the myriad of small independent shops serving the local community.

Much of the focus is on the once ever-expanding music market of London. Of course, this place was a melting-pot of cultures from around the world. Stores opened to often feed the musical needs of specific ethnic communities. These could range from Jamaican reggae to African sounds to those of European countries.

By combing many print archives as well as interviewing several of the people involved in the industry over the years, Cartwright has been able to assemble the stories behind countless shops which have come and gone over the years.

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It’s an intriguing tale of ups and downs, devoted music fans, local heroes, scammers, gangsters and more. It manages to successfully tell the story of an industry that was virtually limitless in its expansion that eventually imploded at the dawn of the current century. The advent of internet downloading and CD burners put an end to that was once an important community of retail music . Suddenly, the experience of running to the shop to pick up the latest release from your favourite band was rendered almost obsolete.

Of course, not all of the shops have disappeared (thankfully) and the book also serves to shed light on the people who are still out there serving the community of music fans.

It’s an interesting story for those of us whose interest includes the history of the music industry. The book is exhaustively researched and presented in a very engaging and readable manner.

On a personal note… My first trip to the UK was in 1986. On that occasion, I had the good fortune to visit the fabulous Rock On in Camden Town and the original Virgin Megastore in London (as well as other smaller shops in Bath, Coventry, Stafford etc…).

I have been over a dozen more times since the late nineties and have had the pleasure to visit many more shops. I’ve been to a number of stores mentioned in the book as well as a few which were not. They include Probe Records (Liverpool), Record Collector (Sheffield), Crash Records, Jumbo and Relics (Leeds), Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange, King Bee (Manchester), The Record Album (Brighton) and many, many others.

So, reading this book helped me to gain a perspective on the history of record shops across the UK.

All Gates Open by Rob Young & Irmin Schmidt

May 30, 2018avant-garde, books, experimental music, improvisation, Krautrock, progessive rock, psychedelic musicbook, Can, Ege Bamyasi, Future Days, Germany, Holger Czukay, Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Krautrock, Michael Karoli, Monster Movie, Rob Young, Tago MagoChris Meloche

Rob Young & Irmin Schmidt – All Gates Open (Faber & Faber, 2018)

When the FM airwaves started to emit the sounds of “underground radio” in the late 1960s, a whole new world of music began to open. WABX was the first such station to enter this area in Detroit in 1968. A short while later, CJOM hit the airwaves on my side of the border in Windsor, Ontario.

One of the most interesting things to appear were programmes which features “import” records. Suddenly, people were able to hear music which was not even available on domestic labels. These LPs often never got released in North America.

It was on one episode of these broadcasts that I first experienced the music of Can. It was 1970 and Monster Movie had just been issued in Germany (and the UK). The disc jockey talked about the band and even before he started playing the record, you knew that you were in for something special. I vividly recall his playing Father Cannot Yell and Outside My Door followed by the side-long epic Yoo Doo Right. From that moment, I knew that I would be a fan of this band.

Unfortunately, import records were few and far between at my local shops and it would be a while before I had my own copy of this record. My first purchase was their album Ege Bamyasi which was closely followed by Future Days. At that point, import LPs were starting to become easier to obtain and I was able to get copies of Monster Movie, Soundtracks and Tago Mago.

I kept following their work through articles in magazines like Melody Maker and was able to keep up with their LP releases from that point.

Over the years, there have been a couple of books published about the band. The Can Book by Pacal Bussy and Andy Hall was an essential purchase for any self -respecting Can fan. There was also another book which was available as part of the Can Box (book, VHS video and 2 CD set of live recordings). Those, however, were mainly a mild warm-for this new volume.

All Gates Open is actually two books in one. The first two thirds feature Rob Young’s details of the individual members’ lives and their subsequent collaboration in one of Germany’s most revered and respected bands.

The final portion of the book belongs to found member Irmin Schmidt. This section is decidedly different to Rob Young’s writings.

