Bill Graham Presents is a history of the excesses and ludicrous moments in the developing rock scene, with the incredulous Graham forever shaking his head at the figures he showcased. We're given a thousand anecdotes about our rock n' roll heroes, while also getting an uncomplaining glimpse of the headaches and overwhelming mechanics of bringing music to the masses. It's as though Graham offers the reader a stageside seat to watch the best and craziest acts from Haight-Ashbury days onward. The book may prove to be the greatest show Graham ever produced.--Dave McElfresh
Jazz Spoken Here: Conversations With Twenty-Two Musicians
Wayne Enstice and Paul Rubin
(Louisiana State University Press)
It should be officially named "The Interview magazine" syndrome. It's a proven fact that question-and-answer interviews are boring to read. The key to luring people to read a Q&A is the intrinsic value of its subject. An interview with Kenny G, for example, would not be worth reading. One with John Coltrane, on the other hand, would be printed ambrosia. Using that formula, Enstice and New Times staff writer Rubin have stacked the deck in their favor by including such fascinating (and now-deceased) subjects as Art Blakey, Bill Evans and Charles Mingus. The interviews were conducted from 1978 to 1985.
Overall, Jazz Spoken Here is too deep to appeal much to the casual fan. Jazzers, however, will find it a rich mine filled with details, like Sonny Stitt introducing himself to a startled Charlie Parker on a Kansas City street or Clark Terry discussing Buddy Bolden's trumpet technique. Besides the subjects, this collection works because both Enstice and Rubin are skilled interviewers who did their homework before each interview. The one gaping omission is the book's lack of any female jazz figures.--Robert Baird
She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll
Gillian G. Gaar
(Seal Press)
When you watch a band like Hole perform, the words to that old cigarette ad drift back into your mind: "You've come a long way, baby." After 30 years of being only singers, women rockers are now adding new creativity and perspective to every genre of music, including high-testosterone sanctum sanctorums like death-metal and grind-core. Women are now routinely outgrossing (financially and otherwise), outwriting and outplaying a lot of guys. Megastardom is defined by Madonna and Bonnie Raitt. Female players are founding members of important alternative bands like Sonic Youth and the Pixies. In short, women ain't stuck looking up to just Suzi Quatro and Billie Holiday anymore.
Because women have finally begun to break down the sexist barriers that have made them second-class citizens of rock n' roll, it's high time for a comprehensive "herstory" of rock n' roll. A senior editor at Seattle's thriving music tabloid The Rocket, Gaar has written a readable, well-researched and, for the most part, well-conceived history of women in rock n' roll. She's interviewed most of the major female figures in rock--from Ruth Brown to manager Linda Clark. And as well as writing about the obvious choices--Janis Joplin, the Supremes, Carole King, Madonna--Gaar has also unearthed material on pioneering unknowns such as the Gingerbreads and Deadly Nightshade. The writing throughout is concise. Gaar's discussion of the early women rockabilly pioneers, for example, is peppered with nuggets like the story of Cordell Jackson, the real-life rockabilly legend who blew Stray Cat Brian Setzer off the stage in the recent beer commercial. Perhaps this book's strongest feature is the way Gaar treats the "girl group" novelty acts of the 50s and 60s. Instead of berating them as fluffy or wailing over the wrongs done them by the music business, Gaar paints a balanced portrait of what they accomplished despite the fact that they were hemmed in by the sexist attitudes of that time.
There are two problems with this book. The first is the glaring, utterly puzzling lack of even a mention of female grunge-alternative bands like L7 and Hole. By wading into the evil boys' club of white guitar noise, bands like those two have really knocked the door from its hinges. The fact that Gaar lives in Seattle and works in the "Seattle Scene" makes this all the more unbelievable.
The other problem is Gaar's questionable analytical skill. By defining k.d. lang's latest album, Ing‚nue, as "a series of ballads," Gaar is exposing either a lack of critical chops or the fact that she didn't listen to the album. In her discussion of lang, one of today's most important female artists and the culminating metaphor of Gaar's thesis, Gaar fails to credit lang's collaborator, Ben Mink. By lang's own admission, Mink has played a critical role in her recent career. It's clear that in her rush to validate women, Gaar has forgotten to mention some important men. The odd thing is that She's a Rebel generally goes out of its way not to be a male-bashing feminist indictment. It's a thoughtful treatment that acknowledges what men have and have not done for women in rock n' roll.
None of these things takes away from the fact that this is an excellent and much-needed book. As Yoko Ono says in her glowing introduction, it reclaims much lost history and proves that for someone like Lesley Gore, the "struggle was not in vain.
