Joe_Stax
|
Joe's Book ClubWhat I want to know is what you're reading. Especially if it's about rock + roll.
I've been picking through a book called "Lovers Buggers & Thieves" edited by Martin Jones, from Headpress.
It's really a high-end fanzine, in a way. It's a collection of articles, suitable for browsing, on all manner of weird and wild sounds and bands.
I still haven't read all of it, and may never, just reading the pieces that interest me.
Some of these are: overviews of the Bonzo Dog Band, the Sonics, Beatlegs & Outfakes, Screaming Lord Sutch, the Monks.
I will get to two articles on Australian garage/punk and psych.
One bizarre piece compared Led Zep and Iron Butterfly! I thought I'd skip this, but got drawn in (same thing happened with coverage of the Stooges and Skip Spence, too). Described as a "fan-baiting punch up" the Zep vs. Butterfly was pretty entertaining. It did make me dig up my copy of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, for better or worse...
|
JimENight
|
Joe,
I recently acquired a copy of Cheetah Magazine from January 1968.
It's in beautiful (near mint) condition. It is fascinating to read reviews of the music scene from the period - before certain things in rock history had happened... there are reviews of Jake Holmes (a rave), The Doors "Strange Days" ("Jim Morrison is not yet capable of projecting his insanity onto records"), a luke-warm review of Pink Floyd's "Piper At The Gates of Dawn" - "One of the most American sounding English albums I've heard", and continues, "the Floyd's songs aren't always very interesting as songs..." but goes on to say that "the overall sound of the group is fresh and exciting... it's a fine album and in many ways beats us Americans at our own game."
A review of the 'new' Strawberry Alarm Clock album says, "the album sounds pale compared to the Floyd's, still they're a competent group."
One of the more fascinating entries is a legnthy discussion on Frank Zappa's (then) forthcoming album "We're Only In It For The Money" which was "nine-tenths complete as of this writing".
The critic (Peter Winkler) calls it a "more tightly organized and integrated album than 'Absolutely Free', and doesn't have the disturbing sloppy quality that made some of that album sound like a bunch of teen-agers playing with their new tape recorder." OUCH!
He continues his description by saying "there is one passage on the album which will give anyone with a hi-fi a heart attack." Hmmm....
He closes his criticism by saying that, "Despite Zappa's many talents... he is not a Rock composer. His music apes Rock in an intellectual, self-conscious way, but there is no natural flow to the music. His attempts to make harmonies like The Beatles usually end up sounding like bad movie music." And he even foreshadows "Lumpy Gravy": "the songs on this album are much better than before, and Zappa has said that the next record will not be broken up into individual pieces; it will be one continuous composition..."
Indeed.
Anyway, this issue of Cheetah has fascinating articles on Procol Harum, John Lennon, Owsley ("the Henry Ford of acid"), ads for Gretsch guitars & drums featuring The Monkees ("The fabulous Monkees, stars of their own TV show are with it! Why don't you get with That Great Gretsch Sound!") and several articles of various new movements in the art scene of the day.
What a treat.
I got it off Ebay for 20 bux. Worth every penny. (original newsstand price, 50 cents). 
|
|
|
|