From Young, we get a flavour of the times in Europe when the various members of the band were growing up. The four core members of the group all came from quite diverse backgrounds. Irmin Schmidt was making his name as an orchestra conductor. Holger Czukay was fascinated with all things electric including radios. Jaki Leibeziet was a jazz drummer who had worked his way into free jazz with Manfred Schoof. Michael Karoli was some ten years younger than the others with a more rock vision in his guitar playing.

The only things that any of the members really had in common was that both Schmidt and Czukay had both studied with the legendary German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.
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It’s this diversity of talent and vision which was soon to give Can its unique approach to producing inventive and original sounds.

Vocalists also made an appearance in the group. This started with Malcolm Mooney and continued with a Japanese busker in the form of Damo Suzuki.

Throughout his portion of the book, Young paints a vivid picture of the environment in which Can existed. His presents details about their recording process, live performances and track by track analysis of their albums. This is the kind of material that any hardcore fan of the band will relish as they make their way through the pages of the book.

Irmin Schmidt’s portion of the book is a totally different affair. He edits together conversations with a host of interesting people from music, art and film.

Featured in the conversations are Mark E. Smith (The Fall), Geoff Barrow (Portishead), Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), Hans-Joachim Irmler (Faust), Peter Saville, Wim Wenders, Duncan Fallowell, Nick Kent, John Maokovich and many others.

These vignettes open up the conversation to many aspects of music and all types of artistic communication. It’s a fascinating glimpse into creativity.

Schmidt also relates many entries from his diary which also give a look into his creative life.

Overall, this is probably the book that all fans of Can have been waiting for over the years. It’s a detailed look at the band from the inside and the outside. A compelling read for those who have listened to the intriguing and original sounds of one of the most compelling bands to ever put sound onto recording tape.

Psychedelia and Other Colours by Rob Chapman

February 10, 2018books, experimental music, progessive rock, psychedelic music, vinylbook, Faber, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Love, Pink Floyd, Psychedelia and Other Colours, psychedelic music, Rob Chapman, The Beatles, Timothy LearyChris Meloche

Rob Chapman – Psychedelia and Other Colours (Faber)

From the appearance of the cover, one might think that this is going to be a fab book with all kinds of wonderfully groovy colourful photos of bands performing with a backdrop of psychedelic lights projected behind them. Well, you know the old expression about a book and its cover. In fact, there is not one single photo contained in the over 600 pages of this tome.

What you do get in this book is a hefty amount of information relating to the progress of the drug culture and its impact on the music scene in the latter half of the 1960s. It’s a book that fits in right between two other recent volumes – 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded by Jon Savage and Never a Dull Moment: 1971 – The Year That Rock Exploded by David Hepworth.

No mention of things exploding in the sub-title of this book but, the text inside certainly does relate a lot of heads exploding as psychedelic drugs (more specifically LSD) began to make inroads into the counterculture movement of the sixties.

Jon Savage’s book goes into great detail about the social and cultural times leading up to the year 1966. There’s a bit of a sense of deja vu when reading Chapman’s book but, that is what I was expecting. So, not much of a disappointment there.

After a general introduction, Chapman divides his time towards firstly concentrating on the scene in the USA and then on the UK. This shows both the parallels and differences in the way in which psychedelia took shape in the midst of both (counter)cultural situations.

While you’ll see familiar names from this era appear – such as Timothy Leary – there are also many more people discussed who may not have been as vibrant on the radar (at the time or since).
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Throughout the book, Chapman does an enviable job of connecting the dots which relate to musical events in both the live performance realm and the release of specific recordings. Of course, a fair amount of time is spent on such artists as The Beatles and their turning (on) into the direction of pot and LSD and Pink Floyd’s areas of cerebral and sonic explorations.

