With access to a vast archive of interviews down the decades, this text tackles the entire range of musical genres that has emerged this century. It offers a cultural and social portrait of a constantly evolving society, telling the history of music as it happened rather than as it is remembered.
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Veteran pop music observers won't be surprised that Melody Maker's history of most of a century of pop music is significantly smaller than Rolling Stone's history of just the rock era. MM, like its homegrown rival, the New Music Express (NME--get it?), covers pop music in a quick-hitting style that sometimes suggests Walter Winchell as a Billboard columnist. MM emphasizes the popular in popular music. Thus, bits about the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, ABBA, Marc Bolan, the Carpenters, and the Bay City Rollers are absolutely free of any taxonomical concerns about form or style. MM gives record buyers a little background about, a little peek behind the scenes with, perhaps a little dishing of their purchases' perpetrators. Johnstone's coverage extends from 1926 to now. Why '26? Because MM was launched that year as "the `house organ' of a London music publisher." Johnstone quotes generously from MM stories, which helps make the thoroughly readable, admirably indexed book refreshingly terse. Mike Tribby
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Melody Maker - my love in the 70's,
By Greg C. "?" (Sydney (if you don't know, don't ask)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Melody Maker History of 20th-Century Popular Music (Hardcover)
I lived for Melody Maker - getting the English editions 2 months later at Kogarah newsagent, looking at Heaven (imagine King Crimson in Concert).I loved Roy Hollingsworth, Steve Lake, Chris what's his name, Alan Jones. A paper with immense humour, insight, reporting on (well, what I thought was then) the most important period in modern music - I adored Prog - Van Der Graaf - all that stuff. Waiting for three months to get the latest imports from Tandy Records in the UK and getting all these wonderful sleeves - Roger Dean etc. Island, Charisma, Harvest. I thought they were the best days of my life. In retrospect, maybe the hollowest? Still, the schooners of beer were good and the THC mild. So what's this book about? Not what I wanted, but that isn't to discredit it. It starts in the early 20's the role of muso's in the war years, Elvis, a lot on the 60's and 70's and then sort of blurs out. It's a history of the paper (and the times) - not the times (and the paper). It's very difficult to criticise on it's aims and its research, it achieves it's goals. But if you are looking for THAT article on Blodwyn Pig, this isn't for you. I'd love to be abe able to get all MM's between 68 - 76 - no idea how. But this is a good start anyway! Better than that rotten NME (the enemy). It's scholarly in a sense, but so quick you miss it it. Again, it makes points about racism, feminism, gay rights - but so quick - blink and you miss it. Too much bland 80's stuff (BUT THAT'S ME!). Greg 3.5 stars.
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