Customer Reviews

Beneath the Diamond Sky: Haight Ashbury 1965 1970

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you are like me, the subject matter of Beneath the Diamond Sky will be quite familiar turf: Haight-Ashbury in the sixties. In this case familiarity does not breed contempt. It breeds Love (as in "Summer of"). This bygone pop culture big bang has never been more concisely or attractively typified as in this book.

I fell in love with this book at first sight. I held it in my hands and yea, it was beautiful. I paged through it's rainbow-hued, lavishly illustrated pages and was filled with Satisfaction. I read the text and it was Righteous, dude. I admired the posters and buttons, rare photos and it was all very far out. This is a very reassuring book, a chronicle of the time when the universe swirled psychodynamically around Haight-Ashbury. It betokens all things Hippie and San Francisco without being sugar-coated.

Previous books addressing this topic have not found the right mix of form and content. "Summer of Love" by Joel Selvin, for instance was a pop history document which lacked the design and illustrative qualities of this book. Also, Selvin tended to rewrite things to the chagrin of the psychedelic cognoscenti enough to bring doubt upon the enterprise. "Diamond Sky" tends to neglect revisionism in favor of what is actually known.

Hoskyns does an admirable job of running all of the characters across the page for our scrutiny. The quotes, the deeds, the legends are all covered. I can't quibble with any of it, it's there and its familiar and as I stated before, it is beautifully presented. Hello to Jerry, Janis, Skip, Grace, Chet et. al.

Barney Hoskyns is a very adept pop music writer whose work appears quite often in 'serious pop music' magazines like Mojo. What I like about him here is that he doesn't seem to intrude upon the luminous subject matter at all. He lets the Haight speak for itself, which it continues to do quite well.

This book is small in size only! Author Barney Hoskyns' historical narrative of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury 1965-1970 reads like a fascinating novel. I read this book in one siting and when I reluctantly turned the last page I suddenly realized that I had just received an intense lession in California history and the world of music. What a joy! I went out and bought three more copies for some close friends. Buy it!

This nicely illustrated musical history explains how the "psychedelic" sound of mid- to late- 60's San Francisco bands (e.g., the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Janis Joplin, Country Joe and the Fish, Moby Grape, and others) were an extension of folk music with roots in 1950's beat culture. Thus, Kesey, Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burrows figure prominently in the book, giving the music its foundation, it's apolitical ethos, and (as Hoskyns repeatedly emphasize) its acid and other drugs. The author's most fascinating and best writing occurs when he explores the roots and evolution of the San Francisco sound, and its love/hate relationship with the subcultures in which it was embedded.. For example, his analysis of the tension between the Berkeley radicals and the hippies is surprisingly astute and well documented (especially since there is inadequate analysis in much of the book).

The end of the psychedelic scene is a familiar and shallow account that includes legions of teen runaways, rampant drugs and violence, and, (must we hear this again?) the conveniently symbolic disaster at Altamount. More instructive is his description of how the music industry co-opted the scene (with help from musicians who actually wanted to make money!), the organizational talent of promoter Bill Graham who competed with the established but looser "Family Dog" outfit, the overdoses, and the dissolution of the beat-inspired ethos. Hoskyns writes that some of this was dissolution was inevitable, as the once young hippie musicians became the establishment, and a new generation rebelled against it. However, while San Francisco was a major part of the 60's scene, it was not the only part, and Hoskyns doesn't place it within the national context of the Nixon presidency, the increasing military/police complex, and the growing politicalization and militancy of women and other disenfranchised groups.

More importantly, for a music history Hoskyns' musical analysis is fairly weak, you don't get an idea of what the music was like, nor is there much discussion of how the groups differed. But that would have required a more serious, even scholarly book. "Beneath the Diamond Sky" is meant to appear a bit trippy, with different fonts and font SIZES and various tie-dye colors thrown in to replicate the feeling of the period. This mostly doesn't work; it's too much artifice, but at least you get some feeling for the creative impulse of the time. Finally, the book would have been better with a epilogue tracing what more of what happened to the S.F. musical and cultural leaders after the 60's ended, and what their influence has been on others.

However, that's not really what this book is about (despite its excellent early cultural analysis). The book is best for its great photographs of these seminal musicians and cultural icons in their prime, including pictures of street scenes, posters, and free concerts at Golden Gate park Still, the book can be annoying because of typos and other mistakes, and seemingly contradictory statements. It appears there was no single Haight Ashbury scene, and that's why this book may offend some who were actually there. However, I can strongly recommend this for its photos, and as an introduction to the subject (especially if you can find it used or discounted}. A short bibliography--but no discography!--may encourage further research into "Hashbury" history. Note: The book title is taken from Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tangerine Man."

I bought BENEATH THE DIAMOND SKY with the expectation that it would be a history of the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco from 1965 to 1970, as the title implies. But upon reading it, I discovered that it's really a history of the ROCK MUSIC of that time and place. I know that rock music is a very important part of Haight-Ashbury in the '60s, but Hoskyns mostly ignores other aspects. The book's title should definitely have been different. There are some other subjects dealt with occasionally; for instance, there is a helpful discussion of the differences between the counterculture of Haight-Ashbury and the politically activist counterculture as exemplified by Berkeley.

So, if you're looking for a rock music history, this book is interesting, and the photos are great, with every other page being a nearly full-page photo. I like the funky page colors too. I don't know enough of the subject to say if every detail is accurate, though in my opinion the book should have either footnotes or better end notes. (On page 219 Hoskyns sites a study of protest rock in the late '60s that concluded that it may have made people more passive, but he doesn't say what study he's referring to!! That kind of thing is rare, thankfully.) It also would have been helpful if the book included some lists, such as one of the most important recordings to come out of San Francisco in the late '60s. Still, BENEATH THE DIAMOND SKY is an enjoyable read, and I learned a substantial amount about the music of that era.

Not exactly what I was expecting, I thought this book was an extensive history of the Haight. It's instead a very light read focusing on the music of the era. Lots of good pics and a fun (albeit short) read.

Extremely well done. Not only did it bring back a flood of memories of names and places I hadn't thought about in years, but captured the feelings, both good and bad, of a very strange time, something every good history should do

The book is a terrific read, and the paper, binding, layout, etc. is visually stunning. I've been to Haight-Ashbury on several occasions, and while the book isn't a comprehensive or exhaustive treatment of the subject I think it offers a glimpse of the subject that I haven't encountered from any other work on the subject.

As for critics of the book; If you pick an author who focuses on the sociology of the popular music scene, you shouldn't be surprised to find that his book focuses on the sociology of the popular music scene.

...Great photos and much ado about music. In short, I lived in the Haight-Ashbury during those wonderful years. And this book reflects nothing of what life was really like. At all, to us that were not directly tied to a band. I partied at 710 Ashbury and other places. I had hopes this would address what street life was truly like back then. It does not.

I am quite pleased I ordered a used copy of this book, and would have been quite disappointed if I had paid the [money on the] price tag.. Nice photos and much ado about music. In short, I lived in the Haight-Ashbury during those wonderful years. And this book reflects nothing of what life was really like. At all, to us that were not directly tied to a band. I partied at ...Ashbury and other places. I had hopes this would address what street life was truly like back then. It does not.