Customer Reviews

Punk: The Definitive Record of a Revolution

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4 star:		(6)
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2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Punk" clothes and "punk pop" are the most visible remnants of the 1970s punk movement. Ironically, they could easily have been from a different planet from the grungy, rebellious punks profiled in "Punk: The Definitive Record of a Revolution." It's not definitive, and it's top-heavy with Sex Pistols stuff. But it's worth a look to get the feel of the punk life.

It starts off, oddly enough, with Andy Warhol and the collection of rich/artistic/beautiful freaks he collected in his Factory. One thing he did was sponsor the now-legendary Velvet Underground, which was the dark side of the rest of the music world. From the legacy of the Velvets came other bands who bent the rules, musically and stylistically (Iggy Pop and the Stooges, and the New York Dolls among them).

With Max's Kansas City and CBGB's as a sort of ground zero, punk bands of all kinds began to blossom. There's Blondie, Television, the Sex Pistols, Siouxie and the Banshees, the Clash, the Dead Boys, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Patti Smith, and did I mention the Sex Pistols? Additionally, they take a hard look at the roots of punk, the different kinds of bands there were, the magazines that covered it, the drugs that were done, what effect the music had and what the punks did.

"Punk: The Definitive Record of a Revolution" is a big, fat, clumsy, thick, aggressive-looking book that is almost impossible to read standing up. But if you can manage to keep the dang thing open, then you'll have a pretty good time watching as the punk revolution unfolds. It's basically a collection of quotes and interviews from all sorts of people who were around there at the time.

One thing that "Punk" stresses is that punk itself was not merely a kind of music or dressing. Merely having safety pins or funky hair does not make you . It was a mindset, a way of life and the way you acted towards the universe in general. And this is backed up -- quite a few of the photographs don't feature people in outrageous clothes, but their attitude is evident in their faces. Some are taking the whole idea seriously, some aren't.

What it lacks is enough stuff about the less rowdy aspects of punk -- what were they rebelling against? That's never quite clear. The outside world seems to be a haze for Colgrave and Sullivan. But they do give it their best. There are plenty of photographs that are worth checking out, many of them clear black-and-white candids (like the strangely pretty picture of Johnny Rotten and his "chalice").

There's definitely a leaning towards the Sex Pistols, even though they were by no means the only, most lasting or most important punk band. But there's lots of information about just about every band, from the mysterious German Nico and the dark Velvet Underground to the rowdy and raucous later bands, and finally to the remnants of it today. (Gisele wearing a Sid Vicious T-shirt?)

"Punk: The Definitive Record of a Revolution" is a nice read about a now nearly-dead subculture. Die-hard fans of the Sex Pistols will run to read it, and fans of classic punk bands may want to give it a sniff, but a definitive history of punk it is not.

Mostly photos and quotations, many of the quotations apparently from interviews the authors conducted with insiders. Seems okay being such a large book given that the alternative would have been several volumes and with smaller photos.

A Sex-Pistols-centric, British view of Punk, but with a good opening on Warhol, the Velvet Undergound, the New York Dolls, Ramones and other U.S. influences. By stopping with 1979, however, such American bands as the Plasmatics, the Circle Jerks and Black Flag aren't covered.

Finding out what happened to Sid Vicious's remains may be the best value from this book for me.

What ever happened to rock n' roll, punk or otherwise? One of the best things about this book is that it can bring you to that time. It's sad that Coldplay passes as good music nowadays. However remarkable the fashion and the events, 70's Punk was basically lots of great music. Who knew what a vacuum would follow it?

This book does come across as more of a Sex Pistols book, as opposed to the punk book it promises to be. Granted, there are moments in which artists such as The Ramones, The Clash, Blondie, and Siouxie and the Banshees [the horror!] are mentioned. However, such moments are few and far between, and for a fan of all-around punk, these rare moments fade dismally into the background, blatantly overshadowed by the massive amount of Sex Pistols content.

If the reader is a huge fan of the Sex Pistols, this book is a rare and priceless addition to one's collection. There are countless photos of the Pistols which have never before been
seen by the general public, and each of these photos is of superb quality and possesses great artistry. One such photo is the one of Johnny Rotten smoking some 'chalice' in Jamaica. His head is bent downwards, smoke wafting out of his nostrils and surrounding his head; the photo is oddly hypnotic, beautiful, and serene. There are soem early shots of Sid Vicious in which his hair is short, clean, and he looks scarily innocent and well-groomed[!], and also some photos of various early punks such as 'Catwoman' and quite a few shots of Malcolm McLaren that should have been in a different volume entitled "Punk - The Definitive Record of Money-Hungry Mongers."

Overall, the photos of the Sex Pistols make this a must-have for any hardcore Sex Pistols fans.

The text of the book, however, is a different story. Most of the text consists of quotes from photographers and punk clothing entrepreneurs. It would have been nice to read more GOOD quotes by punk artists; many times their quotes were random and easily discarded as unimportant. There are, however, quite a few good quotes by Sid Vicious and Andy Warhol that make up for this. It also would have been an added bonus to have quotes by punk fans,
but oh well.