But, as you’d expect in such and exhaustive cultural and musical survey, it’s the efforts of the countless minor figures that accounts for a great deal of the story. Some of the here today, gone tomorrow artists mentioned include The Drivin’ Stupid, Fe-Fi-Four Plus Two, The Factory, Jason Crest, Tintern Abbey etc… Of course, there are a lot of the more familiar bands like, Love, Moby Grape, The Incredible String Band, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and other usual suspects.

To conclude the volume, the final section – Afterglow (Which Dreamed It?) – attempts to tie up some loose ends and reflects on the aftereffects.

For anyone with a keen interest in this era and specifically psychedelic music, this book stands as a well-researched and extremely detailed survey. It sent me scrambling to my music collection to find out if I had recordings of many of the songs mentioned on my various psych LP and CD collections. That’s usually the sign of a good book for me.

Hawkwind: Sonic Assassins by Ian Abrahams

December 22, 2017books, experimental music, progessive rock, vinylbook, Dave Brock, Goodreads, Hawkwind, Ian Abrahams, progressive rockChris Meloche

I recently posted the following brief review of this book on Goodreads:

Quite a well researched book that would be enjoyed by any hardcore Hawkwind fan. I’m sort of glad that I waited to buy this one as the 2017 updated version brings the story up to date.

There are a couple of things that would have made the book a bit better. There are a number of black and white photos scattered throughout the book. They seem to be out of place. It may have been better to include them in their own section in the middle of the book. It’s also strange that Stacia who was an integral part of the band’s performance visuals is not pictured at all!

Although album releases are detailed during the normal course of the story, it would have been nice to have a thoroughly annotated discography at the end of the book. Sure, people can look up that stuff online. But, why not have it right there in your hands while you are reading the book?
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After posting the review, author Ian Abrahams dropped me a message with a useful link:

Thanks for the review, really appreciate it! For an annotated discography, have a look at the blog that’s associated with the book: http://sonicassassins-book.blogspot.c… as I’ll be continuing to post bits and pieces there that didn’t make it into the book itself.

Cosey’s Tale

May 17, 2017avant-garde, books, electronic music, experimental music, musicbooks, Chris & Cosey, Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti, COUM, Faber Books, Genesis P-Orridge, Industrial Records, Peter Christopherson, Sleazy, Throbbing GristleChris Meloche

Cosey Fanni Tutti – art sex music (Faber)

Many people may know Cosey from her work with Throbbing Gristle or Chris & Cosey. But, the story that led up to that point (and beyond) is certainly a tale worth exploring.

In her new autobiography, Cosey details her formative years growing up in Hull on the east coast of England. Hers was a working class background which found her wanting to branch out and explore the arts and music. Her home life was eventually shattered when her strict father kicked her out. While she would still carry on a (fairly covert) relationship with her mother as well as her sister, she found herself dealing with the world on her own.

Eventually, she would connect with a man who was known as Genesis P-Orridge. The partnership became both personal and artistic as they created a body of performance works under the moniker of COUM.

COUM was a loose group of artists from various backgrounds who came and went leaving Cosey and Gen as the main constants of the organization. Through various performances or “actions,” COUM’s profile began to rise… not always from a “positive” response.

They pushed the boundaries of society’s accepted norms and managed to stir up a lot of outrage in the process.

Cosey also had her own ideas for actions and projects related to getting involved in the sex industry. This was done via nude modelling, stripping and films. I was her way of creating a portfolio which could then be used in her future actions and art.

Along the way, one of the others who would become involved was Chris Carter who was keen to add his knowledge of electronics to the group and bring their works into a more “musical” direction. Chris would also serve as the person with whom Cosey would eventually pair up with and leave the possessive/abusive clutches of Gen.

When Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson entered the picture, the bones of Throbbing Gristle would soon come to fruition. Cosey, Chris, Gen and Sleazy decided that the direction to go was a full-on sonic assault on the senses.

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Their time together as a quartet may have been relatively short but, they became known as the pioneers of Industrial music.

