Customer Reviews

Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First the good news: "Perfect Sound Forever" makes you listen to your entire collection of Pavement records again, maybe even with the same enthusiasm as when you first heard the band, searching for sounds or elements in the music that you didn't notice before. But does it tell the complete story about the band that transformed alternative rock in the 90's? The answer, I'm sorry to tell, must be no. The composition of the story is too unbalanced to ever gain the status as the Pavement Bible. The first serious attempt to write the history of the band was only too welcome, especially since the Slow Century documentary left too many questions unanswered - at times I think of it as a film that was never completed (The DVD is definetely worth purchasing though). Unfortunately, "Perfect Sound Forever", starting of so promising, with the clever and entertaining introductions of the different bandmebers, also seems to lose its direction about half-way through the book - for Pavement-fans meaning somewhere around Wowee Zowee. Where Jovanovic at first was so thorough, and the story was so rich with fine and fun details, he now seems to tell us that this part is not that interesting, or that record was not so important, so let's just cut to the end. As a reader and Pavement-fan, this leads me to think that 1) The author is of the opinion that Pavemtns early years where far more important than the later ones, or 2) He didn't do good enough research to complete his work - or simply got tired of the project and just wanted to finish his book as fast as possible. If the answer is 1), Jovanovic should simply have made a book about Pavements earliest career. My general feelings, though, tell me that the answer is closer to the second alternative. Let me leave no doubt that this is a book well worth purchasing for every Pavement fan. Jovanovics passion for Pavement and their music makes a fun read at most times. But Jovanovic is not a historian, and if you are looking for the full story about your favourite lo-fi stars, the search is not through. I still don't know why High Llamas-member Dominic Mercott playd the drums on Carrot Rope and Major Leagues, or where and when the songs on the Major League-Ep where recorded. Perhaps someday, in a book that finishes the way it starts, I will get the answers. Overall close to 3 stars, but for making me remember why I love Pavements music, it gets 4.

From a band that started its career with static and ended it with an acoustic guitar, comes a book that does a great job of trying to explain it all.

Perfect Sound Forever does a wonderful job of trying to crack the walls of Pavement. Throughout its 10-year life, many journalists tried to get to S.M., Spiral, et al., but few succeeded. Mr. Jovanovic succeeds where others have failed.

Sure Malkmus is still aloof, but the other band members make up for his enigmatic behavior. Hardcore Pavement fans should read this, even though you may already know the facts. It is entertaining and you may walk away with even more knowledge.

With the reissues, the DVD and the book, hopefully Pavement will continue to inspire people to pick up instruments and make music.

A fine read for anyone.

If you're a pavement fan then I highly recommend this book. If you aren't a fan, then it probably isn't for you. However, if you are a pavement fan who would like to know more about this band, how their songs and albums came together and the relationship between the members and the band's dynamic and why they split, then I say go for it. If you like quirky sidenotes and memorabillia (IE college radio station playlists from 1989, Drag City newsletters, reviews of everything from early 7"s to all of the full length albums, hand written notes between band members, tour riders, and a comprehensive discograpahy) then you'll dig this.

The reviewer above who called it a "cut and paste job" is way, way off the mark. While it is true that parts of the book were taken from alternative mags of the 90s, these are noted as such and are really cool (like song by song explanations for Crooked Rain Crooked Rain and wowee zowee hand written by SM). I've been a pavement fan since the beginning and have many mags and numerous bootlegs and slow century etc etc and still found all sorts of stuff I didn't know, a lot of fresh information. The reviewer who said it will make you want to relisten to all of your pavement stuff was absolutely right. After finishing the book I found myself listening to live shows and the albums with a newfound appreciation and insight (since they've been a favorite of mine since '91 this is really cool). Worth the price yeah!!!

It's been years in the making,but Pavement fans finally have some written documentation on the band that carried indie rock through the 90's and opened many doors for bands to follow.The book is informative and well documented.It was a feat in itself just sitting down with all the people Rob did, and getting the stories out of them.The bits and pieces of info. documented by Jovanovic are some answers Pavement fans have been waiting for.Although this book doesn't fill the die hard fans in on the unknown,it well represents who the band Pavement was,and why they were who they were.Every Pavement and music fan should have this book in their collection.

Yeah, parts of it are a cut and pasting of various articles and quotes from the DVD. But the beauty of the book is the synthesis of these parts combined with the author's interviews to create a well-documented and thoroughly researched account of the history of the band. It showed a logical progression of Pavement's history from early influences, band members meeting, creating amazing albums, and the problems that unfortunately broke them up. It's very convenient and resourceful to have all the information, such as EP reviews from obscure music magazines, in one place at least. To enjoy it for what it is, a definitive account of the history of Pavement, definitely makes it a great read for fans.

I'd hear a bunch about this book (though available copies seem scarce), so wasn't sure what to think. All in all, Jovanovic nails it. Informative and genuine without being cloying, which given this notoriously secretive and retiring band, is admirable. Grab it when you can.

I was excited to finally find a book about perhaps my favorite band. The early narrative about Pavement's origins and first recordings is excellent, but the author breezes through the later albums without much discussion. The photos, setlists, zine reviews and other miscellany are nice, but at only 216 pages this could use more text for the list price. Despite its faults I enjoyed reading this, hence the four stars.

I honestly was really excited about this book, thinking it would give me new insight into the band's history. Instead, I felt like this book was just simply recycling facts that we (as hardcore pavement fans) already know. There is very little information that can be found only in this book, I would argue that almost all of the information is taken second hand from internet fan sites, magazine interviews and the Slow Century DVD. To me, this book seems pointless and it doesn't appear as though much work was put into making it.

Maybe I should start publishing books like this. Seems like a nice way to take advantage of hardcore music fans.

If you read this book closely you'll find that Jovanovic conducted the lion's share of interviews himself. So despite what at least one rviewer below says about this being a cut and paste job, it simply isn't true.

I waited for years to read it, and now that it's here, it makes me even sadder that I cannot see my favorite band of all-time anymore.

The sheer number of facts are completely shocking. As a longtime Pavement fan, I thought I knew their story 100%, but I was wrong.

Jovanovic does a magnificent job of getting commentary from just about anyone and everyone that had their hands in or on Pavement at one point or another...we even hear from girlfriends of band members.

Absolutely fabulous chronicle of the rise and breakup of one of the most underrated bands of our time. I can't wait to read it again.