One page of quotes is about how Sid was accused of murdering Nancy Spungen. Every one of the quotes is a statement of why Sid had to have been innocent; not one of them says he was guilty. I personally believe he was innocent, but the authors should have made the quotes more well-rounded so the reader didn't feel as though a differing opinion was wrong.

To sum the review up, the text of the book is probably a 3/5 stars, leaving some to be desired, though overall it is okay. The photos are exquisite, though most of them are of the Pistols. If you are a hardcore Pistols fan like me who can shell out the dough, this book is more than worth its impossibly heavy weight in gold. However, if you're looking for a more well-rounded history of punk, you should look elsewhere.

If youre looking for punk history, well, you know punk was born in different parts of the world at the same time, so its not very accurate,in how it really emerged. Anyhow, you get lots of history telling from the most important punk era 1976 - 1979, and some background in the bands that influenced punk bands (1960's The velvet underground - the stooges and MC5 )such as the Ramones, Sex Pistols and more. A great collection of interviews actually, and the pictures, oh the pictures are great!. This book its huge! its so big you wont be able to hold it in your hands and try to read it. The photos are worth the price alone, i recommend this one.

There were some good things here. Great pictures and some interesting historical information I wasn't previously aware of. However, the amount of attention given to the Ramones/Sex Pistols is way over the top. I was expecting a comprehensive review of the life and times of Punk in the mid-late 70's. In the end what I got was a biography of 2 bands and Malcom McLaren with fairly brief (comparitavely) impersonal descriptions of other icons of the time. Additionally the collaborators of this book leave the reader the impression that there were only 2 places in the world (New York and London) that were producing anything worth writing about.

Worth the buy? Yes I would purchase it again. Disappointing? Again Yes. It could have been so much more.

If you are only looking for an excellent book on the sex pistols then this is the book for you. However, if you'd like a book about the punk movement in general, this book would give you little material. While it provides extensive material about punk in the context of the sex pistols, the sex shop/ Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, it treats other bands in the punk movement like the Ramones, The Clash, and the Damned as afterthoughts. Certainly both the Ramones and the Clash deserved as much attention as the Pistols seeing as they had more longevity and in the case of the Clash, more musical ability. The Book is certainly worth it's price for Sex Pistols fans and those looking for a photographic approach to the movement. However, if you are looking for a book that lends information on bands other than the Pistols, I would look elsewhere.

Most of us whose salvation and saving grace in the late 1970's came in the form of punk rock never thought it would come to this: a coffee table-style book on the genre so large it almost requires a truss to pick up and read. Exploding with stark black-and-white photos, the authors rightfully trace punk's origins back to the Stooges/MC5/Velvet Underground unholy triumvirate and primarily use quotes from musicians, hangers-on, and the fans to tell the story of the music so many thought would change if not the world, then at least the industry. Although an integral part of the whole sordid saga, it would have been nice if the authors had sacrificed some of the space devoted to The Sex Pistols and the Sodom and Gomorrah of punk (New York and London) and examined the scenes in Australia and elsewhere. Nonetheless, despite the small quibble, this is a glorious addition to the library of any music lover, punk or otherwise, and another testimonial to why music in the 70's casts such a huge shadow over everything that's come along since.

I thought this book looked great when I first got my hands on it but the more I looked at the less impressed I was. If you've read any of the more popular books about the early punk scene, ie. Please Kill Me, England's Dreaming , Vacant.. then you'll already have read most of the quotes in this book. There are some great pics in there which I hadn't seen before but so many of them have been published many times before. There are quite a few errors in the original text as well..(like calling The Clash's second album "Thanks for Giving Us Enough Rope"'!!!.. made me laugh!). If you haven't got many other punk books then this is probably a great place to start.. otherwise only get this if you're an obsessive (like me unfortunately.. I'll keep it for those few new pics).

This is a masterpiece! If nothing else, it's gigantic, thick and full of wonderful pictures. This book is bigger than the phone book! It's done in the same style of "Please Kill Me" (which documented the NYC punk scene). It has oral recollections of punk from a great number of people who were involved. Many of the anecdotes may or may not be true but almost every one is interesting. The main focus seems to be on the Pistols and Clash though many wonderful bands like the Fall, the Undertones and Gang of Four also get mentioned. Too much of the focus dwells on the Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood fashion aspect of summer of '76 Britpunk but it was a part of it so I can't complain even though my interest is more on the music and the DIY aspect that fueled punk and post-punk. Very highly recommended!

This is Quite an undertaking! Large format, many unpublished Photos & Interviews, make this an indispensible Book. It let's the insiders of this phenomenon tell their story without Journalistic translations! A close look at the Music, the Fashions and the lifestyle, all combined to change the world. Poseurs always get it all wrong, but these guys do not have that problem. WOW don't miss out, now be original!