Upon the breakup of TG, Chris and Cosey began their own musical work together. They recorded many LPs and performed worldwide. (A personal side-note: I brought Chris and Cosey to Canada in 1985 to perform a half dozen shows across the country.)

As Chris and Cosey made music, Gen formed Psychic TV and Sleazy the band Coil. But, the TG legend continued to build over the years and offers to re-form began to happen. The harrowing details of these gigs are related in brutal detail with Gen becoming an eternal antagonist in the situation.

In recent years, the reputation of Chris and Cosey’s duo work lead to a vinyl re-issue campaign which saw their work appreciated by a new generation of music fans. At the time, they had adopted the Carter Tutti name and would do performances billed as Carter Tutti Play Chris and Cosey.

In addition to the music and art, Cosey relates a number of scary health related incidents involving herself, Chris and their son Nick.

The stories in this book are related with a direct honesty which often can make the reader run through an amusement park ride of emotions. Not the least anger and frustration at some of the details of events.

It’s an inspiring read, to say the least.

Chris Meloche with Cosey Fanni Tutti, Sandringham House, England, 1986. Photo: Chris Carter.

Brix by Brix

April 30, 2017books, musicBrix Smith, Mark E. Smith, Nigel Kennedy, Philip Start, The FallChris Meloche

Brix Smith Start – The Rise, The Fall, and The Rise (Faber & Faber)

Laura Salenger was born in Los Angeles, California in 1962. Her father was a psychiatrist who divorced her mother when she was only two years old. Her mother would go on to get employment as a researcher at CBS Television on the programme 60 Minutes.

While growing up, her mother often brought Laura to work where she would sit in a studio and watch while people like Sonny and Cher did the rehearsals for their TV show. Not a bad life for a young kid.

Eventually, music started to become an important part of her life. When she heard The Clash, she was so taken with the song Guns of Brixton that her nickname soon became Brixton (or Brix for short). She also got an earful of a strange sounding band called The Fall.

After her mother decided to move to Chicago, Brix was not amused. She hated the environment and wished to go back to LA. However, her new location would lead to a drastic life change.

After seeing The Fall perform at a Chicago club, she would end up bumping into their leader Mark E. Smith. This chance meeting would develop into mutual attraction and it wasn’t long before Brix decided to move to the UK to be with Mark.

To call the move “culture shock” would probably be a gross understatement. But, before long she adapted to the situation. She would soon join the band as well as marry Mark.

So far, so good. However, trouble began brewing in paradise. A grueling tour schedule, shortage of money and Mark’s increasing intake of speed and alcohol seemed to aggravate things. Also, his constant mistreatment and seemingly random ousting of band members added to the problems. The camel’s back finally broke and Brix was compelled to split up with Mark.
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This led to her next romantic coupling with classical violinist Nigel Kennedy. Kennedy was a superstar in the classical world. His fame was soon to shoot even further as his recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons crossed boundaries and pushed his profile beyond the classical world.

As time passed, Brix felt smothered and her own identity suffered. She had attempted a musical venture of her own with Adult Net but, the sales of her records were not satisfactory enough to keep on going. So, she basically quit music altogether.

At this point, Brix was once again in a limbo state of life. That is, until she met fashion entrepreneur Philip Start. This would open up the most recent phase of her life and change things around for her.

Brix married Philip and in 2002 and they started a very successful fashion store called simply START. This seemed ideal for Brix with her penchant for fashion. It was around this time that she also got involved in presenting fashion on television.

Most recently, Brix found her way back into music. This developed into her current band called Brix Smith and the Extricated (featuring former members of The Fall).

That’s the story so far. There are sure to be more twists and turns in the future… which, for now, seems quite bright.

Shock and Awe by Simon Reynolds

February 18, 2017books, music, UncategorizedAlice Cooper, David Bowie, glam rock, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan, Simon Reynolds, Slade, Suzi Quatro, T. Rex, The SweetChris Meloche

Simon Reynolds – Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century (Dey St.)

When I picked up my first issues of the British weekly music magazine Melody Maker back in the early 1970s, the glam rock movement was in full swing. It seemed like every issue had a cover photo, feature story or interview relating to somebody involved with glam. There was Marc Bolan (T. Rex), David Bowie, The Sweet and many others catching the attention of the press and ears of the music fans.

On this side of the pond, there seemed to be substantially less interest in what was known as “glitter” over here. However, in the Windsor/Detroit area, I did manage to hear quite a bit of music from the likes of Bolan, Bowie and eventually Roxy Music, Sparks etc…

Approaching 700 pages in length, Simon Reynolds’ book attempts to relate the context of the early group of artists who were at the forefront of glam and also to continue the story beyond its seemingly finite existence.

He begins in the logical place with Marc Bolan and fleshes out his early career and the lead-up to his place as a leader of the pack. The same holds true of Bowie’s story in the next chapter.

As one would expect, an analysis of the social aspects of this fad/trend are examined in depth. That includes a deep look into facets of androgyny and dandyism and their context in society over the years. These often stretch back to references from the 19th century and its attitude towards social issues. While initially interesting, these details often get caught up in a feedback loop of cleverness which can get exhausting.

The story continues in the US with the introduction of Alice Cooper to the mix. His contribution included his outrageous stage act which incorporated such aspects as a guillotine and electric chair. His work was more towards the shock rock than glam rock aspect of music.

Meanwhile, the UK added more stars to their glam roster with the entry of such artists as Slade, The Sweet and Gary Glitter. Joining them was an American in the form of ex-Detroit native Suzi Quatro. While these artists did have some following in on this side of the Atlantic, it still remained quite small. The Sweet failed to make any inroads up until the time of their hits Ballroom Blitz and Fox on the Run. Even the Detroit radio stations seemed to show little interest in the fact that Suzi Quatro was becoming a big star in England. Most people would have likely not heard her name until she started making appearances on the popular TV show Happy Days.

So many men focus on sex, the woman’s sexual gratification can form the wide viagra uk range. When the child experienced severe anxiety because his primary caregiver (mom or dad) leaves him with another person without getting precise notes of ‘who qualifies for it?’ can cheap tadalafil 20mg notify afterwards with hazardous results. This generic for cialis is an efficient medicinal drug belonging to the branded tablets. If you experience symptoms of nausea, dizziness, chest pain and overall physical discomfort.It is important whether you are consuming the dosage of 20 mg or sildenafil generico online 40 mg. Eventually, the trio of David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop started to make some waves. Along with them came Mott the Hoople. At this point in time, Bowie was attempting to get some exposure for these other artists on the back of his own fame as a producer (Reed, The Stooges) or songwriter (All the Young Dudes).

Roxy Music seemed to appear out of nowhere with a strange vision of the past mixed with scenes from the future. Their sound was like no other at the time and it caught people’s ears with it’s skewed mash-up of styles that by all reason should not have gelled. But, strangely, it did.

At this point, Reynolds changes his focus to the US. While the story of the New York Dolls seems to fit in fine, his attempt to also include the work of Wayne (later Jayne) County just seems to derail the proceedings. To this reader, it just seemed very out of place.

As glam started on its inevitable down-slide, there were still some interesting acts joining the scene. Cockney Rebel, Sparks, Queen and even Be-Bop Deluxe got their fingers in the glam pie.

For my money, this would have been a logical point at which the story (and book) should end. However, Reynolds decided to explore the world of post-glam without really calling it that.

He continues to explore the work of Bowie right up to the (literal) end as well as including artists such as Heavy Metal Kids, The Tubes, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band and Ultravox. While stories on these people do have their own interest, it seems like the subject for another book.

The final chapter of the book is Aftershocks which focuses on “Glam Echoes.” This section carries on right up to the death of David Bowie in January 2016. It encompasses everybody from PiL to Prince to Grace Jones to The Smiths to Kate Bush to Lady Gaga. Unfortunately, it just feels like adding some extra padding to the story and once again feels like it belongs in another book.

Overall, I did enjoy the content of the book which actually dealt with glam rock. It was well researched and presented. However, I did feel that the diversions from the main theme did the topic a disservice. This is a book that wants to be two books combined into one. If it had been two separate books, I likely would have had enough interest to purchase the second one as a stand-alone volume. But, in the context of a single volume, it did make for a bit of a schizophrenic reading experience.

Never a Dull Moment by David Hepworth

July 11, 2016books, Krautrock, music, progessive rock, vinyl1971, David Hepworth, festivals, music, Never a Dull Moment, rock, singer/songwritersChris Meloche

Hot on the heels of Jon Savage’s book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded comes another book which focuses on a specific year. David Hepworth’s new book is entitled Never a Dull Moment – 1971: The Year That Rock Exploded. Whereas both of these books share a similar format in that the months are used as the twelve chapter of the books, that is where much of the similarity ends.

Both writers present stories about music of the year within a framework consisting of the cultural, social and political climate of the time. However, Savage’s book is around 25% music and 75% social conditions contrasted with Hepworth’s 90% music and 10% cultural framework. (For a more in depth look at Jon Savage’s book, please check out my article elsewhere on this blog.)

For his book, Hepworth generally begins each chapter with an overview of the times. This is followed by several stories about artists, songs, albums, producers etc… on whom he focuses his direct attention.

He begins his journey into the year by relating the fact that it began with the official dissolution of The Beatles. So, 1971 was the first “post-Beatles” year after the conclusion of the ’60s.

Since Carole King’s Tapestry was one of the biggest breakouts of the year, he explores her place in the blossoming world of the singer/songwriters of the year. These include people like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens and Carly Simon. He also talks about one of the most enduring figures of the time who made little inroads in the way of popularity at the time – Nick Drake.

By way of the Rolling Stones, he relates stories about the release of Sticky Fingers as well as the band’s excursion to France to record the following year’s sprawling double album release – Exile on Main Street.

The state of music coming from the African American community is explored with tales of Motown label boss Berry Gordy Jr. and his stable of artists including Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. He also writes about Isaac Hayes as well as American TV host/producer Don Cornelius who brought Soul Train into the living rooms of the youth.

Producers like Ken Scott and Glyn Johns hook up with David Bowie and The Who respectively and breed the top albums Hunky Dory and Who’s Next. These were both milestones in the careers of the artists in 1971.

We also learn how producer Tom Dowd convinced the Allman Brothers Band to ditch the distracting horn section which was being used during their series of dates at the Fillmore East. This helped the band turn the corner and produce their double live LP set At Fillmore East which is still regarded as a classic today.
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There are tales of Led Zeppelin, Roxy Music, Harry Nilsson, Don McLean, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath, The Beach Boys, T. Rex, Big Star, Rod Stewart, Carpenters and even a name-check for German Krautrock pioneers Can.

Festivals were also the order of the day in 1971 as the long-lived Glastonbury Festival got its start. There are also other tales of (much) less successful events such as the Weeley Festival and the disastrous Celebration of Life Festival in Louisiana.

1971 was also the year that the first rock concert charity event was organized by George Harrison. The ups and downs of this new type of venture venture are examined.

Reading through this book reminds the reader about so many watershed moments that occurred in the music world at the beginning of the 1970s. To a generation accustomed to auditioning the latest sounds via the internet with the click of a mouse, these times music seem like some ancient distant land. Music fans used to find themselves reading about interesting music and, if they were lucky, being able to catch some of the sounds on an adventurous underground FM radio station. It was a time when people congregated at record stores and took in the artwork and liner notes of the LPs filling the bins.

I was there… and it was damn fun!

Classic Rock? In my day it was called New Releases!

1966 by Jon Savage

March 12, 2016books, music1966, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield, Faber Books, Jon Savage, Motown, Rolling Stones, Stax, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Velvet Underground, The WhoChris Meloche

For hit latest tome, British music writer Jon Savage has chosen to zoom in on the year 1966. The reason for this is revealed in the subtitle – The Year the Decade Exploded. That’s a pretty bold statement. So, the question is – Does he have the evidence to back it up?

The book is presented in a series of twelve chapters which each represent a month as it progresses through the year. If you were expecting a book about music, you will get that plus a great deal more.

Savage deconstructs events leading up to the year 1966 in order to put things into proper perspective. He divides his views over events happening on both sides of the Atlantic. Since the relationships in both the UK and the US can have a different effect, this approach works well as a way to compare and contrast the social, political and cultural developments.

As with many British writers, he spends some time relating the changes in the UK since the end of the Second World War. This was a touchstone for many areas of social progress for the last half of the twentieth century. By the 1960s, its atmosphere was seeming more distant to the current day youth and they had their own issues and problems to deal with.

In the area of music, many of the usual suspects are sited including The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Bob Dylan etc… He also includes Dusty Springfield, The Velvet Underground, The Grateful Dead, Motown, Stax plus a host of references to quite obscure groups like The Ugly’s.

Each chapter reveals more events which would influence the direction of music and possibly vice versa. There are stories about the CND movement in the UK as well as race demonstrations and riots in the US. The war in Vietnam was also a large factor in the ideologies of many people. The feelings about these and many other subjects managed to inform the music of the youth culture of the day.

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Of course, there is also quite a bit of discussion about the widening pervasiveness of drugs within the youth culture. This spans the use of amphetamines to pot to LSD. In fact, at the beginning of 1966, LSD was not an illegal substance in either the UK or US. However, this did change before the end of the year.

The juxtaposition of social and political events analysed alongside the music that was happening in the radio charts and in the clubs shows in interesting cultural correlation. At times it may seem difficult to distinguish which is having an influence on which.

In the end, Savage’s case is well stated. Through a vivid word painting of the times, he succeeds in creating a portrait of a year which hold a special place within an era.

Patti Smith – M Train

December 30, 2015books, musicbook, M Train, Patti SmithChris Meloche

I think that I probably heard about Patti Smith around a year before she released here debut LP – Horses. It wasn’t long after that point that I saw her in concert at the Ford Auditorium in Detroit. It inspired me to track down a copy of her limited run single which was released some time before – Hey Joe / Piss Factory (Mer Records, 1,500 copies) – which also featured Television guitarist Tom Verlaine. I also bought her poetry books like Babel.

Her last book – Just Kids – was about her life with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (who photographed Patti for the cover of Horses). M Train is a different animal to that tome.

In her latest book, Patti relates stories from various moments in her life. She jumps around from event to event not taking any chronological approach. During the course of the many chapters, Mapplethorpe does not get a single mention… although Gumby does (really!).

Here, Patti talks about hanging around her favourite haunt – Cafe Ino – where she ponders life and jots down notes. During the course of the book, she travels around the globe both on her own and with others including her late husband Fred “Sonic” Smith (of MC5 fame). She talks of her life with Fred in Detroit and her travels with him.

Much of the time, Patti is fascinated with the lives and deaths of numerous writers. This brings her on journeys around the world including Japan.
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She also speaks of being involved with a rather secret society called the Continental Drift Club. It seems to be fine to reveal its secret nature since it is now defunct.

She talks about finding and purchasing a rather dilapidated property on Rockaway Beach. This event turns out to be rather bittersweet since it was one of the few properties in the area to survive a strike by Hurricane Sandy.

Patti relates all of her stories in a breezy manner which draws the reader into her often fascinating life adventures. Another excellent read, indeed.

Wired for Sound blog chrismeloche.com

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1966 by Jon Savage

Patti Smith – M Train

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